195 Code/190
The Secretary of State to the Minister in Canada (Robbins)
Sir: The Department transmits herewith a copy of the proposed General Shipping Code50 which received consideration at a public hearing held by the National Recovery Administration on April 26–28, 1934. You will note that the proposed Code would be applicable to shipping on the Great Lakes. A copy of the brief50a filed with the Deputy Administrator by Mr. Newton D. Baker51 in opposition to the inclusion of the Great Lakes shipping interests in any General Shipping Code is also transmitted herewith. Your attention is particularly invited to the statements set forth under the heading “Competition” in the brief, and the following item from the Daily Freight Record of April 13, 1934:
“W. H. Coverdale, President of Canada Steamship Lines, Ltd., at the annual meeting of the C. S. L. in Montreal declared that the company had been given a competitive advantage over United States lake steamship companies, as the United States industrial code legislation has raised operating costs of American companies. Mr. Coverdale was recently elected President of Export Steamship Corporation.”
As it has been alleged that the proposed General Shipping Code would cause cargoes intended for export from the United States to [Page 718] be sent by rail to Canadian ports in order to avoid the minimum ocean freight charges which could be established under a Division or Subdivision Code by Article VII entitled “Stabilization and Regulations of Rates, Fares, and Charges”, you are requested to forward to the Department any information you may obtain concerning the effect of the proposed Code, including press reports or statements of Canadian officials.
Copies of this instruction and its enclosures are being forwarded to the American Consul General at Montreal with a view to obtaining additional information on this subject from that source.
Very truly yours,