The Lamar register., 1890-10-11
EXCITED IMPORTERS.
The New York Custom House Be-
sieged by an Excited Crowd.


New YORK, Oct. 4.-The most in
tense excitement has prevailed in anu
about the custom house all day.
Whole troops of importers and brokers
| kept coming and going. AS O'Clock ap-
preached the numbers increased unti
finally the rotunda of the custom house
was allied with q solid mass Of humanity.
All carried large sums of money.
| They were on hand to enter goods tnat
were expected to arrive late this after
noon. They wished to get their entries IN
under the old law, and stood ready TO make
their entries the moment the vessels
! were sighted ut Fire Island.
BY the decision of yesterday the custom
house was TO have closed on the strike oil
) o'clock this afternoon. All goods arriv-
| ing after that hour were to come in under
the new law and duty was TO be charged
accordingly The mass of importers anc
brokers in the custom house was so great
at o'clock that Collector Erhardt deemed
it inadvisable to close at that hour. He an
nounced that the time would be extended
until o'clock.
Each moment after 3 O'Clock the excite
ment became greater. Those in the ro-
tunda appeared to be going crazy. They
shouted, yelled and made futile efforts u
move about
Every few minutes whole delegations OF
importers and brokers invaded the coilec-
tors office and importuned him to keer
the custom house open until midnight
The pressure on the collector became SC
great that finally he sent telegram tC
| Washington 1t was directed TO Secretary
Window, and requested advice US TO what
the collector should do under the circum-
stances. In little time there came an
answer from Washington. 1t was from
the secretary of the treasury and informed
the collector that he could use his own
discretion in the matter.
| Upon receipt OF Secretary Windom'-
telegram, Collector Erhardt and his seven
deputies held a consultation. They decid
ed to keep the custom house open until
twelve o'clock tonight, and the importers
sheered.
The steamships Reginald, City of Chica-
go, Zaandam and City OF Columbia, the
latter from Havana with cargo OF to-
bacco, are expected to arrive this evening
At $50 p. m. the City of Chicago was
entered, and a great part of the waiting
crowd was relieved. AT 6 :O5 the steamer
Regulus, with cargo of laces, silks and
velvets, was entered. There was still due
the Etruria, the Thingvala and the Zaan-
dam, and news of them was anxiously
| awaited.
| At 10 20 p. m. it became known that the
Etruria had been sighted OF the outer bal
at :34 p. m. At one minute Of twelve the
captain of the Etruria had not arrived
Ten seconds later, when half the light:
were out, carriage came up on a rush tc
the door, and a great shout went up. From
it jumped Captain Haines, who was i'm
mediately behind the counter aud entered
mis-. vessel Just before the clock struck
midnight. Three cheers and tiger were
| given for the captain The captain hac
come up on a special tug and was driven n
a breakneck pace from the dock to the
| custom house.
The receipts at the custom house to-day
were 81, l54, ,5S3, the second largest amour
taken in there since the war. The re
ceipts for the week were over 81, d,ooo, 900.