The herald., 1897-08-13
THE CITRUS TARIFF
COMMITTEE MET YESTERDAY
TO CLOSE BUSINESS
A Permanent Organization Was Con-
sidered Advisable in Order to
Meet Contingencies

The Southern California citrus grow
ers' tariff committee held a meeting at
the chamber of commerce rooms yes
terday morning at 1920, with the fol-
lowing members present: George Frost,
E. f. C. Klokke, T. H. B. Chamblin, r.
H. Young and B. A. Woodford. George
Frost was in the chair. All bills rem
dered were audited and, paid to date. A
few outstanding bills prevented set
tlement of accounts in full, but unless
there should be an unexpected demand
the committee hope to be able to close
up the work of the campaign with what
funds they have on hand.
1t was decided to continue the organ
ization in order to be in position to meet
any emergency that may arise in the
matter of collecting the revenues under
the new method of weight instead Of
measurement.
Complications have already arisen and
there is every indication that the i'm
porters will endeavor to make the new
way as burdensome and annoying as
possible. According to the Frutman's S
Guide, however, Uncle Sam is disposed
to construe the law as it reads and see
to it that importations bear the burden
intended and according to the method
outlined in the law.
The Guide reports customs officer
as saying that ''the importers do not
need to be concerned about delays. This
is, of course, a new method. and it will
require more time to weigh the first few
cargoes than will be necessary later. 1t
is simply question of the force at our
disposal. A large number of weighers,
it will be remembered, were dismissed
some months ago, but the treasury de-
partment iS now considering the ad-
visa bility of increasing the force needed
for these cargoes. AS to the claim that
weighing is a muchIonger process than
measuring, I do not believe that it is
provided the same number of boxes is
measured and as thoroughly Weighing,
it is true, is a more expensive method
but it is a more certain one. On the
steamer Schenker there are about nine
teen men at work at $3.50 a day, and five
assistant weighers at $4 per day. max
ing the total expense for men weighing
about $3.50 per day. 1t will require
about three days to finish the work on
that cargo, making the total expense
less than $500 AS the government will
get about $3.50 in duties from the cargo
the expense of weighing does not seem
to be excessive.
1T may be that after several cargoes
have been weighed the treasury depart
ment will authorize a schedule of tarea,
which would materially lessen the
amount of time required to do the weigh
ing. We have such schedule tares for
sugar, tobacco and several other arti-
cles. The tare on lemons we have found
varies only slightly, which would seem
10 indicate that a schedule was pract
cable.
Il do not think that the proposed
method of getting at the weight by
using a scale based on cubic capacity
can be adopted. The only proper method
of weighing is to weigh. The weighing
by measurement is practically measur-
ing pure and simple. Everyone knows
that fruit varies greatly in weight. The
difference between two single oranges,
BILE, and on a box might be considera BILE.
A weigher cannot properly fill out his
certificate that he has weighed the fruit
unless he has weighed it. A all events,
in the absence of new instructions, we
shall continue to take actual weight"