New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1877-04-27
THE CUSTOM HOUSE INVESTIGATION.


The New-York Custom House is not now
upder investigation for the first time. 1t has
been sat upon by committees heretofore, mas
been manfred into, examined, testified about and
reported upon until volumes were filed with the
results. The investigation just peglhn'ns'
however, is of different character irom
those that have preceded it. Previous inVesu-
cations have been almost purely ponticai III
their character. They aimed to show on tle
one hand corrupt administration ana gross
abuses, and on the other the greatest eilciehcy
and honesty in the TRANSACTION OF Official business
One side went to work with whitewash,
the other with mud. The object was
never TO promote the efficiency OF the office or
TO secure honesty and economy in the methods
of doing business. 1t was simply on both sides
to make political capital. There were always
majority and minority reports, one portion
of the committee being unable to see
ANYTHING in the manner OF conducting
business that merited censure or called for
change, the other seeing nothing to praise but
everything to condemn. The reports OF com
mittecs WERE and were intended to be, cam
paign documents. and nothing more. The last
performance of this sort was during the latter
part of Gen. Grants first term. The parti-
sans on each side reported for their
respective parties: bulky volume of testi-
mony and findings was published ; the cam
pagn orators and presses made lib
eral quotations from it to suit their re-
spective purposes, and there it ended The
public got out of it great deal of information
of one sort and another, but no reform.
The present. investigation means business as
distinguished from politics. 1t has no special
abuse or scandal to inquire into, no charges
to refute or establish; nothing in the world
except to look carefully into the conduct
of the office, the methods OF doing
business, the principles of its manage
ment, if it has any; the quality
and amount of service rendered by the en-
ployGs, and in general to discover whether the
business of the Government at this point IL
conducted as honestly, economically, and ell
GENTLY as it should be and if not, where and
in what particulars improvements can be ef-
fected 1t u.s. in short, business investigation
made upon business principles, with 10 ann to
benefit or injure either party, but only to
secure to the Government what every business
man seeks in his own transactions, the best
service mt the lowest cost. The directions of the
4
ing more. This being the case, there is of course
nothing like the public interest and curiosity
concerning the movements of the commission
that have attended the deliberations of parti-
san committees which were expected to make
an overhauling of personal relations and bring
to light official misconduct. The commission
will have very quiet time of it. But we
expect from their work more practical adyan-
tages to the service than have resulted from
the labors of all the partisan Investigations
that have been instituted. 1t Is not likely
that they will publish bulky volumes
of testimony or that they will furnish much
political capital for either party in future
campaigns but we shall be very much disap-
pointed if they do not render infinitely more
important service to the Government and the
publJc