The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1895-05-16
COLLECTING THE CUSTOMS.
HOW UNCLE SANS OFFICERS GATH
Err THE IMPORT DUTIES.

ventures Of a Case of Dress Goods
From the Time IL Leaves the Leip-
sic Manufactures Until IL Reaches
the Business House OF the New
York ImpOrter-COmpIicat OF
the Mixed and Intricate Revenue
Laws.
From the New York sun.
Uncle Sam. having set out 10. inspect
! every foreign thing that enters his do
minion, has undertaken an enormous task
and his way Of accomplishing IL indicates
that he has recognized that. The laws
under which the revenue is collected are
so numerous that no one person. however
good his memory, could hope TO keep
them all in mind. Under these laws the
duties are so divided that each official
has some specific work. and is not re-
| quired to bother with any other The act
of every official in the revenue service
up to the Secretary of the Treasury him
self is supposed to be revised independ-
emily by some other official, and the re-
suits are compared at headquarters.
The actual happenings to merchandise
brought to this country from the time il
first comesAto the attention of our OIL
cials until IT is placed in the possession
of the person to whom 81 is addressed are
always practically the same Take. for
instance. some dress goods manufactu-
ed at Leipsc by Herr Carl Kaufman
and purchased by Mr.. William Henry. a
New York merchant. The first recogni-
ton of our laws by Herr Kaufman is
when he marks upon the cases In which
the goods are packed these words:
Made in Germany
With this must appear the initials of
nd no tapv u f01e
on the invoice, which is the official record
Of the transaction. Not only Is the price
which Mr.. Henry has paid or agreed 20
pay for the goods stated in the invoice,
but also the number Of yards. the price
per yard, the character of the cloth. and
the cost of boxing and other charges up
10 the time the cases are delivered on
board the ship.
These are now sent by Hert Kaufman
with a sample Of each of the kind of mer-
chandise in the cases, 60 the American con
sui at Leipsic Mr.. Doederlein Is supposed
to compare the samples with the values
quoted in the invoice. and 10 decide as to
/ their correctness. Along with the invoice,
the consul should receive from Herr kauf-
mann "a declaration that he is the seller,
that William Henry is the buyer that the
invoice furnished is the true one and the
only one that will be furnished TO any
one, that the goods are to be entered at
New York, and of some minor details.
Had Herr Kaufman resided IN a cOuu-
try where the United States do not main
tain a consulate or commercial agency, he
] would have
ton of his invoice from the resident con-
sui of some nation friendly to the United
States Had his home been so remote
from the civilized world that no CONNER
| ciaI representative of the country with
which we are at annuity was located there
IL would have sufficed had he secured the
authorization from any two reputable
! merchants residing at the seat of manu-
facture or sale.
The three invoices being ready for dis
! position by the consul, one VIII be hled IN
10 Of
returned to the shipper, and the third
/ will be sent to the collector OF this port.
| Herr Kaufman Will send mis- copies 10
Mr. Henry by mail.
The cases are slowed away in the hold
| of a steamer, and, whatever may happen
! through the emergencies of trevel, after
! the vessel enters our waters no person,
! not even the captain OF the snip, mas the
right to enter the hold and touch them
until the government mas c9 ,I.Ni ts, -,
! As soon as the snip tsfSi8hded py me
/ lookout at Fire Island he Will notlty
/ the deputy surveyor at. the barge once
| and one Of the revenue cutters VIII be
! started for quarantine. The boarding off,
| Ger will examine all the, documents relat-
! ing to shin and crew, and Will make an
/ actual examination of the cargo before
| certifying the manifest After verifying
| this and securing a copy for the collec-
| tor the boarding officer VIII seal or other
/ wise secure the matches and openings
| giving access TO the freight until the
! necessary permits for unloading are OBJ
/ tanned from the government ana a dis
] charging
vessel will then proceed TO her pier
| and within twenty-four hours the cap
/ tain will go to the custom house ana re-
| port the vessels arrival, and before forty
| eight hours have elapsed he will file his
original manifest and swear 10 Its car
! rectness.
! Henrv's cases are brought to the official
| notice of the collector. Mr.. Henry goes
| TO the custom house as soon as he hears
| of the ships arrival. With bill of lad
/ ing which he has received from the ships
| agents and which indicates his owner,
| ship of the cases, his copy OF the invoice
| and certain other papers, Mr.. Henry is
| prepared to demand his property. The
! average importer employs a custom house
| broker to attend TO the details which MIR.
/ Henry will now take IN nand PERSONAL
| ly. Mr.. Henry applies first to the stamp
! ing clerk, who stamps number OH each
| Of the papers.
! which have already been described, the en-
! try is the most important. II gives the
! name of the ship and master that brought
! Mr. Hepry's goods to New ork, the marks
! on the cases, and the nature of their con-
! tents and their value, with all costs in
! cident to preparing the cases packed and
| ready for shipment to New York. i also
/ contains Mr. Henrys estimate of the
| proper rate Of duty which he should pay
| on his goods.
After the entry comes the declara ton
/ that Mr. Henry is the owner of the mer-
| chandise that the invoice is the true one,
| and that the entry is true one and then
.
As all Of Mr.. Henry's cases contain iden-
| teal goods, he gets possession of all but
| one Immediately upon his filing a bond
| with the condition that he shall redeliver
! the goods to the collector If he demands
| them within ten days after the retained
! package has been appraised, and that in
! the meantime Mr.. Henry shall not open
! the other cases without the collectors or
! surveyors consent. and then in presence
| of an inspector.
When the stamping clerk has finished
| with Mr. Henry's papers he will apply
| TO the entry clerk. He takes up Mr.. Hen-
! rvs bill of lading and invoice and com
pares both with the entry. II all agree,
| ne stamps on the invoice in red ink a
! form which IS filled in later on by other
| ofFicials Finally he computes the duties
according to the entry. The naval officer
is now applied to- The duties are COM
nuted independently Of the entry clerk $
estimate, and Il the two agree the naval
officer checks the entry.
Mr. Henry goes TO the cashier and pays
the duties assessed by the entry clerk MIR
( Henry may now go home. The entry and
the invoice are separated, and the former
goes to the impost bureau in the auditor
/ department where all the computations
/ are carefully gone over again, and a note
/ is made Of the amount of money which
/ the cashier should have received. From
/ the impost bureau it goes to the statistical
f,,raa1f where a digest of IL is made for "a