two years immediately preceding the time of his application for admission to the U. S. has been, and who seeks to enter the U. S. solely for the purpose of carrying on the vocation of minister, or professor and his wife, and his unmarried children under 18 years, if accompanying or following to join him; (e) An immigrant who is a bona fide student at least 15 vears of age and who seeks to enter the U. S. solely for the purpose of study at an accredited school: (f) Women who were citizens of the U. S. and who lost their citizenship by reason of marriage to aliens, or through the loss of U. S. citizenship by their husbands, or by marriage to aliens and residence in a foreign country. A quota immigrant is any other than a non-quota immigrant or a non-immigrant. EXCLUDED CLASSES (1) All idiots, imbeciles, feeble-minded epileptics, insane persons; persons of constitutional psychopathic inferiority; persons with chronic alcoholism: paupers; professional beggars, vagrants, persons afflicted with tuberculosis in any form or with a loathsome or dangerous, contagious disease; persons who are found to be and are certified by the examining surgeon as being mentally or physically defective; persons who have been convicted of a felony or misdemeanor involving moral turpitude; ⚫ polygamists. (2) Anarchists, or persons who believe in or advocate the overthrow by force or violence of the Government of the United States or of all forms of law or who disbelieve in or are opposed to organized government, or who advocate the assassination of public officials, or who advocate or teach the unlawful destruction of property; prostitutes, or persons coming for the purpose of prostitution or for any other immoral purpose. CONTRACT LABORERS (3) Contract laborers who have been induced, assisted, encouraged, or solicited to migrate to this country by offers or promises of employment. skilled or unskilled; persons likely to become a public charge, persons who have been excluded from admission and deported in pursuance of law, and who may again seek admission within one year from the date of such deportation, unless prior to their re-embarkation at a foreign port or their attempt to be admitted from foreign contiguous territory the Secretary of Labor shall have consented to the reapplying for admission. Persons whose ticket or passage is paid for with the money of another, unless such persons do not belong to one of the foregoing excluded classes; persons whose ticket or passage is paid for by any corporation, association, society, municipality, or foreign government, stowaways, except that any such stowaway, if otherwise admissible, may be admitted in the discretion of the Secretary of Labor, all children under sixteen years of age unaccompanied by or not coming to one or both of their parents, except that any such children may be admitted if they are not likely to become a public charge and are otherwise eligible. THE YELLOW RACES (4) Unless otherwise provided for by existing treaties, and with certain exceptions the so-called Yellow Races. (5) Aliens who have been arrested and deported in pursuance of law, as distinguished from persons excluded and deported, regardless of when such deportation occurred. He cannot land even as a seamen, except to go to a hospital. Such aliens, however, may be given permission by the Secretary of Labor to reapply for admission after they have remained out of the United States for at least one year from the date of deportation. ILLITERACY All aliens over 16 years of age who cannot read the English language or some other language or dialect, including Hebrew or Yiddish, are excluded, with the following exceptions: reading. (a) Persons who are physically incapable of (b) Any admissible alien or any alien heretofore or hereafter legally admitted, or any citizen of the father, over 55 years of age, his wife or mother, his U. S. may bring in or send for his father or grandgrandmother, or his unmarried or widowed daughter, who, if otherwise admissible, may be admitted whether such relative can read or not. (e) Persons seeking admission to avoid religious persecution in the country of their last permanent residence. (d) Persons previously residing here who were lawfully admitted, resided continuously therein for 5 years, and return thereto within 6 months from the date of their departure. (e) Persons in transit through the United States. in transit through foreign contiguous territory (the (f) Persons lawfully admitted and who later go period an alien may remain in foreign contiguous territory while in transit under this exemption shall be limited to 60 days; an alien may leave and enter at the same port and still be in transit within the meaning hereof). (g) Exhibitors and employees of fairs and expositions authorized by Congress. (h) Aliens whose ability to read can be readily determined by any ordinary method approved by the department may be excused from the actual taking of the test. CONTRACT AND SKILLED LABOR imported if labor of like