Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1893-11-29
TARIFF BILL.
Its Administrative Features Dis
oussed by Mr.. Hamlin.
NATURALIZATION DANGER LESSENED.
Better Means of Determining the
Classification Provided.
OTHER AMENDMENTSTREA
LIBERALIZATION DANGER LEESENED.
OTHER AMENDMENTS TREATED

OTHER MISUNDERSTANDING
Mr. Charles s. Hamlin, assistant secretary
of the treasury, in charge of the tariff ad
ministrative subjects and cases arising
out of the construction Of all tariff laws.
has prepared the following statement as to
the administrative features Of the new tar
in bill:
1t is believed that amendments reported
by the ways and means committee to the
customs administrative act will soften
many Of the harsher provisions Of the law
and yet leave the law in a much more per-
feet condition than 1t Is at present. The
present customs administrative law is the
result of a slow growth; many Of Its pres
ent provisions were recommended and were
contained in the Hewett bill, the Randall
bill. the suggestions In the reports Of Sec
rotary Manning and Secretary Fairchild. and
in the Senate administrative bill. 1t has
nothing to do with politics. 1t simply pro-
Ndes the machinery for collecting in the
most complete manner the existing rates
of duty, whatever they may be, upon i'm
ports.
An enormous revenue must be collected to
support the government Under the new
tariff, the rates Of duty being lowered. 1t
Is plain that the tariff laws must be rigidly
administered In order to obtain the neces-
sary revenues.
In the bill reported by the committee
there are many changes from specific to ad
valorem duties; such ad valorem duties are
the fairest and most equitable kind. and the
rate is absolutely the same on all grades
Of goods Of the same kind, while specific
duties bear heavier upon the cheaper goods
used by the masses than upon the dearer
goods.
Danger of differentiation.
The danger in substituting ad valorem for
specific duties Is that thereby the danger
Of differentiation is increased However.
the present board OF general appraisers
was appointed as experts. for the very pur-
pose Of preventing differentiation; they de-
termine the value of all goods imported. and
classify said goods on appeal from the col
lector.
The customs administrative act entirely
changed the law as to determining the value
of imported goods. Prior to said act, IL the
valuation of the local appraiser was DIS
puted. the valuation was determined under
the so-called merchant appraisers system,
by which one merchant was selected to act
with one of the general appraisers and they
together reappraised the goods; If the mer-
chant and the general appraiser disagreed.
the collector of the port determined the val
uation. and there was no appeal from his
decision.
The- -prssent VISIONS administrative act
substitutes q board Of nine general ap-
praise-s. All questions of value come d.
rectly to this board on appeal from the
decision of the local appraiser and the de-
cision of the board of general appraisers. or
rather of three Of their number sitting as a
board. is final As to dutiable value, the
collector no longer has any word In de-
termining said value.
As to Classification.
The ways and means committee leave
this determination Of value as contained in
the present act unchanged except that a
hearing is provided at which the importer
may be present and give testimony. An
other point to be determined in customs
cases is classification. Classification con-
sists in deciding what clause Of the tariff
law imported articles of merchandise come
The collector Classics the goods in the first
instance. both under the old and the pres
ent customs administrative law, and many
difficult questions arise. for example, wheth-
er not imported tiles should be classified
as paving tiles thereby paying a much
lower rate of duty than under the general
head of earthenware.
Under the law prior to the customs ad-
minstrative act the collector first classified
the goods, there was then an appeal to the
Secretary of the Treasury. and from his
decision there was an appeal to the courts
in which the importer brought certain &C.
ton against the collector to recover back
the excess of duty wrongly levied by him.
In that suit there was trial by jury upon
all questions of fact involved. The customs
administrative act took away all appeals
from the decision of the collector on ques-
tons of classification to the Secretary of the
Treasury. In its place an appeal was al
lowed from the decision of the board of
general appraisers to the circuit court of the
United States. In that court a single judge,
hn
taken before the board of general apprais-
ers, or on such further evidence the
court should order.
This provision has been amended in the
report of the ways and means committee
In this report ii is provided that all findings
of fact by the board of general appraisers
shall be final without appeal to the court or
to the Secretary of the Treasury. An ap-
peal Is allowed on questions of law from the
decision of the board directly to the circuit
court of appeals. The board of appraisers
certify the facts which they have found
and their decision to the circuit court.
1t is believed that these amendments will
cor duce to the speedy determination of
all customs cases. saving much time and
no incon siderable expense. When the act
was originally framed the power was given
to the board to find all facts without APP
peal but at the last moment this was
stricken out. This amendment, therefore,
carried out the original intention of the
trainers Of the customs administrative act.
Outer coverings
Among other important amendments is
the one which excludes outer coverings,
crates. &C., necessary for transporting i'm
ported goods. from being assessed for duty.
The law now assesses duty on all crates,
sacks. coverings, &c, by adding their
value to the value of the goods which they
inclose. This operated as an increase in
the duty of from to per cent and has
proved one of the most annoying clauses
to importers contained in the present act
The law as 1t stands in the customs ad-
ministrative act had the approval of Secre-
taries Manning, Folger and Fairchild. The
principal reasons for levying duty upon
such coverings were the prevention of
fraud and the saving of labor.
The board of appraisers has to determine
the value of imported goods in the country
of expectation. Most of such goods when
at said country are inclosed in some cover
ing, which forms an integral part of the
manufactured goods in their merchantable
condition. For example, cans containing
fruits and cartoons containing spools of
thread. If, therefore, the appraisers had to
determine the value of imports without
such coverings (as they had to do under
the tariff of 1881 such valuation would
have to be separated from their value in
the condition in which such goods are when
in the market in merchantable condition
This has led TO much confusion and trouble