The Republican journal., 1872-01-18
Radical Custom House Stealinqs



\ sampler in the appraisers department
is paid - per day. His selection ot few
handtul> ot sugar from a cargo may involve
thousands Of dollars OF profit OF loss to me
importer. and thousands ot dollars ot tia
ties To- the Government 1t l. hi~ duty o.
select samples from 4 cargo And curr}
them to the appraiser for pptaj~emenl.
His pay j. miserable. biz duties yery re-
>pnnsibe; Tomorrow he may be dt,ch4ry-
ed TOR no offence, save that his ''hacker''
is not Il partisan pt the dominant Senator
The importer Slips $500 i'll hi- hand ana
he selects from the cargo damaged sam
pie. OF mixes with the real sugar from
the cargo Nh inferior quality, on substitutes
another article entirely His act secures
the importer SOC 900. gives him an unfair
and Overwhelming advantage over honest
compe itors in the trade and abstracts
soy from the pockets Of taxpayers. !
am not surprising case, but give facts
that have come under my own eve~
A United States appraiser is paid -, 400
per 4nnum Upon his skill and hon
esty u determining values Of goods on
which duties are assessed depend hum
lredS O thousands Of dollars per dag.
The old appraiser is dismissed. The re5-
sons were political The new one is
selected entirely upon political recon-
incubation He is to pass upon the value
Of silks and laceS. He may have been
lawyer, school-teacher. or d bad politician
A matter Of $4,000 or even. in case ii
should be under valued, the forfeiture OF
an invoice Of goods worth 500, Geo 10 the
Government, every day depends upon
HIM His experience is very limited, his
judgment he knows NAV DE at fault. : GOO
from the importer assists his conclusions
under the liability OF human Judgment
and he concludes and certihes that The in
voice before him is correct The loss to
the Government is 100000.
The office of damage examiner" pays
a salary of $1,000 per AMMAN. 1t IS the
business of the damage examiner to lie
terlnine what percentage OIL cargo is
damaged by The voyage, and duties are
! levied on the undamaged part. a
ship laden with spice is in port She has
hal long voyage. Her cargo is worth
$4,000 1t is his duty TO estimate the
damage 1t is purely matter Of iudg
meut The importer assures MIN, upon
the word OF an experienced dealer in
spi and with the inducement Of $500.
that the cargo is damaged 30 per cent. He
himself had not the importer volunteered
! his advice, would have put it At - per
cent The Government loses its duty on
the difference, or on ST5 900 worth Of
goods.
The office of weigher il worth g, 500 i
year legitimately. yet it is a fac, ttat 40
office in the gift OF the Government i
more highly esteemed. The weigher de-
termines the weight OF a cargo on which
duty is to be levied by the pound. He has
! absolutely no inducements to honesty save
the innate strength OF his character; $500
is offered, false weight is returned, and
the old story is repeated again. During
the last year frauds in this one depart
ment perpetrated years ago-for they pass
for the most part unietected while the Of
| fcer retains his post involving millions
of dollars, have been uneartned by one
! special agent of the Government in thi-
city, and reported to the United States
| Attorney for prosecution.
| THE INTERIOR AND TRAVELLERS.
/ Coming to the Office of the inspector we
tread on holy ground A friend in politics
| said to me the other day. that this post
| yielding salary OF four dollars per day.
is 80 highly esteemed that it is as difficult
| to secure an appointment here as III the
colonies. All European travellers are ac-
t quanted with those estimable gentlemen,
the inspectors. One fact illustrating the
share which the public. that lifts up its
hands with holy horror ut official corruD-
ton, may have in this business | will state
As Is well known, when "A steamer arrives
in port the first-cabin baggage is landed
Immediately upon the dock and an exam
ination Of trunks, generally by two in
spectors, begins. An appraiser is detailed
to appraise such articles as may be found
dutiable among the baggage. He stands
by upon the dock. ready to do his duty
when called upon by the inspectors. A
friend of mine who has been an assistant
appraiser for more than year says thai