Evening star., 1927-11-27
BY REX COLLIER.

BY REA COLLlEh.
|HE F'ranco-American tariff con-
troversy. precipitated into the
open by the discriminatory
French tariff measures OF
August 80, has resurrected
some rather embarrassing issues lor
fair.minded but cautious Uncle sam
to solve.
The latter arose with righteous III
dignation when France announced its
drastic tariff rules for restraint OF
American trade, but our jealous Uncle
soon found himself the target for
recriminatory barrage that still has
him doing some careful thinking.
France, it seems, had plenty of po-
tent ammunition at hand when the
American storm broke. and she was
not the least bit bashful in turning
it loose on whomever it might con-
Germ.
Tariff Inspectors Involved.
DEVELOPMENTS showed that it con-
cerned generally Secretary Kellogg
and his State Department and Sec
retary Mellon and his Treasury De-
partment. More specifically, how.
ever, did it concern certain tariff in
spectors and Treasury agents who
have a penchant for prying into the
private affairs of French exporters.
These tariff commission representa-.
tives and Treasury Department in.
vestigators are doing only what they
were empowered to do by the tariff
act of 1922, but. power or no power,
France doesn't think this particular
sort of "snooping" is chubby at ALL
and her exporters have said so.
The tariff commission men have
been operating under the authority
conferred upon them in section 315
of the tariff act. they confine their
activities to ascertaining the differ
ences in costs of production "of arti-
cles wholly or in part the growth or
product of the United States and of
like or similar articles wholly or in
part the growth or product of COM
peting foreign countries"
The Treasury operatives, who are
customs representatives, obtain their
authority from section $40 of the same
act. which provides for inspection of
foreign exporters books. papers.
records. accounts. documents or CORE.
spondence" for the purpose of judg.
ing foreign market values and classi.
ncatlon of French and other foreign
exports.
One group of inspectors operates
under the Tariff Commission, an indie.
pendent agency. and looks into pro-
ductlon costs. The other group comes
under the Treasury Department, and
probes values and classifcations.
Both groups are seeking to protect
the interests of American producers
and exporters.
The activities of these American in
spectors, particularly the Treasury
agents, have proved to be a serious
boomerang in the present tariff nego-
tiations.
Cudgei i'm Tariff Act.
Resentment over the invasion of
private offices of French manufac.
turers and producers of export goods
by the customs representatives has
been cropping up for many months.
The same sort of resentment also has
been manifested in other European
countries, for the customs men are
stationed also in London, Vienna, Ber.
lin and Rome.
A couple of years ago there was a
movement in this country to make
diplomats of these inspectors. 1t was
thought that by clothing them in the
diplomatic cloak of an embassy at
tache their access to desired records
and their entree to export circles
would be greatly facilitated.
OF course. the exporters had the
right. under any conditions. to refuse
the inspectors or diplomats or any
other Americans permission to ex-
anime their books, but the American
tariff act contained a very telling
cudge1 for use in such rebellious cases.
The cudgel was a pertinent clause
worded substantially as follows:
IF any person manufacturing. pro-
ducing. selling. shipping or consign.
ing merchandise exported to the
United States fails, at the request of
the Secretary of the Treasury, or an
appraisers. or person acting as an ap.
praiser, or a collector, or a general
appraiser, or the board of general ap
praisers. as the case may be. to per.
NIT a duly accredited officer of the
United States to inspect his books,
papers. records, accounts. documents
or correspondence pertaining to the
market value or classification of such
merchandise, then while such failure
continues the Secretary of the Treas