The Owosso times., 1919-10-31
THE .OWOSSO TIMES
EDMUND q. DEWEY. PROP.
OwossO. MICH. OCT. 81. 1919
roRDNEY BACKS DUMPING BILL

lOnON = DAMS ~ IVA A4~N DAAA
Washington, Oct. 25.-Representa-
tive ]. w. Fordney's antidumping bill,
which is before congress and in a fair
way to early enactment, is the outcome
of long and careful consideration by
its author and consultation with many
experts in customs operations and fis-
cal administration.
Before its author laid it on the ia
ble Of his ways and means committee
he had gone over its provisions to the
detail with the board of appraisers of
the port of New York, whose men,
bers gave their cordial cooperation in
its preparation and up to the last MN
ute of the preparatory work were
devoting their best efforts to its per-
fection. The tariff board also gave
counsel on it's sections, and as final
touch Mr.. Fordney sought and receiv-
ed the advice of Secretary Glass of
the treasury department
Because of all this preliminary pol
ishhg, the Saginaw statesman be-
lieves that his bill is as nearly perfect
as j tis possible to make Legislation,
and he will urge the house TO adopt
it without making any changes.
Ordinarily, revenue measures, of
which the anti-dumping bill is dis
tinctly one, encounter sharp partisan
san opposition, and they usually are
passed in roll calls where the Re-
publicans and Democrats divide strict
ly along Ines of political allegiance;
but there is reason to hope that in re-
gard to this particular fiscal measure
the attitude of the house will be an
exception to the traditional methods
and that it will receive support on
both sides of the center aisle.
The Fordney bill differs in some
important points from the bill Sena-
tor Smooth introduced week or so
before its appearance. 1t is drawn
with noticeable care as to definitions
and administrative directions and is
much longer than the senate measure
for that reason. But IN it's pivotal
section, where the penalties for SELL
ing imported goods below the price in
the country of their origin are stated,
the Smoot bill imposes dumping
duty" which is twice the difference
between the foreign market value and
the selling price in this country, while
the Fordney bill provides for "spe-
cial duty" equal to the difference be-
tween these two figures and subse-
quently imposes an additional fine of
not more than $4,000, with an alter
native term of imprisonment.
Mr.. Fordney explains the super.
iority of his plan by pointing out that
under the Smoot method an entirely
innocent purchased of dumped raw
SIX
material who should work it up here
into finished product might be COM
PEELED to pay over to the government
a penalty of doubt the original duty.
It is only right, he argues, that the
dumping duty itself should be paid on
the goods that were brought in
against the provisions of law, but the
manufacturer who had bought them
without gnowledge of their illicit
character should not be punished
where he has not Intentionally COM
mitted any wrong. The importer de-
serves punishment, he says, and he
provides one sufficiently heavy to de-
ter most persons from risking the
consequences.
One provision in his bill was OBJ
tanned by Mr.. Fordney from the Ca
madam law; or, to be strictly accu-
rate, from the Canadian methods of
administering the law, as it is not
found in the text of the Dominion's
legislation on dumping, but is applied
by the government.
Not so long ago the Canadian au-
thorities thought they had reason to-
believe that a certain manufacturer in
a border state was shipping goods
into their country and selling them be-
low the prices he was getting in the
United States, and they sent rep
resentative across the boundary to
ask him to show his books. He re-
fused. Whereupon he promptly re-
ceived work from his agent in On
tario that shipment had been held
up and was ordered returned to him.
He took the first train to Ottawa,
demanded to know what it meant,
and was told that he was dumping.
He denied it. The officials challenged
him to show his books and re refuseu
Then he was told that he was barred
from Canada as a shipper. He be-
came indignant and declared that no
authority to that end existed under
Canadian law; to which the officials
replied that while this was quite true,
he would have a good deal of trouble
IN getting redress, as his only re-
course would be to 60 to parliament,
and parliament ,unquestionably would
back up the administration in this re-
spect.