Time & Tariff

Ships raced to all Egypt's ports last week. German ships dumped tons of alarm clocks, razors, motor cars and every imaginable manufactured article in unimaginable confusion. British, French and Italian freighters at piers hard by dumped too. Stevedores sweated, swore and slaved all night at both Alexandria and Port Said. The race was against time and tariffs with every Egyptian merchant interested in the results, most with heavy stakes.

Relentlessly the final hour struck at midnight. Into effect went the new Egyptian tariff law, carrying a broad schedule of increased duties. Winners were those merchants who had received the biggest stocks of goods under the old and lower tariff. So great was the rush, so swift the race that customs receipts at Alexandria for the 30 days just passed amounted to $1,000,000, whereas last year during the same period they were only $20,000.

This file is automatically generated by a robot program, so reader's discretion is required.