kind unemployed cannot Skilled labor, if otherwise admissible, may be be found in this country. The provisions of law applicable to contract labor Ishall not be held to exclude professional actors, artists, lecturers, singers, nurses, ministers, prolearned profession, or domestic servants. fessors, persons belonging to any recognized VIOLATIONS AND PENALITIES Violations of the immoral-women clause are punishable, on conviction, by imprisonment up to ten years and a fine up to $5,000. Violations of the contract-labor clause are punishable, on conviction, by $1,000 fine in each case and (or) imprisonment up to two years. Violations of the Anarchist clause carry prison up to five years. Other violations carry various penalties. It is unlawful for any person or concern engaged in bringing immigrants to give fare rebates or to solicit immigration; penalty $1,000 fine or not more than 2 years in jail in criminal proceedings, or $400 fine in administrative proceedings. The penalty for smuggling immigrants is fine up to $2,000 and prison up to five years. Any alien who has been excluded from admission for any cause and who again seeks admission unless the Secretary of Labor has consented to his reapplying for admission. Any alien who, after March 4, 1929, enters the U. S. at any time or place other than as designated by immigration officials or who eludes or has eluded examinations or inspection by immigration officials, or who obtains or has obtained entry by a willfully false or misleading representation or the willful concealment of a material fact, shall be guilty of a misdemeanor punishable by imprisonment for not more than two years or by a fine of not more than $1,000, or by both. LAW ON DEPORTATION Any alien sentenced to imprisonment shall not be deported under any provision of law until after the termination of the imprisonment. In general, aliens excluded by a board of special inquiry, under the immigration laws are entitled to the right of appeal to the United States Department of Justice, which, on June 14, 1940, took over control and administration of the Bureau of Immigration and Naturalization. Interest Laws and Small Loan Interest Rates Source: Department of Consumer Credit Studies, Russell Sage Foundation The regulation of interest rates is a form of police power which is generally exercised by state legislatures. Interest laws may be divided for convenience into four classes. 1. Statutes fixing the legal rate of interest. Every state has established a legal or conventional rate of interest which applies on judgments, on matured obligations, and in loan contracts in which no interest rate is stated. This rate is usually 6 per cent a year, but in some states it is 5 per cent, 7 per cent, or 8 per cent a year. 2. Laws fixing the maximum contract rate of interest. Five states-Arkansas, California, Oklahoma, Tennessee, and Texas-have constitutional provisions restricting the maximum contract rate of interest. All other states, except Colorado, Maine, Massachusetts, and New Hampshire, have statutory restrictions upon the maximum rate of interest which may be contracted for in the absence of specific statutory authorization to the contrary. They are generally known as the usury statutes. The most common maximum contract rates are 6 per cent and 8 per cent a year, but a few states permit rates as high as 12 per cent a year. Penalties for infraction range from forfeiture of excess interest to loss of the entire principal and even to imprisonment. Corporations are usually exempted from the protection of these laws. 3. Regulatory small loan statutes. These statutes apply only to loans of small sums, but within this area they apply to all lenders not specifically exempted. Thirty-eight jurisdictions have comprehensive small loan statutes, most of which are modeled State General History 1927; new act 1932. 1919; amended.. 1937. after the Uniform Small Loan Law drafted by the The states with small loan laws, the dates of the enactment of the laws and the rates of interest. as of October, 1941, follow: Maximum Rate (Monthly, unless otherwise stated) 8% per annum 10% per annum Enacted 1939, suspended by petition for 24% to $100; 2% on remainder. 2% on earlier acts Numerous acts since 1913; present act 10% per annum plus 10% fee plus other 1935 1919: frequently amended. 1913; amended 1925; amended 1941 1920; amended 1935. 1917; new act 1935 1913; new act of 1917; revised 1933. 1921: new act of 1934. 1928; amended 1940.. 1917; frequently amended.. 1915: new act of 1921; revised 1925 1913; new act 1927; amended.. 1913; new act 1915, amended 1941.. 1917: amended. charges 3% to $100; 2% on remainder 1% 350% 312% to $100; 2 %% on remainder 3% to $150; 11% on remainder plus 50c 3% to $150, 2% on remainder Unsecured loans, 3% to $150; 24% on 3% on loans of $100 or less, 2% on loans 9% per annum plus 10% fee plus exam- 1910: new act 1914: new act 1932; amended 270 1915; new act 1932; amended 1941.. 