Evening star., 1899-02-04
PROTECTION OF THE REVENUE.
Official Intention of Treasury Au-
thOrfties in Inspecting Rnggnge.

Regarding the rigid enforcement by the
treasury authorities of the law relative to
the examination of the personal baggage of
passengers arriving from abroad at the
port of New York, Assistant Secretary
Howell states that there has been much
misrepresentation regarding the instructions.
The subject of the order referred to-
said Mr.. Howell, was simply to secure
proper and general observance of the re-
qurements prescribed years ago for the
appraisement of baggage arriving in this
country, and the form of declaration and
entry heretofore used, and which has not
been changed, provides for the detailed in
formation required by the provisions of
section 2799, Revised Statutes, to be fur
nished by passengers. No new require
ment has been made, but the recent in
StructionS intended to secure q more
faithful observance of the regulations here
tofore prescribed under the section of the
statutes referred to, and also to enforce
the provisions of section 2S02 Revised Stat
utes which provides for the forfeiture of
dutiable articles found in baggage and not
included in the entry made by the passen-
ger.
For many years." continued Mr.. How
ell, passengers have been furnished by
customs officers who meet incoming ves-
sells with blank forms of baggage decla-
ration and entry, which are required to be
verified by oath. The declaration is re-
baggage accompanying the passenger and
states that all articles purchased abroad,
with the value paid in each instance, are
set forth and described in the annexed en-
try. The blank form of the entry contains
spaces to be filed by the appraising officer,
and which indicate the value of each
ticle and the proper rate of duty thereon.
"A practice has obtained for some time
past under which inspectors of customs
have assumed to pass upon the value and
dutiable character of merchandise found in
baggage, and means of protecting the
revenue the instructions of which complaint
has recently been made were issued. No
delay to the passenger or hardship of any
kind is involved in these instructions pro-
Vided the person making the declaration
and entry does what he SwearS he does,
namely, makes full list of the articles
contained in his baggage purchased abroad
and states the price paid for each, and the
enforcement of these instructions will not
only prevent loss to the revenue, but will
place passengers in every grade of life on
the same footing. The instructions will
also relegate inspectors to their proper
sphere and remove them from temptation
to pass free dutiable articles to assess
such articles with low rate of duty as a
means of obtaining the favor of arriving
passengers
1.-The purpose of the order referred to-"
said Mr.. Howell i'll conclusion, ''is to place
upon inspectors the responsibility to find
and report articles purchased abroad which
passengers fail to declare, and upon ap-
PA sers the duty of appra sing the value
of such articles in accordance with law.
Obviously. If customs officers should prefer
to continue tax administration and desire
to make this rule odous they can readily
do sc, and there are Indications that at
tempts in this direction have already been
made; but the passengers who in good
faith make true declarations can have no
possible cause for complaint, and those who
make false declarations are not deserving of
consideration