Evening public ledger. [volume] (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1914-1942, 1919-10-13

uent OF the Ihlladelphia Boursc, ana VIII
| ncSses from several other large port cities
! along the Atlantic seaboard are urging the
enactment by Congress Of legislation making
| New York, Philadelphia and other ocean
| cities free ports of entry. The fact makes
| opposite the inquiry, What is a free port?
! The answer Is lucidIv set forth in state
| mont issued by the San Francisco Chamber
| of Commerce last year
| LNREE ports, or free zones in portions Of
harbors. have long been known in Europe
! and ASia. but the subject Is much misron-
ccivcd in the United States because of the
ambiguity of the word free 1t does not
mean freedom from harbor or port charges,
| such as tolls or wharfage on cargoes, dock
| age on ships, piiotagp. towagc, cite. Nor
| does it involve any change in tariff policy.
| Briefly it means freedom from customs con
| troll.
| A reasonably large part of port is segrc-
! gated for the conduct of primarily foreign
| commerce, and in order to guard against
| the intrusion 'of unauthorized persons and
| for the better enforcement of laws and regu
| lations it is inclosed by substantial barriers
on both land and water sides. This con
| stitutes the "free zone" and from it all
| customs house activities, except precautions
! against smuggling. are excluded.
Here the imported merchandise is landed.
| and when the imports pass through the land
| or water gates of the incosure into the
| country elsewhere, then at that time and at
| the gate. theoretically. the duties incident
/ to tho collection Of the tariff dues begin, and
| all tho complicated rules and regulations of
| the customs service first go into operation.
| If the imports are not taken for domestic
consumption they may be re-eXportod,
! whether in the original packages or other
wign WthOut pf tariff 1upS
| reference by customs officials. The same
| is true of foreign raw materials landed and
| worked up into manufactures inside the free
! port and designed for re export.
| XITlllIE the imports are in the free zone
w they may be stored in non bonded ware
houses or handled ad lbtum by the parties
interested with absolute freedom. and may
be prepared for shipment either into the
country or for transshipment or rc-cXport
to foreign countries and started on their way
without the onerous impediments now used
by customs house supervision, red tape and
penalties
1t is merely new system of customs col
lection and supervision. The customs house,
so TO speak, is removed from the ship and
wharf, where it now holds sway. and is set
up at the gate of the free zone
The proposed change does not in any
way affect the nature or size of the tariff
dues; simply the method and manner of
their collection and the places where the
customs activities shall be exercised The
aim is to put them outside of the free zone
entirely.
OF course. the incoscd area of water and
land inside the free zone must be sufficiently
large to accommodate the foreign commerce
of the port, and it should be provided with
all the necessary wharves, non bonded ware
houses railways, spur tracks and devices
required for the rapid and economical
handling of cargoes
THE system suggested is substantially the
l. same one. its advocates say. that made
the port of Hamburg one of the great com
mercial entry ports of the world; and that.
they add without in any way interfering
with the operation of the German protective
tariff system. (which has been just as jcal-
ously guarded as that of the United States"
The present bill proposes that the new
zone licenses be granted only to public cor
porations that is. corporations represent
ing the public authorities, either municipal
or state. Only one free zone would be
permitted at any port of entry. except in
case where port is contiguous to the ter
ritory of two or more states, as in the case
Of Philadelphia. where it would be permissi-
Die TO eSluDllSl Tree zones DOlD IN IPnn-
sylvania and New Jersey and possibly Del
aware.
THE free zone would not only include
l. waterfronts and warehousng facilities
| but could be extended to take in manufac-
| turing areas in which imported goods could
| be subjected to manufacturing processes and
| then reshipped abroad without paying duty
| 1t is on this point that most of the opposi-
| ton to the movement is developed, the OBJ
| lection being raised that the country is de-
prived of revenue and nobody is benefited
| but the shipping interests. To which The
answer is made that while domestic and
] foreign materials could thus be combined in
| producing manufactured articles without tho
| necessity of paying tariff, the products of
| these industries would of course pay regular
| duties if they entered into commerce in this
| country.
| ONE speaker at Friday hearing, illus
| " trating the working of the present sys-
TEN. told of having received telegram from
| a Canadian dealer asking for furs. He
| held the desired line of goods in bond hut
they were in the original packages. whici,
| also contained two other varieties of furs
Under the bonded warehouse laws goods
| thus held cannot be re exported except in
the original packages. If he opened the
bundles of furs and sorted out the ones his
| Canadian customer wanted he would be
compelled to pay the duty. So. instead of
making the delivery from his American es
| tablishment. he forwarded the order to his
London house and it was filled from there.
THE greatest free port of the world is
l. that of Hamburg, which has existed since
1882. The city had long refused to enter the
| imnerial customs union but in that vaor n
comnromise was effected hv the terms of
which Hamburg was permitted to maintain
an area accessible by land and water where
goods from all parts of the world might he
landed. handled and re embarked without
interference by customs officials. This ar
rangement doubtless prevented the diversion
of an immense foreign tonnage to the rival
ports of England and Holland. OF late
wears the free port policy has develoned