The Portland daily press., 1884-01-09

| WASHINGTON, Jan. 8.-Secretary Folger has
received detailed information of yery extern
sive frauds that have been committed in the
customs service. The honor of some leading
| firms in lew York, Boston, Phil Adelphia and
other places is affected.
| For some years it has been apparent that
| certain importers and consignees of foreign
| goods we're selling their goods at such low
rate as to make competition impossible.
Honest dealers wers at loss to explain this
except on the ground that these importers
We're defrauding the government by receiving
their impertations at a rate below that v hich
the law required. The attention of the
r Treasury Department was called to the matter,
and arrangements were at once made to in
vestigate and discover, If possible, what the
frauds were, who were committing them, and
by what means. The United States onsuls in
some of the English manufacturing towns,
especially Liverpool, Bradford, Leicester.
Manchester, Leith and GLASGOW, were re-
quested to make such investigation as was
possible, and special agents of the Treasury
|, we're sent abroad with instructions to thorough
ly work the case up. The reports are in
Secretary Folger's hands, They show system
attic operations in the way of undervaluation
i by invoices that have cost the government
millions that should have been received in re-
venue, and that in some instances have been
great enough practically to prohibit the homo
manufacture of certain lines of goods.
1t was at first supposed that the frauds W ere
contined to woods and wooden goods, but it was
found that they had extended to many other
articles OF Importation 1t was found that
wools were invoiced as IL, 534 and 5 7-8
pence per pound when tae true invoicing
would have. placed them ct 6 rs pence. The
lower valuation enabled the importers to get
the goods at much less rate of duty than the
honest importers of the same goods were pay
ing 1t is not yet known by how much the
government has been defrauded, but the sum
is large.
traced to some leading firms in New York city,
whose names will speedily be made public
There were some, too, in Boston and Philade-
phia.
The consul at Liverpool reported that one
common form OF fraud was practiced with
Cordova carpet wool, which was shipped from
Bradford, England, to the River Plate in
South America, thence, to allaySuspicions ia-~
to New York, at an undervaluatiop af-involce,
which enabled the importers 20 get the goods
at duty OF three cents pound, when they
should have paid six A very large sum was
lost by this one item of undervaluation.
The special agent recommends that one large
importing house of these goods be prosecuted
$25 900 due tho government on account of un-
edervaluatioRs. This firm has already raid
$I0,Q 900 in penalties for undervaluations
IL II ~si | found that chloride of calcium had
Deen Tor long time shipped into Nav York to
one or two firms there, at a valuation of 40
shillings ton, when it should have been in
voiced at 60. 1t was also found that almost as
extensive frauds were committed by silk as by
woolen importers. Silks, velvets, silk plush,
ribbons, anline dyes, embroideries, carpets,
wools, incandescent lamps, East India woods,
hlagree work, and even pickles and chow
chow, ladies gloves, in which frauds have been
very extensive, cashmere goods, and paper
hangings were some OF the other articles of
importation which the special agent found
were being falsely invoiced to deffaud the rev.
enue.
Enough has been discovered as to the man
ner OF committing the frauds and the perpe-
traitors to make an astonishing statement of
fraud when the facts in detail appear. The
special supervising agent says that this under
valuation of imported merchandise has alafm-
ingly increased by means of the ingenuity of
manufacturing and exporting merchants of
Europe He says that honorable manufacture
ers have held out against it until recently, and
have boon compelled to resort to this dishon-
esty in order 10 retain their trade with the
Unitd States. The evil has grown SO great
and the fraud has become so systematic and
successful that many European manufacturers
who consign to this country will not sell di-
rectly to the American importer, but refer him
to their New York and Boston consignees
All of the papers that the Secretary OF the
Treasury has in connection with these frauds
will be made public in few days. Mr.. Con-
verse, hearing that frauds have been dscov-
cred in the invoices of wools, and satisfying
himself that there was some foundation for it,
offered resolution yesterday calling upon the
Secretary of the Treasury to furnish to the
House all rsnpgts that b. hss mas Gearing upon the
naturalization of woods and woolsn yarns
Mr.. Converse did not ask for the papers bear
lug on the fraudulent importations of other
commodities, but they will be asked for at
once.
The government is making arrangements to
prosecute and sue all firms of whose guilt
proof has been obtained, and additional legis-
lation will be asked for to enable the COVER n
ment the better to prevent such practices in
f1itura