10% per annum plus 10% fee plus other 2% to $100; 2% on remainder 13 6% per annum plus fee of 1% per month 3% 1937. 1918: amended 1941. 1925; new act 1933. 22% to $125; 24% on remainder 3% up to $300; 1% on remainder to $500, 3 %% to $150; 24% on remainder usury laws are frequently evaded by discounting a The statutes of limitation of action for recovery or enforcement in civil actions on debts vary from 1 to 20 years in the different States, according to the kind of case. Federal Bankruptcy Laws Source: Max Isaac, Editor, Corporate Reorganizations-American Bankruptcy Review, New York On June 22, 1938, the President approved the Chandler Bankruptcy Act, which became effective September 22, 1938. This law represents the most complete revision of the bankruptcy statutes since the approval of the original Act, July 1, 1898. Only a remnant of the old Act remains. Section 16 (relating to the liability of co-debtors of bankrupts), section 30 (authorizing the promulgation of practice rules by the Supreme Court), section 33 (creating the offices of referees and trustees), section 36 (prescribing the oath of referees), section 43 (relating to referees' absence or disability), section 54 (statistical information required to be furnished to the Attorney-General), section 77 (railroad reorganization), and sections 81-84 (municipal debt readjustment law) were all that remained unchanged. While the purpose of the new law is in general to modernize and bring up to date the bankruptcy law of the country, the drastic changes upset many fixed principles of bankruptcy jurisprudence and will require time for judicial interpretation of novel phraseology. Some of the procedural changes include the filing of schedules with voluntary petitions instead of later in the proceedings. The court may, for cause shown, authorize a departure from the usual rule. "Statement of Affairs" in form as prescribed by the Supreme Court must now be filed by the bankrupt. This form may require the bankrupt to disclose his history, cause of bankruptcy, nature and location of his property. A cost inventory is required to be filed by the bankrupt. Applications for discharge are dispensed with, except in corporation cases, the adjudication in bankruptcy operating as such application. Examination of the spouse of a bankrupt as to financial transactions with the bankrupt may be had, despite State laws to the contrary. Adverse witnesses may be examined, as if under cross-examination notwithstanding any Federal or State law to the contrary. Procedure has been materially speeded up. Creditors cannot file answers in involuntary cases. Committees of three creditors may be elected to consult with and advise the trustee, thus obviating the necessity of sending notices and losing time awaiting expiration of notice dates. Tax claims and governmental debts must be filed within a fixed period. Creditors may file claims after the expiration of six months under certain restrictions. A new provision is that claims of less than $50 are eliminated, except as to amount, in voting for the trustee. Previously such claims figured both as to number and amount. Another provision is that the trustee in bankruptcy shall take title to any property which the bankrupt inherits "within six months after bankruptcy. The bankrupt cannot transfer or assign any such inherited acquisition after bankruptcy. New definitions of preferences, new provisions for specific recovery of fraudulently transferred assets, and improved procedure for setting aside liens are among the important changes. The criminal provisions of the new Act have been materially strengthened. Section 77B is no more. That part of the old law is Chapter X in the new law. The Securities and Exchange Commission exerts a marked influence in corporate reorganization proceedings and a new division for the handling of bankruptcy and reorganization matters, coming before the Commission under the terms of the Act, has been established. Other new chapters of the Act are: Chapter XI, relating to arrangements; Chapter XII, real property arrangements by persons other than corporations; Chapter XIII, wage earners' plans and Chapter XIV, maritime commission liens. Under the wage earners' plan, those earning less than $3,600 a year may invoke the provisions of the law to arrange the payment of debts by applying a percentage of future earnings. This latter procedure obviates bankruptcy proceedings to free wage earners from attachment and garnishment of salaries or wages. The old "composition" by debtors has been abandoned and "arrangement" now takes its place. On August 16, 1937, the Municipal Debt Adjustment Act was approved to replace the Act of May 24, 1934, held unconstitutional by the Supreme Court. It provides procedure by which the indebtedness of insolvent taxing agencies, such as local drainage, levee, irrigation, reclamation, road, and sewer districts, as well as towns, boroughs and municipalities, may effect compositions with their creditors. These compositions would be approvable only when the districts or agencies