Pittsburg dispatch. [volume] (Pittsburg [Pa.]) 1880-1923, 1889-08-04
CANADIAN CARS
May be Used Without Paying Duty in Rail-
rond Tran nic Between the Two Nations
"A Ruling That is Confirmed by
All of the Prec edeuta.

road Ira mc Between the Two Nations
"A Ruling That is Confirmed by
All of the Precedeuts.
WASHINGTON, August 3.-The Secre-
tary of the Treasury this afternoon rendered
his decision on the question submitted to
him by the Collector of Customs at Detroit,
Mich, as to the dutiable or non-dutiable
character of foreign built railway cars COM
ing into the United States from Canada
laden or for the purpose of being laden with
mails, passengers, etc. The decision is as
follows:
TREASURY DEPARTMENT.
OFFICE OF THE SECRETARY
WASHINGTON, August 8.
Collector of Customs Detroit, Mich:
sIB-The department has fully considered
the question submitted by you Of the dutiable
or non-dutiable character of foreign-built rail-
way cars coming into the United States and
Canada, laden, or for the purpose of beng
laden, with mails. passengers, baggage, express
matter or freight. The records of this depart
ment show that railway cars engaged in the So
called transit trade, partly over the territory
of the United States and partly over the terri
tory of Canada, have never been regarded as
importations subject to duty, but simply as
vehicles of transportation for the conducting
Oh an eSLdDllsu6Q anu legdiiZeu lIdluC
In letters from this department to the Presi-
dent of the New York Central Railway Com
pany, February 2 1889, to the collector at Port
Huron, April q, 1870. and to the collector at
Burlington, December 8, 1873, and January 8,
1882. it was held that such practice was not
obnoxious to the revenue laws of the United
States. and did not subject foreign-built cars
running in the transit trade between Canada
and the United States to duty, since section
8. 3.lO2. Revised Statutes, authorizes foreign
railway cars laden with importations to enter
the United States and proceed to destination,
and section 3,000 Revised Statutes. authorizes
the cars of both countries to engage in inter-
national traffic. and the merchandise so carried
to be treated as ''if the transportation had
taken place entirely within the limits of the
United States"
The principle so adopted and announced has
remained IN force for more than 20 years, and
does not seem to have been impeached or ques-
toned in or Dy any statute or other Congress
sional action or any judicial decision or treaty,
or any departmental regulation or restriction
in all that time; it being considered that the
action taken by the department January 8,
1883, and which action was recalled and re-
scinded before the same had taken effect did
not amount to a disturbance or impeachment
of the otherwise unbroken practice. In view
of the long settled rule and practice upon the
subject, the department does not deem it con-
formable to the public interest to disturb the
decision deliberately reached and repeatedly
affirmed, and must hold that the question is no
longer open to administrative construction.
1t only remains to advise You that while
these rulings are adhered to in Difference to the
reasonable requirements of commerce not to
permit such practice to degenerate into a
license for the free importation of foreign
built railway cars into the domestic traffic of
the United States under cover of the ostab-
lished usage described in the preceding para
W. WINDOW, Secretary.