Produced by The Online Distributed Proofreading Team at https://www.pgdp.net (This file was produced from images generously made available by The Internet Archive/American Libraries.) [Illustration: Bremer Baumwollbörse, Bremen.] BREMEN COTTON EXCHANGE 1872/1922 BY A. W. CRAMER PRESIDENT OF THE BREMEN COTTON EXCHANGE TRANSLATED BY CH. F. C. UHTE, BREMEN 1922 FRANZ LEUWER VERLAG BREMEN ALL RIGHTS RESERVED COPYRIGHT 1922 BY FRANZ LEUWER BREMEN PRINTED BY H. M. HAUSCHILD · BREMEN A JUBILEE GIFT TO THE MEMBERS OF THE BREMEN COTTON EXCHANGE FIFTY YEARS. A period covering 50 years is sure to show to the surviving and the younger generations certain milestones, which indicate a trend of human thought, or memorize important occurrences. We may look back upon mighty wars, or religious upheavals or the cruelties committed in both, or another may recall the peaceful thrifty life with its underlying romantic thought. Later generations may possibly call this episode of the last 50 years the Period of Economic Development. Every epoch has its dominating spirit; sometimes it is a God of War, sometimes a religious martyr, sometimes it takes the shape of a great poet and even the thoughts and lives of the every-day citizen are the replica of the spirit of its time. The embodiment of the spirit of the last 50 years is a Hercules. This famous demi-god executed 12 wondrous deeds, the names of which were painfully instilled into us at school, but his mighty deeds made no impression on the history of his time. Our Hercules has successfully achieved more than twelve wonderful works, nor need we look far afield to see the lasting imprint of his footsteps; we have always before us the great works of our time. We are the lucky ones, who are privileged to step anywhere on our northern shore into a carriage, far more commodious than the ancient stage coach, compose ourselves for sleep, and allow ourselves to be whirled away, in order to find ourselves the following noon, seated at a comfortable meal on the heights of the Rigi. We have crossed the Atlantic Ocean in six days, we talk and listen to a friend, and it is nothing to us that he is a thousand kilometres distant. By pressing a button, we illuminate our house, by pulling a lever, we light up a whole town. From the birds we have purloined the art of flying, and many other wonders have the past fifty years showered upon us, and yet, all this is not the real monument of our time, but it is "WORK!" That systematic work, which is sure of its own goal, is the origin of all the wonders of the past half century, and which has set its own seal upon the special character of our own time.