Vermont daily transcript. [volume] (St. Albans, Vt.) 1868-1870, 1869-04-05
Vermont Daily Transcript
ST. ALBANS, VT.
MONDAY, APRIL, 5, 1869.
Dead Heads ia the custom
Houses.

Mr.. Boutwell, has done II good thing
in the removal, at one fell sweep, of
thirty special agents of the Treasury de-
partment. We presume he will be char
~ in selecting anybody to take their
revenue service is burdened with an
excess of emp oyees. Especially is this
so i'm the Customs branch. heoreti-
cally, the duties of many of its officers
consist almost wholly in acting as checks
upon one another. An entire DEPART
ment, the Naval office, was created TO
be check upon the Collectors office.
But, like many other systems of
checks and balances, this in relation to
the customs has practically proved n
failure. For example, take deputy or
clerk in either department., whose duty
it is to examine custom house docu-
ment and see that it is correct, and if
he finds it so to endorse his approval
thereon, or, if otherwise, to mark it N
erroneous he is in the habit of placing
his initials upon it simply because he
SEES that some other deputy or clerk has
put his thereon and thus the document
will run the gauntlet of half dozen diff
ferent officers who are set to watch one
another, but who, with rare exceptions,
never bestow upon the gliding paper
even the most superficial scrutiny.
The whole system of collecting the
duties on imports needs remoddeiing.
1t is complicate confused and cumber-
some, and requires recOnstructing from
the foundation. At all the leading and
medium ports of the country, full twice
the number of persons are employed
that need be, and searching eye and a
rigorous hand could soon reduce the eX-
<>ft h hrn al, If in Snl\iro n ~
half, without detrment to the public
interest. Here lies Il wide field wherein
the Admin stration can carry out it's
beneficent plans of economy, retrench-
ment and reform; and we are glad to see
Mr.. Boutwell, entering ii with 50 vigor"
Gus step.-N. Y. Sun.
Among others referred to as belong
Ing to the class of which the Govern
ment has no further need, W. are in
formed, is Special Agent Carlisle, of
Detroit, Michigan. Mr.. Carlisle has
been dismissed from the special service,
together with his squad of subordi-
mates.
So far as the SIMS article relates to
the dead heads in New York,
its statements may be correct, yet it
will hardly apply to the District of Yer
mont. The custom house officials prop
er are of no greater number than the
wants of the service demand. The on
tier of the District covers large terri
tory, and compared with it the number
of officers is, we think, less than in any
other District. While the legitimate
officers number no more than they
should, we believe the Department
could profitably dispense with the SER
vices of horde of Especial agents" who
have been travelling through this sec
ton, with free papers, for the last three
or four years.
This creation, by the Treasury De-
partment, of special checks and balan-
ces has been very eXpensive-almost, if
not quite, as expensive as the legiti-
mate business of the District, without
any corresponding remuneration.
We do not see the necessity of corps
of special agents being sent through
this Northern section to watch the reg
ular officers. 1t does no good. They
are independent of, and do not work in
harmony with the regular customs au-
thOrities, and their duties have never
warranted the SIS day and travelling
expenses which they have received
The chief of the Department in this
State, General Stannard, is fully COM
petent to look af.er the business of the
Department in Vermont, which fact, we
believe, every one is ready to acknOwl-
edge. The business could be left in no
better hands; to it he deyotes his per-
sOnal and entire attention, and is en-
phatically the right man in the
right place" Whatever else may
happen, we have good reason to
believe that Gen. Stannard will re-
main in his present position indie ed
pressed by any one. He has become
too strongly identified with tie inter-
ests of his country and State to admit of
a conjecture.
One official head in single District is
all that is necessary; to it all Others
should be subordinate. A dozen head
chiefs will not answer. Gen. Stannard
is no "dead head" himself, to which
fact we think every one who has ever
known him will be ready to testify.
With these rowing baTls of specials
who have been provided with appoint
ments, the case is different; they have
been "dead headed" upon the commu-
nifty quite too long already. The people
looked TO Gen. Grant for retrenchment,
and true to his inaugural address he
gives evidence of his sympathy with