Washington standard. [volume] (Olympia, Wash. Territory) 1860-1921, 1882-10-13
Customs Taspectisns.

b
saloon. Here they pro,!accd u bundle of
blanks and the revenue agony began.
The passengers marched zip one by one
20 the table and We're furnished with a
aumber written on L piece of cardboard
un.! 4 blank. The blank IS called Il
''baggage entry" and consists of two
paris One is devoted TO the non-duti-
able articles, the other to those on which
duty is 10 be paid by the passenger, anu
both halves. if lillcd up. have To he sworn
to. Upon the bah of this entrv-blank
iSa synopsis OF the Treasury regulations.
BY this synopsis it appears that the
senior member of p family NAV be al
lowed to include AL the baggage of the
party in one entry, to be male by him,
but a reference to the Treasury rrrula-
tons. Art. lob, reveals the fact that the
entry So made will not relieve the mem.
brr> of the party from the penalties fol
attempts to defraud. If, then, 1.-THE senior
member of Il family be little ha>tv i'll
his concentrations aS to what is duiiablc
in the trunk OF his daughters maid fol
example. he may find himself in an ex-
ceedngly awkward predicameut. The
language employed in the statutes ~
quoted IS Such that a person unlearncd
in the law becomes lost in a maze OF
punctuation marks. Wearing apparel
in actual use and other personal effects.
| professional books. implements, instrll-
! mrnts ani tools of trade are declared to
h. free from impo>t by See. 2,j0j. Sec
2.199, which follows il. defines the things
which are exempt. This section To he
! appreciated must be read. but TO be un-
! d.rstDod must be- studied with the all of
some legal tutor. As no passenger even
understands it, appeal is made to the in-
| sprctor on board. who proceeds to trans
late ii from the foreign language in which
it is couchri into English.
Having given up See 100 in despair.
the unfortunate passenger runs foul of
Sec. 2.S12. in which dire penalties are
| threatened against the person who shall
infringe the law. Forfeiture Of the ar
ticcS and a penalty of treble their value
would be calculated TO give any one pause.
The sections are followed ytwo articles,
| Nos. ;iJJ and l0D, which, strange 10 say.
are quite easily understood. The first
drclMeS that jtwelrv, not for sale. is
free; and the second. that by professional
books, implements, and tools of trade is
meant such books or tools as Il LAWYER,
surgeon or mechanic would Use in his
occupation. An extract from an official
circular dated February %. 1875, urges
tourists to separate the articles which
have been worn from those which are
new. and this is good advice, even if it
is given by the Treasury.
But while the passengers have been
describing their personal effects in
! honeyed tones before the awful Council
c. Thrcc behinl the ta6le, Governor :
Island and the Battery have been passed
and the Suevia is nearing her dock.
Arriving there, she WAS tied up with is
little fuss rs though she had been fish
ing-punt instead of great ocean steam
er, and the gang-plank having been
hoisted up, the passengers went ashore,
| Inspector Mehrer, who was in charge,
said that there being an Inspector, a
Collector and an Appraiser present. on
| the wharf, a custom house, in the ewes
| of the law, was in existence there. This
having then been organized, the passen-
! gers proceeded to get their luggage
passed. The dock men brought the
trunks and their owners collected them
| i'll piles. The trunks unlocked, the Oili-
| GERS of the custom-house proceeded to
examine them. Lifting up piles of cloth
ing and asking questions in many Ian
| guages, feeling the texture of various
garments between the finger and the
thumb in order to ascertain their fine
ness, removing trays and driving into
shoe wells, opening boxes and baskets
the work went rapidly on. Suddenly
there was call for Captain Mchrer 10
| examine some curtains which We're "de-
clared' rs dutiabe. He G<vex lifted
them and then pronouncing the words
.'cotton lace" in mystic aside, wrote
on the baggage entry their value at
fourteen dollars and their duty rs being
thirty-tve per cent. As this was less
than five dollars the curtains were passed
free, it being Il custom of the custom
house to admit articles if the duty does
| not reach that sum. Another call, and
Captain Mchrer began to look at a lot of
linen, evidently spun and woven by
some old grandmother in the Father
land" and sent out with many hopes that
it would prove useful in the new home.
The owner was settler coming to this
country, and by the Treasury regulations
the revenue officers always make things
very easy for the emigrant.
The examination Of the luggage did
not take long. There were few articles
on which duty was collectable, the
| owners were honest and declared them,
and there were no disputes. The stock
of good humor which every one acquired
when they saw the land was not taxed
by the custom house officials. The
| ined on the dock, but was taken with the
owners on board of the Castle Garden
barge. Here it is looked over by the
officers appointed to that work, but it is
rarely if ever taxed. The custom-house
Is very apt to allow emigrants to bring
almost anything, providing il is clearly
their own property and for personal use.
This fact has sometimes been taken all
vantage of by smugglers and attempts
have been made TO bring in articles for
sale this way. 1t has rarely succeeded,
however, for although the officers are
willing to pass almost any kind of prop
erty belonging to emigrants. their search
through the great chests is none the less
thorough.
To tourists who are about to come to
| this country, either Oh visit or on their
| return from Il triu. Il few hints NAV NOT
| be ont oi the WAY. Ii they will make
! fuli and eNaet lists of everything they
have in duplicate, separating the things
to correspond with the trunks in which
they are packed. noting the price OF
everything they have purchased in Eu-
rope and the date of the purchases. they
will find the work of passing the
custom house greatly facilitated. They
should also be able to easily identify
their trunks. They should remember,
if they deem the appraiscment unjust.
that they NAV pay the duties under pro
test or appeal to the Appraiser from hi:
Deputy. While it is we'll to facilitate the
work OF the officers as much "a possible.
the traveller should not permit himself to
believe that the officers he meets upon
the dock are the final Judges of the value