The Richmond palladium and sun-telegram. [volume] (Richmond, Ind.) 1907-1939, 1922-10-14
By FREDERICK J. HAsKIN

By FREDERICK J. HASKIN
WASHINGTON, D. c., Oct IA
After year and a half of effort con.
gress has just passed a new tariff act
levying increased customs duties on
imports into the United States. This
legislation has brought forward anew
the question of the wisdom of estab.
fishing free ports in America.
A free port is geographic exception
to nations tariff. 1t is a city or 4
specified zone in city to which
foreign goods may be brought, altered
or manufactured, and re-exported with
out the payment of duty. The official
definition given free ports by the
United States tariff commission reads
as follows:
"A free port or free zone is a place,
limited in extent, that differs from ad
jacent territory in being exempt from
the customs laws as affecting goods
destined for re-export; it means, sim
ply, that as regards customs duties
there is freedom, unless and until i'm
ported goods enter the domestic mar.
ket. A free zone may be defined as
an isolated, inclosed and policed area,
without resident population, furnished
with the necessary facilities for lading
and unlading, for supplying fuel and
ships stores, for storing goods and for
reshipping them, by land and water;
an area within which goods may be
landed, stored, mixed, blended, re.
packed, manufactured and reshipped
without payment of duties and without
the intervention of customs officials
1t is subject, equally with adjacent re-
gions to all laws relating to public
health, vessel inspection, postal ser
vice, labor conditions, immigration,
and, indeed everything except the Gus
TOMS"
There have been two great parties
in the Tilted States practically since
the foundation of the Republic. One
has espoused the principle of free
trade, that is the free import of goods
without payment of customs duties
and the other has espoused the prin.
clple OF protection of native indus
tries through the medium of g, high
tariff which will prevent foreign made
goods from coming here and selling as
cheaply as the home product may sell
Basically. the broad reasons for and
| against tariff are the following: A
thickly populated country producing
its chief wealth by manufacturing i'm
ported raw materials and selling them
abroad benefits by free trade because
II must get its materials with which
to do business from outside. In such
case, nation imposing a tariff
would be taxing itself for the privilege
OF doing business. Second, relative
ly sparsely settled country, the CHIEF
/ produce of which is raw materials
but which is seeking to establish in
/ dustries for manufacture. can afford
| to impose tariff because it does not
require absolutely the goods of the
outside world and to admit such goods
freely would retard the development o.
| local manufactures.
Examples of Free
Trade and Protection.
In modern times the two outstand
! ing examples of such nations have
been England. an island with more
than 50,000,000 population, the CHIEF
wealth of which arises from manufac
tured goods; and the United States
territory of continental extent with
only twice as many inhabitants, whose
chief wealth consists in raw material:
of agriculture and mines.
England is free trade country ira
ditionally and the United States a higt
tariff land
But in recent years the tremendou!
advance of industry in the Unitet
States and the inflow of our manufac
tured goods and those of other coun
tries to England, have served to breal
down the old traditions. There havt
been strong leanings in this countr.
toward freer opportunities to manu-
factuFe and sell here or re-expor
foreign commodities and England ha
found 1t desirable to impose custom
duties on some imports.
England's duties apply chiefly to lux
uries and to goods which compete witt
her own manufactures but her new
policy is chiefly espoused for the pun
pose of raising badly needed revenue
:. Her old free trade tradition has beef