254 



GERMANY. 



80,173,000 marks for petroleum, exports of fats 

 and oils, 31,272,000 marks; imports of chemicals, 

 drugs, and colors were 281,190,000 marks, and ex- 

 ports 377,842,000 marks; imports of stone, clay, 

 glass, and manufactures thereof were 71,803,000 

 marks, and exports 154,825,000 marks; imports of 

 metals, raw and manufactured, were 654,966,000 

 marks, and exports 739,391,000 marks; imports of 

 timber and wood manufactures were 396,349,000 

 marks, and exports 133,112,000 marks; imports of 

 paper and paper manufactures were 26,536,000 

 marks, and exports 103,443,000 marks; imports of 

 hides and leather were 248,991,000 marks, and ex- 

 ports 236,685,000 marks; imports of textile mate- 

 rials and manufactures were 1,092,424,000 marks, 

 and exports 890,682,000 marks; imports of rubber 

 and rubber goods were 68,614,000 marks, and ex- 

 ports 54,781,000 marks; imports of machinery and 

 instruments were 101,433,000 marks, and exports 

 2<>4.<.~>3.000 marks; imports of hardware and cut- 

 lery were 21,510,000 marks, and exports 106,483,000 

 marks; imports of books and art objects were 

 42.117.000 marks, and exports 136,191,000 marks; 

 miscellaneous exports, 826,000 marks. The value 

 of wheat imported was 231,447,000 marks; of rye, 

 102.595,000 marks; of barley, 132,776,000 marks. 

 The imports of coffee were 137,028,000 marks in 

 value. The value of raw hides imported was 

 141.479,000 marks. The main textile materials 

 imported were raw cotton for 250,792,000 marks, 

 wool for 241,406,000 marks, and raw silk for 103,- 

 135,000 marks, and 92,239,000 marks were paid for 

 imported woolen yarns. The chief exports of tex- 

 tile manufactures were woolen goods for 133,- 

 647.000 marks, mixed silk and cotton cloth for 

 103,192,000 marks, coarse cottons for 67,272,000 

 marks, and hosiery for 80,709,000 marks, and 

 trimmings and haberdashery were exported to the 

 amount of 96,661,000 marks. The exports of 

 leather goods were 76,548,000 marks in value; of 

 paper, 59.280,000 marks; of wooden wares, 66,- 

 715,000 marks. The value of aniline dyes ex- 

 ported was 71,950.000 marks. Coal exports 

 amounted to 200,493,000 marks. The exports of 

 sugar reached 212,357,000 marks; hop exports, 

 27.135,000 marks. Home manufactures and agri- 

 cultural products are encouraged by protective 

 duties, and on spirits, malt, salt, sugar, and to- 

 bacco internal taxes are levied. Of the total im- 

 ports in 1898 the value of 2,853,988,000 marks 

 paid duties amounting to 515,326,000 marks, an 

 average of 18.1 per cent, of the values of dutiable 

 goods; and the value of 2,585,688,000 marks were 

 free of duty. The imports of gold and silver in 

 1898, included under metals, were 337,372,000 

 marks; exports, 253,511,000 marks. 



The year 1899 was one of extraordinary busi- 

 ness activity in Germany, and was marked by a 

 general advance of prices, especially in coal and 

 iron, the increasing want of which was felt more 

 than at any time in the previous five years, and 

 was likely to become more acute on account of the 

 prospective rapid increase of the German navy. 

 The enhancement of prices was in part brought 

 about by the operation of combinations and rings 

 among producers, the number of which had in- 

 creased in three years from 350 to about 550. The 

 imports of iron and iron manufactures were 839.839 

 tons in 1899, an increase since 1897 of 275,094 tons 

 and an increase in value of 32.060,000 marks. The 

 imports of machinery and implements were 150,439 

 tons, an increase of 67,982 tons in quantity and 

 26.S55.000 marks in value. The exports of iron 

 and iron manufactures amounted to 1,509,887 tons 

 in 1899, an increase of 116,934 tons in quantity 

 and 82,001.300 marks in value: exports of ma- 

 chinery and implements were 283,245 tons, an in- 



crease of 72,727 tons and in value of 59,800,000 

 marks. The rapid growth of manufactures in 

 Germany has produced a dearth of both labor 

 and capital that tends to check continued ex- 

 pansion. The constant rise of industrial wages 

 has not only depleted the agricultural districts 

 of their laborers and diminished emigration, but 

 attracts laborers from Slavic countries and Italy. 

 The lack of capital has several times caused a 

 stringency in the money market, which may be 

 rendered acute when the Imperial Government ap- 

 plies for loans to build the new navy and the 

 Pruanan Government for the money to dig the 

 Midland Canal. 



The distribution of the special commerce of 1898 

 is shown in the following table, giving in marks the 

 value of imports from and exports to each country: 



Navigation. The German merchant navy, on 

 Jan. 1, 1899, comprised 2,490 sailing vessels, of 

 601,161 tons, and 1,223 steamers, of 1,038,391 tons; 

 total, 3,713 vessels, of 1,639,552 tons, counting all 

 seagoing craft of more than 17.65 tons, but not 

 vessels engaged in coasting and inland navigation, 

 of which, on Jan. 1, 1898, there were 22.564! of 

 3,371,247 tons. Of the sailing vessels trading with 

 foreign ports 431, of 48,861 tons, and of the steam- 

 ers 427, of 170,857 tons, belonged in the Baltic. 

 while 2,059 sailing vessels, of 552,300 tons, and 

 796 steamers, of 867,534 tons, belonged to North 

 Sea ports. The crews of the merchant vessels 

 numbered 43,146 men. Of the sailing vessels 578, 

 and of the steamers 1,214, were of iron or steel. 

 There were 46 sailing vessels and 303 steamers 

 over 2,000 tons, 211 sailing vessels and 195 steam- 

 ers between that and 1,000 tons, 107 sailing vessels 

 and 236 steamers from 500 to 1,000 tons, 339 

 sailing vessels and 343 steamers between 100 and 

 500 tons, and 1,787 sailing vessels and 146 steamers 

 under 100 tons. The length of navigable rivers in 

 Germany is 5,831 miles, not counting 1,371 miles 

 of canalized rivers; the length of canals, 1.452 

 miles. The Kaiser Wilhelm Ship Canal, connecting 

 the naval ports of Kiel and Wilhelmshaven, <il 

 miles long, with a breadth of 213 feet at the 

 surface and 72 feet at bottom and a depth of 

 29J feet, was built at a cost of 156,000,000 marks, 

 primarily to afford a safe and quick passage of 

 naval forces between the North Sea and the Hal- 

 tic. In aggregate tonnage the German commercial 

 marine stands second in the world, and its pro- 

 portion to that of the whole world has risen in 

 1 wetit y-five years from 5 to 9 per cent., the Ger- 

 man steam tonnage having increased tenfold. 



Railroads, Posts, and Telegraphs. The 

 mileage of completed railroads in Germany in- 



