821.1561/86

W. R. Grace & Co. to the Acting Secretary of State

Dear Sirs: Referring to the writer’s conversation with Dr. Munro last week, we beg to call your attention to the serious situation which has arisen in the port of Buenaventura, Colombia, as a result of a resolution of the Custom Authorities imposing a tax of 25% on the tariff collected by all privately owned lighters in conveying cargo from ship to shore and shore to ship.

The Corporacion Maritima Colombiana, owned by us, owns1 and operates 3000 tons of lighters and does about 40% of the total lighterage business of the port.

The other lighterage is owned and operated by the Hamburg-American Line (2000 tons), The Roland Line (2000 tons), the Customs House (4000 tons) and the Government owned railway (1500). The resolution does not apply to the lighters owned by the Custom House and the Railway although they engage in commercial lighterage in competition with privately owned lighters.

This creates a highly discriminatory situation which is very injurious to the business of the Corporacion Maritima Colombiana.

That Corporation appealed to the Minister of Treasury and Public Credit but without success.

We believe that the tax is illegal and yet we are reluctant to initiate proceedings in the Supreme Court except as a last resource.

I think the resolution is injurious to the general business of the country as well as to W. R. Grace & Co. and the Grace Steamship Co. The Grace Line and New Orleans & South American Steamship Co. were the first to establish direct service from New York and New Orleans to Buenaventura. The former is giving direct passenger as [Page 642] well as freight service. Corporacion Maritima Colombiana was the first to send lighters to Buenaventura to relieve the serious congestion obtaining there in 1926. We have done our utmost to improve the conditions in the port.

We enclose two copies of the petition of the Corporacion Maritima Colombiana and also two copies of a letter written by Mr. J. E. Zalles, Vice President of W. R. Grace & Co. to the Minister of Colombia at Washington2 from which you will get a clear idea of the situation as it has already been presented to the Colombian Government.

We will greatly appreciate it if you could draw this situation to the attention of the American Minister at Bogota and we hope that he may be able to discuss it with the Colombian authorities in a way which will lead to some relief. We estimate the tax as costing Corporacion Maritima Colombiana about $4,000. monthly.

If this matter can be forwarded to the Legation at Bogota by air mail we would greatly appreciate it as our Vice President, Mr. Zalles, will reach Bogota in about a week and it is his intention to take the matter up with the authorities and with the Minister at that time.

We enclose extra copies of the petition and the letter to the Colombian Minister in order that they may be conveniently forwarded with any instruction you may see fit to give to the Legation.

Respectfully,

  • W. R. Grace & Co.
  • R. H. Patchin

Vice President
  1. In its letter of April 22, 1930, W. R. Grace & Co. stated that: “Our letter of February 11th was in error in stating that the lighters were owned by the Corporacion Maritima Colombiana; it merely operates them.” (821.1561/90)
  2. Enclosures not printed.