The evening telegraph. [volume] (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1864-1918, 1869-08-30
CUSTOMS.
A Nice Arrangement Between United States
and New York City WeigIcrs UncarIhcd-lAn
Easy Way to Make Money.

A Nice Arrangement Between United states
and New York City Weighcrs UncarIhcd-.An
Easy Way to Make Money.
From the y. y. Herald Of yesterday morning.
1t would seem that there is to be no end to the
discoveries that are being daily made by the Col
lectOr and his chief representative as to the pre-
vacnce OF frauds in certain departments of the
Custom House. No person who knows anything
ut all about the subject can be ignorant of the
fact that in the various departments of the Gus
tom House there are many 'OppCrtunities"
the dishonest men call loose ways of doing busi-
ness-for peculators to profit by and that it re-
quires the utmost and untiring vigilance of the
proper authorities to keep the public crib intact
Although every now and then the clerks and
others are stirred up by revelation" that Mr..
So-and-So has been found wanting as an honest
mGn-to put it mildly-the great maj jOrity of
them being, of course, honest, are never aware
of how extensive are the plans and ingenious
the artitices made use of by depredatOrs to gain
their unlawful ends In almost every fraud that
has been detected so far this feature of II decided
planning has been prominent, and in the latest
one that has been brought to light the under
ground workings of the persons most mfaVOrably
concerned give ample proof that it requires,
after all, n certain amount OF brains of a certain
kind to be an etiicient-or to speak more
pOintedly, an inefficient Custom House clerk.
A few days ago the --latest fraud above men
toned was discovered, and although the autho-
rites have not as yet taken action in the matter
II is safe to say that in a week or So after they
have accumulated the necessary evidence to
II
bic shaking of dry bones in the Custom House.
The persons who are most implicated in the
fraud are certain United States wGighcrs, and
the manner OF their connection with 1t is given
as follows-lhey are paid regular salary by
the General Government to do their work well,
and are allowed the expenses they incur in en-
plOyug the necessary number of labOrers to aid
them in ther work. After they have weighed,
for instance cargo of tea, say of 20 600 chests,
the merchant to whom the cargo Is consigned en-
ploys city weigher to weigh the chests, or
packages, as they called OF course the
merchant pays the city wegher for his work.
| and out Of his pay the weigher must pay
whatever help he may require. The object OF
| the consignee in employing the city weigher is
obviously to ascertain whether the United States
| weigher has weighed his cargo correctly and
| make sure of its exact bulk. But it has been
| dlscovered-and here the fraud comes in-that
the city weigher, instead of doing his work after
| being employed, goes to the United States
| wcgher who has weighed the cargo he Che city
| weigher) is paid to weigh, and for certified
| check Tor good amount obtains the United
| States weighers figures. These he, of course,
| hands to the merchant, and the latter fading
| that they correspond exactly with the figures of
| the United States weigher he has already been
| furnished with comes TO the conclusion that all
| Is right and that such correctness denotes Won
deriul eXactness in his duties on the part of the
| city weigher. 1t is said that Il very large
| number OF United States and city weighers are
| implicated in this kind of neiariOus business,
| and that the Collector is determined To bring
them up with sharp turn. Indeed, it is under
| stood that the meH, laborers, who depend n
| great deal upon the work that is furnished them
by the city weigher when weighing cargo, and
who are consequently thrown out of employ
ment when the city weigher buys the figures of
the United States wegher instead of weighing
The cargo himself aud making out his own
figures, have laid their grievances before the
Collector. They have besides furnished him
with some very spicy facts concerning the
mutual agreements that exist between the two
classes of weighors, which will no doubt give
Mr.. Grlnnell an insight into a certain depart
ment of the Custom House that he and but few
outside the ring have ever been given before. II
is alleged that many of the United States
welghers have obtained as much as 5000 and
s5OO at one time in exchange for their figures
there will certainly be a stir among the
weighers soon. The honest men, however
have nothing to fear, but the guilty every
thing.