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Miscellaneous
No 324.
THE INTERNATIONAL ORGANIZATION OF THE FRANKFORT METAL TRADE.
[Translation of an article by Professor Liefmann in Weltwirtschaftliches Archiv., January, 1913; Vol. I., Part I., pages 108-121.]
THE question as to which might be the most inter- national branch of German commercial enterprise. cannot well be answered summarily. There are several standpoints from which this question might be viewed. Numerous branches of industry-above all the chemical industry-have their markets all over the world; our leading steamship companies encircle the globe with their lines, their agencies, and representa- tives; and our export trade penetrates into all the inhabited regions of the world in order to open up new markets for German products. Quite a different point of view of the international-economical relations of some branch of business than that of the sale of its products is the one regarding the internationalism of its enterprises; and it is just in this particular respect that new and interesting forms have developed owing to the growth of international-economical relations, The internationalism of commercial undertakings takes, in these days especially, the form of daughter companies, that is to say, the participation in foreign enterprises. It is the modern stock trade system or stock capitalism which enables close relations with enterprises in foreign countries, and brings about a more intensive international combination of enterprises than was possible in former times. In earlier years large manufacturing companies and commercial firms had their branch houses, their representatives, and agencies abroad; nor were participations in oversea firms a rare occurrence. These forms of international- economical relations are, of course, still practised: but the purely stock-capitalistic partnership of German firms in foreign enterprises becomes more and more frequent. If such participation takes the form of a control of the foreign undertaking, the financial and economical management is guaranteed by the home firm in spite of the apparent independence of the foreign firm. In this way, by a stock-capitalistic participation and control of foreign enterprises, the most international among the modern business branches have obtained their international-economical position
If one considers the question concerning the most international branches of business from this point of view, there is no doubt about the fact that there the electrical industry takes the first place. The great German electro-technical works-above all the Allge- meine Elektrizitaetgesellschaft and Siemens & Пalske -have spread their business abroad like no other branch of business (excepting not even the American electrical industry), they having erected electricity works in various countries all over the world.
Of a great many of these undertakings they are partners, and since they could not effect the establishment of the same and the participation in them with their own