The daily worker. [volume] (Chicago, Ill.) 1924-1958, 1932-05-17
By M. ]. WACHNGAN.

FINDER the cloak of a revenue bill an attempt
u is being made in the U. S. Senate to impose
an embargo upon one of the major Soviet i'm
ports into this country. The planned embargo
on Soviet coal is manufactured so closely that it
leaves little doubt of its real intent as war
move against the U.SSR.
The disgraceful- log-rolling and trading be-
tween the various predatory groups for increased
duties on many essential commodities with
view of pilfering the consumer has reached pro-
portions that even the capitalist press is COM
pelled to denounce as dishonest. But among all
those inpositions there is an import levy which
has little to do either with revenue or with tariff
but which is in reality but disguised attack
upon the Soviet Union.
Yi4s bill as introduced by the Senate Commit
tee on Finance ostenSibly is only OF a group
seeking high tariff protection under the pre-
tense of balancing the budget 1t imposes an
import duty of 10 cents on every 100 pounds OF
imported COAL anthracite and coke, or 1924 per
gross, ton. On closer consideration the import
duty on coal cannot possibly be intended and
is not intended to increase the price Of imported
coal by 1924 ped ton. It so happens that in
respect of coal it would be rather inconvenient
for the Wall Street interests to attempt to rob
the New England consumers of our coal OF S224
per ton, the simple reason being that the United
States exports about fifteen times as much coal
as it imports.
According to official statistics of the Depart
merit of Commerce the total U. S. exports OF
coal anthracite and coke, amounted to over 13
million gross tons, while the total imports were
less than 900 gross tons. There is very good
reason to believe that the imposition OF any duty
on imported coal will result in retaliation by
the affected countries and that those countries
on their part will impose a similar duty upon
coal imported by them from the United States
The financial and business interests controlling
the coal industry in this country stand to lose
about fifteen times as much on such procedure
as That which they may possibly gain as
result of the imposition of duty on the slight
coal imports of this country
The import duty on coal is therefore planned
in manner to make it apply against one coun-
try orlIy.' It is merely subterfuge to secure an
embargo on Soviet coal and this embargo is be-
ing sought definitely as a war move apparently
closely linked with the events in the Far East.
The Anthracite institute has been in the front
ranks of the various war mongers against the
Soviet Union This institute did not stop before
the grossest Misrepresentation and naked lies
in order to cultivate war psychology against the
Soviet Union During the last two years 1t con-
tinuously spread poisonous propaganda against
the Soviet Union.
This institute has been making statements that
the very existence OF the American anthracite
industry is threatened by the import of Soviet
coal 1t has maintained that Soviet coal is
dumped in this country at ridiculous prices, that
forced labor is being employed in its production,
and so on endlesSly, never ceasing to reiterate
the same lies that we're disproved over and over
again by interchangeable evidence derived from
governmental politicians and even from publica-
lions of the anthracite industry itself.
All these charges we're repeatedly made the
subject of official investigations of the Treasury
Department; they were sfted again and again
and they have always been found to consist OF
a tissue of lies that will not stand the light OF
any investigation. Only recently Mr.. Seymour
Lownlan stated that the total imports Of Russian
anthracite into this country was about equal
to one days production of the anthracite coal
fields in Pennsylvania" Furthermore, he also
had to admit that the Russian anthracite is an
especially high grade imported only into New
England and gets a higher price than American
coal" Quoted from an interview by Mr. LoWman
In the Baltimore Sun of April g. 1892.
So it is really not the competition of the Rus
sian coal that bothers the promoters of the i'm
port tax Because of its high quality, Soviet
coal is selling in this country at price Of about
81 higher than that of similar kind of Anleri-
can coal There is no competition involved. The
hypocrtical claim of desiring to protect the
American workers comes with very poor grace
when it is considered that the import OF Soviet
coal amounts only to about one-third Of l per
cent OF the domestic production. Besides as al
ready mentioned, the law is so worded that it
applies only to Soviet coal. Barring the import
of the 217000 tons Of coal coming from the
Soviet Union will merely result in replacing
those imports by coal from countries which are
not subjected to the tax.