and the industry of furniture making has now reached a point where in workmanship, quality, material, and speed of production, the native industry, having in mind the low cost of labor in Rumania and the premium on imports from "high valuta" countries, can compete very well with foreign products. It seems to be the opinion of these dealers, further, that future importations of furniture into Rumania will be practically limited to articles made of varieties of lumber not produced in the country and to such metal articles and parts as Rumanian factories are unable to turn out. They believe also that most of the iron furniture needed will be produced at home, although work in bronze will continue to be imported, since Rumanians have not this metal at home. Iron tables, or tables with steel clamps, are still being imported from Austria, Germany, and Czechoslovakia, as are also the ornaments for metal furniture. Plain furniture of metal, however, such as bedsteads, garden equipment, outdoor restaurant chairs, and other simple articles, are manufacturėd in the country. Folding chairs for medical and dental purposes are imported.

Generally speaking, Rumanian merchants do not know American furniture very well. Certain well-established makes of American office equipment, however, are known and highly valued, although very little used owing to price.

Credit is not generally extended in furniture transactions with domestic customers, except those having a high commercial rating, and so very little business is done with firms abroad that no general statement can be made.

Church furniture is largely manufactured by the so-called "schools of handicraft." These are under the supervision, and even operation, of the state, and the workmen therein are trained professionally for this particular purpose.

In most cases manufacturers have stores in the large cities in which they sell their products. The entire operation of manufacturing and marketing is done by the same persons.

BULGARIA

United States exports of wood and metal furniture to Bulgaria have been too small to warrant separate enumeration. The Bulgarian import restriction law, moreover, has prohibited the importation of all wood and iron furniture except for medical use. But even before this law went into effect (January 17, 1924) the amount of furniture imported was insignificant, on account of the prohibitive duties provided for in the tariff act of 1922. Under these circumstances it has been found expedient to depend on the local furniture factories and carpenter shops in supplying furniture. This handicap, together with the adverse rate of exchange, has brought imported furniture to a much higher price level than the locally made product.

While some furniture is made in Bulgarian factories, a great deal of it comes from small carpenter shops, of which there are probably several hundred in Sofia alone.. Each furniture dealer usually de

pends on certain shops to supply him with furniture for sale, and he usually keeps them informed as to how much and what kind of furniture to deliver to him. All household and office furniture is supplied in this way. Boards imported largely from Czechoslovakia are used in making the better grades of furniture. The furniture most generally made in this country is of poor quality and workmanship.

Institutions such as hospitals, schools, theaters, and churches usually procure their furniture through bids, but such bids are always made in the local market without foreign competition. Those institutions which are owned by the Government have the privilege of free importation of supplies, but it is the Government's policy to consider bids from local sources only, unless the type of furniture can not be produced in the country.

Practically no metal furniture is made in Bulgaria, and very little is used. Folding chairs and tables of iron were imported many years ago, before the present high duties were imposed. About half of the metal furniture came from Germany. Many upholstery shops have been opened recently which import the upholstery materials and fix them on locally made frames.

So long as the present import restrictions and high duties remain in force it will be impossible for American furniture exporters to enter the Bulgarian market. Until the country's agricultural, industrial, political, and financial conditions improve, moreover, there will be little purchasing power to buy the high-grade American article.

POLAND

Poland offers a better market for American metal furniture. especially for office use, than for wooden appurtenances, as there is a well-established furniture industry in that country.

WOOD FURNITURE

Wood furniture of all varieties is manufactured in Poland and the domestic demand is largely satisfied locally, Poland being wel! supplied with furniture woods, especially oak and beech. Moreover, Polish industry, only fairly developed, lends itself more readily to the manufacture of an article such as wood furniture. in which a great deal of the work can be done in small shops by hand.rather than to more complicated manufactures requiring large amounts of highly specialized machinery. In addition, Polish labor. underpaid as compared with standards in the United States, and of only average skill, can be used to good advantage in the furniture industry, the more so since the average article of furniture made in Poland is generally of simple variety and only average finish. About 200 shops, mostly small, with a few dozens of workmen each. are engaged in the manufacture of wood furniture, a large part of which is exported.

METAL FURNITURE

Polish manufactures of metal furniture are limited and are mostly confined to such articles as table and chair parts, beds, washstands, garden furniture, and simple and generally used items of

hospital and laboratory equipment. Demand for such special metal articles as are not manufactured in Poland is largely supplied from Germany, for while the latter has lost its price advantage German manufacturers are still able to retain most of the business because of their established connections and their offers of unusual credit terms. Moreover, Polish merchants prefer to purchase after examination of samples, which if not available in Warsaw can easily be seen in Berlin, less than a 24-hour journey distant.

Before the war the Polish metal-furniture industry was largely organized for exports to Russia, which amounted in value to about 10,000,000 rubles annually. Since the war, this outlet being cut off, the Poles have exported in reduced amounts to Roumania and the Baltic States.

REED FURNITURE

Reed furniture is made to a limited extent in Poland in connection with basket manufacture, raw materials (willow reeds) being very plentiful. The industry is unorganized, however, and figures are lacking. Manufacture takes place mainly in homes or in very small shops. It is centralized in Galicia, where sometimes whole villages are engaged in reed manufactures of various kinds, chiefly baskets. Efforts have been made to organize exports of reed manufactures, but have so far failed, due to the large number of small exponents engaged in the trade. Such exports as are organized pass mostly through the Syndicate Koszkarski of Cracow. Exports of reed furniture are small and go chiefly to France, Austria, and Germany. Specific distribution figures are unobtainable, since trade figures for Poland lump reed furniture with other reed manufactures. Total exports of reed manufactures for the first 11 months of 1923 were 835 tons, with a value of 824,000 gold francs, going mostly to Austria (359 tons) and Germany (262 tons). Exports to the United States in 1923 amounted in value to about $10,564, of which approximately per cent was reed furniture.

