Imperial Valley press., 1941-12-15
By Peter Edison
INSIDE
WASHINGTON

WASHINGTON. De - Oddity
G0OH oddities thanks TO COck-pyed
iaWmakins by Congress. the Navy
Department can import almost any
tEng l. earn please without pay
ing import duties thereon. but the
Var Department.. ,.na the Metals
| Reserve Company and Defense Sup-
plies Corporation have 10 pay on
he nail
In he last War lie Wan Depart
ment Was gwen the privilege Of I'M
porting things du,Y-frcc that ii
needed toe way purposes. bat thc
privilege expired with the end of
re conflict. TIE Nay Department
~ -lren Tie sane privileges. bu,
ao Time lmt Was written into Tho
~. Hence ihc privilege sull holds
good. !. ~as oHlr recently that the
ReCCuS,ru# ron Finance Corporation
SET up lie Metals Reserve Company
10 purchase and create stock pile
oI metals needed - na,ional do
tense and the Defense Supplies
/ Corp 10 GO similar lOD tcr drugs
OF various kinds, cork. Jute, etc.
RELIEF Is SOUGHT
Two attempts have Been made to
relieve these various agencies Of the
tariff tax burden. The first came
IN September when the RFC asked
Congress for permission to issue
notes that WCuld increase It's tundS
by $500 700 900. The bill also pro
POSED thai its subsidiary compan-
les should be able TO import defense
materials without paying duty
thcl con. L WaS claimed this would
Gu; the cost of the national de
tense program BY the amount Of
tariff duty jh~t would be elimi-
mated.
Jesse Joaes. lead Of the RFC.
Ia II & -'ut,lu"n' showing that the
Metals Reserve Company had made
commitments tatahne S960040. 600
Tor import OF DauX.te. antimony,
asbestos. cadmium. chrome copper
graphite, iridium, lead manganese
ere, mercury, ln.ca. nickel, lin, tIng-
stem and zinc.
OF these asbestos. chrome. nickel.
tin and few others come IN free
under the various tariff laws But
metal antimOny is taxed cents
pe" pound; bauXite. from which
aluminium IS obtained, ST per ton:
cadmium. Is cents per pound; cop
per cents per pound; lead. i.
cents per pound CT ore; manganese
are, cent peY pound; tungsten
Gre, 50 cents per pound; mercury,
. p ccHts ner pound and zinc ore. L.
cents per pound.
Jones also testified that the De-
fense Supplies Corporation had
commitments for SGT 7790.500 fer i'm
/ ports Of various defense articles.
Some of these like cork, manila fl
j Der. kapok and quinine come in
free OF duty under the tariff laws.
But jute pays cent per pound. plus
/ 10 per cent ad valorem.
! MATTERS OF BOOKKEEPING
Jones stated that up to date the
TWO companies had not paid any
tariff duty cn any Of their imports.
He SAID the companies imported
them 10. the Navy and under the
present statutory authority of the
Nav. Asked whether all this stuff
was being used for the Navy. he
replied il vas all being used in the
defense program. Senator Adams
asked whether this procedure was
not an evasion of the law as all
was not used for the Navy Itself.
Jones replied:
Not necessarily, We may have to
FAY the import duty. but if we are
allowed to bring these articles in
Under this statute, considerable
saving Will result to the government.
There IS no evasion Of the law. If
We pay the duty, it Will go into the
treasury in one pocket an come out
in the other. This is essentially q
matter of bookkeeping.
Array men made their desire fGy
tariff duty exemption clearer by
his explanations
II Congress apprCpriatcS Sl.0O0O0O
for the Army for certain defense
instruments, duties on materials I'M
ported may absorb as much as Sl7O.-
900 The result is the Army gets only
5830,000 worth Of these defense in
.trumeptS. while the US. Treasurv
}ets .>.e other Sl70,000 In money
he government loses nothing. But
he Army loses in the amount of
defense instruments 1t obtains.
However, Congress killed the sec
ion of the bill that would have
3iyen the RFC the right to import
defense materials free of duty.
NANY'S POSITION UNIQUE
In the meantime, Congressman
Robert Doughton, chairman of the
1oWerIul House Ways and Means
Committee. introduced a bill aimed
Il helping the Army and the othe.'
'efcnse agencies Il provided that
no tax or duty should be levied on
my imported article certified by a
oVernment department or agency
. be a defense article. 1t included
this category weapons, munitions.
1lrcraft. ships, machinery for max
ng war materials any strategic or
eritical materials needed in the de-
.tnse program and any other com
modify or article for defense"
The U. S. Tariff Commission i'm
mediately objected to this last !
clause as opening the way for i'm !
port Of all kinds Of things, utterly /
knocking down the tariff walls. |