withdrawn from America. There appears to be very little of our real estate owned by Englishmen except as William Waldorf Astor may be considered English.

Through the courtesy of Mr. Charles Boissevain of Amsterdam I have been furnished with the following remarkably explicit statement of Dutch holdings in America. It was drawn up by Adolph Boissevain & Co., who add that they thought these figures approximated very closely to the truth last fall, but that a few years earlier the Dutch interests might have amounted to fully $50,000,000, and perhaps $100,000,000 more. began to sell out during the panic of 1893.

DUTCH HOLDINGS OF AMERICAN SECURITIES.

Railroad bonds .....

Market Value.

$140,000,000

They

The great preponderance of railroad securities is shown here to advantage, but the total of United States, State, county, and municipal bonds is about three times that in England and proportionately thirty times as great. For the other items there are no sufficient data for comparison.

The Dutch seem to have begun their investments in the United States just at the close of the Revolution. They continued loaning large sums here until the overthrow of the Dutch Republic by the French Republic in the winter of 1794-1795. The indemnity of $40,000,000 which they had to pay at that time, together with the almost simultaneous failure of the Dutch East India Company, left them no money to spare for foreign investment for a long time after that. There is room for an interesting monograph on the history of Dutch investments in America, beginning with their own colony of New Netherland.

Next in importance to the Dutch investments are those of Germany. These began during the rebellion, when capitalists in the southern part of Germany began buying United States

bonds. It is a curious fact that these purchases were made almost wholly in the parts of Germany inhabited mainly by Roman Catholics. To within a decade almost all these purchases were made through bankers in Frankfurt on the Main, which is still the main center in Germany for American securities. When the United States bonds were paid off or refunded their holders generally reinvested in American railroad bonds.

At Frankfurt I had the pleasure of the coöperation of the two great banking houses of Jacob S. H. Stern and N. Speyer Ellison. They assured me that almost the first question asked by any investor concerning any security was whether it was listed, so that those quoted in the Kursblatt would cover nearly all German investments in America. They said also that there was almost no German money invested in American real estate or real estate mortgages, and very little in manufactures, and that German investments in banking were fairly offset by shares owned by partners resident in America.

We took up the securities listed in detail, making separate estimates on the amounts held in Germany of each group of securities mentioned, of which the holdings were likely to reach $1,000,000. The results were as follows:

ESTIMATES OF GERMAN HOLDINGS OF AMERICAN SECURITIES.

Beside these some fifteen other railroad companies were represented by one or more forms of securities and there were quotations of United States fours, Alabama fours, and bonds of two counties and nine cities.

I was told that it was very improbable that these items would in all add $15,000,000 to the total.

I was told that almost the only German operation in American securities not managed from Frankfurt had been the great investment in Northern Pacific, which had been carried out by the Deutsche Bank of Berlin. I was told also that the German holdings had been much greater two years earlier, but that this probably represented the condition of things about August 1st, 1899.

Allowing for a heavy reduction by the balance of trade against Germany from January 1st to August 1st, and for important underestimates of security holdings, and for real estate and other investments overlooked entirely, it seems hardly probable that on January 1st, 1899, our net indebtedness to Germany can have exceeded $200,000,000. This figure is far below the first preliminary estimate made, but it has been criticized as excessive. Possibly $150,000,000 would cover it, but at present I prefer to present rather an overestimate than one too small.

Swiss investments in the United States began about 1855 as a consequence of a visit here by a member of the firm of Lombard, Odier et Cie. of Geneva. He was greatly impressed with the future of the country, and made some investments for himself in county bonds, acting under the advice of the Iselins of New York, who were of Swiss origin. On his return he published a pamphlet on the advantages of the United States as a field for investment, but was still so cautious about it that when shortly after a customer came in to ask them to invest over 100,000 frs. in America for him, they persuaded him not to take so big a risk, and limit this first venture to half his fortune.

Acting very carefully, their American investments proved very satisfactory. Lombard, Odier et Cie. had virtually a monopoly of this field in Switzerland, and their business grew until it was estimated a few years ago that one-third of the entire amount of securities of all kinds owned in Geneva were American. To begin with, they confined themselves almost wholly to county

bonds, but when the supply of these ran short, they began investing in United States bonds during the war, and later in railroad bonds of the better class.

The sympathy of the Swiss for the United States has always been very strong, and since their investments first began there has never been a period during which their sales have exceeded their purchases. In this respect they stand alone. During the panic of 1893 they held aloof in disgust, but did not sell while all the rest of Europe was dumping our securities on the New York Stock Exchange, very much to our ultimate profit at their expense, though also greatly to our temporary embarrassment. Even during the last three years the Swiss have withstood the drain of American securities to make up for the enormous balance of trade in our favor.

During the last ten or fifteen years the increase in Swiss holdings has been helped by other bankers in Geneva as well as in Basle, Zürich, and Schaffhausen, who have entered this field, but the investments made by some of these newer competitors have not proved as satisfactory as those originally made by Lombard, Odier et Cie. The newer firms did not appreciate that, with the greater abundance of capital in America, sound investments yielding 6 per cent. or even 5 per cent. were no longer easy to obtain there, and they have taken up a lower grade of securities. That the day of their investments in America should be over is shown by the fact that last year two of our great insurance companies took up the larger parts of issues of 4 per cent. bonds by Swiss cities, paying, in one instance at least, a slight premium for them. This shows that in the eyes of these very careful students of the world's money markets, Swiss securities now offer a better field for investment than American, for these investments greatly exceed any probable requirements to secure the small number of risks underwritten in Switzerland. These investments mark, I believe, the first appearance of American capital in Europe on a large scale, and excited a good deal of local interest.

The total value of Swiss investments in America was estimated for me separately by two friends in banking circles at Geneva. Each gave $75,000,000 as the result, which accordingly seems

quite a probable value. Included in this amount, however, are unquestionably a number of investments for customers of the Genevese bankers living in the parts of France for which Geneva is the banking center. Swiss investments other than in bonds were said to be almost null.

For France the figures are much less satisfactory. The paternal French government endeavors to prevent its lambs from losses through dealing in securities unknown to the powers that be, by prohibiting dealings in them on the Paris Bourse, with the result on one hand that brokers at London, Amsterdam, Brussels and Geneva wax fat on commissions which would otherwise stay in Paris; and on the other, that purely French enterprises like the Panama Canal obtain a preference. However, very few American securities seem to be held in France, and it is probable that $50,000,000 would cover the whole. I was able to learn of only one case of investment of French capital in American manufactures, and that originated through Genevese connections. It was, however, an important amount.

Belgians, like the French, seem not to have invested heavily in America. Probably $20,000,000 would cover their holdings, of which, however, a larger proportion than with other countries seems to be invested in manufactures. Belgium is in proportion to its size the manufacturing country of the world.

There remain only two countries in Europe having balances of any importance to spare for investment abroad. These are Sweden and Denmark. From what little I have been able to learn of these I do not think that either have large amounts placed here. Roumania is the only other European country which is not almost drowned in debt.

In spite of the general poverty of their country (which this enhances) many Russians have invested considerable sums outside of Russia, so as to have resources out of reach of confiscation by the Russian government, but I do not think that they have made such investments to any extent in America, except as they have been made so as to have been considered already as German or French or other investments. I think that probably $15,000,000 would cover all the European investments in America on January 1, 1900, except those for which an estimate has been offered.