EUROPK: I-.KLCIUM. 



73 



mercial representatives having a knowledge of the French language, 

 with a complete line of samples (not illustrated catalogues), so as to 

 familiarize the trade with our products, and offer the same condi- 

 tions as are extended by other countries, a large percentage of the 

 paper trade on this market might be controlled by American manu- 

 facturers. 



KINDS OF PAPER EXPORTED. 



These include wall paper, cardboard, printing, writing, wrap- 

 ping, drawing paper, and vegetable parchment paper. 



PRICES AT POINT OF SHIPMENT. 



Ordinary Belgian wall paper sells at from 2 to 15 cents per roll 

 of 8 meters (8.75 yards); cardboard, at 3 cents per kilogram (2.2046 

 pounds) ; wrapping paper, from i^ to 3^ cents per pound; vegeta- 

 ble parchment paper for packing purposes varies in price, according 

 to quality, from 10 to n cents per pound; paper for sugar refineries, 

 68 cents per kilogram ; paper for woolen and other mills, from 29 

 to 39 cents per kilogram, according to quality and thickness; imita- 

 tion leather and oilcloth, from 24 to 34 cents per kilogram. 



There are no export duties or tariffs on paper. 



TRANSPORTATION FACILITIES. 



The present conditions for transportation of goods in Belgium 

 and to other countries are considered excellent. Goods coming from 

 the United States to this country are landed directly on the docks 

 at Antwerp, and are shipped to the interior towns and cities by rail- 

 roads and canals. There are four rivers in Belgium the Scheldt, 

 Meuse, Sambre, and Rupel navigable for large boats and a number 

 of canals navigable for small boats. The connections between Ant- 

 werp and the cities of Brussels, Ghent, Bruges, Louvain, Mons, 

 Charleroi, Tournai, Namur, and a number of small towns are by 

 water. Most all the heavy freight is transported by water and the 

 light freight by railroad. The connections by railroad are from 

 Antwerp to Malines, Brussels, Mons, and Paris, France; Antwerp to 

 Malines, Louvain, Liege, Verviers, and into Germany via Cologne; 

 Antwerp to Termonde, Ghent, Bruges, and Ostende; Antwerp to 

 Ghent and Lille, France; Antwerp to Brussels and Basel, Switzer- 

 land. 



There are six lines of ocean vessels plying between Belgium and 

 the United States: 



Red Star Line, Antwerp to New York and Philadelphia, weekly; 

 passengers and freight; length of passage, from nine to eleven days. 



