The Wheeling daily register. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1864-1878, 1872-01-16

Grants Pals and Partners Turned
it Into o Swindle aud are Getting
Rich Out OF the Transaction.
From the Missouri Democrat.l
As few others than importers in our
seaboard cities know precisely what is
meant by the general order" system,
some explanation of it may be useful
in enabling our readers fully to under
stand the extortions and other rascall-
ties which the Administration Senators
endeavored to conceal, but which the
investigation Of the New York custom
house is now exposing to the country.
On the arrival of a vessel from a
foreign country in one of our ports, a
certain time is allowed by the custom
house officials for importers to pay
their duties and take possession OF their
goods. At the expiration OF that time,
which should be reasonable in length,
general order" is Issued by the col
lector OF the port for the discharge Of the
cargo and all the merchandise remaining
on board is landed and delivered into the
custody Of the custom house officials, to
await the payment of duties, or the
transfer to bonded warehouses when
the importer prefers to let his goods
remain in store for a long period, until
he needs them for sale to his customers.
As long as the vessels usually remained
long enough in port for every importer
to remove his merchandise, convenient
", from them, the general order" was
a mere formality, or affected only some
few packages which the consignees had
neglected to take away. But the sys'
TEN of our European trade has greatly
changed during the past twenty years.
The steamship companies. especially,
are anxious for their vessels to make as
many voyages as possible, and waste
the least possible time in port. The
revenue laws on the subject remained
unchanged, but, TO accommodate the
ship owl ers, and doubtless the importers
also, the collector OF New York got into
the practice OF issuing his general
order" soon after the arrival OF the
vessel. Under it she was Hnloaded
at once and got promptly ready
to receive her cargo for a for
eigu port. To carry out this
proper and useful arrangement,
the steamship companies built,
adjacent to their wharves, capacious
and safe warehouses which were placed
under the supervision and control OF the
United States custom house officers.
Into these buildings the cargoes We're
discharged in bulk, directly from the
ships. and with little or no expense or
risk from handling or carriage, and
good were allowed to remain there forty
eight hours without charge to their
owners. Within that time every i'm
porter with reasonable diligence could
enter his merchandise at the custom
house and take it away, the money
gain in the steamship companies in the
time saved in discharging cargoes
seemed to them sufficient inducement
for their giving this free use of their
warehouses. The merchants were per
fectly satisfied with the arrangement
and the interests OF the government
were at least as fully protected as if the
goods had remained on ship board.
This system, originating in the good
old days of honest Democratic admins.
tration Of the general government, con-
tinued for fifteen years without inter.
ruption. The steamship companies
warehouses became known as general
order stores" under the custom house
control; but even the most rapacious
collector had been unable to invent any
plan by which any perquisites or other
official stealings could be made out Of
them. Nothing, however, can escape
the combined ingenuity and bolduess OF
the harpies which prey upon the nation.
al treasury since the advent Of the
present administration to power. Their
first step WAS to refuse to recognize the
steamship companies warehouses,
which are at their wharves on the New
jersey side of New York harbor, and TO
constitute certain private warehouses in
the city itself the sole general order
system. The former, immense fire
proof buildings, were thus left empty,
but the general order system OF imme-
diate landing Of the entire cargo OF a
vessel was kept up, and the merchandise
sent to the latter stores, which by very
Ineligible arrangement were located
tvo miles from the Battery, and
on the extreme west of the city.
This necessitated the transfer OF the
goods, OF course, in some kind Of Gus
tom house official custody, from the
steamships whsrves on the New Jersey
side across the river to the city, and
thence to the new stores. By this in
genious arrangement the importer in.
stead of receiving his goods by the side
of the vessel and having them carried
thence to his store by persons in his
own employ, has to let them pass into
the hands of bsrgemen, carriers and
warehousemen designated by the col,
lector, and incur the additional danger
of theft or damage from their having to
travel four miles to the warehouses and
back to his own store. But the oppres-
sion did not stop with such losses and
Inconvenience. He had to pay, at the
very liberal rates fixed by the collectors,
for all this vexatious carriage to the
west end OF New York, and with an
audacity almost incredible the general
order warehousemen charged always
an entire months storage,
although he might remove his
goods Immediately on their ar
rival. To cover up the robbery or TO
blind the importers to it, these expenses