War Trade Board Files: Panama Canal,
License Control
The Acting Governor of the Panama Canal
(
Feuille) to the
Bureau of Exports of the War Trade
Board
Balboa Heights,
December 18, 1917.
Sirs: Referring to letter No. 1 of November
12, and various communications addressed to you since that date,
regarding export control in the Canal Zone,1 to none of which any letter reply has been
received, please be advised that, in the absence of any special
instructions, it has been necessary to formulate a policy for the
control of cargo originating in, or in transit through, the Canal Zone,
based on the information already received and in accord with local
conditions.
Under date of November 28, a circular, three copies of which are
attached, was addressed to all concerned on the subject of export
licenses, although exports had been under control and licenses granted
here for some time prior to this date, as your records will show. A
second circular was issued under date of December 12, three copies of
which are also attached, together with three copies of the form of
shipper’s export declaration referred to in the last mentioned
circular.1
[Page 1278]
This declaration is
submitted in quadruplicate, and one copy affixed to each copy of
cargolicense. With the triplicate copy of the declaration, and the
triplicate copy of the cargo license, there will be forwarded to your
office a copy of the vessel’s manifest in each case.
Of course, this arrangement is possible in the Canal Zone only, because
all cargo at Canal Zone ports is unladed, transferred, and laded by the
Panama Railroad Co., which is a U. S. Government corporation.
Furthermore, in any consideration of the question of export control in
the Canal Zone it should be borne in mind that the Panama Canal, a
department of the U. S. Government, maintains an effective control over
the movement of all shipping in Canal waters; therefore, if it is
decided, for instance, to grant bunkers to any particular ship, the
captain of the port, who is a Canal official, is so advised, and the
actual issuance of the paper form of license is not deemed necessary, as
the coal is supplied by the Panama Canal.
In the same way, it is believed that the matter of transit and
transhipped cargo can be handled in the manner indicated in the
Governor’s circular of December 12, without the necessity of actually
issuing form licenses except for cargo in classes Nos. 7 and 8. Since
the main desire is to control exports, and since the issuance of the
paper form is only incidental to this control, it is believed that the
arrangement whereby all shipping papers for cargo in the classes
indicated in the circular of December 12 are submitted to the Bureau of
Customs for notation upon the papers as to whether or not the cargo may
go forward, should be satisfactory.
The Bureau of Customs is a branch of the Division of Civil Affairs, the
Chief of which has charge of export control in the Canal Zone, as you
have been previously advised, and all actions of customs inspectors are
naturally subject to his supervision. Furthermore, the Panama Railroad
Co., whose receiving and forwarding agent signs the export declarations
referred to, is a corporation all of whose employees are employees of
the United States Government, and who are just as keenly interested in
the proper administration of exports control as are the employees of the
Bureau of Customs or any other branch of the Government.
It should be understood that under the present arrangement the only cargo
laded is that which falls in class 1 or 2, or has either been passed for
export by the Bureau of Customs or covered by regular license, and that
the receiving and forwarding agent of the Panama Railroad Co. submits a
statement to that effect with the outgoing manifest. Although the
circular states that the cargo of classes 1 and
[Page 1279]
2 may be laded freely, an arrangement exists
whereby the receiving and forwarding agent notifies the Bureau of
Customs of any shipments in these classes which appear suspicious, even
when the shipments are covered by export license from the United States
or Allied countries. Such cargo is then examined, and held, if deemed
necessary, pending advice from the War Trade Board.
You will note that transhipped cargo under class 2 is being handled in
the same way as you have already authorized in the case of cargo of the
same nature which is merely being carried through the Canal by vessels
not stopping at either port. The authorization referred to was contained
in your letter of November 13 to the Washington Office of the Panama
Canal.1
Should any feature of the method now in effect here be misunderstood or
deemed unsatisfactory, it is requested that the objection be referred to
this office before any definite action is taken.
Respectfully,
[Enclosure 1]
Circular on the Subject of Export Licenses, Issued
on November 28, 1917, by the Governor of the Panama Canal
(
Harding)
Balboa Heights,
November 28, 1917.
