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ORIGIN OF THE BREMEN COTTON EXCHANGE

DÜRING the war of 1870/71 the cotton trade had suffered a serious relapse, but shortly afterwards, the Bremen people began seriously to consider means and ways to put the trade on a proper footing.

The industry had expanded, and the occasional diance business had been replaced by a more regulär and closer connection with the Spinners. The main thing to do now, was to find a proper basis upon which a regulär market could be built up. The various questions of law had to be ad= justed in a broad minded manner, to suit the particular need of the cotton market. Liverpool offered a good example for this, as there, everything had been adapted to the pecu= liarities of the cotton trade.

Here, in Bremen, first of all, the credit system had to be abolished. It was manifestly impossible to increase the import, as long as the importer was obliged to seil the cotton on 3—4 months open credit.

A good stock of cotton is the first necessity for a market of any importance, but how to obtain it, if the needful capital is lacking to pay for the cotton? The risk of the great price fluctuations, which are indigenous to cotton,

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