Evening star., 1924-04-27
BY GOULD LINCOLN.
! PIGMENTS Of the now famous
Caafinn % nf {hn march q N J


designed to give goods for
export and import carried in Ameri-
can merchant vessels preferential
United States, to and from American
ports. apparently have won the first
round in the fight to prevent that
! section Of the law being applied to
the present time. At their earnest
solicitation, the Interstate Commerce
Commission has ordered that the date
set for the discrimination in favor Of
merchandise shipped in American bot
toms be June 20 instead of May 20, as
| originally designated by the commits
sion in it's order of March II. 1920.
With this respite granted, the op-
ponents Of section % are redoubling
their efforts to get legisla ton through
Congress postponing at least until
July l, 1925, the operation of this Sec
ton of the law. Bills for this pur-
pose have been introduced in the
House, one by Representative Newton,
and also in the Senate Senator Lodge
has sponsored such proposal at the
request of New England interests.
nO0fnc1ttOnS Expected.
A joint committee Of the Shipping
Board and the Interstate Commerce
Commission has been considering what
further steps should be taken in the
matter Of delaying the application Of
section Is, either in part or in full.
There is growing belief that in some
quarters notifications in the order will
be forthcoming, so that either a num-
Der of commodities will be excepted
from the operation of section % or
that perhaps a six months extension
of time may be given to the business
interests affected before putting it into
| effect at all
Suggestions have been made that it
| would be advisable to try out section
! IS in one or two areas at a time. In
| fact, members of Congress who had
part III drafting the law say that it
| was the intent to begin its operation in
| that way. since it was scarcely deemed
! possible that adequate American ship
| ping facilities to handle all the foreign
traffic offered could be developed out of
! all American ports at the same time
On the other hand, however, the oues-
tion as to whether it would be Consti-
| tutional to apply the law to one section
and not another has been raised.
Four Years Old, Not Used.
For something like four years sec
tion % has been on the statute books
without being called into operation.
The law specifies that it shall be
operative unless the United States
Shipping Board shall certify to the
Interstate Commerce Commission that
adequate shipping facilities" to and
from American ports to foreign
countries are not afforded. Back in
1920, soon after the passage of the
merchant marine act. the Shipping
Board, not being ready to declare that
the shipping facilities afforded by
American vessels were adequate to
handle the traffic offered, certified
the situation to the Interstate Com
merce Commission, and section 2S was
ordered suspended.
But on March / of this year the In
terstate Commerce Commission re-
ceived from the Shipping Board a
resolution certifying that the pro-
visions of section 2S should not be
further suspended, so far as relates
to all commodities except grain trans
ported between ports of the United
States and those of Great Britain and
northern Ireland and the Irish Free
State. and the ports of continental
Europe north of and including Bor-
deaux and the east coast of Asia, the
islands of the Pacific ocean, Australia
and the East Indian islands, and the
ports of Central and South America y
The order Of the Interstate Commerce
Commission. which was issued March
IL, following the receipt of this reso-
luton from the Shipping Board. made
section % effective as of May 20.
Strong Protests Made.
Immediately there was a roar OF
protest from various interests which
felt that they would be adversely af-
fected. Commissioner Frederic
Thompson Of the Shipping Board, a
stanch supporter of the enforcement
of section %, has said that the oppo-
|
ing preferential interchange of freight
agreements or understanding; from
ship operators and certain organiza-
tions closely identified with the oper-
alton of vessels under foreign regis
try, and from exporters whose buyers
in foreign countries sought to desig-
nate the transport of the commodities
purchased by them in ships Of their
own nation. And back of these, it
has been charged, are to be found the
foreign shipping interests themselves.
Undoubtedly, however, many of the
American interests protesting against
the application of section % at this time
are honestly and firmly convinced that
1t would be injurious to some. Of the
producers, exporters and importers in
this country.
given preferential rail rates to goods
destined for export or import in ves-
sels of their own flag. Germany adopt
ed such a policy, with fine results for
the German merchant marine, it Is
pointed out. When Congress passed
the merchant marine act of 1920 it
had every intention of extending this
kind of aid to American merchant
shipping. 1t went further, and in
section "a of the same act provided
for giving preference in the matter
of tariff duties to goods shipped in
American merchant vessels to this
country. But the executive branch of
the government has declined to. make
section "a effective. To do SO meant
the abrogation of many commercial
|, treaties with foreign nations.