The evening telegraph. [volume] (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1864-1918, 1869-09-24

would have strong tendency to accomplish,
by indirection, what the authors of the re-
port appear to be too timid to openly recon-
mend, the abolition of the warehoasing
system.
If there are good reasons for such aboli-
ton, let it be done openly and directly but it
does not become great Government to at
tack what is deemed an evil in an insidious
and underhanded manner. The report al
leges that the warehousng system has faiedto
materially facilitate commerce.; that it infiicts
positive injury upon our domestic manufac-
lures; that it enables foreigners and their, re-
representatives. to drive American importers
from business; that ''the people of this
country are taxed to furnish to strangers con-
veniences injurious to themselves; that it
piles ''upon the edge of the market per-
petual reserve of competing goods which
are ''ready to burst upon it and derange
prices at any time;" and that it "offers
premium upon foreign manufactures, and
thus initiates against our own"
If these assertions are unqualifedly true,
and if no valid defense can be made of a sys-
tenn assailed by so many startling allegations,
Congress should have no hesitation in de-
stroying 1T at once by direct law; and it is
dangerous, as well as contemplate, to an
tagonize merely by petty taxation a system
which is exercising such an injurious inhu-
ence.
But the charges against the warehousing
system cannot be substantially sustained. 1t
may, occasionally, afford few incidental
advantages to the importers of foreign goods;
but, on the other hand, it is of great service
to American merchants, the American people,
and the Government.
While it has failed to make the United
States 'the entrepot of O universal COM
merce, it has at least facilitated the re-ex-
portation of foreign goods, and granted Incl
dental aid of no mean Importance to the
shipping interests, which are, from exceptional
causes, in peculiarly languishing condition.
The value of goods re-exported from ware
houses, for the twelve months ending on the
30th of June, 1862 was SO, ,729, ,O66. The
sum was not very large, to he sure, but great
variety of articles were re-exported, and it
would be unjust as well as ungenerous to
interpose new obstacles to the recuperation
of our mercantile marine at time when it is
still suffering SO much from the devastations
of piratical cruisers and other effects of the
war.
1t is true that large proportion of the
goods imported are warehoused. The figures
for the twelve months ending June 80, 1869,
are as follows
Entered for consumption. .S252, 10l, 1892
warehouse. .......... 1S4,925, l49
But large portion of the goods warehoused
xypr mt in Of a
of temporary convenience, being speedily
withdrawn. The importers as well as the
Government were benefited by this transac-
tion-the former by gaining time to obtain
the gold necessary to pay duties, and the lat
ter by obtaining all the revenues imposed
instead of taking the chances of an auction of
condemned goods, which might not have re-
suited in realizing, in all cases, the full
amount of the duties. AS mere aid in in
creasing the revenues from imports, the ware
housing system renders great service; and it
is worthy of consideration whether it should
not be maintained on this ground alone, even
adduced. While it protects tie Government
in this respect, it also protects American
manufacturers from the damage to their inte-
rests which would occasionally result from
the forced sale of large quantities of imported
goods for default of payment of imposts.
More than half of the goods warehoused for
any considerable period of time do not COM
pete with American products and the ware
house system performs an important function
by facilitating the storage of large quantities
of foreign articles entering into universal
consumption, and thus guarding the people
from extraordinary fluctuations in value, or
an absolute deprivation of their accustomed
luxuries On the 3Oth of June, 1869, the
total value of all goods remaining in ware
house was $62, 427, 500, and the four items of
sugar, molasses, tea, and coffee made up far
more than half this amount, wiz
Cohee. .........S6, l8l05S
Sugar, brown and refined ........... .25 611,1H
MolasseS. 932,042
s3s,7l6,Os4
In the present state of affairs in Cuba, it is
not improbable that our supplies of sugar
from that island may speedily be cut off. 1t
is reported that the insurgents intend to
destroy the crop, as far as possible, rather than
suffer it to fall into the possession of the
Spanish authorities. In view of this danger,
the stock of sugar in warehouse was increased
from 323, 600, 900 pounds in June, 1868, to
521, 900, 600 pounds in June, 1869. The ware
housing system facilitated this increase, which
may speedily become essential to the comfort
of millions of American families, by not re-
quiring an immediate outlay of capital for the
,1ayo,ant of dutias TtS abolition would