The Pacific commercial advertiser. [volume] (Honolulu, Hawaiian Islands) 1885-1921, 1893-05-30
COL. VON WERTHERN.
he SENDS A BILL FOR s10.25
FOR SHAVING TO THE
UNITED STATES.
The Trouble Arose Over Eighty nine
Cents Duty on Two Old Razors.

An honored veteran of the late
civil war, who owns two razors
which are also survivors of that
unhappy epoch, has created con-
sternation in the United States
treasury department by sending in
a shaving bill for $10.25. He could
have raised whiskers and saved the
government this heavy expense, but
he did not propose to have his
rights as an American citizen tram
pied upon.
The aggrieved individual is Her
man Won Werthern of San Fran
cisco, who went to Honolulu last
summer for his health. The party
of the second part is Timothy Guy
Phelps, collector of the port of San
Francisco. In his zeal to protect
the government the collector seized
Mr.. Werthern's ante-bellum razors
when he sent them up to this city
from the islands to be ground and
returned to him.
When the facescrapers arrived
Z. B. Jerome, an expert on COM
mercial law, examined the ancient
tools, looked up the law and de-
cided that they were not OF Ameri-
can manufacture, and therefore du-
table. They were sealed and locked
up in the appraisers stores await
ing the payment of 80 cents duty.
In the meantime Mr.. Werthern's
whiskers were growing at a terrific
rate in Honolulu.
All kinds of verdure, including
whiskers, thrive amazingly in that
tropical climate, and the owner Of
the razors was wasting his sub
stance in riotous shaving at two
bits per shave. During this time
his antique but American-built
razors languished and grew rusty
in the custom house. The lynx
eyed officials of that department
were altogether too vigilant for Mr..
Werthern.
No secondhand razors could es-
cape them, but trifes, such as car
goes of rich silk or tons of opium,
are sometimes overlooked in the
rush of more important business.
Nothing was known of the affair
here until the other evening, when
news item telegraphed from
Washington stated that a citizen of
the United States, living in Homo
lulu, had filed complaint with the
treasury department against the
collector of the port of San Fran
cisco for holding out his razors.
There was also inclosed the bar
Der bill for $1025, which Mr.. Wer-
then is going to collect if he has to
garnishee the presidents wages.
A visit to the custom house dis
closed the fact that the veteran
had been deprived of the use of his
two old razors'for the period of six
months, and that he paid the SO
cents duty before they were re-
leased from custody. Here is let
ter he wrote to the collector regard
ing the two old razors
Honolulu, August II, 1892 Mr.
Phelps, Collector of Customs-Sir:
Under date of june 20sh 1 mailed
per parcel post two old razors to NJ.
J. Hayes & Son, 1924 Market street,
San Francisco, for the purpose of be-
ing ground, sharpened and returned
to me. This parcel has not been de-
livered to him up to date. After in
quiry by my son, DIR. Joseph Won
WertherH, at the post office in San
Francisco, he has been informed that
those razors had been kept by the
custom house officers for 5 cents duty
on them. Now, would ask you how
can this be2 Those razors 1 bought
in 1862 in New York shortly before
my regiment-the One Hundred and
Thirty first New York Volunteers
started out in the field. These same
razors served me during the war lin
which you have not participated)
and up to the present time. Mr..
Hayes will testify that be has ground
and shsrpened these same razors for
the past six years during my stay in
Dan FRANCISCO. NOW l. am temper
arily absent on account of my health;
the razors become dull: I send them
to be ground and returned to me;
the custom house officials take hold
of the parcel and charge me duty on
it. Where in - comes the duty on
two old razors, especially if they are
sent to be ground and returned2 1
do not know of any duty on transit
goods, but especially not on two old
razors which were bought in the
United States and are the property of
an old veteran temporarily absent
from his home in San Francisco
Therefore request you to have those
razors delivered and sent to their
destination without any further de
lay, and for the time that / have been
unlawfully deprived Of their use l
shall present TO you my barber bill at
% cents shave for every alternate
day. Respectfully,
HERMAN Won WERTHERN.
In the foregoing epistle Mr.. |
a t 81