The times dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1903-1914, 1911-01-08

| should agree to pay former syndicate
prices and accept the American agency
for tho syndicate. stipulatins that they
should maintain syndicate prices in
the United States and gradually in
crease the same.
This proposal was rejected by the
Americans. and the case was then laid
before the Department of state at
Washington, with the request that
American citizens In their contract
rights against population by the Ger
man government. The Secretary of
State. through the American embassy
! in Berlin. promptly made an emphatic
protest to the imperial government or
Germany, and that bill was Withdrawn
by Germany. Soon thereafter the COM
! mercial treaty between Germany and
the United States was consummatc ed.
whereby Germany was allowed the
minimum tariff of the Payne Aldrich
act.
I'm the following May the imperial
government of Germany passed the
potash law of 1910, which is more
damaging In It's effect upon the Ameri-
can contracts than the one withdrawn,
imposing. 1t does. "A penalty tax on
the production of any mine in excess
of the quota allotted to it by the gov
eminent, under this law equivalent to
" per ton on murlatc of potash, tho
price in the American contracts pcing
but SIS per ton at the mines
Discrimination Charged.
THE trainers of the law had the
American contrats in their posse sion
and Spelled i'll the text OF the law the
nlotments TO every mine. whether in or
| out of the syndicate. Quotas were allot-
ted to the syndicate mines large enough
to supply the entire trade OF the world
while the allotments to the independent
mines were limited to one fourth or
their actual sales to the Americans
Consequently the law was so framed
that none of the syndicate mines would
have 10 pay any overproduction tax on
their shipments while the independent
mines. having already sold their entire
production TO the Americans, and hav-
ing no domestic trade, required unacr
the law to secure any free quota for
export. would be Obliged to pay the
penalty tax upon their entire ship
rnents. Thus the German government
knew that the penalty tax under this
law would fall exclusively upon Amori-
cans, for they alone held contracts
with mines which had already sold
their entire output for export. and
would, consequently, have no allotment
free from this tax
Designed to Invalidate Contracts
The law, therefore. must have been
designed and executed for no other
purpose than that of inyaiidatiDg the
American contracts, made ten months
before the law was passed, and IN pur-
suancc of the syndicate's threat that
such Legislation would be passed by
Germany unless these contracts were
surrendered. the object plainly being
10 re-cstablish the monopoly and to
sustain syndicate prices in the United
states. The official record OF the Reich
stag debates clearly discloscs this fact.
This penalty tax, If collected for
the entire seven years OF the contracts.
would aggregate about S40,600,000 of
American money paid to the German
government. while citizens OF no other
country wonid contribute a cent to
Gernanys revenue derived from this
source. The penalty taxes already paid
under protest. and deposited in Ger
man banks by the American buyers.
amount TO about s3,00O,O0O. which, UNI
less refunded TO the Americans. will
he turned over TO the German govern
! mcnt.
Knox Enters Protest.
Secretary Knox again made Wig
orous protest against the passage of
this second law, and before IL was
I n.