Chicago, Illinois.

July 16, 1921.

Honorable M. C.

Washington, D. C.

Sir:

This Chamber, whose membership chiefly consists of American citizens residing in Chicago and other cities of the Middle West, interested in the import or export trade, or in both, most respectfully appeals to you to assist in defeating the so-called American valuation plan, as provided by Section 402 of the Fordney bill, now before the House.

2

We regard that plan impossible of application, except with great injustice to the business men engaged in international commerce, and as detrimental to the people of this country in general, and we beg leave to state a few of the reasons why it should not be adopted.

The value of a certain commodity is not the same in all the markets of this country, but may vary according to the local demand for it, the cost of freight, and other factors. The same article may be sold for a certain price in New York, and a higher, or a lower one, in Chicago or San Francisco.

Great as the difficulty would be in establishing the value of an imported staple commodity, according to the price of which comparable and competitive products of the United States are sold in the principal market or markets of the United States, or were sold on the date of exportation of the imported merchandise, such difficulty would be increased many times in endeavoring to determine, according to the above standards, the value of seasonable goods, which constitute a large share of the importations from Italy.

3

Indeed, regarding such merchandise, it would be actually impossible to institute a comparison with similar goods, the product of the United States, for the reason that often such goods are not produced here. Any attempt at establishing their value on the basis aforesaid would be a mere guess, and no good purpose could be served by considerably increasing the duties on them. We will, as an illustration, name artistic wares, made of marble or alabaster, as statuary not entitled to free admission as works of art, vases, pedestals, lighting bowls, lamps, and the like, which under paragraph 233 of the Fordney bill, would be subject to a duty of 40 per cent. Such goods are not commercially produced in this country, and we beg to inquire how their value could be established,even approximately, in the manner provided in the bill in question.

4

If the value of the imported merchandise be determined by the price, at the option of the appraising officers and may include or exclude all costs, expenses, and so forth, including duties, profits, and commissions, should such merchandise be sold by the importer to a jobber who, in turn, would sell it in the usual wholesale quantities to the retailer, would its value be established according to the importer's selling price, or the jobber's?

In either case, the importer, as well as the consumer, would be at the mercy of the appraising officers, who would have the power to pile duty upon duty and expenses upon expenses. It would be impossible for the importer to know, when he orders his goods, what their cost will be to him and he would be subject to severe penalties, or, at best, to long and costly litigation and no end of annoyance and loss of time.

5

Comparison, furthermore, between articles of that nature would frequently be extremely difficult, and under the provisions of the Fordney bill, the appraising officers could, should they be so inclined, favor, or break an importer by excluding the duties, and so forth, in some cases, and including them in others.

The uncertainty resulting from the adoption of the plan in question, as well as the great increase in the cost of all commodities, which would naturally follow the suppression of healthy competition by practically making the importation of many kinds of goods an impossibility, would cause the present depression in business to continue indefinitely. This depression, being largely due to the fact that the public refuses to buy in expectancy of a fall in the prices of merchandise, the question may be asked, how much will it buy when the prices soar?

6

By taxing imported merchandise out of existence, as would be done under the valuation feature of the Fordney bill, and practically laying an embargo against importations, we would take away from the European nations one of their principal means of fulfilling their obligations to us. We would also effectively hinder their currency from returning to normalcy, thus making it impossible for them to buy our goods, and preventing the extension and development of our export trade.

Aside from a decent respect for the rights and interest of others, which in this enlightened age should prevail among nations, as well as among individuals, self-preservation demands that no laws which would be harmful to ourselves, such as the valuation plan of the Fordney bill would unfailingly be, shall be passed by Congress.

7

To quote the president's words as recently reported, "We may not hope to sell where we refuse to buy."

We beg to submit our opinion that should it be regarded as necessary by a majority of Congress to raise the duties on certain commodities, it would be far preferable seasonably to increase the rate of duties on such goods according to the old and tried standard of valuation, rather than pass legislation, which would unfairly, unnecessarily, and enormously increase all duties, and inevitably result in chaos.

Very respectfully,

Chicago Italian Chamber of Commerce.

F. Bragno, president; I. E. Canini, vicepresident; V. Formusa, vice president; J. Rigali, treasurer, J. De Grazia, attorney; L. Caravetta; P. Cariole, U. Davia; F. Di Giorgio; A. Ferrari; F. Frontier; G. Garibaldi; J. Gilette; H. I. Hazelton; A. Lagorio; V. Liusi; E. Malato; G. Malato; E. Martini; A. Pecci de Nictolis; A. Russo; P. Russo; directors.