The Glacier reporter. [volume] (Browning, Mont.) 1953-current, 1960-09-22
Beating the v. S. Tariff
Textiles Get Through
State Department and Cuba
eftisf Still Active2-

State Department and Cuba-
leftisf Still Aefive2-
WASHINGTON, DC. - The
question of whether or not in
creasing imports of low-cost for
acknowledged merchandise
is driving American industries
out of business is one that can
evoke an argument of swift and
ferocious impact, in certain quar-
tiers, and is one that has rocked
Congress for the past several
years, and burdened the execu-
tive branch of government on
several fronts.
The argument continues to rage
undated, and may not be settled
for some years to come - if ever.
But one thing that only adds
fuel to fire is the methods that
some of our trade-allies indulge
in in an effort to secure an even
bigger share of the American
market than the already-large
share they now have.
For a time, after import quotas
on textiles were voluntarily &C
cepted by the Japanese govern
ment and Japanese textile indus
try, in answer to complaints from
American textile interests that
Japan was flooding the coun-
try" with cheaply-made products,
against which u. S. producers
could not compete, some Japan
csc textile firms circumvented
the quotas by shipping textiles
to the country through third
countries. For example, Japan
would ship textiles to Formosa,
who would send them on to the
United States.
American textile manufacturers
raised the roof, and much of this
third country" traffic was quell-
ed.
But still another method of
lodging the law was discovered
by some of the foreign producers.
They found that a loophole in
the law made it possible for them
to reap so per cent, across-the-
board reduction in existing tariff
rates on imported cotton textiles,
by temporarily "waterproofing"
their goods.
Under existing tariff laws, for
eign producers of ginghams, vel
veteens, typewriter ribbon fab
RIGS, and most other cotton tex
tiles never intended to be consid-
cred as waterproof cloth, could
spray their cloth with a wax
emulsion and ship them into this
country as waterproof prod
ucts, thereby taking advantage of
an IL per cent ad valorem on
waterproof cloth.
When the goods were safely ad-
mitted to the United States, the
wax could be removed and the
cloth used for its originally in
tended purpose.
This loophole was called to the
attention of Sen. John Pastore of
Rhode Island and Sen. Strom
Thurmond of South Carolins
members of a special Senate sub
committee on textiles and they
endeavored to close it by an
amendment to the Waterproof
Fabrics Act, which was adopted
by Congress and, as this was writ
ten, was pending before the Pres
ident for his signature.
To demonstrate the impact of
such devious shipping methods
on the domestic industry, imports
of waterproof cloth in 1851
amounted to only $1,000 yards.
But when this loophole was dis
covered, so-called waterproof
fabric imports jumped to five
million yards in 1854.
Two members of the Senate
Internal Security Subcommittee
have charged that Cuba was
handed to Castro and the COM
munists by a combination of
Americans in the same way that
China was handed to the Com
munists."
This conclusion was drawn by
Senators James o. Eastland of
Mississippi, chairman of the Sen
ate Judiciary Committee and its
Internal Security Subcommittee,
and Thomas A. Dodd, a ranking
member of the subcommittee,
who released for publication a
sensational report on testimony
of two former ambassadors to
Cuba, hitherto kept under wraps.
The two ambassadors, Earl
Smith and Arthur Gardner, charg-
ed that William Wieland, who
had charge of Central American
Affairs as Director of the State
Departments Caribbean Division,
was a reporter of leftist ele-
ments in Latin America" and
that Roy Rubottom, former AS
sistant Secretary of State for
Latin America and now Ambassa-
dor to the Argentine, suggested
politics which aided Castro's rise
to power"
Ambassador Smith represented