Free Port

There are eleven Freeports in the U. S.*, but last week the U. S. got its first free port--a small, ugly plot at Stapleton, Staten Island, in New York Harbor's Narrows.

Much as customs inspection pains the homing U. S. tourist, it irks shippers more. For their relief and even more for the relief of U. S. ports that felt they were losing harbor business because of red tape, Congress passed the Foreign Trade Zones Act in 1934, making a limited type of free port permissible for the first time in the highly protectionist U. S. Free ports, isolated free trade areas, were once prevalent in Europe, included such cities as Naples, Leghorn, Hamburg, Marseille. Today, sprinkled over the globe from Copenhagen to Curac,ao, are some 40 free ports, walled off on the seaward side of customs barriers, where shippers can unload, store and tranship goods without red tape. Stapleton is well suited for such a purpose for there New York's late Mayor John F. Hylan spent some $30,000,000 to build a row of enormous piers which have failed to earn their upkeep. New York's present Mayor Fiorello LaGuardia, who has pushed the free port idea for years, hopes to turn his predecessor's liability into an asset by spending some $6,000,000 more.

Five piers, Nos. 12 through 16, make up the new free port, which has an area of 78 acres. Of this, 60 acres are the murky waters of the bay, 18 are solid land. A 12-ft. wire fence, costing $30,000, has been laced around the solid acres. To bar the bay to smugglers, two photoelectric eyes stare steadily across the half-mile harbor entrance.

Ships bringing goods into New York Harbor may unload at the free port without so much as a by-your-leave to the U. S. Treasury. In this zone, operated as a public utility under Federal supervision, goods may be "stored, broken up, repacked, assembled, distributed, sorted, graded, cleaned, mixed with foreign or domestic merchandise," and finally re-exported 1) to foreign countries or 2) to the U. S. by paying duty in the ordinary way. The various operations that can be performed in the free port are called "manipulation," since by the terms of the law "manufacturing" is forbidden. Until now, if a shipper wished to "manipulate" arriving goods before re-exporting them, he had to take them through customs, pay the duty, take them back through the customs and wait for his 99% refund.

Though many authorities question the project's profitableness, New York City expects to make money from its investment in Stapleton Free Port. In the first year it is estimated that the port will handle 120,000 tons of goods. Wharfage and other revenues from the five piers and warehouse will run to $150,000, half again as much revenue as the Hylan piers have yielded in late years. That no eager freighters plowed past the vigilant electric eyes last week was due, according to Commissioner of Docks John McKenzie, to the fact that foreign shippers were not yet used to the idea.

*Freeport, Me., was named for Sir Andrew Freeport. Freeports in Ohio and Kansas were named for an unremembered Freeport whence came the first settlers. How Freeport, Va. was named is unknown. Freeport, Ill. was named after First Settler William ("Tutty") Baker, who was so lavish with food and shelter to wayfarers that his wife complained: "What is this we have made of our home, a free port?" Freeport, Minn., originally called Oak Station, was renamed after Freeport, Ill. as was Freeport, Mich.

Freeports in Texas, New York, Florida and Pennsylvania were so called because they had no dockage charges.

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