Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1897-08-16
A DECISION AWAITED
Effect of the New Discriminating
Duty.
MAY HURT CANADIAN RAILWAYS
Intentions of the Framers of the
Clause.
RETALIATION SSIBLE

The decision of the Attorney General with
eliminating duty of ten per cent on goods
imported in foreign vessels not exempted
from the provision through our treaty
agreements is awaited with great interest,
and the question presented is one of the
most troublesome that Attorney General
McKenna has to deal with.
If the decision rendered is what appears
to be expected. the consequences will be
far-reaching. ard may lead to retaliation
in some manner conceived to be most hurt
full by Canada. The clause in the tariff
bill which is presented for Interpretation
makes TO pretense of dealing with the
trans-continental railroad question. Yet. a
decision one way or the other will affect
that more than anything else.
The clause provides that discriminate
ing duty of 10 per cent ad valorem, in ad-
dition to duties imposed by law, shall be
levied. collected and paid on all goods.
wares or merchandise which Shall De I'M
ported in vessels not of the United States.
or which. being the production or manu-
facture of any foreign country not con-
into the United States from such contiguous
territory" Then follows the provision
which exempts from the discrimination
herein described vessels from countries
emitted 10 the exemption Dy the prONlSiOu
of treaties with the United States This
proviso SO restricts the discriminating
clause as to make it a matter of very little
significance as applied to importations di-
rect to this country.
The clause which is making all the trou-
ble-that providing for the application of
the discrimination against goods not the
product of contiguous country, but coming
into the United States through contiguous
country-has significance of no conse-
quence If applied only to shipments landed
in Canadian port, which, if landed in a
United States port, would be exempt from
the discrimination IT, however. the clause
Is made to apply to all goods transshipped
through Canadian territory into the United
States, the railroad question, which is en-
tlrely foreign to this section of the tariff
bill. becomes involved seriously
If goods landed in San Francisco not
sub1tes to the 10 per cent discrimination
and then shipped by the Canadian Pacific
become subject to the discrimination upon
again entering the United States, the vital
appiication of the law bears upon the riv-
airy between the transcontinental American
railroads and the Canadian Pacific without
reference to the question which the clause
m the tarin law nominally deals with Of
the nationality Of the vessel in which the
goods are imported. Such an application
OF the law would render it a discriminate
ing duty against goods carried en- the Ca
1aoian roads, and will be apt. If adopted.
to result in Canadian retaliation. The
question is likely to lead to a serious con-
tention. with serious results.
On the face of it, the provision against
goods coming through contiguous country
appears to have been designed to prevent
vessels subject to the discrimination from
avoiding 1t by landing their goods in a
canadian port and transshipping them by
ran II appears that the provision was
made so as to compel the payment of the
discriminating duty where it applied
whether the goods were originally landed in
vessels IN this country or in Canada. and
emily, this was the purpose of Congress,
Persons who had the clause inserted,
however, may have had in view the broad
er application. or, finding the clause word
ed as 1t is, may simply have seized the
opportunity to profit by rs ambiguity. II
the discrimination is applied to all goods
shipped over the Canadian road regard
less of the nationality of the vessel in
effect Of Cutting Off all TRANSPORTS atfon of
goods for the United States over the Cana
dian road, and this will probably be fol-
lowed by retaliatory provision by the
ination against all foreign goods shipped
over American roads in bond for Canada.
Under such an Interpretation of the law
II goods should be landed In San Fran
cisco in an American vessel which would
De exempt from any discrimination, those
goods could not be shipped 10 Boston by
way OF the Canadian Pacific without hav-
Ing to pay the 10 per cent additional duty
The law provides that this shall not anniv
TO importations in the usual course of
strictly retail trade. II, however, goods of
foreign production should be bought at
wholesale In San Francisco by a wholesale
merchant in Boston. and they should be
shipped by the Csradian Pacific road, GO
ING out Of the United States into Canada.
and from Canada sgain into the United
states. they would be subject to the dis
terminating duty. whereas. IL those same
goods were shipped over the Great North
ern the Northern Pacific or the Southern
and Union Pacific. they would not be sub
5ect to the additional duty
II the law Is interpreted by the Attorney
%therai SO as to carry out the apparent
against vessels not of the United States
ard not exempted by treaty, the question
VIII be come one of very little Importance
Sut a broader Interpretation is given
the added clause will become one of those
crriosities of legislation which result from
the use of language which Congress al
the time OF its enactment, does not under
Stand the moapinu NJ