Syria: An Economic Survey 



Carpentry and turnery are in a very undeveloped state. The 

 native population uses no furniture. What furniture there is is 

 mostly imported from Europe, or else made in Jaffa or Beirut. 

 There are practically no turneries except in Jerusalem, where 

 candlesticks, etc., are made from olive wood by Jewish turners. 

 The manufacture of cases for the orange trade has attained con- 

 siderable dimensions. As none of the cases are returned, except 

 those sent to Egypt, they have to be made every year. Shortly 

 before the war a factory was founded in Jaffa where cases were 

 made from eucalyptus wood. 



Pottery is made throughout the land by the Arabs. Two kilo- 

 meters from Jerusalem, on the Jaffa Road, there is a large claypit. 



Basket and mat weaving is engaged in by the natives. On the 

 Lake of Merom the women weave mats of papyrus. 



III. Abortive Attempts to Introduce Industries. 



Syria is, industrially speaking, a new country, and has to meet 

 the problem of establishing an economic and industrial equilibrium. 

 A country which wants to build up its industry must have a pro- 

 tective tariff in order to compete with established industries. This 

 Syria has not had up to now. Besides, the following points must 

 be taken into consideration : 



(1.) Raw products of good quality must be obtainable in the 

 country in sufficient quantities and at a reasonable price; 



(2.) There should be as great a demand as possible for the 

 manufactured products in the country itself; 



(3.) The newly introduced industries must be conducted 

 according to the most up-to-date methods ; 



(4.) A factory must be so located that the cost of transport- 

 ing the raw material to it and the finished product from it be as 

 small as possible ; 



(5.) The invested capital must be large enough to allow for 

 unexpected difficulties. Similarly, the working capital must be 

 larger than in European concerns, to allow for delays in financial 

 operations ; 



(6.) The undertaking must not be planned on too small a 

 scale, for otherwise the administrative expenses weigh too heavily 

 upon the undertaking; 



(7.) It is an important question whether industrial enter- 

 prises should be under European or native management. Gener- 



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