El Paso daily herald. (El Paso, Tex.) 1881-1901, 1900-02-23
THE FREE ZONE.
How 1t Is Affecting the Interest Of
the City Across the River.

Inc lily ACROSS Tue RitST.
Another store is about to close its
doors in Juarez. This makes the third
to do so within the last few mouths.
This last is the Juarez Curio Company.
owned by Muller Brothers. The other
two are the London store of Felix
Brunschwig and l.. L. Samaniego &
Company's drug store. The last named
Is already located on this side of the
river while The other will move over
shortly.
Muller Brothers have been establish
ed for many years in JuareZ. In ad-
dition to she Curio business they have
printing establishment and have
worked up considerable business in
thie line, but the local trade Of Juarez
and the surrounding towns Is not suf-
icient to support the business and the
Free L )ne law prohibits them from do
ing any business with the interior,
while the United States customhouse
likewise forbids busiu ess in Ell Paso.
Hence they have decided to move
their er tire business to Mexico City
where they will enlarge their plaat
and expect to do very well.
When one of the firm was seen this
morning by HERALD reporter, be
said: Eyes, the Free Zone has
knocked US out completely. You see
we import goods from the United
States or Europe and pay 81 per cent
of the regular duty. Then II we want
to ship into the interior we have to pay
the full duty less per cent. or 81 per
cent. of the whole. The result is that
to send any of our imported goods to
the interior we have to pay more duties
than the merchants there. For in
stance If the regular duty is 81 per
kilo we pay Is! cents duty here and
then when we reship 1t we pay 81 cents
more or total of 81 lO3.
This is bad enough, but " en- 1t
comes to our manufactures it Is worse
still. AS Is to be expected, the govern
ment, whises to en- courage manufactures.
For instance, ruled paper is charged
imported at that price and letter
heads printed and sold without any
more duty. But with use we have
first to pay the lSt per cent charged for
the Free Zone and then when we
print them and reship them they are
no longer classed as paper but letter
heads and are charged 81 q kilo.
There are four kilos to thousand and
so while our competitors in the interior
pay 81 on the same things.
The only remedy is the abolition of
the Free Zppe. 1t is impossible to keep
1t up and allow any products to 60 in
to the interior free of duty. It was |
tried once in regard to agricultural |
products and the result was that
American goods we're labeled as native |
products and shipped in without pay
ing duty.
"Some years ago business was pretty
good here. When the Free Zone was
first established it was exactly what its
name implies, "free,' and goods we're
Imported without duty. But the peo-
Pile down in the interior objected, as
the merchants there were
Injured by 1t. People came up
from there and bought goods here
them down as personal
property and it was impossible to stop
1t and so the government put on q
duty fret of percent, then 10 and
then 1Si percent.
"Then, too, in former years there
was q great deal OF smuggling into the
United States carried on. The Gus
,oms officers are now stricter and that
10 virtually stopped. The curio bust
ness is no good any more.
"There is also disposition among |
some of the merchants to complain of |
the alleged Indifference of the Gus
IONS guards to prevent. smugg ling from |
Ell PasO which they say results |
in many persons buying here in
stead"