The Wichita daily eagle. [volume] (Wichita, Kan.) 1890-1906, 1893-07-06
IN THE NAVY.
Officers and Men Strongly Tempt
ed to Break the Revenue Laws.
Having Many Opportunities to Obtain
Curios Abroad, They Very Naturally
Want to Bring Them Home, But
Are Required to Pay Duty.

The news that Struggled goods, sup
posed to have come from the United
States man-of-war kearsarge, have re-
Gently been seized at Norfolk revives
an old subject of scandal There is a
strong feeling in the navy that officers
and men on board the vessels of the
navy should be permitted to bring in
free dutiable articles so long as the
value of such article is not great
enough to make their admission a
source Of any considerable loss of rev.
enue to the government. Men and Of
fcers argue. as the New York Sun
thinks, plausibly enough that since
the ships of the navy are already so
closely packed with the things they
must necessarily carry, there can
hardly be room for such quantity of
foreign merchandise as would cut an
important figure in the custom house
or in the commercial transactions of
the country. Every square inch Of
available room in nearly all parts of the
ship is occupied by her belongings or
needed for the convenience and COM
fort of men and officers in moving back
and forth, so that it is true that no
great bulk of merchandise could be
slowed without inconveniencing some
body to the point of rebellion. On the
othe- hand officers and men are, for
the most part, not rich enough to buy
precious stones and like small articles
of high value. 1t is true, however,
that officers and men do pick up curios
of one sort or another on their visits to
foreign countries, and doubtless many
of these things come in free of duty.
An officer returning from the China
station some years ago brought pack
age for a brother officer who was not
then coming home, and was required
to pay one hundred dollars duty on its
contents.
1t has long been understood that
cigars and liquors bought abroad by
officers Of United States man-of-war
may be brought into port free of duty.
The theory doubtless is that such
things are purchased for consumption
aboard ship, and, as supplies OF the
voyage, are not properly dutiable.
That is true as to the great bulk of
such articles. Wines, liquors and CT
gars for the ward room are usually
bought abroad. 1t is cheaper usually
to buy champagne and other expensive
French wines in the West Indies or
almost anywhere else than in the
United States. and of course first-class
cigars are cheaper in Havana. for ex-
ample, than here. Nearly all naval
officers smoke, and if an officer cruising
in the West Indies expects shortly to
be stationed in the United States or to
be on leave or waiting orders he usu-
ally lays in some thousands of Havana
cigars. Sometimes he buys them
through the wardroom caterer and
sometimes directly from the wardroom
stores. He gets them good deal
cheaper than he could buy them at
home, and he feels justified in giving
box here and there to friends ashore.
There is the best reason to believe.
however, that officers do not purchase
such things for civilians, and the OFF,
Ger who should be found making mer-
chandise of his privileges would be
unanimously snubbed by his ship
mates. Everything that men drink
and smoke in the wardroom of an
American man-of-war is from ten to
forty per cent. cheaper than an equally
good article ashore in this country.
and there is no club, however well
managed, whose wine list is as cheap
in proportion to quality as that of the
wardroom. 1t is impossible. however.
for an officer to bring any considerable
quantity to this country as his private
property, because OF the everpresent
difficulty as to stowage. 1t happens
occasionally that United States snip
from a foreign station suddenly goes
out of commission upon reaching home,
perhaps when all on board had ex-
pected to be at sea again after short
stop in port. In such case the ward
room stores are all sold to another
wardroom or divided among the Off
GERS. In the latter case some foreign
stores doubtless come ashore duty free.