filed voluntary proceedings in bankruptcy accompanied by plans approved by 51 per cent of all of the creditors of the district or town. The plan of composition could not be confirmed unless accepted in writing by creditors holding at least 66 2-3 per cent of the aggregate amount of the indebtedness of the petitioning district or taxing agency, unless the judge was satisfied that the taxing district was authorized by law to carry out the plan, and there had been a finding by the court that the plan was fair, equitable and for the best interest of the creditors. On March 4, 1940, the Municipal Debt Adjustdistricts may avail themselves of the benefits. ment Act was amended so that local improvement without involving the municipalities as such. On June 28, 1940 a further amendment included "any county or parish", and the act and the amendments were extended to June 30, 1942. The Frazier-Lemke Farm Mortgage Act was approved by the President August 29, 1935. It was written to conform to the Supreme Court's decision, holding the original Frazier-Lemke Act invalid. The new Act provides, that any farmer failing to obtain a composition or extension, or if he feels aggrieved by a composition or extension proposal, may ask to be adjudged a bankrupt. He may also ask the court that all his property be appraised, that his exemptions be set aside to him. and that he be allowed to retain possession under supervision and control of the court, of all the remainder of his property, including his encumbered exemptions under terms and conditions set forth in the Act. The court is authorized to stay all proceedings for three years, during which time the debtor is permitted to retain possession of his property under the supervision and control of the court provided he pays a reasonable rental for that part of the property which he retains. The rental is used to pay taxes and upkeep; the remainder is distributed among the secured and unsecured creditors and applied on their claims. At the end of three years, or prior thereto, an appraisal is made, and the debtor can regain unencumbered possession by paying into court the amount of the appraisal of the property of which he retains possession, including the amount of encumbrances on his exemptions, up to the amount of the appraisal, less the amount paid on the principal. Upon request in writing by any secured creditor or lien creditor. the court shall order a sale of the property affected. at public auction. The debtor is allowed ninety days in which to redeem any property sold at such a sale by paying the amount for which the property is sold, with interest at five per cent, to the court and he may then apply for his discharge in bankruptcy. The Act is declared to be an emergency measure. in the judgment of the court, such emergency ceases to exist in its locality, the court, in its discretion, may shorten the stay of proceedings and proceed to liquidate the estate. If. The Frazier-Lemke Act was extended to March 4, 1944, during which period petitions may be filed by farmers under the provisions of that statute. The Railroad Reorganization Act of March 3. 1933, was approved by the President, August 27. 1935. This Act is known as Section 77, and its provisions are too intricate and complicated for this analysis. Any railroad engaged in interstate commerce is amenable to the law, and the Interstate Commerce Commission wields much authority and influence in the entire proceedings. The legal action is taken, however, in the courts of bankruptcy, as is the case in other proceedings under the bankruptcy law. The Chandler Railroad Adjustment Act, (Chapter XV) approved July 28, 1939, permits railroads in financial difficulties to enter into voluntary agreements with their creditors to postpone maturity dates, and reduce interest rates on securities. The Act may be invoked in behalf of railroads not in equity receivership or in reorganization under Section 77 and have not been in equity receiverships under Section 77 within 10 years prior to filing the adjustment petition. Patent Law-Summary Of Source: An Official of the U. S. Patent Office A patent grant gives the inventor the right to exclude all others from making, using, or selling his invention for 17 years, but it does not give the patentee the right to make, use, and sell his own invention if it is an improvement on some unexpired patent whose claims are infringed thereby. A patent is granted only upon a regularly filed application, complete in all respects, upon payment of the fees, and only after a determination of utility and completeness of disclosure of the invention, and a search to determine its novelty. No patent is granted upon a mere idea or a suggestion. There must be a complete description of the invention and it must be accompanied by drawings suitably illustrating the same, if it is of a machine or other device that can be illustrated. If the device is not operative and not so clearly set forth as to make it capable of manufacture from the description, no