GERMANY. 



317 



marily by the reduction of the duties on cereals, 

 especially wheat, for which the Russian Empire 

 had to seek an outlet, since the adoption of the 

 commercial treaties with Austria had virtually 

 excluded Russia from competing with the for- 

 mer country in the German wheat trade. The 

 Agrarians accused the Government of sacrificing 

 the agricultural interests in favor of the manu- 

 facturing industries, which were to receive im- 

 portant concessions under the new treaty, and it 

 is questionable whether the treaty would have 

 been adopted by the Reichstag had* it not been 

 for the constant and hard work of the Govern- 

 ment officials, and particularly the personal in- 

 fluence of the Emperor Wilhelm, who on more 

 than one occasion gave the Deputies to under- 

 stand that it was his greatest desire to see the 

 proposed treaty become an accomplished fact, 

 and it was known that dissolution of the Reichs- 

 tag would follow the rejection of the treaty. 

 On March 16, 1894, the treaty was finally adopted 

 by the Reichstag by a large majority. It was at 

 the adoption of Article I of the treaty, how- 

 ever, that the real strength of the parties for 

 and against the treaty appeared, which article 

 was adopted by a vote of 200 against 146. The 

 majority was composed of the Radical parties, 

 the Social Democrats, the Poles, the Alsatians, 

 the greater number of the Ultramontanes or 

 Clericals, artd the National Liberals, 9 Free Con- 

 servatives, 2 Conservatives, and several members 

 belonging to no party. The minority consisted 

 of the bulk of the Conservatives and Free Con- 

 servatives, 38 Clericals, 16 National Liberals, the 

 members of the Bavarian Peasants' League, and 

 3 independent members. The treaty went into 

 effect on March 20, 1894, and remains in force 

 until Dec. 31, 1903. It is based on the most- 

 favored-nation clause, so that Russia will enjoy 

 the advantages granted in the respective treaties 

 to Austria-Hungary, Italy, Belgium, Switzer- 

 land, Romnania, Servia, and Spain. Germany 

 grants a reduction of the duties on cereals, mak- 

 ing that tariff 3| marks a quintal, and also re- 

 duces her tariff on cattle and timber. Russia 

 reduces her general tariff of 1891, among others, 

 on the following articles : Certain textile prod- 

 ucts, such as woolen, plush, velvet, knit and 

 woven goods ; paper articles ; leather wares ; 

 cabinet work ; ceramic products ; fancy articles : 

 musical instruments ; chemical products ; minerals 

 and coal; iron, steel, tin, and copper wares of 

 every kind, including rails and agricultural ma- 

 chines ; clockwork ; starch ; vegetables ; and hops. 

 The tariff on hops is reduced from 10 to 3-J- 

 gold rubles a pood, and the duties on coal and 

 electrical cables 50 per cent. Russia agrees to 

 accept the German gold currency in payment 

 of customs dues at the rate of l',000 marks to 

 308 gold rubles. In addition to the above- 

 mentioned tariff reductions Germany is entitled 

 to the rates of the Franco-Russian commercial 

 treaty of 1893, in so far as they are lower than 

 those of the present agreement. 



Aside from the reduction of the customs duties, 

 the treaty deals with the reciprocal treatment 

 of subjects of the two countries on the basis of 

 the most-favored-nation clause. Jewish emi- 

 grants of Russian origin may return to Russia 

 if they are provided with a Russian passport 

 and have not sojourned in Germany for more 



than a month. Goods in transit are free from 

 duty, unless they are articles of state monopoly 

 in the country through which they pass, or are 

 objectionable on sanitary or other similar 

 grounds. Ships and cargoes are reciprocally 

 free from extra harbor, tonnage, or other dues, 

 with the exception of special concessions in 

 favor of the national fishing and mercantile fleets 

 of either country. No discrimination shall be 

 made in freight rates of the railroads by reason 

 of the nationality of the shipper in either coun- 

 try. Russia agrees to reduce her tariff on cer- 

 tain articles when imported overland to corre- 

 spond with the duties imposed on the same 

 articles when imported by way of the Baltic 

 ports, where hitherto there was a distinction 

 made in favor of the same articles when im- 

 ported by way of the Baltic ports ; and f urther- 

 more agrees not to impose any differential tariff 

 for the import trade of the Baltic and the Sea of 

 Azov, reserving such rights, however, with re- 

 spect to the Caucasian coast and the Black Sea. 

 Germany, on the other hand, agrees not to make 

 any more favorable tariff on any of the frontiers 

 of the empire than those existing between the 

 two countries on the boundary line of Germany 

 and Russia. The two contracting parties pledge 

 themselves to regulate the railroad freight rates, 

 and to endeavor to introduce a direct freight 

 tariff, especially on the lines leading to the Ger- 

 man ports of Dantzic and Konigsberg. The 

 present treaty applies to Finland as far as possi- 

 ble, but, inasmuch as the Finnish custom duties 

 are lower in a good many instances than those 

 agreed upon in this treaty, the Russian Govern- 

 ment intends to raise those duties to the level of 

 those agreed upon, but this change will not be 

 made until 1898. In order to appease the anger 

 of the Conservatives the German Government 

 abolished the rule demanding absolute proof of 

 the foreign origin of cereals intended for re-ex- 

 port. Under the new law the proof is dispensed 

 with, and all exporters of cereals, whether home 

 grown or foreign, are entitled to a certificate 

 authorizing them to import an equal quantity 

 free of duty. 



Bimetallism in Germany. Bimetallism 

 has been for years a burning question in Euro- 

 pean countries as well as in the United States. 

 International conventions have been held in 

 Paris and in Brussels, but no remedy has been 

 found to stop the downward tendency of the 

 value of silver, nor have the different countries 

 been able to agree to the establishment of bi- 

 metallism. The question of bimetaillism has 

 long been an important one in Germany, and its 

 adherents never have neglected an opportunity 

 to demand from the Government co-operation 

 with other countries for the reform of the cur- 

 rency on a bimetallic basis. The action of Great 

 Britain in closing the silver mints in India and 

 that of the United States in repealing the Sher- 

 man act, both in 1893, induced the German 

 Government to appoint a silver commission 

 "for the discussion of measures to raise and 

 establish the value of silver." The commission 

 consisted of 16 members, 4 of whom were bi- 

 metallists, 4 were supporters of the gold cur- 

 rency, and 8 were impartial. The president of 

 the commission was Dr. Koch, director of the 

 Imperial Bank. Of the bimetallists of the Com- 



