The Wheeling daily intelligencer. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1865-1903, 1885-06-20
c6sToSfis swIND1Ens.
A Vigorous Effort 10 be Made to put an End
To tho Frants.

WAsnMdroS, D. O., June 10.-The Ad
ministration Is engaged in a vigorous etIor
to put an end to under valuations ant
other customs frauds. TO accomplish thil
tho State and Treasury Departments ore
working in concert. The two department.
are nowin correspondence as to the best
means for combined action. Secretary
Bayard Is OF the opinion that the
Consular officers ought to share
with the customs officers the re-
sponslbility for under valuations, and
that the honest importers could not be
protected uutiltheC Consular officers acted in
harmony with the custom officers in Their
efforts to prevent and punish fraud. The
investigation which the State and Treas.
nry Departments have thus far made show
that there arc two radical defects in the
Consular system in the matter OF the Ger
tifcation OF invoices. In the first place,
the Consular officers very frequently Ger.
tify 10 the correctness OF invoices, and
then write private official letters to the
customers.
Inthe second place, IN all Of the Euro.
pean countries, except Great Britain, no
penalty attaches in the courts for making
false oath before an American Consul.
An attempt will be made to correct both
Of these defects. The iirsf thing deter.
mined on Is that radical change shall be
made in tho rules and regulations Of the
Consular service as to the certillcation OF
invoices, appYaisements, &c. The Re.
yised Statutes, however, make 1t q
penal offcnse in the Consular officer
TO certify TO the correctness OF All invoice
which he knows to be erroneous. Yet
theregulations authorize Consular officers;
in effect, to sign erroneous invoices. The
Consular regulations and the revised
Statutes are, therefore, in practical con-
llict. The new regulations, which will be
issued US soon as possible, will forbid a
Consular or diplomatic officer from certi-
iyingt to aninvoicc as 10 tho correctness Of
which he has any reason to doubt.
The State Department will also en-
deavor to come TO some understanding
with the Governments Of Continental
Europe that an oath before an American
Consul shall be something more than q
i'custom house oath.n Such an agree
mcnt has long existed between this
country aud Great Britain, aud ii has
been the experience Of our most capable
customs experts that fully ninety.tive per-
cent of the invoices from Great Britain
are honest. AS to The continent, it may
almost be said, without exaggeration, that
these figures should be reversed.
The new instructions TO Consuls will
make 1t mandatory that they shall sign no
invoices as to the correctness Of which
they have any doubt. Customs officials
believe. that, with saCh an instruc.
tion enforced and provision made
for an honest oath the valuation
throughout Continental Europe will be
very materially increased, or the imposss.
tions to this country will be, for themost
part, suspended. They are confident that
the exporters would dneveryenture to make
an honest oath to existing valuations, and
that Consular agents, i they did, would
not bo'able to certify to their invoices. Bot
whatever the result, the Administration
Is determined TO break up tho present
system Of certifying 10 false invoices,
which Is not only criminal, but Is an inla-
ry TO the honPst importers and to the rev.
enues Of tho Government.