The Lincoln County herald., 1869-12-02
Custeu uousc rrauds.

.Custeu ususc Frauds.
Some Of our Radical contemporaries
wosld have u believe that the Gov.
srnusal 10 p better Isondi.ios sAaa ever
before bat 10 want better evidence than
hes YET bssn given 10 make ~ bslisvs Il.
There exists mismansssnsnt and fraud
in county, State and tho General govern.
ment, all over our land-or at least .
large portion. Of it-snd the money that
should 90 70 relieve The burdens Of the
people and pay the Nations indebtedness
10 Alchsd BY rascally oAcials. The fol.
lowing from the New Yosi Herald IL only
. sample: ., q. e'Dl.q
The discovery Of the Internal Revenue
drawback conspiracy, 10 which prominent
officers 10 the New York Custom House
are charged with being implicated, has
resulted IN one good thing-ths Govern.
ment has determined 20 overhaul The On.
tire establish msnt, "ffom turrst to foun.
dstion stone," and to examine into the
whole system % to how the public busi-
ness was done during the last three or
four years. This investigation has pro-
ceeded quietly under the general super.
vision Of Judge Edwards Pierrepont and
the Secretary Of the Treasury At Wash.
iugton, and many startling disclosures
have already been made. It was discov.
cred that great looseness prevailed 10
nearly all the departments Of the custom
house, which had crept in BY careless.
ness more tban BY prsneditated roausry
a. The sIars, but Of which the rogues
sfterwards took advantage, and. using the
adopted course Of routine and bribiug
some Of tho less scrupulous subordins,cs
turned IL to their own profit.
Thus, in tho Weighers Depar nent
frauds upon the revenue have been o..-
covered to IN amount exceeding $500, 900.
Some time ago great noise was made
about fraudulent pay. rolls Of wcighers,
drawing pay for assistance they never
employed. These alleged frauds were
thoroughly examined into, and it was
found that, on the whole, they amounted
to only the paltry sum Of few huudred
dollars. That matter was dropped, for
to institute prosecutions for such trivial
matter, prosecutions which are 80 costly
in the United States courts, would have
been equal to shooting . sparrow with q
ten inch Rodman gun. But in the course
Of this investigation, the cover was lifted
from on accumulation Of other frauds 10
the same department, in which not the
weighers alone, but large number Of i'm
porters, we're found to have been con.
eerned. These were false entries by the
weighers in their "dock books" and on
their return to the custom house, Of the
quantity Of imported dutiable goods
weighed BY them. Smith, for example,
imported two million pounds OF coffee,
but the weigber returns the quantity ut
only a million and . half; on the latter
the duty is paid, and Of the import duty
on the half million pounds omitted the
revenue 10 cheated. The importer pock.
cts the AMOUNT and pays tho weigher .
bonus for bis connivance. Quite mum.
Der Of such cases, covering every imagin.
able quality Of imported wares, have been
unearthed, ond the evidence is now being
sifted and arranged, as Judge Pierrepont
10 determined very soon to commence
legal proceedings.
Another class Of frauds have been dis.
covered in the matter of draw backs on
goods re exported, on which the duty had
been paid at the time Of their importa.
ton. Some Of these goods wcrc not ex.
ported at all, some were mysteriously
changed in bulk and quantity before OF.
portation, and higher amount Of draw
back money was received than legally and
justly duo. But the investigation 10
these cases has not yet gone far enough
to 6x with anything like approximate
guess the extent Of the frauds practiced.
Collector Grinnell IL rendering every facil.
ity 10 bis power to the officers conducting
tho inquiry and Is aiding them to the full
limit Of bis power.