The morning call. [volume] (San Francisco [Calif.]) 1878-1895, 1890-06-02
A WATCHING EYE.
Naval Officer Danf0rth and His
Singular Office.
His Is Department That Works Hard to
Accomplish Nothing, but to See How the
0.hsr Fellows Do 1t.

n'the first place the term naval officer " Is
mlsnomer The official should be called con-
trOller OF the customs" but then everything
about the Naval Office Is mlsnamed. and appears
to be what 1t is not. The entire department. at
first view seems to be Z huge make belleve-to
be created for no purpose at all except 10 cause
double trouble to importers.
II is huge machine that runs without grist In
its hopper 1t is business concern that goes
through all the motions without transacting any
actual business. 1t has Its cashier, VINO never
handles a penny. 1t has a force OF hardworking
clerks, who simply do what has all been done
before and well done, by the Customs Collec-
tors clerks. Ii is, to all appearances. the fifth
wheel in the Custom-house coach, aud makes
great rattle and noise without Carrying Its share
Of the weight
''Put all things are not what they SEEM" and
so IL is with the Naval Office. In reality II Is the
great Watchdog of the Treasury. Ii Is because
OF the Naval Office that the vast sums collected
by the Customs Department are never emoez-
zled. 1t Is because of the Naval Office that Gus
toms clerks are so very honest in handling
leaves no chance 10 steal.
ORIGIN OF THE NAME.
The way the official came TO be called the
naval 0fficer' was this: In the last century,
when the British Parliament imposed tue OBJ
noxiOus taxes upon the commerce OF the Col
Onies-taxes which led 10 tie revolt OF our
valiant forefathers-the worthy monarch OF
Great Britain after awhile discovered his colo
NAL tax gatherers were not returning an honest
account of the money collected, SO lie sent some
OF his courts favorites over to watch them. But
the court iayorites, like the modern boodler,
soon saw how TO line their own pockets. Ihey
shut their eyes, opened their hands, ana the
stealing went on the same as before.
Finally the good king selected an officer OF the
navy, an old seadog, whose only impulse was 70
obey orcers-and sent him out To Investigate
The stealing stopped from that time. Alter that
a naval afiipar ALWAYS given Ibis post. hence
the name. When America became nation Inc
treasury officials adopted the name and contin-
ued the office, though, indeed. they did not I'LL IL
with IN officer from The navy.
Since then II has grown in Importance and I'M
proved IN system, until to-day t Is a coordinate
Independent part of The Customs Department,
and lis business is nearly as great that OF the
Collector. II you want TO see how the depart
ment does Its work go. some day, up on the sec
ond floor OF the Postoflice Building aud, III that
big room, watch the army OF clerks at work.
BEGINNING WITH THE MAILS.
To begin with the mall Is brought In. The
part OF lis contents which concerns the Naval
When 4 ship clears from foreign port and
bound for the United States. the shippers OF all
tie goods that she carries have TO 90 before the
American Consul at that port aud swear 10 list
of The goods that they send From these lists
the Consul makes out a manifest OF the cargo
and sends IL TO the Collector OF the PoIt 10
which the ship Is going
Tie manifest, upuu Its arrival, il first gone
over anG checked by a clerk IN III" Collector
once then II IS sent 10 tue Naval Ollce, ana Tue
clerk there does exactly the same work over
again. III he finds any discrepancy. the Col
lectOrs clerk Is called in and the error Is recti-
he'd.
Youder comes a captain OF vessel just sr-
rived in port. He goes TO The entry clerk OF the
Collee or's department and enters his vessel,
leaving with the clerk copy OF a manifest OF all
the cargo on his ship; then ne goes ever 10 the
entry clerk OF the Naval Once and does pre-
ciseIy the same thing again, as though he lad
not already been 10 see the Collectors clerk
Maxi tmuOTter. He has some goods
on the vessel that the captain has just entered.
He brings win him Two copies of all emily
that Is, document (usuaIiy made out by a
customs broke) setting forth IN detail The goods
be has In that particular ship. lie taxes one copy
Of this to CLERK IN the Collectors Office, and
another copy to a clerk in the Naval ONCE.
FIGURING Up THE DUTIES.
After awhile he goes back to the Collectors
clerk. who has meanwhile figured up the duties
and receives from him statement of how much
be has to pay. He takes Tins to Naval once
clerk. who compares II with the statement which
his Office has IN the meantime made out and II
both statements agree the Naval ONCE clerk
countersigUS the Collectors statement.
1heu the Importer goes to the cashier in the
Collectors department and pays the duties, re-
ceiyug receipt for his money, after which he
goes oyer to the ''cashier2" OF tie Nava! once.
This -'cashIer?' enters In his books SO much
money received countersigns the receipt OF the
Collectors cashier and the importer Is Tree 10 60
aud obtain his goods.
Meanwllie an invoice of these goods has been
sent TO tie Appraisers Office The Appraiser
SAdIlHtS inc SbOu-, uGtol hhlutS al HDdb
they should be entered, and compares his con
illusions with the invoice rent him. Ii the Col
lectOr and the Naval Office have rated the goods
too nigh or too low he notifies them, and then
both offices "liquidats' the entry; that Is they
figure the whole thing all up again aud send for
the importer, and either pay him The excess or
make him pay the deficiency.
Ia all his the Naval Officer and his clerks have
been industriously dong over again what other
departments have done Selore them. They have
not handled 2-SeGt OF money. They have no ln-
Itial gSiih0Tity to pass upon any question. They
merely act as of watchdog 10 see that no.
body tries 10 fool Uncle Sam out OF his just rights.
The Naval Office al Sau francisco Is composed
of f. I. Dauforth, Naval Officer; w. d. Hamilton
JT., Deputy, and force of ten clerks. Ii costs
S24, 600 per year 10 maintain. For this eXpendi-
ture Uncle Sam receives A sure thing on the re-
turns from the San Francisco Customl-house.