patent can issue. An application for patent must be made by the inventor only, and no person who has not actually created a portion of the invention is entitled to be considered a joint inventor. A patent issued to more than one inventor where only one has actually invented the device is invalid. A person who makes a financial contribution merely is not a joint inventor, but the invention may be assigned to him. Patents are not granted for useless devices, for printed matter, for methods of doing business, for improvements in devices which are the result of mere mechanical skill, nor for machines that will not operate, particularly for alleged perpetual motion machines. A patent is not granted for a new composition of matter unless the component parts thereof, as well as the manner of making and using the same, are fully disclosed in the application when filed. To obtain a patent for a medical compound, it must be something more than a physician's prescription. No protection is afforded by the patent law prior to the actual issue of a patent. Protection of the patent law extends throughout continental United States, Alaska, Hawaii, and the Canal Zone, and, upon compliance with certain regulations, to Puerto Rico, the Philippine Islands, the Virgin Isles, and Guam. The law gives right of appeal to the courts from refusal to grant a patent or a reissue. President Roosevelt signed, July 2, 1940, a bill authorizing the Commissioner of Patents to keep secret all inventions affecting national defense. If the commissioner decides the disclosure of an invention would be detrimental to public safety or defense he can withhold the granting of a patent to the inventor for an indefinite period. Army and Navy officials would get immediate access to pending patents. In August, 1941, a law was signed which prohibits the filing of applications for patents in foreign countries, which cover any invention made in this country, without first obtaining a license from the Commissioner of Patents. TRADE MARKS-THE LAW THEREON (Many of the States have their own trade-mark laws, which it is necessary to consult) A trade-mark is a distinctive word, emblem, symbol, or device, or a combination of these, used on goods actually sold in commerce to indicate or identify the manufacturer or seller of the goods. The mark must have been used in interstate or foreign commerce, or in commerce with the Indian tribes, before an application for registration can be filed in the Patent Office. Any mark which has been in actual and exclusive use as a trade-mark by the applicant during the 10 years next preceding February 20, 1905, may be registered, and such a mark when once registered may be registered when used on other goods of the owner of the mark. A trade-mark can not be registered if it contains immoral or scandalous matter. No one can register a mark including the flag or coat of arms or other insignia of the United States or any simulation thereof, or of any State or municipality or of any foreign nation, or of any design or picture that has been or may hereafter be adopted by any fraternal society as its emblem. Registration is prohibited of any name, distinguishing mark, character, emblem, colors, flag, or banner adopted by any institution, organization, olub, or society which was incorporated in any State of the United States prior to the date of adoption and use by the applicant provided use by the organization was prior to use by applicant. No portrait of a living individual may be registered as a trade-mark except by the written consent of the individual, nor may the portrait of any deceased President of the United States be registered during the life of his widow except by written consent of the widow. No mark which is identical with that used by another on the same class of goods, or so nearly resembles it as to be likely to cause confusion in trade, can be registered. These limitations do not prevent the registration of a trade-mark merely because it is the name of the applicant, provided it is distinctively written or printed. Trade-marks are not protected by the copyright laws. Foreigners must apply for and secure registration of their trade-marks in their home countries before registration can be effected in the United States, and only those whose home countries give reciprocal rights to United States citizens can register. Ownership of trade-marks is not conferred by registration. The first person to use a trade-mark on merchandise acquires title thereto in the territory where his goods are marketed. Trademark ownership rights arise under the nonstatutory common law of the States. They are not acquired by registration or lost by failure to obtain the registration permitted by the statute. Owners of trade-marks having business or prospective business in foreign countries should ascertain the trade-mark laws in those countries so that they may take proper steps in time to protect their rights. Registration in the United States generally is essential before registration in foreign countries. An agreement strengthening international regulations for protection of trade-marks, patents and copyrights was signed at London on June 2, 1934, by delegates from 39 nations, including the United States. False indication of the origin of products is prohibited and more general observance of the rights of trade-mark owners is provided. Law of Contracts Source: The Statutes; Common Law To the creation of a valid contract there must be: 1. Precise agreement. The offer of one party must be met by an acceptance by the other, according to the terms offered. 