22

WAREHOUSES  IN  FOREIGN  COUNTRIES.

11,000  tons  of  grain.  There  are  two  passages  for  tracks  under  the  silos;  the
ground  floor  is  used  exclusively  for  delivering.  Insured  value,  $127,508.
From  patriotism  and  necessity  the  free  port  has  always  been  managed ­
  by  men  of  thorough  training,  and  the  business  public  are  eminenetly
  satisfied  with  the  services  rendered.  During  the  past  few
years  the  trans-Atlantic  trade  has  gradually  been  transferred  to  the
free  port  until  (and  this  condition  has  only  been  fully  realized  during ­
  the  past  year)  the  entire  distribution  of  this  trade  takes  place
in  the  free  port.  Shipping  interests  and  merchants  alike  have  found
in  the  free  port  not  only  a  protection  but  a  positive  impetus  to  Danish
trade.  It  was  constructed  to  meet  the  competition  brought  by  the
construction  of  the  Kiel  Canal.  There  is  now  a  feeling  of  security
where  previously  there  was  the  constant  fear  that  the  importance  of
Copenhagen  as  a  distributing  center  would  be  reduced  to  a  minimum,
owing  to  the  existence  of  the  Kiel  Canal  and  to  the  great  advantage
which  Hamburg  enjoyed  through  its  superior  facilities  and  its  larger
interests.  The  free  port  has  enabled  Danish  merchants  to  hold  the
trade  of  the  Scandinavian  countries  and  of  the  Russian  ports  on  the
Baltic  which  had  been  won  through  well-directed  and  patient  effort,
and  which,  without  a  free  port,  seemed  in  great  danger  of  being  lost.
There  are  no  available  figures  showing  the  receipts  and  expenditures ­
  of  the  free  port.
SERVICES  AND  CHARGES.
The  services  rendered  consist  of  discharging  and  loading  ships,
warehousing  goods  and  delivering  them  from  warehouse,  renting  storage ­
  rooms  and  spaces,  renting  offices,  and  furnishing  electricity  for
light  and  power.
Charges  for  storage  are  by  the  month  of  thirty  days.  Rates  vary
according  to  the  article  to  be  stored. 0  The  rate  for  “  anchors,”  for
instance,  is  2  ore  (about  one-half  cent)  per  100  pounds;  for  “dried
apples,”  5  ore  (about  cents)  per  100  pounds;  for  “bed  feathers,”
11  ore  (about  3  cents)  per  100  pounds,  etc.
It  is  impossible  to  procure  a  general  statement  covering  the  cost
of  the  removal  of  goods  from  boat  to  warehouse,  and  vice  versa.
Information  along  this  line  can  be  obtained  in  case  of  specific  inquiry.
STORAGE  OF  GOODS.
The  principal  classes  of  goods  stored  are  grain  of  all  kinds,  feed,
coffee,  lumber,  sugar,  lard,  oil,  farm  machinery,  tobacco,  hardware,
fruits,  sirup.
Great  quantities  of  goods  arrive  in  the  free  port  from  the  United
States,  but  it  is  only  in  exceptional  cases  that  such  goods  are  the  property ­
  of  American  firms.  They  are  in  most  cases  goods  which  have
been  purchased  by  Danish  merchants,  and  lie  in  warehouse  at  the  disposal ­
  of  such  merchants.  All  nationalities  are  treated  exactly  alike.
Most  of  the  goods  received  at  the  free  port  are  delivered  in  the
course  of  eight  days  from  the  first  discharging  day  of  the  ship.  This
is  due  to  the  fact  that  no  warehouse  rent  is  charged  for  the  first  eight
°A  detailed  table  showing  the  published  storage  rates  and  also  the  yearly
rates  for  offices,  sheds,  etc.,  is  on  file  in  the  Bureau  of  Statistics,  Department  of
Commerce  and  Labor.