in Russia. There is no need to say that the A.E.G. is a huge combine. Its industrial companies number no less than sixteen, and their factories make the most varied articles, from cables and insulators to motor-cars and aeroplanes.
But concentration in Europe is only a part of the process of concentration in America, which has developed thus:
| G.E.C. | ||
| United States | Thomson-Houston & Co. establish a firm in Europe |
Edison & Co. establish in Europe the French Edisson Co. which sends on its patents to the German firm A.E.G. |
| Germany | Union Electrical Company | |
| General Electrical Company (A E.G.) | ||
Thus two "Great Powers" in the electrical industry were formed. "There is not an electrical company in the world which can be independent of them," wrote Heinig in his article on The Paths of the Electricity Trust. As to the total business and the size of the enterprises of the two trusts, the following figures will give us at least an idea:
| Total Business in mills. of marks |
Employees | Net profits in mills. of marks. | ||
| America: | ||||
| General Elec. Co. | ... | 1907 — 252 | 28,000 | 35.4 |
| 1910 — 298 | 32,000 | 45.6 | ||
| Germany: | ||||
| A.E.G. ... | ... | 1907 — 216 | 30,700 | 14.5 |
| 1911 — 362 | 60,800 | 21.7 |
In 1907, the German and American trusts divided up the world by agreement. Competition between them ceased. The American General Electricity Company "received" the United States and Canada. The A.E.G. "received" Germany, Austria, Russia, Holland, Denmark, Switzerland,
