Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1890-01-24
AT THE CAPITOL TO-DAY.
ADMINISTRATIVE CUSTOMS BILL.
Under Consideration in the House Today.
THE HOUSE.

On motion Of Mr.. Sayers (Tex) the Senate
amendments were concurred in to the House
bill to change and fix the time Of holding the
terms Of the United States circuit and district t
courts at Austin and Brownsville, Tex.
On motion of Mr.. Grosvenor (Ohio), the
House insisted on its amendment to the Senate
bill for the removal of distractions from the
Missouri river, and conference was ordered
Mr.. Walker (Me.), from the committee on
commerce reported and the House passed the
Senate bill authorizing the construction Of q
bridge across the Missouri river within one
mile north and one mile south and east Of the
mouth OF the Kansas river.
THE CUSTOMS ADMINISTRATIVE BILL.
The House then went into committee of the
whole (Mr. Burrows of Michigan in the chair)
for the further consideration Of the customs
administrative bill
Mr.. Bayne pa. to section Is, providing
that ''during the pending of any con-
troversy or litigation about the amount
OF duty to be paid by any owner,
agent, importer or consignee on any imported
merchandise in the courts the merchandise
In question shall remain in the govern
ment warehouse and under the control
OF the Secretary of the Treasury,
and In all actions brought against the collector
OF customs by owners, agents, importers or con-
slgnees the plaintiff shall be required to prove
before he can recover that said merchandise at
the time OF trial is in the custody of the gov
ernment."
MR.. BLANcHARD's CRITICISM
MIR. Blanchard Na.) criticized the section
for the reason that, in bis opinion, it took away
from the citizen the right of trial by jury and
denied to him his full right of appeal, though
1t reserved that right to the government
THE BAYNE AMENDMENT.
Mr.. Flower (N.Y.) read a telegram from
Charles Landen Co. of New York; protesting
against the Bayne amendment.
Mr.. Mills (Tex.) supported the Bayne amend
ment. He spoke in behalf of the tax payer
II an importer paid a higher rate of duty
and then sold his merchandise he made
the tax payers pay the duty. Then, when with
one hand he had taken the money out of the
pocket Of the tax payer and paid it with the
other to the treasury, be went into the courts
and secured rerating of the duty at lower
rate, thus again taking the money from the tax
payer. If the amendment was agreed to and
the goods required to be kept in the warehouse
pending litigation the tax payer would at any
rate be required to pay the duty but once.
FRAUDULENT IMPORTERS.
Mr.. Carlisle Of Kentucky thought that
the amendment did not strike at the
fraudulent importer, but at the hon.
est importer. fraudulent importer never
wanted to go into court. The amendment was
an indirect provision that no honest importer
of goods should be allowed to appeal to the
courts for the correction of any wrong.
Owing to the crowded dockets of the courts a
decision in an import case might not be rem
dered for three or four years. If, in the mean
time, the goods were required to be kept in
bond, it would work hardship on the i'm
porter. The remedy was for Congress to make
its statutes plain and simple, SO that the officers
Of the government might have no difficulty in
constituting them and the courts might be
more dIligent in the trial Of import cases.
IN SUPPORT OF THE BILL.
Mr.. McKenna Gal spoke in support of the
bill. There was no dispute about the fact that
fraud was practiced with system and success
There was no dispute about the fact
that this bill would prevent that
fraud and provide for an honest administration
of the law instead of a corrupt and debasing
one. He also favored the Bayne amendment.
There was not a democrat on the floor who
could refuse to vote for it if he believed
that tariff duty was tax on the consumer.
No republican who believed that the tariff duty
was a benefit to the people could refuse to vote
for it.
OPPOSED TO THE AMENDMENT.
Mr.. Gambler Mass did not think that the
amendment should be adopted. This was not
a question for democrats or republicans He
was a republican, but he believed in simplicity
and defnitiveness
THE REEE JNVESTI(, ArJnN