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KINDS OF FURNITURE

HOUSEHOLD FURNITURE

Household furniture (including porch and lawn furniture) bulks large in Polish furniture manufactures. For the most part, designs are simple and the finish is only ordinary. Manufacture, except in certain specialized branches, is mostly for the domestic market. Imports are unimportant.

Fine furniture is found only in the homes of the very wealthy. A small quantity of this is manufactured in Poland. Imports have been mostly for style and have come largely from France and Austria. One Polish firm specializes in this type of furniture, seeking to inaugurate new variations and never manufacturing two sets alike. This firm, whose production follows largely French lines (Louis XV), exports to Rumania and England and even to Japan.

Mission furniture and leather-covered furniture are only made on special order and are used in almost negligible quantity, being quite beyond the general purchasing power.

OFFICE FURNITURE

Polish office furniture is almost entirely of wood and is manufactured locally. A small amount of special design has been imported from the United States. Styles are simple and finish is average. Oak furniture and imitation mahogany are most popular. One local firm, composed of Polish Americans, has met with considerable success in manufacturing American patterns with Polish materials and workmen. However, production costs have lately so advanced as a result of the shift of values to a gold basis that this firm is now investigating the possibility of importing the cheaper grades of American office furniture from the United States. This possibility, however, seems doubtful, as an examination of price lists shows the Poles still to have a decided price advantage.

HOSPITAL AND LABORATORY FURNITURE

Furniture of this type made from wood is mainly supplied locally. There are also considerable domestic manufactures of metal furni

One large firm, which formerly catered to the Russian market, is exporting to Rumania, Siberia, and the Baltic States. This firm secures practically all necessary raw material in Poland. Prod ucts consist mostly of the simpler forms of hospital and laboratory furniture such as beds, plain operating tables, iron stands, iron tables, etc. Specialty articles not manufactured in Poland are largely secured from Germany.

Business in this line of furniture is at present reported as very dull. One reason is the reduced export demand. Another reason is the almost desperate financial condition of the local general hospitals. While at present the situation is somewhat improved, certain Warsaw hospitals only a few months ago threatened to close because of insufficient funds.

SCHOOL FURNITURE

Polish school furniture is on the whole rather primitive. A few desks with wooden tops and metal sides are made, but most of the furniture is of wood, extending from wooden desks with seats in the better schools to rough benches made of unplaned boards of crudest construction found in the schools of the eastern districts. Practically all Polish school furniture is made in Poland. Where imports have been necessary these have come almost entirely from Germany. The Polish Government is the largest customer in the domestic market, and business is good now, due to the rapid expansion of the school system.

The Catholic schools are mostly in Galicia, in the form of convents for girls. Their orders for school furniture are almost entirely filled locally.

THEATER AND CHURCH FURNITURE

As compared with American standards, furniture appointments of Polish theaters are crude. Seats are usually bare and hard. There has been practically no construction of legitimate theaters since Poland's establishment, and what motion-picture theaters have been put up have supplied themselves generally with cheap furniture of local manufacture.

As regards church furniture, it should be noted that in Poland church appointments differ somewhat from those in the United States. Comparatively few seats or prayer desks are used, the people standing or kneeling on the bare floor. This is especially true in the smaller city or country churches. The Jewish synagogues use prayer desks bought locally. Church demands for furniture are usually filled by special order. However, since the reestablishment of Poland there has been practically no new church construction.

RESTAURANT AND CAFÉ FURNITURE

Furniture used in restaurants, cafés, etc., is also of local manufacture. This varies from wood frames with plush and leather upholsterings to simple cane chairs. A considerable portion of café furniture, especially as used for outside terraces, gardens, etc., is of simple metal construction produced in Poland.

AMERICAN COMPETITION

The possibility of American competition in the Polish furniture market is brightest in the metal line. Metal furniture for offices, in particular steel files, is little known in Poland, but as the purchasing power of the country, already recovering with the shift of values to a gold basis, becomes greater, Polish business men will undoubtedly be interested in better office methods and equipment.

As to the other lines of furniture, American competition will have to depend most on quality and upon novelty articles which can not be produced in Poland or imported to better advantage from European countries, especially Germany. This would apply especially to school and hospital and laboratory furniture and, to a certain extent, to household furniture. To compete with local manufactures in wood furniture of simple design and average quality would be extremely difficult.

Prices, if possible, should be quoted c. i. f. Danzig. Credit will undoubtedly be demanded by Polish buyers, but should be extended only after a thorough investigation has established the reliability of the latter.

By far the most important branch of Polish furniture manufacture, especially from the standpoint of export, is bent wood.

RAW MATERIALS

In the production of bent-wood furniture, mostly chairs and tables, Poland enjoys a large immediate and potential advantage in its extensive forests of beech, which forms the chief raw material. However, transportation difficulties, including high railway tariffs and the lack of sawmills, have lately limited available beech lumber at reasonable prices, and several Polish factories have been obtaining wood from Czechoslovakia and Rumania. Czechoslovakian imports have recently declined owing to increasing demands in Czechoslovakia. Polish forests are mainly in east Galicia and the eastern districts, and to a much lesser extent in the Radom district and in the Swietokrazisk Mountains. These forests form part of a belt extending through Poland, Czechoslovakia, Hungary, and Rumania,