Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1930-06-29
BY OLIVER MCKEE.

- UROPE-BOUND American tour
- lists will flnd fewer passport OBJ
| stacles this Summer than
IL travellers have encountered
since the war, and, II the SEN
ate takes favorable action on a bill
TO pay only half as much for the little
book certifying TO the bearers citizen
ship. Under existing law passports are
valid for only two years and cost $40
| This cost viii be reduced to IS with a
total period. of validity not to exceed
six years from the date of issue, by the
terms Of q bill introduced by Repre-
Sentative O'Connell of New York, which
was passed in May by the House, to-
gether with an amendment by Repre-
sentative Lapeer OF Michigan. Enact
ment OF this measure, which is now in
the Senate, Is strongly favored by the
State Department.
Also, thanks to the negotiations car
ried on by the State Department,
nearly every country In Europe visited
by any considerable number Of visitors
has either reduced materially or elm
mated altogether the visa charge on
American passports.
Travellers viii need a passport from
the Government II they 60 abroad,
and this costs $40. Not so many years
ago European trip might cost $50 or
| 500 for passport visas alone. . Even
when q traveller crossed one country en-
route to another his passport must
bear the appropriate visa, for which q
charge of something like $40 was ordi-
| narily made. The bulk of these charges
have been removed and the traveller
| saves In money and time.
Six years ago Congress passed legis-
lation authorizing the executive
branch Of the Government to negotiate
| reciprocal agreements with foreign
countries for the reduction or abolish
ment of non-immigrant visa fees. Many
European countries at first were disin-
clined to negotiate on this basis. resent
ing the $40 fee which the American
Government charged prospective immi-
| grants to our shores. The number of
European tourists who want to visit the
United States is comparatively small
whereas European immigrants num-
Der many hundreds of thousands.
Many Agreements Made.
The principal difficulty which our
negotiatoSs had was in trying to con-
vince certain foreign governments that
our charge of $40 for an immigrants
visa was fair one, covering the actual
cost OF the physical examination and
other work, and that we could not con-
slider the adjustment of this fee in
|
collected upon American tourists. The
American view, however, has prevailed
and the reciprocal agreements nego-
tiated cover non-immigrant visa fees
only.
BY the first of this year the United
States Government had concluded
agreements on this type with the fol-
| lowing countries:
Chile. Costa Rica. Czechoslovakia
Denmark, Esthonia, Finland. France,
Germany. Guatamala, Honduras, Ice
land, italy, Japan. Liberia, Lichtenstein,
Mexico. the Netherlands, Nicaragua,
Norway, Panama, Persia, Peru, Poland,
Salvador. Siam, Spain, Sweden, Switzer-
land and Uruguay.
Many of these countries have abol-
the fee to SIS, So or 81. This group In
cludes those countries most visited by
the American tourist or business man.
France, for example, has cut the charge
| to 50, and as several hundred thousand
Americans land at French ports each
year the collective saving is $4,000. 900
or more annually. Great Britain is the
great exception. The British govern
ment still holds to the full $40 fee.
Business Men Lead Campaign.
American business men for years
have been carrying on q campaign to
reduce the excessive cost Of passports
and cut the red tape that confronts the
American who goes abroad for business
or pleasure AS far back as 1922 the
United States Chamber of Commerce
adopted the following resolution:
High fees for passports and the
visaing Of passports are burden upon
the international travel necessary to
! commerce. However appropriate in war
| time, the formalities incident to visas
and to police control of passports are
now an interference with commerce.
Our Government should reduce its fees
| for passports and visas to reasonable
charge for the service 1t performs. AS
promptly aS possible, our Government
should enter into agreements with for
eign governments for the reciprocal dis
continuance of visa requirements and
when conditions warrant the complete
discontinuance Of passport require
ments."
The passport is prima fscie evidence
over the signature and seal Of the Sec
rotary of State that Mr.. x or Mr.. Y is
| an American citizen There Is no need
| for the Minister or Ambassador to go
back of that. The passport Is good at
its face value in determining the citi-
zenship Of its bearer. Suppose man
goes abroad without a passport? II he
gets in trouble he may be called upon
to prove that he is an American citizen.
How is he going to proceed to prove 1t?
Not only Is a passport required by most
foreign countries In which Americans
expect to travel, but it has served, and
will continue to serve, as most con-