Democratic Northwest. [volume] (Napoleon, Ohio) 1869-1894, 1885-07-30
THE NORTHWEST
From New York Herald,l
WOOL TARIFFS.
How the Government Has Been Swim
died by Undervaluations.
Ohio Farmers Injured.

Ohio Farmers Injured.
The republicans in Congress laid very
high duties on foreign wool and assured
the wool farmers of Ohio that they were
their real and only friends and had
protected" American wool.
The republicans in the Treasury and
the custom houses, however, cOnnived
ut systematic evasions of the wool
duties by some importers, and, when
they had grown bold enough, even
aided these evasions of the protection"
duty by Treasury regulations which in
effect broke down the tariff so far as
certain importers were concerned.
The account which our Washington
correspondent sends of the manner and
extent of the wool frauds against the
revenue is very interesting reading for
the wool farmers of Ohio, who believ-
cd themselves protected, when in fact
they were having their throats cut; also
poor importers and manufacturers who
were not in the favor and confidence of
he republican Treasury officials and
who continued to pay the proper
duties.
The republican platform peremptori-
ly demanded protection" for the Ohio
wool farmers. Can it be that this only
meant q continuance of high duties to
be evaded by favored republican manu-
facturers?
We hope Secretary Manning, who is
booking into this wool business, will
make clean sweep of the republican
customs officers, in and out of the
Treasury, who have connived at this
robbery of the Treasury which, as Con-
sui Packard rightly wrote, is also a
robbery of honest importers and manu-
lecturers. 1t is time for change.
The following is. the correspondence
referred to:
WASHINGTON, July Is, 1885.
Secretary Manning, in the intervals
he can save from office seekers, has,
with Assistant Secretary Fairchild,
undertaken to look into the reports of
eonsuls, appraisers and special agents
in relation to wool frauds, which have
lain in the Treasury Department un-
noticed and unacted on for some years
past. AS sample of the urgency
with which faithful consuls appealed
10 the authorities at home on this sub
lect of frauds against the revenue, the
following passage from long despatch
of Mr.. Packard, Consul at Liverpool, is
interesting. 1t will be seen that, in
despair at the inaction of the customs
officers, he appealed directly to the
President and Secretary of the Treasu-
~. But his appeal was fruitless. This
letter, with many Others, lay unnotic-
ed in the Treasury until it was recently
brought to the attention of Secretary
Manning.
HOW IT WAS DONE.
Mr.. Packard writes under date of May
30, 1884,
1t is a most unpleasant duty to have
again to call the departments atten-
ton to further bold and extensive
frauds upon the customs revenue in the
importation of Scotch wool invoiced
from Glasgow and Leith to parties at
Philadelphia, and entered at the latter
port and at New York within the last
five months of 1888.
The obligation to renew my efforts to
break up these monstrous practices
seems the more incumbent upon me
since they relate to the same parties,
shippers and exporters, to whose
fraudulent transactions | have at diff
ferent times since July l. 1882, called
the attention Of the department and of
customs officers, Notwithstanding
which these practices have continued
aninterruptedly. 1t seems to me,
therefore, that the serious questions
are presented, whether or rot, under
existing laws, the proper administra-
live officers of the government are
clothed with and have exercised full
power and authority to protect the
revenues as against the devices of dis
honest importers and the neglect or
incapacity of subordinate officials, and
thus secure to all importers of this
class of merchandise that exact justice
free from favoritism resulting from a
ajust, faithful and impartial APPRAISAL
of the same upon common and uni
form basis at the respective ports of the
country. In this view / deem it ap-
propriate and important that the sub
iect be brought personally to the atten-
tion Of the President and ofthe Secre-
harry of the Treasury to the end that the
facts hereinafter set forth may suggest
Of tho former the exercise of such Of his
constitutional obligations and preroga-
tives as the circumstances appear to
demand,
The importers of the merchandise in
question ewere firm in Philadelphia,
and the shipments were invoiced by a
house in Scotland. The wool consisted
of the descriptions known as unwashed
white and laid Highland and ofwashed
white Highland, the fraud being in the
differentiation of the unwashed white
Highland, which formed the bulk of
the shipments, and being of "class 3n
\ or carpet wool, was dutiable under the
tariff act of March 8, 1883, either at two
and a half centsor five cents per pound,
according to whether the value was at
and below or above twelve cents per
pound at the last port or place whence
exported to the United States, exclud-
ing charges in such port.
The tariff lays two sets of duties on
ioreign wool. For the higher grades,
clothing and combing woods, itimposes
ten ortwelve cents per pound, accord
ing to cost at the last port of exporta-