The morning call. [volume] (San Francisco [Calif.]) 1878-1895, 1893-06-29
DUTY ON JUTE BAGS.
Stirring Up Big Custom-House
Scandal in the East.
The Congressional Investigating Com
mittee Accused of Taking Evil
dence Only Upon One Side.
Special to THE MORNING CALL

NEW YORK, June 2S.-James Watson of
this city was recently a witness before
the Custom house investigating comm t.
tee, but feeling that the evidence he would
give was not comprehensive enough, he
has written letter to Chairman Fair
child Of the committee, in which he says,
in part:
u do not feel that the proceedings of
the committee were seriously Intended TO
elicit all of the facts regarding the i'm
portation returns on Californian GENITAL
bags. The fault is not in the appraiser,
but in the law of Congress. ::
I'm the Mckinley act Congress called
upon the appraiser to distinguish between
bags of foreign and domestic manufacture,
but it is impossible, however prepouder-
ating the balance of evidence may be, to
say absolutely where ain individual bag is
made. and it seems to me, under the cir
instances, the appraiser cannot justly
impose the penalty of duty but is bound to
give the bag the benefit of the doubt.
"The talk that the Government has been
defranded of many thousands or millions
of dollars is sheer nonsense. This inyes-
tigation was instituted by Collins, a bag
maker, whose brief you have evidently &C.
cepted whole. Now you do not appear to
have asked Collins how it is he was en-
gagged for so long in making these bags
himself without paying duty on them, or
why he was required to pay duty on an
importation of 10000 bags shipped to him
as California bags, but which had never
been in California at all, and most of
which were branded with the name of
Arnold Brauss & Co., firm of grain
shippers in Buen0s Ayres, South America.
Il have actual knowledge that for the
last year Collins has been busy collecting
evidence to prove the foreign origin of
most of these returned bags, and yet
within that time l have sold him many
thousands OF these bags, all of which he
entered free and in regard to which he
has taken oath at the Custom house in
New York that to the best of his knowl-
edge and belief they were bags of Ameri-
nan manufacture.
You evidently adopt his (Collins9
theories with unquestionable faith. and
treat with slight consideration and scant
courtesy those balf-doZen other witnesses,
most of whom are traders of much greater
knowledge and wider experience than he,
and have apparently condemned as iguor-
uhb duu luoIlClSub biio N6W OIk eXdlll-
iner and, by implication, all other exam
liners or appraisers. for these GENITAL bags
are passed free through every custom
house from Boston to New Orleans"
The committee investigating the Gus
toms service here has struck another snag
Secretary Carlisle recently wrote to Sur
veyor Lyon, directing him to submit to
the committee all the data it might require
Lyon has refused to obey the order. inti-
mating in reply to the Secretary that If the
members of the committee are to be classed
as informers, detectives and spies he is not
ready 10 submit the records to their inspec-
ton. because as a sworn officer of the
Government he would be violating his oath
and the duties of his office.