2. There must be a consideration which may or may not be a matter of dollars and cents. For example, marriage is a civil contract in most of the states of the Union. 3. The parties must have capacity to contract. The contracts of insane persons are not binding upon them. Married women are now generally permitted to contract as though single, and bind their separate property. 4. The party's consent must not be the result of fraud or imposition, or it may be avoided by the party imposed upon. 5. The purpose of the parties must be lawful. Agreements to defraud others, to violate statutes, or whose aim is against public policy are void. are The following contracts very generally required to be attested by some writing: Contracts by their terms not to be performed within a year from the making thereof. A promise to answer for the debt, default, or miscarriage of another person. Contracts made in consideration of marriage. except mutual promises to marry. Promise of an executor or administrator to pay debts of deceased out of his own property. Contracts for the creation of any interest or estate in land, with the exception of leases for a short term, generally one year. Contracts for the sale of goods above a certain value, unless a portion of the price is paid or part of the goods delivered. Partial performance of the contract is generally held to dispense with the necessity for a writing. Copyright Law of the United States Source: An Official of the U. S. Copyright Office The copyright law provides that the application for registration of any work "shall specify to which of the following classes the work in which copyright is claimed belongs: (a) Books including composite and cyclopaedic works, directories, gazetteers and other compilations; (b) periodicals, including newspapers; (e) lectures, sermons, addresses, prepared for oral delivery; (d) dramatic or dramatico-musical compositions; (e) musical compositions; (f) maps; (g) works of art, models or designs for works of art; (h) reproductions of a work of art; (i) drawings of plastic works of a scientific or technical character; (j) photographs; (k) prints and pictorial illustrations; (1) motion picture photo plays; (m) motion pictures other than photo-plays. For works reproduced in copies for sale or public distribution: 1. Publish the work with the copyright notice. The notice may be in the form "Copyright, 19 (year date of publication), by (name of copyright proprietor), or in the case of works specified above (f) to (k) the notice may consist of the letter C inclosed in a circle (c) accompanied by the initials, monogram, mark or symbol of the proprietor-provided that his name shall appear on some accessible part of the copies. 2. Promptly after publication send to the Copyright Office, Library of Congress, Washington, D. C., two copies (or if the work is by a foreign citizen and is first published in a foreign country, one copy only) of the best edition of the work, with an application for registration. In the case of books by American authors, or permanent residents of the United States, the copies deposited must be accompanied by an affidavit, under the official seal of an officer authorized to administer oaths, stating that the typesetting, printing and binding of the book have been performed within the United States. Affidavit and application forms will be supplied by the Copyright Office on request. BOOKS OF FOREIGN ORIGIN Books of foreign origin in a language or languages other than English are not required to be manufactured in the United States. In the case of a book in the English language published abroad before publication in this country, an ad interim copyright for four months from the day of the deposit of the foreign copy may be secured by depositing in the Copyright Office one complete copy of the foreign edition within sixty days after its publication abroad. If two copies of such book manufactured and published in this country are deposited for registration during the ad interim term, the copyright shall be extended for the full term of 28 years. For works not reproduced in copies for sale: Copyright may also be had of certain classes of works (see a, b, c, below) of which copies are not reproduced for sale, by filing in the Copyright Office an application for registration, with the statutory fee of $1, sending therewith: (a) In the case of lectures or other oral addresses or of dramatic