To All Steamship Agents,
Exporters, and Others Concerned:
You are advised that, effective at once, no cargo, excepting that
originating in the United States or possessions, and covered by
export license, or cargo destined to the United States or
possessions, shall be exported from Canal Zone ports without license
or permission from the Chief of the Division of Civil Affairs.
Applications shall be made in all cases to the chief customs
inspector at the port of exportation upon forms provided for that
purpose. Before accepting cargo for shipment carriers should request
the consignor to apply for license, attaching copies of the ocean
bill of lading to the application. If license is granted the bill of
lading will be stamped with the license number, and if license is
not required, the bill of lading will be so marked. The original
license will be delivered to the applicant, who should hand it to
the steamship company’s agent, with the completed bill of lading.
There is a stub upon this license which shall be detached and
completed by the chief customs inspector at the port of consignment,
and all bills of lading covering local or trans-shipped cargo,
together with all export licenses, and a complete manifest
[Page 1280]
of all local and
trans-shipped cargo must be furnished to the chief customs inspector
at the port of departure at least one hour before schedule time of
sailing of the vessel. The customs office will check the bills of
lading against the manifest and return all papers excepting the
manifest to the proper officers of the vessel.
For all trans-shipped cargo not originating in, or destined to, the
United States, or its possessions, it will be necessary for the
steamship company’s agent to make application for export license in
the absence of a regularly accredited agent of the consignor, or the
consignee on the Isthmus.
Please note that the stipulation relative to outgoing manifest
changes the present regulations, in that the manifest must be
submitted at least 1 hour before sailing time of the vessel, instead
of 48 hours afterward, and must contain a complete list, not only of
local cargo, but of all cargo trans-shipped at a Canal Zone
port.
[Enclosure 2]
Circular on the Subject of Export Licenses, Issued
on December 12, 1917, by the Governor of the Panama Canal
(
Harding)
Balboa Heights,
December 12, 1917.
To All Steamship Agents,
Exporters, and Others Concerned:
Referring to my circular of November 28, relative to export licenses,
please be advised that cargo will be divided into classes as
follows:
- 1.
- Cargo originating in or destined to the United States or
its possessions;
- 2.
- Cargo both originating in the United Kingdom, France,
Italy, or possessions, and destined to same;
- 3.
- Cargo originating in the United Kingdom, France, Italy, or
possessions, and destined to neutral countries;
- 4.
- Cargo originating in or destined to Entente Allies other
than those already mentioned;
- 5.
- Cargo originating in European neutral countries destined
anywhere except to the United States or possessions;
- 6.
- Cargo both originating in and destined to neutral
countries other than European neutrals;
- 7.
- Cargo destined to European neutrals;
- 8.
- Cargo originating in or reexported from the Republic of
Panama.
The receiving and forwarding agent of the Panama Railroad Co. has
been instructed that cargo of classes 1 or 2 may be unladed,
transferred and laded freely.
[Page 1281]
For cargo of classes 3, 4, 5 and 6 the receiving and forwarding agent
will submit all through bills of lading or accountable receipts or
similar papers to the Bureau of Customs for inspection before the
cargo is laded and as soon as possible after it is received. The
chief customs inspector will indicate upon the bill of lading or
accountable receipt whether or not the cargo may go forward.
All cargo of class 7, destined to European neutrals, must be covered
by an export license for each commodity and each consignee,
application for which should be made to the Bureau of Customs as far
in advance of shipment as possible. In the absence of a regularly
accredited agent of the consignor or the consignee on the Isthmus,
it will be necessary for the agent of the connecting carrier to make
such application.
For all cargo of class 8 applications for export licenses shall be
made by consignors as far in advance of date of shipment as possible
to the Bureau of Customs, which will indicate whether or not license
is required and furnish the necessary forms.
Instead of presenting bills of lading with the outgoing manifest,
which must be submitted at least one hour prior to the ship’s
departure, the receiving and forwarding agent shall hand the chief
customs inspector a shipper’s export declaration to the effect that
all cargo shown on the manifest has been properly passed upon. The
chief customs inspector will then issue an export license to the
vessel in question covering the entire cargo as shown in the
manifest.
Please note that under this arrangement, in many cases, individual
shipments of cargo in classes such as 7 and 8 will be covered by
export license, irrespective of the general cargo license which will
be granted to a vessel upon its departure.
