Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1920-09-11
j. S. SHIPPING ACT
MET WITH THREAT
BY ySCAND|NAV|ANS
Governments May PenaIize
American Vessels and
Export Goods.
BY HAL o'FLAHERTY.

By Cable to The Star and Chicago Daily News
Copyright. 1870.
STOCKHOLM, September 11.-Con-
certed action by the Scandinavian
countries in opposing the enforcement
Of the Jones shipking act has taken
/ the form Of warnings by the foreign
ministers Of Sweden. Denmark and
Norway directed to the. United States.
These warnings are extremely vague
and. are shrouded In diplomatic Ian
guage, but It is plain that there is a
movement afoot to penalize American
ships and American goods coming
into foreign ports il the Jones act be-
comes effective in it's present form.
Reasons for Opposition.
These countries take special ex-
ception to the clause in the Jones act
establishing a per cent reduction
Of the customs duty on goods car
fried to America in United States ships
and at the same time. adding 10 per
cent to the duty on goods brought to
America in foreign bottoms.
The second consideration arousing
protests is the clause providing for
freight discrimination within the
DESPITE the fact that nearly every
European nation having shipping of
any size now follows an extreme pro-
ping, they are now ready to cause in
transitional complications when Amer
lea begins protecting her newly Gre
ated shipping lines.
Foreign Minister Palmstjerna, in a
speech delivered last night at a dinner
Of Swedish shippers, declared that the
situation was extremely grave.
I'VE are now approaching times.
he said, (which may be very hard and
which may demand greater activity
for the protection of Swedish shipping
on the part Of the state than has been
the case in the past. refer to the
exclusively protectionist tendencies
which the United States seems to be
developing to our disadvantage.
1--WE have found that after great
wars the protectionist currents begin
when the period of social unrest has
passed. We are now approaching this
phase. From the United States we
learn that that country is building up
a huge merchant marine by using
means tending to cripple foreign ship
ping.
Recalls Cromwell Act.
"It reminds me of the Cromwell
navigation act OF 1857. History re-
peats itself. and the Jones act indi-
Gates that the United States is going
to inaugurate a shipping policy that
ia not good for the rest of the world.
st is particularly in respect to the
proposed preference for goods carried
in American bottoms and in freight
rates and port dues against cargoes
carried in foreign ships that this pol
lev is hurtful. If these measures are
really applied it will constitute a re-
gettable procedure.
'aThe world now needs competition
on an equal basis. Any law tending
to close American ports to outsiders
acts as a check on the general devel-
opment and will-prove a source Of dis
sension We hope that American
breadth Of vision will assert itself in
this matter and also that the other
states will resist the demand for taxes
on foreign tonnage"
Newspaper comment is cautious, but
the first steps are being taken to in
| form readers of the nature of the
Jones shipping act with the purpose
i Of raising a hue and cry later on.