The Washington herald. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1906-1939, 1907-01-31
WOULD AID EXPORTS
Secretary Shaw Suggests a
Plan of Free Ports"
WORKSHOP FOR ALIEN TRADE
To Meet Foreign Competition, Secre-
tRry Would Create Zones Where
Duty-free Raw Material Could BE
Manufactured by Protected Labor
Only for Alien Consumption.

Concord, n. H, Jan. SO.-In a speech to-
night before The New Hampshire Board
of Trade. Leslie NJ. Shaw, Secretary Of
the Treasury, advanced the startling. if
not novel, idea of bonded or free ports in
the United States.
Merchandise can now be produced from
imported material in bonded factories -
lie declared 1T seems to me- he con-
tinued Ito be safe and wise 10 carry the
logic of this provision one step further
and have bonded or free ports. without
attempting a lengthy elaboration of the
idea, content myself with throwing out
the suggestion. Suppose instead of a
bonded factory, We bond a well-defined
section of land, containing, if you please
several thousand acres. Within this bond
ed territory all kinds Of factories could
be built and into this zone all kinds Of
raw material could be entered without the
payment of duty.
All Free Raw Material.
This port should Of course, contain no
dwellings. I would allow coal, and
every other element of manufacture ex-
cept labor. 10 be entered free In other
words, this free port should he a great
consumer of American labor, the product
of which, under the most encouraging con-
ditions. should be for export, and export
only If it is removed from the port for the
purpose Of domestic consumption. it
should pay the same duty as If imported
from abroad I do not see wherein the
American people could be harmed by
such a policy"
IL, .-,rc-r, rt1.7 .,,-, N~1rtl,
Atlantic coast. one near Norfolk, and
another on the Gulf. 1T will take time
10 develop the thought" he said, but il
is in absolute harmony with thefpresent
bonded warehouse, bonded factory. and
drawback policy, and We have the eX-
ample IN the free ports of Germany.
LiberaIize the Drawbacks.
During the last fiscal year there was
refunded in drawbacks to American ex-
porters of merchandise produced in whole
or in part from imported material approx
imately $60C0,0C0. ! believe this amount
could be multiplied if our drawback laws
were sufficiently liberalized. II is incOn-
venient, and in some instances impossi-
BILE TO identify the imported material in
a manufactured article and determine the
date on which it was imported. An impor-
tation of raw hides is received to-day. for
instance, at Boston. These hides are
tanned and the leather consumed in the
production of shoes. and the shoes are ex-
ported next October. The law requires
proof that the particular shoes exported
contain a given amount of leather pro-
duced from hides included in a particular
aid definite importation. I see no reason
for these exactiOns. If the manufacturer
Of shoes COnsum- $ imported leather or
leather produced from imported hides
then why not give him back the duty aC-
tualfy paid whenever he exports an article
of the same general material. provided il
be further advanced in manufacture than
the article imported?
Give Employment to Labor.
THE sole purpose Of the law is TO give
employment to American labor, for by SO
doing We contribute TO our home market.
So long DIS the American manufacturer
buys labor in the American market. pays
the American scale Of wages. and thus en-
ables the American wage Garner to be a
consumer Of American food and clothes.
fuel, and shelter let there be accorded to
him every possible encouragement in his
unequal competition with the cheaper
labor Of other countries. When he sells
I'm the American market let him pay duty
on competitive imported material. for by
so doing he likewise contributes 10 the
American market. The American people
have adopted the policy Of paying higher
wages than prevail anywhere else beneath
the skies. and so long as this policy con-
tinues, So long must We submit 90 a little
higher price for some 81 the products OF
labor.
Must Compete with Foreign Lands.
Whether this policy is wise or unwise.
Il would be improper for me TO discuss at
this nonpartisau meeting Much can be
said-much has been said in favor of free
trade which means direct and complete