Article May 23, 1903 Issue

Extracts from Consular Reports

A. M. THAKARA, consul at Havre, says in regard to the metric system in France:—

"The sooner American exporters learn the metric system of measurement, the better chance they will have of successfully meeting foreign competition in the French markets. For example: Austrian oak in France commands a higher price than American oak, and is used in preference, although in many cases the former is not as good as the American wood. The reason is that the Austrian shippers are careful in having their wood sawed to the metric dimensions called for by the French consumers, while the American shippers send their wood sawed to inches. There may not be much difference in the measurements, but there is enough to make the French cabinet-maker prefer the Austrian oak. The French customs law permits the free entry of certain woods if they are sawed to more than 2 decimeters (7.87 inches) square in the logs. If the logs measure even a small fraction under the above dimensions, they have to pay a duty of 1.50 francs (28.9 cents) per 100 kilograms (220.46 pounds). Frequently, owing to careless sawing and unfamiliarity with metric measurements, American shippers send logs to Havre which measure less than 7.87 inches, perhaps at one end only, which forces the consignee to pay the duty on the whole log."

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