New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1888-01-07
THECUSTOM HOUSE BLOCKED
vExArrous DELAYS IN BUSINESS.
AIRED TAPE sYsrEM-oFFICIALs WHO ARE SELDOM
eHYy AT WORK.

RED TAPE sYsTEM-oFFlC1Ats WHO ARE SELDOM
sxEN AT WORK.
Tho desks Of tho Acting Deputy Collectors In tho
rotunda Of tho Custom House were piled up with
papors long limos 'of brokers' clerks were waiting
thsr turns to have invoices and permits passed upon
- late as half past o'clock yesterday afternoon
An officer was asked II tho seeming blockade was
due to the accumulation Of business during the holl
days, and said: "No, not at all. 1T Is duo 10 inc
beleve-evcry be dishonest policy OF Coiicc'or
Magonc, and the incfciency of tho present force Is
duo to the inexperIence Of the new men, Tho result
ta-ss all of tho papers the tops OF those oesHs
tndicate-that during the delays In the Custom House
vessels are discharged, and the merchants cannot
not their papers through In time to remove their goods
within tho for,y-eght- hour limit, tho goods go 10
General Store and tho merchants must pay the
carriage and ono months storage"
@But is this work In the Custom House subject to
any greater delays than formerlyi
@Under tho old administration the business was
facilitated by tho efficiency Of the men and the COM
parave absence Of red tape. Tho papers were taken
20 the Naval ONCE and to tho Entry Clerk and after
being examined, and all the marks compared and
tho errors by those two officers were read-
~ passed by tho Deputy Collector, who was supposed
10 the other officials for the correction OF
any errors and merely examined the marks and sigma
lures and then signed tho documents II there were
any errors they would be readily discovered In the
nqudating department But Collector Magone re-
qures the deputy collectors their substitutes to go
and compare all figures This seems unnecessary
and Is embarrassing to the merchants, as told you
rbcrc ought not to DO that accumulation OF papers,
and long lines Of clerks standing there. This delay
Il not expensive to the importers only, but to tho
brokers, who must pay for the time wasted by their
clerks
But why not have larger FORGET"
ave have ten men to do the work, where we
had only four heretofore do not mean to infer that
there are ten to do the work of four, In fact there
ere only six doing the work OF four, an increase OF
fifty per cont We have in that row one deputy col
lector and five confidential cler KS or arting deputy
coecorsthe latter appointed as such to get around
four deputy collectors One of these is Charles Davis
. practical Democratic politician, but perhaps ought
10 DO little reserved for am Democrat
Well Davis very seldom his desk in fact, have
not him there dozen times In as many months
Deputy Collector James f. Jones Is doing duty In the
for Magone doesn't like him. Deputy Collector Sam
uel Guthrie Is supposed to be in charge OF the ware
house bookkecpcrs, duty that has heretofore peen
performed by the deputy at the head Of that division
Then Deputy Collector John A. Mason pays no alton
ton anything outside of the secrearyship OF the
Civil Service Examining Board although he has been
ct the desk there few minutes trying to lido over
the present crush The duties of these four deputies
ere supposed TO be those which the conhdential
clerks perform. Another deputy collector who IS
away from tho rotunda is General Williams lie is
ct the Public Stores temporarily filling the place OF
OK Deputy Collector Jones' who has been replaced by
the Brooklyn livery stable keeper, W. s Soaring, at
ment tell you II the picture were Republican one
tho Democratic papers would Just howl over It,"