required to insure the shipper against interference by the government. These may consist of the consular

invoice, export declaration, certificate of origin, non-dumping certificate, and inspection certificate.

The inspection of agricultural exports from the United States is described as follows:

Grain. Grain shipments are inspected in New York by the New York Produce Exchange and in other ports by similar organizations. The inspection is made in conformity with standardized grades that have been established by the United States Department of Agriculture, and such inspection is more or less under the supervision of this department. Certificates

of quality are issued specifying the grade, kind, and condition of the grain. Weight certificates are issued by the elevator which delivers the grain to the steamer.

Rice. Rice is inspected at the Gulf ports by various organizations, notably the Rice Millers Association and the local boards of commerce. Samples are drawn from export shipments at the dock and passed upon by an appointed committee. Certificates are issued which show the grade, kind, and condition of the rice. The rice is also tested for moisture content and the percentage noted upon the certificate. A standard system of

grades is maintained, but these grades are relative rather than constant, depending more or less upon the crop average and thus varying somewhat from year to year.

Coal. Coal is inspected at the coal ports by the Tidewater Exchange. This exchange controls the pooling of the coal according to its quality or grade and the district from which it comes. When delivery is made to steamer the Tidewater Exchange issues a certificate denoting the pool from which delivery is made. Certification is also made as to weight.

Meats and Provisions. The Bureau of Animal Industry issues a certificate covering meats and provisions. This is merely a health certificate and does not in any way denote the actual quality, grade, or merchantable value of the product. Such certificates are required by the government on all export shipments, the steamer not being permitted to carry such products until certificates are produced. The Board of Trade in Chicago and other packing house cities issue certificates covering grade and quality, inspection being made in the packing house. The New York Produce Exchange appoints private concerns as official inspectors for the performance of such services when goods arrive in New York.

Cotton. Ample provision is made for the inspection and grading of cotton in the South Atlantic and Gulf ports. The New Orleans Cotton Exchange is a notable example. Elaborate and comprehensive regulations have been established by this exchange for scientific grading and classification of cotton shipments and for transportation, storage, and weighing, all of which is conducted under careful supervision. These standards and grades are made to conform with the regulations of the United States Department of Agriculture. Certificates are issued covering grade, conditions, and weight.

WAREHOUSE RECEIPTS

MEANING AND CONTENTS

It is often necessary to store commodities in warehouses at various stages in the marketing. The

warehousing system has been especially well developed in countries such as the United States and Canada, which export wheat, corn, fruit, wool, and other staple agricultural products. These can be graded and classified according to definite standards, and in the case of fungibles of the same grade, such as wheat, they can be mixed indiscriminately in grain elevators. Receipts can then be issued covering, not a specified lot, but simply a certain quantity of a particular grade. Commodities thus deposited in warehouses may well serve as collateral for loans, and so the warehousing industry and the banking business stand in close relation to each other. The warehouseman, on receiving property for storage, acknowledges it in a document known as a warehouse receipt. It is a written guarantee of the warehouseman that he is holding in trust certain goods which he will deliver on demand. This receipt should, therefore, contain the following data:

(a) The location of the warehouse where the goods are stored. (b) The date of issue of the receipt.

(c) The consecutive number of the receipt.

(d) A statement whether the goods received will be delivered to the bearer, to a specified person, or to a specified person or his order.

(e) The rate of storage charges.

(f) A description of the goods or of the packages containing them.

(g) The signature of the warehouseman or of his authorized

agent.

(h) If the receipt is issued for goods of which the warehouse

man is owner, either solely or jointly or in common with others, the fact of such ownership, and

(1) A statement of the amount of advances made and of liabilities incurred for which the warehouseman claims a lien. If the precise amount of such advances made or of such liabilities incurred is, at the time of the issue of the receipt, unknown to the warehouseman or to his agent who issues it, a statement of the fact that advances have been made or liabilities incurred and the purpose thereof is sufficient.

(Warehouse Receipts as Collateral, p. 1, issued by the American Warehousemen's Association.)

NEGOTIABILITY

A warehouse receipt includes not only an acknowledgment of the deposit of goods but also a promise on the part of the warehouseman that he will make delivery on demand to a designated person only, or to his order, or to any holder, depending upon whether the receipt is non-negotiable or negotiable in form. As early as 1850, the United States Supreme Court held that the delivery of a warehouse receipt as collateral for a loan serves as a transfer of the goods themselves, which then actually become the property of the transferee.

Both negotiable and non-negotiable forms may be used as collateral documents. The negotiable receipt is filled out to the order of a specified party, who can then transfer his rights of possession by endorsement in favor of the banker or any other party who has granted the loan. The lender may also obtain a