42

WAREHOUSES  TN  FOREIGN  COUNTRIES.

ducted  by  a  manager.  The  service  is  considered  satisfactory  from
every  point  of  view.
Storage  charges  vary,  according  to  the  articles  stored,  from  3  cents
per  metric  ton  per  month  for  cast  iron  to  $1.93  for  raw  silk  or  vanilla,
and  $3.80  for  nondangerous  essences. 0
In  1903  the  receipts  for  storage  amounted  to  200,000  francs
($38,000),  and  the  expenses  to  148,000  francs  ($28,504).
The  goods  principally  stored  in  lhe  warehouses  are  sugar,  cocoa,
coffee,  olive  oil,  rum,  and  pepper.  Americans  do  not  use  the  warehouses ­
  at  all  ;  in  fact,  they  are  used  almost  exclusively  by  the  French.
All  nationalities  are,  however,  treated  exactly  alike  by  the  administrators ­
  of  the  warehouses.  There  is  no  rule  as  to  the  length  of  time
the  goods  may  remain  in  bond.  They  may  remain  a  week,  a  month,
six  months,  or  a  year  or  more.
The  administration  of  the  warehouses  has  under  its  orders  a  corps
of  porters  who  can  be  employed  for  the  removal  of  the  goods  from
boat  to  warehouses  and  vice  versa,  and  who  are  paid  according  to  the
tariff  established,  which  is  as  follows  per  2,204.0  pounds:  Discharging
of  merchandise  upon  the  quays,  19.3  cents;  weighing  of  merchandise ­
  by  the  customs  inspectors,  9.0  cents;  removing  of  merchandise
into  the  warehouses  and  storing  it  therein,  19.3  cents;  total,  48.2  cents.
The  removal  of  the  merchandise  from  the  warehouses  to  the  quays
and  thence  on  board  the  boats  involves  about  the  same  operation  and
charges  as  above.
A  comptroller  and  inspector  of  customs  are  specially  attached  to
the  warehouscs-nnd  have  under  their  orders  a  staff  of  agents.  They
have  duplicate  keys  to  the  warehouses,  with  right  of  access  at  all
times.  They  receive,  examine,  and  record  all  declarations  of  entry
and  exit  of  goods  and  collect  any  duties  that  may  be  assessed.  The
utmost  care  is  exercised,  and  the  goods  are  carefully  stored  and  handled ­
  in  every  way.
The  administration  of  the  warehouses  does  not  act  as  the  receiver  of
goods  shipped  here  for  storage  in  bond  or  otherwise  assume  any
responsibility  in  connection  with  that  operation  ;  it  conducts  no  correspondence ­
  on  the  subject  and  appears  in  the  affair  only  as  the  proprietor ­
  and  manager  of  the  warehouses  and  consequently  as  the  custodian ­
  of  the  goods  after  their  delivery.  Goods  shipped  here  for  storage ­
  must  therefore  be  consigned  to  an  agent  who  must  receive  and
deliver  them  to  the  warehouses.  There  are  numerous  agents  at
Nantes  ready  to  undertake  this  operation.
Benj.  II.  Ridgely,  Consul.
Nantes,  France,  July  0/,  190)].

NICE.
(From  United  States  Vice-Consul  Piattt,  Nice,  France.)
There  is  at  Nice  a  warehouse  for  storage  of  merchandise  in  transit
or  in  bond  owned  and  managed  by  an  incorporated  company  having  a
«Table  of  charges  in  detail  on  file  in  Bureau  of  Statistics,  Department  of  Commerce ­
  and  Labor.