El Paso daily herald. (El Paso, Tex.) 1881-1901, 1900-03-05
WORKINGS OF SYSTEM
That Now Blocks The Wheels
Of Even The Smallest In
dustries Are Consider
ed Unfair


rez to petition for the repeal OF the Ia "
imposing tariff on goods native to
the Free Zone was held yesterday at
the hall of the Sociedad Jua-ez de
| Obreros. A mum ber of the prominent
citizens of Juarez were present.
A committee was appointed to in
quire into the best course of pr ocedure
and report at a meeting to be held next
Sunday at the same place. The com
| mittee consists of ex-msyor Espiridion
Provencio, president; G. Arguelles,
ce-president; G. S. Ortegs, secretary;
Angel Calderon, secretary pro tenn,
Fsamillo Escobar and s. Montenayor.
The committee will begin its work at
once and will gather data in regard to
upon the interests of Juarez. When
it's report is submitted next Sunday it
is probable that final action will be
taken towards pesitiouing the federal
government to repeal the present law,
the nature aud workings of which have
Teen fully explained in the HERALD.
1u regard to the committee and its
morning to aHERALD reporter. 1--WE
do not intend to ask for the wiping out
of the Free Zone but for
the removal of the tariff
on our naive goods shipped to the
interior. Then the Free Zone would be
a very good thing. We do not expect
in any case to have any great man
ufacturing concerns established to
compete with the interior. One thing
that Is against that is the higher
price of labor here. In many places
in the interior they work for twenty
five or fifty cents a day while here Is
81 or So day. So competition will be
very difficult. What we want is q
chance to ship our farm products, mer-
chsndise and few small manufactures
and sell them without being taxed to
death"
Several citizens of Juarez when
asked about the movement seemed to
have but little hope of any success at
tending 1t. The government once ad-
mitted native products of the free
zone into the interior aud the inevi.
ia BILE result was that the custom house
was systematically robbed by un-
scrupulous persons who would import
goods from abroad into the free zone
paying only the small duty charged
and then re-ship them as native pro-
ducts.
''One example of how the tariff
| works occurred short time ago here"
said an employee of the Sierra Madre
line. GA party in Juarez built boat
for use on Lake Guzman. It was built
entirely in Juarez but he had TO pay
full duties on it just the same as if it
came from the United States.''
| 81 don't think the customs officers
at the bridge want any change made"
said railroad man. "At present they
really have absolutely nothing to do
| the greater part Of the time. The du-
ties to be collected at Juarez are so in
significant that no account is taken of
them, and they rely on the :ariff to be
levied when anything is reshippsd. If
the free zone we're abolished or the
tariff modified there would likely be q
lively shaking up among the inspec-
tors.''
Whatever may be the tinal outcome
of this movement It is the universal
lopinion that something must be done
to relieve the existing conditions or
Juarez will be soon beyond help. This is
beginning to be realized some what u
the interior. A late issue ofJhe Diario
Chihuahuense. daily paper published
at the state capital, has an article ad-
vocsting some action by the govern
ment. 1t refers TO the closing of so
many business establishments at Jua-
rez and in particular that of Muller
Brothers,a and reproduces in Spanish
the recent interview in the HERALD
with Walter Muller in regard to the
lconditions existing.