New-York tribune., 1874-02-24
REFORM 1T AL'TOGETHER.

REFORM IT ALTOGETHER.
The telegraph informed us the other day
that "a large pile of books, seized by the Of
ficers of the Treasury Department at the
store of Jordan Marsh g. Co., which did not
"contain the evidence of alleged attempts of
"that firm to defraud the Government in the
case under investigation" had just been sur
rendered to the owners by order of the court.
The seizure was made in Christmas week, and
at that time about sixty account books, besides
papers, letters, &C., were carried away by the
Custom house officers. 1t has taken them two
months to discover that "a large pile" of
these books were not connected with the mat
ter under investigation, and therefore ought
not to have been seized. The Constitution,
in providing against " unreasonable searches
"and seizures" expressly stipulates that every
warrant must particularly describe the place
" to be searched and the persons or things to
Z" be seized" This condition was not complied
with in the case of Jordan, Marsh 81 Co., and
practically we may almost say that it never is
! and never can be complied with in any pro-
! ceedings of the same character. The warrant
| is process not merely for the bringing OF
evidence into court, but for the discovery of
evidence; and the special agent never can
tell, never attempts to tell, what book he
wants until he has searched through all the
records covering certain period of time,
which he extends of course as far as he can.
All the books of Jordan, Marsh g. Co. re-
lating to their impOrtations were taken except
those protected by the statute of limitations :;
and we know from the examination of Mr.
Jayne before the Investigating Committee OF
1872, that when a special agent once gets
among a merchants papers he does not con-
fine himself to the matters specified in his
warrant, but pursues a rowing search in order
to make a case out of what he finds.
Here then we have law which is uDcOn-
stitutional which is an outrage upon Cur most
cherished principles of personal liberty; which
violates the fundamental doctrine that no man
| shall be compelled to furnish evidence against
| himself; and which, last of all, can never be
put into operation without an infringement of
| its own provisions. Can there be any question
that such a law is only blot upon the statute
book? Men who have made fortunes by it
argue that it ought to be retained because the
duties cannot be collected by any other
agency, and Mr.. Jayne shocks the Committee
of Ways and Means with blood curdling
prevalence of perjury in American commercial
circles To this it might be answered that,
admitting all he says to be true, this
remedy for fraud is worse than the dis
ease. The Government has no right
to adjust the duties in such manner
that they cannot be collected without violent,
unconstitutional and demoralizing expedients.
4 is bound to take efficient measures for the
prevention of fraud instead of trusting to the
invasion of private rights for its discovery.
1t complicates the laws to such an extent that
irregularities become not merely easy but
almost unavoidable; it bribes the importers
! servants to violate these intricate regulations
in order that they may afterwards make money
by denOuncing them; it ills the Custom-hOuse
with incompetent appraisers who cannot sam
pie any sort of merchandise except whisky,
and throws upon the merchants the response
bilty of stating values which its own officers
are too ignorant TO ascertain; aud when II
has thus opened every avenue to fraud 1t lets
loose upon the importers horde of rapacous
informers and seizing officers, armed with
warrants that empower them to enter upon
their victims premises, break open his
private drawers, carry oft not only
bis cash books and ledgers but his
most secret correspondence, read the
letters of his wife, pry into all his personal
affairs, put virtual stop to his business, and
rummage for months among his books and
papers, to discover whether or no he has
violated - either by accident or design, il
makes no difference which, some of the con :
fusing and almost incomprehensible regula-
tions of the Customs. There is no parallel to
this extraordinary process under any constitu-
tional government Of the world There is
nothing like it in the criminal practice of any
of the United States. police officer would
not dare to treat jail-bird suspected of sell
ing stolen goods as Treasury agent treats a
respectable merchant of high character who is
suspected Of forgetting to add to an invoice