The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1891-03-29
A Correspondent Afioat With the
Customs Officer.
AN EXCITING LIFE AT TIMES
How Uncle Sans Men Gather in the Tariff
From Incoming Vessels in
New York Harbor.

veyor of the port. Mr.. Lyons (whom every
body calls "the genial Mr.. Lyons'O was
somewhat demoralized when he was in the
district attorneys Office by contact with
certain INSCRIPTIONS reporters, and SO
when 1 told him that wanted to go down
the bay and see how Uncle Sans officers
actually collected his customs he seemed
surprised that L should desire facts.
However, when I explained that imagi-
nation was hardly sufficient foundation
for really good letter he was good enough
to furnish the proper credentials, and in
due time found myself under the care of
Deputy Surveyor John Collins and Board
ing Officer Waterbury, on board the reve-
nue. tug Chandler, bound down the bay in
search of smugglers. Half dozen staff
| officers were in the party, each one en-
| dowed with full powers, and as we steamed
along through the particularly nasty
weather that sometimes prevails in New
York harbor Mr.. Collins explained the rou-
| tine of the business.
'The days of romantic smuggling have
passed by" he said. "You read OCCASION
ally about deep laid plots and elaborate
| conspiracies between captains of incoming
vessels and venturesome beatmen, and of
how great packages of goods are thrown
overheard in the lower bay or outside
| Sandy Hook, and are picked up by the
boatmen at night, but such things happen
no longer. The risk is too great and the
profit too small, and the would-be snug
glers have found it out. OF course such
things might be done. and there is small
percentage of possibility that the enter
prise might be successful once or twice,
but it would be discovered and reported
very shortly. There are revenue cutters
that patrol the coast, to be sure, but the
actual routine of the customs service is
just what you see today"
What we saw was simple and matter of
fact enough, though very interesting, and
once or twice very exciting. The deputy
surveyor has for a force two boarding Off
GERS and fourteen staff officers He COM
mands two tugs, the Chandler and the
Washington, each with a crew of eight
men. Ordinarily only one tug and one
half his force are on duty, though on
emergencies all hands may be at work.
Every incoming vessel from foreign
port is boarded twice before reaching her
dock in New York. First the health Of
ficer boards her at quarantine. If she has
clean bill of health she passes right on,
unless it be night time. If it be she lies
at quarantine until morning. On her way
from quarantine to the city she will be
met by one of the little tugs carrying the
cross barred flag of the revenue service,
and also carrying a small brass cannon.
The latter is seldom needed, and never
used excepting for salute, though if an
urgent necessity should occur there is no
doubt it would be used without hesitation.
The ship captain, however, who defies the
authority on board the little tug takes
greater risk than that of cannon ball, for
he sails in the teeth of the United States
law. A few weeks ago a tramp steamer
kept on her way regardless of the signal
from the tug, and arrived at her dock with
no bullet holes in her side, but her captain
paid S400 for his foolishness, being promptly
fined that amount.
In good weather the duty of the staff
officers is pleasant enough, but in a storm
it is decidedly disagreeable and rather
dangerous. The first vessel we boarded
was ship from China with cargo of tea,
but no passengers aboard, and few min
utes were enough for her. The Chandler
steamed alongside, and one of her deck
other brought out twenty foot ladder,
ana Mr.. Waterbury ran nimbly up to the
ships deck. He had to be quick, for the
tug and the ship were both rolling and
pitching so violently that no inexperienced
man could tell where the top of the ladder
was going to be from moment to moment.
However, there was no mishap, and in
perhaps quarter of an hour Mr.. Water
1t was simply detailed statement of what
the cargo consisted of, and was to go in
due course to the custom. house. As we
cast off the captain of the tea ship looked
over the side, smiling, and saluted us po-
litely
''Do you ever have any trouble with the
captains of vessels?" I asked.
every rarely" said Mr.. Collins. "They
all know what they have to do, and they
know that there is no possibility of their
escaping it, so even if they are surly and
disagreeable by nature they make no diff
Guilty as rule. Once in while one of
them will do some ugly thing. For in
stance, the other day when we were leaving
ships side the captain shouted out some
thing in Dutch, and one of his officers
whipped out knife and cut our line in
stead of having it cast off,"
"What did he do that for?"
II haven't the faintest notion. He sim.
ply did it. But we seldom have any
trouble with captains. It's the passengers
that make the work"
How do they do it?"
you'll have chance to see right soon.
for we are going to board the Majestic
now"
We had steamed on down to quarantine
by this time, and the health officer was
Just leaving the great Atlantic liner Some
signal, unperceptible to my eyes, told Mr..
Collins that all was right, and we stag
gered up to the side of the big ship with
as much dignity as the United States
government could carry across the waves,
which were getting bigger and nastier
every minute. 1t was raining, though not
very hard, and was blowing like blazes.
A line was thrown, caught and made
fast, and the ladder was taken to the up
per deck of the tug and raised against the
towering side Of the Majestic. 1t did not
reach the top of that ugly iron wall by five
or six feet and to q landsman the task Of
going aboard seemed very ticklish, espe-
cially as the tug was bobbing up and down
so viciously. However, the dignity of
journalism had to be maintained, and the
worst that was likely to happen was q
tumble and possible ducking, so
watched the officers scrambling up and
saw them dragged over the side by friend
ly hands, and, putting my trust in good
luck, followed. How we got over is hard
to say, but we did, and while Mr. Water
bury was interviewing the captain I fol-
lowed the staff officers to the saloon, where
they were to take the declarations of the
passengers as to their baggage,
The system they followed is simple,