The morning call., 1893-08-10
RALSTON'S INVESTIGATION.
Collector Wise Will Have to
Look to Himself.
TESTIMONY OF The BROKERS.
1t Shows That a Peculiar Condition
of Affairs Exists-The Conn.,
planning Firm.

Dee0 going on III Appraiser w. -. ma
ston's department of the customs service
here respecting the complaint made
short time ago that business secrets were
permitted to leak out has shifted the sus-
picion from MIR. Ralston's department to
the second floor of the Custom house itself,
and Collector John II. Wise may now find
1t incumbent upon himself to prosecute
most vigorous examination into the meth
DDS of his own Immediate subordinates.
j. Bergman of 5s1 Market street, who
handles fancy goods and notions, was the
importer who called Mr.. Wise's attention
to the supposed leakage. According to
Mr. Wise, Mr.. Bergman had received
word from foreign correspOndentinform
ing him that the firms invoices had been
duplicated in some way, ana it was at once
supposed that the most likely channel
through which business secrets might be
thus betrayed to rival business concerns
would be the Appraisers department.
Accordingly an investigation took place.
1t was conducted principally by Joseph f.
Evans, special agent of the United States
Treasury Department. and number OF
brokers and merch ants underwent rigol-
GUS inqulSition. The admissions made by
the brokers are extremely interesting and
tend to show that between the business
and moral codes there may be some differ
euce. From Robert S. Wheeler's answers
it appeared that broker mi ght be equipped
with q convenient memory, or rather for
getter, and be all the more successful as
a business representative upon the floor of
the Custom-house. Mr.. Wheeler is of the
firm nf RrnntSch & Wheeler.
1t was pretty evident tn at the possibility
of leakage of business secrets had been
located upon the second floor of the Gus
tom-house building. when Collector Wise
posted his notice emphasizing the rules
and regulations as to the method of push
ing business through the machinery of the
customs service The mott ce was sumner
to the brokers, and it seemed as if they
would soon be more ornamental than use-
full, for the effect of the policy contem-
plated by Mr.. Wise would have been to
have the brokers superseded by the mes
seDgers OF the service, but. as Deputy
Collector E. B. Jerome explained it to a
representative of THE CALL. there were
not enough messengers to do the work
which would thus have been imposed upon
them, and, after an all afternoons confer
ence with Broker John II. Boden, Messrs.
Wise and Jerome came TO the conclusion
that a modi ficaton of the order would be
advisable. The result was that it was de-
cided to put in big box. with private sec
tions. at the Naval Office for the benefit of
the brokers.
Up to the time the notice was posted up
last Saturday the brokers had been in the
habit of rushing through the business Of
their clients with whatever dispatch they
could from clerk to clerk and desk to desk.
1t was therefore feared that the new order
would produce a world of vexation and
delay, and that importers and merchants
would have to bear with the tedium and
disadvantage and perhaps loss of profit
which the slow procedure of a strictly
official conduct Of an importers papers
from one official to another would quite
naturally entail. But Mr.. Buden, who
stands very close to Collector Wise, be-
sides oeing the representative Of CON-
plaiDaEt Bergman, was equal to the occa-
sion, and further modification was agreed
to by Mr.. Wise. he permitting the brokers
to carry their papers from the box at the
Naval Office to the deputy collectors desks
the cashiers desk.
In the past, papers-invoices. entries.
manifests. etc. - were rather carelessly
dumped upon table at the Custom. house
Mr.. Wise's order did away with that loose
practice. This TACT of itself was quite an
indication that the Collector had a fear
that it was right there at that table that in
formation about the prices of one concern
could be easily communicated to another.
All these probabilities. however, came out
in the investigation carried on in Mr..
Ralston's Office
Messrs. Robert S. Wheeler, John H.
Boden, R. II. Swayne, Charles E. Heise,
}. S. NATION and William H. Thornley,
were the brokers sworn and examined, and
among the merchants and importers
questioned were Adam Grant of Murphy,
Grant IL Co., Sigmund Stern of Levi Strauss
& Co., Moses Bauer of Bauer Bros, Lipp-
man Sachs of Sachs Bros. & Co., Jules
Levy and one of the MIser brothers. 1t
seemed that Mr.. Bergman was alone in
his complaint. for Messrs. Grant,
Sachs and Bauer plainly said that
they had never experienced any trouble of
the kind referred TO by Mr.. Bergman.
When seen by CALL representative lust
before closing yesterday afternoon they
reiterated their statements to that effect.
Some time agO-during Mr.. Beck's admin
istratiOn-they had had some trouble
about prices being given out, in the Gus
tom-bouse itself. Mr.. Grant explained. but
there had been nothing Of the kind since
and never had been in the Appraisers
department at any time. With this state
ment Hugh l.. Whipple, who was called
by Mr.. Grant, quite concurred. The
statements made by Messrs Sachs and
Bauer were substantially the same-that
they had not experienced any betrayal of
their invoice prices.
Collector Wise and Special Agent Evans
were closeied together-their knees almos,
touching-in the formers Office yesterday
afternoon. but when asked as to the
progress of the investigation Mr.. Wise
professed absolute ignorance-he did not
even know that Mr.. Evans had been con-
Quoting any inquiry. He thought it was
quite commeDdahle thing for Mr.. Ralston
to do. though. Pressed a little further.
he admitted that il necessary tile investi-
cation would be transferred to his own
corps of subordinates-it would not stop
at Mr.. Ralston's office.
Evapc oopfoeeod tbrt