New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1874-04-07
4 DANGEROUS SYMPTOM

Startling as were the narratives of hardship
and injustice exposed recently to the Commit
tee Of Ways and Means by the delegation OF
merchants from our principal seaports, there
is one fact which seems to us of far more
serious import than any Of these instances OF
individual oppression. The mercantile class
furnishes perhaps the best element of Amcrl
can society 1t embraces large proportion of
the patriotism, public spirit, intelligence and
morality of the nation. More than any other
class of equal prominence, it holds itself aloof
from the chicanery and corruption of partisan
politics 1t is never represented In the lobby;
but it is active in all works of charity and
enlightenment, and it is always the Stanchest
supporter of the Government IN times of
trouble. When we find the merchants there
fore unanimously complaining of the Govern
ment as their worst enemy, ii is evident that
the machinery Of administration must be dan
gerOusly dlsarranged, and that no time should
be lost in giving it a thorough overhauing.
We have only to read the explanation OF the
laws and rules of the Custom-house offered
by experts like Mr. Schultz or Mr.. Stevens to
understand just where the trouble lies. Here
is first difficult and confusing system pre-
scribed for ascertaining dutiable values The
importer must swear to the cost of his invoice,
must increase it to market value if prices have
risen, and must add to it a great number of
items easily overlooked such as the cost of
cartons, kilograms, commissions, carriage, &c.
Then the Government surrounds itself with
extraordinary safeguards. The importer must
submit his papers to the inspection of ap-
praisers. who have full authority to increase
the valuation. He must give bonds to pay
any charge the Government may at any time
bring against him. Every precautiOn that
can be devised for the protection of the rev.
enue has been adopted, and still, after his goods
have passed and gone upon the market, and the
duties have finally been lIqudated, he is not
freed from liability. The Government can go
back five years to reGxamine his invoices, and
cOnfscate their value for the slightest irregu
larity. He lives in perpetual danger Of utter
ruin as the penalty of the most innocent and
trivial mistakes. In the case of William Lat
timer e. Co. the special agent discovered, after
searching the books of the firm for several
years back, an omission of certain charges for
cartons and carriage whereby the Government
lost little over one hundred dollars; and for
! this error the house, which is one of the most
| honorable in the United States, was
compelled to pay nearly $4,000. Mr..
Stevens explained how easy it is to
omit petty expenses from the invoice without
the design or even the faintest suspicion
of wrong Every importer has an account
| current with his foreign correspondent. When
| this is presented, he finds upon it charge of
! eco or $50 for carriage. 1t may relate to an
| invoice passed through the CustOm-house six
months or a year before. The business to
which it refers is closed and the books have
been balanced. The bookkeeper charges it
perhaps to expense account, and the merchant
knows nothing about it until some day Mr.
Jayne discovers it in the course of rowing
search through his books, and suit is entered
for two or three hundred thousand dollars.
| There has been undoubtedly a technical viola
ton of the statute, and as the law does
not allow him TO plead innocent intention
he is forced to compromise. Mr. Andrew
Reid of Baltimore told of an instance
in which his firm imported cargo
of pimento from Savannah le Mar, in
Jamaica, invoiced it at cost price, presented
the Consus certificate and other papers in
proper order, paid the duty, and sold the goods.
Some time afterwards, a cargo of pimento came
to another firm from Kingston, Jamaica. in
voiced one farthing higher, and the Custom
house at once accused Mr.. Reid of under
valuation. He was able to prove that his entry
was strictly correct, and that the additional
farthing on the other invoice probably repre-
sented the cost of land carriage across the
island but the Government held that the price
at Kingston must be taken as the market value.
| because that was the principal commercial port
of the island (although it was not the chief
port for the shipment of pimento), and that Mr..
Reid ought to have increased his invoice ac-
cordingly Under this ruling he was actually
compelled to pay penalty of so per cent ON the
duty.
Proceedings of this sort are mere outrage
and oppression, and when the Government
tempts its spies with the prospect of enormous
moieties to catch the merchants in just such
little technical faults and plumbers, we cannot
be surprised that the mercantile community
regards itself as the victim Of an intolerablc
wrong. We may well ask ourselves how long