Alma record. (Alma, Mich.) 1878-1928, 1897-08-20
DIVISIONS OF CUSTOMS.
How the Duties on Imports are Col
lected

|
The customs service of the United
States is divided into five divisions of
officials and employees. Its head is
the secretary of the treasury. In each
! port of entry there is custom house,
and to each custom house is attached a
big force of deputies, clerks, examiners
and other employees. Squads of men
under deputies are detailed to duty at
SUPPORTS of entry.
Next after the collectors in point Of
pay come the appraisers, divided into
two classes, general and local AL
though these officials are rated lower
in the scale of compensation than the
collectors, they cannot be properly con-
sidered of less Importance. The chief
duties of the collectors are indicated by
their title. They have to see that the
duties are actually paid. II is the
function of the appraisers TO put the
proper value upon every invoice Of inn
ported goods and to advise the col
lectOrs as TO the rate Of duty that should
be collected. Although appraisers func-
lions legally 90 no further than this, 1t
has long been customary for them to
fix the amount of duty also, and
it Is exceedingly rare for a collector to
make a change either III the rate or the
tOta The warehouses and "stores" of
the United States are in charge of the
appraisers, gaugers, chemists and eX-
perts in the manufacture, component
parts and value of every sort of article
that the ingenuity of man has led him
10 invent. A laboratory is attached to
ZACH of the larger appraisers offices and
is a most essential adjunct OF the service
The analysis of sugars is the most inn
| Dortant function Of these labOratOrie,
perhaps, but samples of all sorts of inn
ported oils, emulsions, essences, per
fumes paints, alcoholic preparations,
tic also pas, through them.
Not ali ports of entry have appraiser,
here being Ga custom houses and only
+ appraisers offices. The latter alo
located only IN the largest ports OF
entry and are all situated on the AT
antic Pacific and gulf coasts, eXcep,
hose at Buffalo, Cincinnati Cleveland,
st. Louis, Chicago and Detroit. Nat
rally the largest appraisers office is
New York, tor more than - per
'ent of all the impoi tations of the Tn
ted States are received at that port.
At the present time the United Stat,
appraisers office there, with its 43C
Employees, and what are known As the
public stores are located in three on
four dingy old con Getting buildings on
Washington street. Ghe floor space OF
these quarters is much too small, and
he arrangement of the rooms is not al
al what it should be, but the office,
and stores will be removed mex
December TO the great new structure
uow building on Christopher street
No one in his sober senses can speal
# this building as thing of beauty
Dut it is certainly large, and the |
attaches of the office are eagerly |
cooking forward to doing business un.
der its broad roof
The general appraisers, nine in mum
Der, whose jurisdiction extends over all
ports of entry, are also located in New
York. 1t is their chief function to
hear and decide appeals from the rul
ings Of appraisers and collectors.
Besides the collectors and appraisers
offices, ,here are the naval officers and
their assistants, whose function it Is to
keep close tab on all the trasactons of
the collectors; the revenue cutter SER
vice, organized to prevent the surrepti.
tious landing of goods at points other
than ports of entry, and the special
treasury agents. These last IN Reflect
make mp sort of detectiye bureau for
the discovery of all sorts of frauds con.
nccted with the liking and payment of
customs duties.
a MOST INTRICATE SERVICE.
TO the outsider the customs service
seems hopelessly intricate. Its records
alone are yoluminous almost beyond
comprehension, and for checking and
other purposes nearly or quite all are
duplicated, many are Implicated, and
of some it might be said they are null