May 4, 1916 
LAND & WATER 
^7 
German Trade Methods 
By Arthur Kitson 
THE question has often been asked, " By what 
means has Germany been able to secure in so 
short a space of time so large a proportion of the 
world's trade ? " Most writers who have dealt 
with this subject attribute her success to one or more 
of the following factors : First, to the intelligence and 
industry of the (icrman people themselves, secondly, to 
Iheir superior system of education, and particularly to 
their technical methods of training, thirdly, to their 
system of trade protection, and fourthly, to the encourage- 
ment and assistance that they have always had from 
their rulers. 
The Germans themselves have often explained their 
tolerance of so autocratic a Government as theirs by 
claiming that the Kaiser is the best trade organiser and 
sales-agent in the whole German Empire. 
There is a fifth reason which is often alleged, namely 
tlieir financial system, under which their bankers have 
always been ready to associate themselves with (German 
industries, and to furnish capital to any extent for the 
development of such enterprises as promised success. 
No doubt, all these reasons are valid, and German trade 
is an example of what a nation can accomplish when it 
is thoroughly united and organised for industrial purposes. 
There are, however, other factors of quite a different 
character. The Germans have been taught from infancy 
up, that the principal aim in hfe is to achieve success 
in whatever occupation they may be employed. They 
have also been taught that " the end justifies the means." 
No Jesuit ever believed more strongly in this doctrine than 
the present inhabitants of Germany. Every conceivable 
method of obtaining and developing trade, whether 
moral or immoral — whether praiseworthy or contemptible 
^is considered legitimate. Methods which other na- 
tions would regard as treacherous and infamous are per- 
•missible among the modern Huns. Many of these 
methods have already been brought to light since the 
war started. Many others are known only to those who 
have had extensive dealings with German houses and 
have not hitherto been published. 
Trade Spies 
We now know that the shoals of young Germans who 
prior to the war came to this country, to our Colonies, to 
France, to Italy, to Russia and other countries were trade 
spies employed under the direction of the German Govern- 
ment to secure all the information they could regarding 
foreign trade, which information they placed from time to 
time at the disposal of the German authorities 
Every town was encouraged to send so many of its- 
most intelligent youths to foreign countries to seek em- 
ployment in any and every kind of industry and business 
which they desired to follow. Being supported by their 
townspeople, they were in a position to offer their services 
free, their professed motives being merely to learn the 
language of the country. They were instructed to send 
weekly reports to the German authorities, giving a full 
description and information of the kind of business in 
which they were employed, with every detail as to output, 
methods and costs of manufacture, inethods of payment, 
prices, discounts, with the names of the customers of each 
firm with whom they were employed. Any private 
business letters that they could secure they were expec- 
ted to copy, particularly letters from foreign cHents, 
with the nature of the enquiries, special terms asked or . 
offered, and amount of orders, etc. In some cases, these 
youths were instructed to secure samples of the goods 
made by their employers and to send them to Germany. 
In this way, the whole business arrangements and methods 
of foreign firms became known to the German manu- 
facturers, with the result that they merely had to pro- 
duce articles of a similar nature, or if possible with some 
improvement, and offer them at better terms to the clients 
of these foreign firms in order to secure such foreign 
trade. Gernvan firms were given to understand by their 
Government that any financial assistance they might 
require for the purpose of ousting their foreign com- 
petitors in the markets of the world would be granted 
them. They were instructed to undersell foreigners 
whei-ever it was necessary. They were told to give 
longer credit and to do everything in their power to 
convince the foreign purchasers and consumers that 
German methods and German goods were superior in 
every way to those of all other nations. 
Secret Subsidies 
It has been stated that at least one school of languages 
was subsidised by the German Government in order 
that its employees should send to Germany copies 
of correspondence given them by foreign firms for 
translation. It has been a custom with many British 
and foreign houses to send their foreign letters to 
such schools for the purpose of translation. Con- 
sequently, it was a very simple matter for the trans- 
lators — if they were unscrupulous enough — to make and 
send copies to Germany. Such correspondence, naturally, 
was often of a very private character, containing details of 
the foreign markets and of the needs of various foreign 
purchasers, all of which would be of enormous value to 
the Germans. 
Another method that the Germans have practised, 
was to send their representatives abroad to secure agencies 
for British, French, Austrian, Italian, American and other 
goods. These representatives would, for example, locate 
themselves in London or Manchester, and having secured 
the agencies for various British manufacturers for British 
speciahties, they would endeavour to work up a trade in 
these articles within Great Britain itself. Having estab- 
lished themselves and become known to the particular 
.trade in which they were engaged, having opened up a 
business with the British public, they would send the 
samples of these British-made goods to Germany and 
have them manufactured there, import them, and con- 
tinue to supply their British customers with these imita- 
tions of British goods, until finally the British manu- 
facturers would find their trade practically destroyed in 
their own country by their own agents. That these 
methods not only received the sanction of the German 
Government, and the so-called " higher classes " in 
Germany, is quite credible to those familiar with justice, 
as understood and administered in the Fatherland. 
Some years ago, I was represented in South Germany 
by an agent who had been introduced to me as an ex- 
tremely able and rehable man. After some months 
experience with him, I discovered he had been obtaining 
money under false pretences and had apparently forged 
my signature to documents which he had drawn up, 
giving himself the right to negotiate certain patents 
which I owned. On the strength of these documents, 
he had secured the payment of a large sum of money. 
The matter was brought to the attention of the Public 
Prosecutor of the city in which this man resided, and my 
solicitor petitioned for the man's arrest. The Public 
Prosecutor enquired the name of the prosecutor, and when 
he discovered that I was an Englishman, he refused to 
issue the warrant. When my solicitor expressed surprise, 
the prosecutor suggested that I should assign my claim to 
a German subject. 
" I am not going to arrest a German at the instigation 
of a foreigner," said he. 
German Justice 
I had an acquaintance residing in that city — a German 
Baron — a very well-known public man, and I informed 
him of the decision of the Public Posecutor, whereupon 
he offered to take the claim. He informed me that he also 
had been victimised by this same agent, and that he had 
hesitated to prosecute him as he had known his father. 
However, he forwarded my claim, together with his own, 
and on his complaint the agent was arrested and kept iii 
prison without trial for a week. At the end of the week, 
the Baron was summoned by telephone to appear at the 
