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December, 1918 THE MARINE REVIEW A FEW GERMAN MERCHANTMEN IN PORT. THE COMPANIES OWNING THESE ARE NOW INCREASING THEIR CAPITAL on the amount of subsidy that the German government intends to grant under her new reconstruction . act. Neither can the amount of tonnage that will be built thereunder be esti- mated, although $250,000,000 has been hinted at as the total amount. of subsidy. The vessels built under this war subsidy will be required to carry cargoes of raw materials to Germany, and export her manufactured prod- ucts to help re-establish German credit abroad. The government has put a stop to and cancelled all con- tracts with subsidy vessels for the carriage of goods which had been in Piect since Deco 1, 1916. Adjudications under the terms. of peace will be a determining factor in Germany's case and it is with the full knowledge of this that the imperial German government is striving for a peace which will leave her a free hand that she once more may em- bark upon her scheme of dominance of the world trade. 'Peace now would not greatly cripple her in this ambi- tion. As a matter of fact it would enable her rapidly to restore her mer- chant fleet. Powerful Export Company With this possibility in mind a pow- erful export trade organization has been organized in Germany. It is known as Aktien-Gesselschaft fur In- und Auslands-Unternehumngen, pat- terned evidently after the British Trade corporation and the American International Corp. It is capitalized at 25,000,000 marks and is to under- take the+ construction anid operation of railroads, irrigation plants, harbors, electric plants, as well as factories; to operate plantations and mines; and to form and participate in subsidiary conicernis. Among the firms interested in this new German corporation is Hugo Stinnes (Ltd.), the same Hugo Stinnes, it is understood, who fath- ered the Richard G.. Wagner enter- 'prise in America. He tried to dis- guise his German ships under new names, obtain American registries and thereby keep them in profitable em- ployment until after the war and ermany would need them again. When the alien property: custodian took over the Wigner ships, because they were enemy property, it. was disclosed that not only had° the Ger- mans 'been striving to put their ex- isting ships in service under the pro- tection of neutral flags but that they also «were. building new tonnage in German yards for this same purpose. The Germam export trade organiza- tion has directors from the Nord- deutsche bank, Dresdner bank, ~ the Hamburg-American line, Hugo Stinnes (Ltd.), Rheinish-Westphalian Coal syndicate, Krupps, and Siemens & Schukert. In addition, 1@ is: report. ed, there has been some movement in trading circles for the 'establish- ment of a special bank for export trade, on the ground that after the war the smaller German concerns may be unable to get the acceptance credits they formerly enjoyed in coun- tries now at war with Germany. German bankers are nevertheless preparing to take care of the require- ments of the trade of their country, as is evidenced in the many banking amalgamations effected during the war. The Deutsche bank has ab- sorbed the ('Schilesischer Bankverein and the Norddeutsche Kreditanstalt. This. amalgamation, it is felt, was for' the purpose of extending the sphere of activity of the Deutsche bank into the eastern provinces of Silesia, Pomerania, Posen and East and West Prussia. As' a result of this invasion of the eastern provinces by the Deutsche bank, the Danzinger Privatbank. has entered into closer relations with the Berliner Handels- gesiellschaft. Banks Prepare for Peace According to more recent reports the Disconto-Gesellschaft is taking over five provincial banks in central and western Germany, which is re- garded as a continuation of the policy underlying the absorption of -- the Schaffhausener Bankverein in 1914 anid of the Konigsberg Bankverein in 1916. The Dresdner bank, it is said, has greatly improved its representa- tion in the Rhineland and Westphalia by the absorption of the Rheinisch- Westfalische Disconto-Gesellschaft in Aix-la-Chapelle, with a capital of 95,- 000,000 marks and valuable connec- tions in textile and other industries. The . wat has,. it would appear, closely allied if not amalgamated the various industrial and financial fac- tors in Germany and that will give the Germans a greater recuperative force when the war is over. There © have been advocates of building a large canal connecting the Rhine and Danube rivers inasmuch as it has ap- peared that Germany's industrial strength will lean in that direction for some years to come. This project has 'been spoken of as the Danube- Main canal, and a company for its construction has been organized known as the Aschaffenburg-Nurn- berg-Passau. It was" organized in December, 1917, with a capital of 5,000,000 marks, and a board of direc- tors on 'which the German empire, Bavaria and Baden are represented. This projected canal is intended for large vessels. ' Gets Ready for Trade Another project which has 'been frequently mentioned is the comple- tion of the Mittellandkanal, which is to connect Hanover with Magdeburg and to supplement the rail transporta- tion facilities between the east and the west. The construction of new waterways to promote the economic relations with the Baltic provinces has also been advocated as a part of the economic expansion of Germany toward the east. One of the most prominent bank amalgamations was evidently prompt- toration. This was the agreement entered into by the Austrian Cred- itanstalt in Vienna and the Hun- garian Allgeneine Credit-Bank in Bu- dapest with the Disconto-Gesellshaft and Norddeutsche bank for closer relations in regard to overseas trade. These agreements will give the Aus- trian and Hungarian institutions rep- resentation on the boards of some of the South American branches of the Disconto-Gesellschaft. These activities looking to the res- toration of German commerce mean the new American merchant marine may expect to meet with severe com- petition im the ocean-carrying trade. This will '\be a competition 'backed by the old enemies of America and for that reason it will be the more severe.