The daily morning journal and courier., 1894-12-06
REPORT OF SECT. GRESHAM.
GIVEN TO CONGRESS ON THE PRO-
 TEST MADE BY GERMANY.

TEST MADE BY GERMANY.
 The Duty on Sugar Was the Bone of Con-
 tention and He UphoIds tho stand on
 That Question That Was Taken by tho
 United States in tho Matter.
 Washington. Dec 6.-The report of the secretary of state. mentioned In the presidents message. upon the German protest against the discriminating duty of one-tenth of a cent per pound on sugar coming from countries paying an export bounty thereon. was transmitted to congress to-day.
 After referring to the note of the Ger man ambassador. which was dated Au- gust 2S last. when the tariff act went into effect. Secretary Gresham says:
 "The protest is based upon the fact that such a measure could not be re- conciled with the most favored nation clause which governs the economic rel atives of the two countries, but that 1t is rather a differentiation whereby the exportation of German sugar to the United States Is more unfavorably treated than that of several other Euro pean countries. In this relation the German ambassador says: The grant, ing of an export bounty is domestic affair of Germany. An intent not to fulfill its treaty stipulations based upon the most favored nation clause can not, therefore, be inferred from this by any other country. He also declares that the view which has been manifest ed by the legislative bodies. of the United Stateswould render the effects of the most favored nation clause illusory, and that it would expose the contract ing parties to the adoption of arbitrary duties, which is the object of treaties containing most favored nation clause to prevent
 By the tariff act of October 1, 1894, an additional duty of one-tenth of a cent. . pound was imposed on sugars imported from countries that paid a greater bounty on the exportation of refined sugar than was paid on raw sugar. Against this additional duty 1t does not appear that the German gov ernment protested. The reason, how ever, why no such protest was made, may perhaps be discovered by com parison of the provisions of the acts By the act of 1890, the additional duty was imposed only on sugars above num- Der sixteen Dutch standard, and on them on the conditions above stated By the act of 1894 the additional duty is imposed on all sugars, whether above or below the standard.
 The value of sugars imported into the United States from the German en- pire has been more than $15, ,000, 900 an- nually. Of this aggregate only s2O0oOO or $3Oo,000 worth, or about one seventy fifth, was about No. 16 Dutch standard The effect, therefore, of the additional duty of one-tenth of cent under the tariff act of 1890 was comparativelv insignificant.
 "The effect of the additional duty m all sugars under the act of 1884 is most important, since, other things being equal, the importer will not take the more highly dutiable German suears till other sugars not subject to the ad- ditlona duty had been absorbed. The additional duty under the act of 1894 af1ects, therefore, the whole of our large trade in German sugars"
 Secretary Gresham then proceeded to consider the legal aspects of the Ger man protest in connection with the two stlpulations of the United States Prussian treaty of 1928, placing the commercial intercourse of the Tinted States and Prussia, not the entire Ger man empire, on the most favored nation pasls which give either party the right, special engagements or recipro- city being excepted, to take the duties levied by the other on articles. the produce or manufacture of any other country and to demand the same treatment for its own products and manufactures.
 Tt Is obviously" says Secretary Gresham, mo answer to this to say that certain discriminating duties levied by one party on the products or manu- features of the other are not confined to the latter, or to any country by name, but apply equally to all countries that may happen to fall in certain category. If there is any other country ar if there are other countries, which either by name or by general classification are exempt from the duty Special en. gagments Of reciprocity being except- eO the requirements of the treaty are not fulfilled. To say that the discrim- tnation Is not specifically and explicitly national, or that 1t applies to more than one country, is a mere argumen- tative subterfuge, inconsistent with the clear intention of the treaty"
 The treaty of 1915 between the United States and Great Britain was almost identical in language with the subsequent Prussian treaty, but rough rice from the west coast of Africa was admitted from the west coast of Africa at a smaller rate than rice from else where and upon the protest to the United States, Great Britain was com pelled to equalize the duty. M
 Secretary Gresham contends that the payment by country of a bounty on the ,exportation of an article of it's produce or manufacture for the purpose of encouraging 8 domestic industry can no more be considered as a discrimdna- tion than can the imposition of q prac- tically prohibittye duty on the inn portation. of an article of foreign - .S.,~ Aa.. kr r...4s.