Evening star., 1939-04-16
Trade Barriers of the States
Push Food Bills Up and Up
Continued Warfare Brings Counter Attack bv u. s.
Bureau and Interstate Council
Meeting at Chicago
By C.. Belmont FAIRIES.

possible solution to the problem. A Fed
eral inspection system might be devel-
oped to designate States up to standard
and eligible to ship their dairy products
throughout the country.
Truck Fees Rise Higher and Higher.
One of the heaviest burdens on inter.
state commerce in recent years has been
the regulation and taxation of motor
trucks. Some States-Arizona, Kansas,
Oklahoma and Wyoming require prac-
tically all out of State trucks that
cross their borders to register and pay
q fee, or to pay higher ton-nile taxes
than trucks having only domestic
licenses.
Every State has its own motor vehicle
code, and the regulations are far from
uniform. Vehicles of certain sizes and
weights are legal on the highways of one
State and illegal after crossing a State
line. Kentucky and Tennessee, with
drastic weight limitations, are avoided by
truckers. If South Carolina law, since
repealed, had been enforced, an effective
barrier to long distance hauling would
have stretched from the Atlantic to the
Mississippi River.
Conflicting equipment requirements
further compGcate the crazy-quilt pat
tern OF motor regulations, and in some
cases driver may be arrested in one
State for having on his truck clearance
lights required by the laws of another
State.
Tightening of motor vehicle restrictions
In Kansas and several neighboring
States has been accomplished by the
establishment of ports of entry" tax COL
lection stations where all trucks and
automobiles entering the State are
stopped and inspected
Although it is the occasional trucker
who Is hampered most by port of entry
legislation, opposition to the system has
developed and many shippers and pro-
ducers believe their interstate markets
are seriously hurt by it. Fear of retalia-
ton has been factor in defeating port
Of entry legislation in the East.
Some progress has been made In cas-
ing motor vehicle regulations through
reciprocal State agreements. Use of
Federal highway grants-in-aid to en-
courage modification of restrictive laws
has been suggested as one way to speed
progress toward uniformity.
Many States discriminate against the
merchant trucker who operates across
State lines by requiring heavy license
fees or restricting use of local markets.
In some cities the itinerant merchant
must pay twice as much or more for a
license as the established merchant. In
Louisville, KY, the annual fee is $3.50; in
Fort Wayne, Ind, $500.
Milk and cream regulations form only
small part Of the complex system of
barriers to interstate trade. Midwestern
States have used margarine exicse taxes
to encourage use of animal oils. South
ern States have attempted to stimulate
use OF cotton oil. Other States have
imposed taxes which effectively prevent
use Of margarine as a butter substitute.
Scores of Buy at-Home Laws
Many States have liquor laws which
discriminate against out-of-State prod
ucts. In addition, there are scores Of
buy y-at-home" laws in force in some 80
States. According to DR.. F. E. Melder,
economic adviser to the Council of State
Governments, Georgia, Kansas, Massa-
chusetts and Missouri give preference to
State products in purchases for State
institutions; Indiana and Maryland to
coal mined in the State; Colorado. New
Mexico, Oregon, Washington, North Da-
kota and New Hampshire to State build
ing materials for public works.
Conflicting grading, labelling and pack
aging laws add to the confusion. Some
States, such as Montana, make grading
compulsory and require produce shipped
into the State to be graded according to
their standards. Trucks carrying pro-
duce into Montana are inspected and a
fee is charged, whether or not the load
is accompanied by a Federal-State in
spection certificate.
Grading and labelling have been used
not only to restrict imports but to stim-
ulate sales Of State products. Rhode
Island puts out-of-State eggs at a dis
advantage by Rhode Island special
eggs grade for eggs laid in the State.
North Carolina, South Carolina and
Florida require imported" eggs to be
marked shipped" even though they
may not have been shipped as far as
competing eggs laid in the State.
General use Of q new Virginia trade
mark, already in use on eggs sold in
Richmond and Washington, has been
urged by the State Bureau of Markets,
The mark shows a map of Virginia
superimposed on a map of the United
States with the official grade printed in
white on blue or red, depending on the
quality.
The mark could easily be worth ST.
100000 year to Virginians, the State
director of markets estimates.
An increasing number of State-financed
advertising campaigns to increase the
sale Of farm products suggests the pos
sibility Of costly interstate trade wars in
the future. In the 1878 marketing year
10 States spent $2,000,0 900 on advertising.
It is estimated that more than 81 500 Y0o1
viii be spent during the current year.