Evening star., 1940-03-18
Trade Walls Brewinq
New War Between
States,' Hearing Told
Monopoly Quiz Hears
Frunk Bone Outline
PeriIs Of Barriers
BY BLAIR BOLLES.


A new war between the States"
fought with commercial weapons, is
brewing as result of the States
growing fondness for trade barriers
against products from other parts
of the country, the Monopoly Com
mittee heard today. It opened hear
ings In the Senate caucus room on
the problem of interstate trade bar
riers. with Frank Bane, executive
director Of the Council of State
Governments, as the first witness.
Direct retaliation by affected
States has followed Inevitably" Mr..
Bane said Of the trade barriers.
Retaliation leads to counter -retalia-
ton, and counter-retaliation to still
more stringent measures. In some
instances States have been on the
verge of severing relationships and
engaging In general commercial war
fare
Such was the case, for instance,
when three States, suffering from a
beer trade barrier in another State,
threatened to cease purchasing any
liquors whatever from that State
unless the enforcement of its law
was relaxed, and to boycott any and
all products from the State.
eye for an Eye"
Estates producing cottonseed oil
are definitely retaliating against the
products of States which endeavored
to limit the sale of commodities
made from their product.
"Citrus-growing States retaliate
freely, the one against the other,
and several States, in order to assure
that their retaliation shall in all
cases provide an eye for an eye and
a tooth for tooth, propose over
all omnibus bills which authorize
the administrative officials to re-
taliate in kind against any and all
States which enforce laws dis
eliminating against any product
produced within their boundaries -
Mr.. Bane urged that Congress
take some steps to discourage the
practice Of erecting the barriers,
although he granted that national
anti-barrier program might be ac-
companied by such great admins
trative problems that its purposes
would be defeated.
Cites Results of Cooperation.
He reported good results from inter-
state cooperation in the elimination
of the barriers, especially through
the action of the Council of State
Governments. The Federal Govern
ment has publicized the evils Of the
barriers through the Agriculture
Department, which pointed out the
economic injuries done to farmers
through the barriers, and has
studied the problem through an
interdepartmental committee head
ed nominally by Secretary Of Com
merce Hopkins.
Mr.. Bane remarked with pleasure
that the Legislatures in session last
year passed practically no new trade
barriers and a number of Legisla-
lures repealed existing laws.
Gives Examples.
Among the types of barriers Mr.
Bane cited the use tax, a levy or
goods bought in other States: in.
spection requirements, used to con.
troll, exclude and restrict dairy
products. livestock and horticultural
and agricultural products; cumu-
lative taxes on trucks travelling
across more than one State.
Mr.. Bane found that these bar.
riers contravene the spirit of Article
1, section 10 of the Constitution
giving the Federal Government the
power to regulate commerce between
States.
"A trade barrier is the counter
part on the national scene of q
tariff wall in international trade,
he said. The barriers have assumed
ominous proportions - divert
ing our economy from the tradi.
tional policy of unhampered domes-
tic trade and threatening to return
us to those conditions which once
played havoc with interstate har.
mony."