38

WAREHOUSES  IN  FOREIGN  COUNTRIES.

in  Marseille  in  a  bonded  warehouse  owned  and  managed  by  the
Compagnie  des  Docks  et  Entrepôts.
BUILDINGS  AND  MANAGEMENT.
This  company  controls  certain  warehouses,  the  dry  docks,  the
storage  warehouses,  and  considerable  real  property  not  yet  utilized.
The  structures  actually  devoted  to  storage,  together  with  their  original ­
  cost  and  dimensions,  are  as  follows:  Administration  building
(area,  1,47(>  square  meters;  1  square  meter  =  1.18  square  yards),
$279,853  ;  principal  warehouse  (area,  14.(583  square  meters),  $2,1(53,407  ;
warehouses  F  and  G,  $380,224;  warehouses  IT  and  Nos.  40  and  44
(area,  49,160  square  meters),  $1,011,146;  warehouse  No.  55  (area,
2,800  square  meters),  $188,717;  Cape  Punèdi  land,  $37,529.  The
administration  building,  six  stories  in  height,  contains,  in  addition  to
the  offices  of  the  company  and  the  offices  of  the  custom-house  administrators, ­
  a  public-sales  warehouse.  The  principal  warehouse,  365
meters  (1,197.5  feet)  in  length,  is  divided  into  four  sections,  each  one
having  an  interior  covered  court  for  trucking  operations.  The  four
sections  include  76,200  square  meters  (91,134  square  yards)  of  floor
space,  capable  of  accommodating  60,000  tons  of  miscellaneous  merchandise. ­
  The  warehouses,  seven  in  number,  designated  as  No.  55,
are  for  the  storage  of  vegetable  oils.  These  warehouses  have  a  capacity ­
  of  20,000  tons  of  oil  in  casks,  and  1,000  tons  in  cisterns,  of  which
there  are  40.  The  cisterns  are  filled  through  siphons.
The  warehouses  are  owned  and  managed  by  (he  Compagnie  des
Docks  et  Entrepôts,  a  private  corporation  performing  many  important ­
  public  functions,  the  principal  of  which  is  that  of  warehousing
goods  in  bond.  The  concession,  approved  by  the  State,  limits  the  powers ­
  of  the  company  as  respects  charges  for  services  rendered.  The
organization  of  the  system  was  authorized  by  the  law  of  June  10,
1854,  the  concession  being  granted  by  the  State  to  the  city  of  Marseille, ­
  which,  in  turn,  disposed  of  the  privilege  to  the  private  corporation ­
  named.  This  company  completed  and  began  operating  its
first  establishment  January  1,  18(54.  It  pays  a  bonus  of  $19,300
annually  to  the  city.  The  original  grant  established  the  relations
between  the  company  and  the  State.  All  tariffs  must  be  approved  by
the  minister  of  commerce  and  proclaimed  by  the  prefecture  of  the
department.
SERVICE.
The  patron,  while  sometimes  inclined  to  protest  against  the  operation ­
  of  a  public  utility  by  a  corporation  organized  for  profit,  is,  on
the  whole,  very  well  contented  with  the  arrangement.  He  has  at  his
disposition  mod  hi  warehouses  convenient  of  access  from  the  port,  controlled ­
  by  a  corporation  which,  upon  demand,  takes  possession  of  his
arriving  merchandise,  transports  it  to  a  place  of  security,  insures  him
against  loss,  and  returns  the  goods  intrusted  to  its  care  upon  the  payment ­
  of  fixed  charges  which  are  not  subject  to  debate  or  amendment
in  favor  of  preferred  clients.
The  company,  in  addition  to  the  services  described  above  in  general ­
  terms,  concedes  the  right  of  the  owner  to  visit  his  merchandise  at
will.  When  merchandise  is  to  be  visited  the  company  engages  to