ITALY:  LEGHORN.

77

storage  of  goods  in  transit  or  intended  for  reexport.  Tn  addition
there  is  a  group  of  buildings,  with  a  total  area  of  about  6,000  square
yards,  located  at  what  is  known  as  the  Punto  Franco,  just  outside  the
customs  limits,  and  owned  and  managed  by  the  municipality.  Merchandise ­
  stored  in  the  warehouses  located  in  the  custom-house  is
under  the  direct  care  and  responsibility  of  the  customs  officials.  The
owners  are  allowed  the  privilege  of  verifying  goods  and  taking
samples,  but  the  merchandise  must  be  reexported  or  sent  forward  in
bond  in  the  same  condition  in  which  it  was  received.  Charges  for
storage  in  these  warehouses  are  fixed  at  1  centesimo  (one-fifth  of  a
cent)  per  day  for  each  bale,  crate,  or  case  weighing  not  more  than  1
quintal  (22Ò  pounds).  For  each  quintal  or  fraction  thereof  in
excess  the  charge  is  at  the  same  rate  of  1  centesimo  per  day.  The
?cale  of  charges  at  the  warehouses  owned  by  the  municipality  is  given
iu  a  pamphlet“  sent  herewith,  and  varies  according  to  the  class  of
merchandise  received.  This  pamphlet  also  gives  in  detail  the  rules
governing  the  service  rendered.  Most  goods  are  stored  in  these  warehouses. ­

.  Receipts  at  the  custom-house  warehouses  are  not  important,  varyll
 )g,  as  they  do,  from  $800  to  $900  annually;  expenditures  can  not  be
(Oven.  The  municipal  warehouses  have  a  gross  income  of  from
$8,000  to  $9,000  a  year  and  expend  about  $3,000  for  management,  etc.
Drugs  and  spices,  liquors,  grain,  paraffin,  fabrics,  machinery,
chemical  products,  oils,  varnishes,  and  spirits  are  the  chief  goods
Placed  in  storage.  American  products  warehoused  are  principally
cotton-seed  oil,  wheat,  corn,  paraffin,  agricultural  implements,  and
sewing  machines.  Merchandise  deposited  in  the  custom-house
Warehouses  is  classified,  as  it  is  expressed,  as  being  in  either  direct  or
temporary  custody.  Under  temporary  custody  it  is,  as  a  rule,  withdrawn ­
  in  a  few  days,  but  in  any  case  is  not  allowed  to  remain  more
|han  three  months.  Under  direct  custody  the  limit  is  two  years.  At
the  Punto  Franco  there  is  no  limit  as  to  the  time  goods  may  remain
store.  »
,  All  nationalities  are  treated  alike  in  the  custom-house  warehouses,
hut  in  those  owned  by  the  municipality  only  goods  coming  from  those
countries  with  which  the  State  has  a  commercial  convention  are
admitted.  Actually,  this  rule  excludes  from  the  privilege  of  storage
a U  merchandise  coming  from  Portugal,  Canada,  Australia,  and  India,
a nd  certain  classes  of  goods  from  Spain.
.  The  cost  of  removal  from  steamer  to  warehouse  is  from  $1.55  to
$1-75  per  gross  ton  for  goods  which  it  is  necessary  to  weigh  on
?cales.  Coal,  grain,  and  similar  merchandise,  the  weight  of  which
ls  estimated  by  measure,  pays  from  97  cents  to  $1.16  the  ton.  Vice
V( Wsa,  from  warehouse  to  ship,  the  expense  is  from  37  to  58  cents
a  ton.
p  Goods  stored  in  the  custom-house  warehouses,  as  well  as  at  the
.unto  Franco,  are  guarded  night  and  day  by  the  custom-house  offi-?
 la ls,  and  in  the  latter  case  also  by  municipal  guards.  Bonded  warehouses ­
  owned  by  individuals  or  firms  do  not  exist  here,  although
s °me  of  the  larger  importing  firms  lease  rooms  or  space  by  the  year
°Ou  ine  in  the  Bureau  of  Statistics,  Department  of  Commerce  and  Labor.