New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1872-02-06

designated District they were previous 10 MT
oula weigh his goods, and he could have his inVose
TO- 49, or even 20 Per cent short: anS with the
weigher's return sho" 'no Saino 0oiIoSPoDN
THE DEFECTIVE WEIGHING SYSTEM
O. That leaves good deal OF power in the hands OF the
weigheri A. Yes, Sir; think the system OF Weighing
goods In NewYork Is very defective, and should De
abolished in its present form what should be subsi
tuted in its place is officer Of the Government
regularly appointed. at each beam Thgre i'm in
cer frequently fraud will be discovered BY tna msR
the time, 0y by the weIgber; thar as a case lin
pQriates OF 100 boxes OF supposed soap; In weigh
turned out 10 be perfumer these officers should have e
power Of Inspecfos OF Customs and they should DO sub
ton should not be for any length OF time put saVud y
should be sampled by the weisher and t these
where the grading Of that sugar Should take
place, and be placed upon the return made by
be
other because the return that Is finally attached % he
warehouse consumption entry never meets the cpfry
itself up after the grading and designation by me Ap
Of duties should be left TO haphazart. to men pitched
upon the dock by chance which must be the case under
the present system; your officers may be as honest as
Gods daylight. and yet great frauds take place
Are @ ss S %SS tS q Ho
ity TO the Government themselves A. Certainly they
are chance people picked up by the weigher, as lie
O. What opportunity has the weigher Of verifying the
weights which not taken by himself but BY his en-
coming here paying specific duty of kind Of goods
concerning which he can tell very closely what the
senator Pratt-How many piers generally does a
weighers district extend over A. From to 30 or<0
1t depends upon the amount of work. the first district on
the East River TO H. inclusive up further, where the
large East India ships come In the districts are only
again 1t runs from Pier 49, think, to the Connecticut
line.
q What in reference to the weighers taking foreign
weights from packages without weigngl A That prac-
ce existed to great extent when came In but 1t has
been stopped now, except in imInateria cases.
O. In the Of Geo. L. sherman, which You have
mentioned did the weigher actually weigh the goods
q How did he know the woightsl A. He may have
known it from his employees believe that the fraud
there was that the weights were taken correctly and
altered
@. The u s. relies for its weights upon unswOrn per-
O. Then Is not tho fraud apt to take place on the
part OF the who actually weighs than the weisher
who does not weigh hiInselfl A. No. Sir
g Have you not suspected persons oftentmes from
their apparent income would ustifyf A. don't think
have because they generally careful about that.
O. Has not the fact struck you that some of tho wit
nesses who have been here, Who are laborers, have
dressed better than you would think their circumstances
would aowi A. Well. suppose the men that come
here put on their Sunday clothes, and consequently
appear better off than they really are.
Senator Pratt-who actually controls the laborers and
prevents them from weighing everything that comes on
tho shipl A. The veiQher is responsible.
O. Then what object has he TO evade weighing every
package A. The weigher is allowed $500 year,
and provided that the fees the goods amount TO that
Senator Cassery-It is in evidence here that the
weghers regard n quite desirable 10 keep down the
penses In their DISTRICTS to make as good show aS
possible upon their returns is not that an inducement
actually that they could avoid A. It might but think
the condition placed in the law could never operate at
this port, because the maximum amount weighed would
far exceed at the regular rate OF fees the salaries OF the
O. Is yonr idea then that the law is imperative he
cause the fees fall below the actual salary A.
Yes SIR hut one reason why he might WISH TO- ayoii
pan,on between him and other wcighers in regard 10
expenses of labor etc.
ANOTHER FRAUDULENT TRICK.
@. What officers in the Custom-house have the weigh
ers OF weights and the invoice and entry,
to DO able to compare them! A. The hquidating
clerk the wegher makes three copies one goes to the
Collector which does not contain the details but only
the aggregate the gross the tare, and the nett the
goes the Surveyor Office; the two returns made to
the Collector and the Surveyor afterward go 70 the au
tSst those two clerks, have the weisher's return
and the invoice a. ano,ns tune s@a cS"ess
chant making entry Of merchandise imported by his
broker himself axes entry OF those goods
which states the quantity and the marks or numbers OF
Ga,e The gy art from the now the law requires
the weights OF all goods paying specific duty shall
OF the country which the goods are exported he
may make false transmutaton OF those weights from the
original weight into weight; the entry clerk may
pass this without discovering it; his business is to see
that the entry is properly made II collision takes place
with wegher that is something that would be very
apt TO pass the inspection Of the entry clerk unnOtced
O. You have stated that three -four officers in the Gus
tOnhouse these returns and the invoices before
them al the same time-why don't they discoveritl A.
They Duld not be apt to notice the fact they do have
them fore them OF the weight the return being
nearly that In the invoice but when taken c0ecuVey
and IL ling that the weghers return compared almost
invoic and entry 1t might be very strong indication OF
fraud found II very unerrng.
O. lch concurrence OF weights must look suspclous
A. Because 1t might occur in great many instances
but IL Is not UNIFORM
negligent not who fails to see this coincidence OF
weightsi A. Take, for instance, importer who has
but two impOratons month; the clerk would not DO
apt 10 remember when he at time discovered cOnc
dence that there was similar coincidence on the part
of the same merchants goods tho previous time he
q Why do take an instance Of only two i'm poTta,
tons month"; A. Because there have only been Two
impOrtations month in the cases where have di scoy
O. What variation between the invoices OF the return
Of weights would be likely TO show fraudl A. 1t depends
upon the kind of goods, where 1t was imported; tobacco
for instance, may Increase or diminish on the voyage
even three per cent and yet there be no fraud.
q Would coincidence OF four or five per cent In the
case OF tobacco be any evidence OF fraudf A. No.
THE MYSTERY OF DAMAGE ALLOWANCES.
Senator stewart-Can you give us some light upon the
refunds for damage A. Yes, Sir the refunds for dam
age have been very unsatisfactory where large amount
of damage claimed the importer should be subject
the contin gency should take the goods the
value claimed by the importer I found case
where there had been false weight returned
upon goods worth nearly 100000, and found
that the damage allowance was about s70O00
the sale of the goods which II necessary
trace found that the Importer had sold only
bags and made 1925 difference In the amount he
had received on tho goods from the round price from
which he had sold those at the highest rates. evidently
the goods been very little damaged in the apprase
ment Of damage; the merchant must make ap.
pcation within ten days from the time the
goods are landed; the damage examiners
Of the Appraisers Department make their examination
and award which is confirmed before the Assistant APP
praser and then by the Appraiser II, however that Ia
satisfactory to the merchant he can appeal from
merchant experts; the Collector has the same right OF
appealing that the merchant has and can cali for