The Customs Trap: An International Steamship Row
A British steamer’s decision to transport passengers between two American ports leads to a local confrontation over federal shipping laws.
The story, cleaned up
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That the steamship Crown of England is liable to seizure for violation of the customs laws is causing some comment among those who watch shipping and the customs officers closely. Article 149 of the treasury regulations states: 'No foreign vessel can engage in carrying passengers from port to port in the United States.' Before the gangplank had been put out on her arrival in Seattle, Judge R.A. Ballinger of Port Townsend, with two grips full of law books, climbed over the rail to the piles on Baker’s wharf, having come from Port Townsend as a passenger on the ship. Several other people, including two ladies, also made the trip. This is in direct competition with American steamers like the City of Kingston, Garland, George E. Starr, and Monticello, which are specifically protected by law from foreign vessel competition.
“No foreign vessel can engage in carrying passengers from port to port in the United States.”
This dispute over the Jones Act—a 1920 law that requires goods shipped between U.S. ports to be carried by U.S.-flagged ships—remains a flashpoint in modern maritime policy and Seattle's logistics economy. Even in 1893, local business owners were using federal regulation to protect their turf from foreign competition.
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