or musical compositions, one complete copy of the work: (b) In the case of photographs not intended for general circulation, one photographic print. (c) In the case of works of art (paintings, drawings, sculptures), or of drawings or plastic works of a scientific or technical character, one photograph or other identifying reproduction of the work. In the case of a motion picture photo-play, a title and description and one print taken from each scene or act. In case of a motion picture other than a photo-play, a title and description with not less than two prints to be taken from different sections of a complete motion picture. In all these cases, if the work is later reproduced in copies for sale, two copies must then be deposited with another application. The statutory fee for registration of a published work subject to copyright is $2. This includes the Copyright Office certificate under seal. For registration of a published photograph where a certificate is not desired the fee is $1. For drama, music, lectures and works of art not reproduced in copies for sale (1. e., unpublished) the registration fee is $1 as heretofore. For renewal of copyright, $1. For recording assignments $2 for each Copyright Office record-book page or fraction thereof over one-half page. Copyright notices in books must be placed on the title page or on the page immediately following. The original term of copyright under existing U. S. law runs for 28 years. Within one year prior to the expiration of the original term, the author, or the next of kin, may secure a renewal for a further term of 28 years. In case of composite works, or works made for hire, the proprietor may secure the renewal. Copyright in the United States may be secured for works of foreign authors published in foreign countries on compliance with the American copyright law. PRINTS AND LABELS Under the Commercial Print and Label Act, effective at the close of business June 30, 1940, the registration of commercial prints and labels was transferred from the office of the Commissioner of Patents to the Register of Copyrights. Registrations already made and unexpired are subject to renewal through the Register of Copyrights when their term expires, if application is made within one year of expiration of original term of 28 years. For forms and instructions apply to the Register of Copyrights. The Single Tax, Summary by the Late Henry George We assert as our fundamental principle the selfevident truth enunciated in the Declaration of American Independence, that all men are created equal and are endowed by their Creator with certain inalienable rights. We hold that all men are equally entitled to the use and enjoyment of what God has created and of what is gained by the general growth and improvement of the community of which they are a part. Therefore, no one should be permitted to hold natural opportunities without a fair return to all for any special privilege thus accorded to him, and that that value which the growth and improvement of the community attaches to land should be taken for the use of the community; that each is entitled to all that his labor produces; therefore, no tax should be levied on the products of labor. To carry out these principles, we are in favor of raising all public revenues for national, State, county and municipal purposes by a single tax upon land values, irrespective of improvements. and of the abolition of all other forms of direct and indirect taxation. Litigation of Customs Claims Source: A Law Officer of the Customs Court If the valuation by the local appraiser of imported merchandise upon which an ad valorem duty is assessed is disputed by the importer he may appeal to the U. S. Customs Court for revaluation (or reappraisement as it is called) within 30 days after the personal delivery or mailing of the written notice of appraisement by the local appraiser. If the importer is dissatisfied with the classification of the Collector of Customs at the port of entry, he may file a protest in writing within sixty days with such collector, who thereupon must forward the papers to the court, and the case is regularly docketed. These remedies of appeal and protest have been accorded also to the American manufacturers, producers and wholesalers, as parties in interest. Reappraisement cases are heard by a single Judge, with an appeal by either party from his judgment to one of the Appellate Divisions of the court, consisting of three Judges. Classification cases, including suits over the legality of an appraisement, the legality of any administrative regulation promulgated by the Secretary of the Treasury, or the legality of other administrative action resulting in the levy of duty by the collector of customs, are decided by this court. An appeal lies from this court's judgment to the U. S. Court of Customs and Patent Appeals at Washington, from whence certiorari lies to the Supreme Court of the United States. The U. S. Customs Court meets at 201 Varick St., N. Y. City. |