The Maryville times. (Maryville, Tenn.) 1884-1944, 1899-08-05
cognizant of the facts, commenting

cOSnlZanC OF the IdCtS, coHueHliuS
upon this matter, says:
Without fear or favor the appraiser set
out to secure to the government it's just
dues In spite of resistance, evasion and
personal abuse ne secured convincing proofs
and compelled old time offenders to obey
the law. Leading importers and merchants
in different parts of the country rallied to
his support because they desired that
honest methods should prevail
The consul general at St. Gall, James
T. Dubois, in a recent letter to APP
praiser Wakeman says:
Men who by the new order of things have
| been compelled to give the actual market
value in their invoices take pleasure in
| coming into this Office to show me the
newspapers in which you are reported to
| have resigned, or in which you are charged
with various shortcomings. When they
| tell me that you must go, my reply is:
when the time comes that a faithful
public officer can be forced from such an
| office as appraiser at the port OF New
| York by men who have been compelled to
pay the lawful amount of duties to the
government regularly for the first time
| in many years, then l shall be quite will
| ing myself to retire from the public serv-
| ice, for no honest man will know when he
| is safe"
And again:
The St. Gall exporter is as honest and
| respectable as most exporters. But Pc
| culiar condition of things has existed here
| which threatened the true interests of this
| great industry and made honest and fair
| competition in our markets impossible,
| and many exporters were forced by cir
| cumstances into a wrong and unfortunate
| attitude toward the laws requirements.
| Your attitude, your coura geouS inSistence,
| your rigid application of the law have
| changed this unfortunate and Injurious
condition of things and helped to rescue
| the st. Gall trade from a trying and dan
| gerous condition that was growing worse
and worse and more embarrassing every
| year.
1t may be granted that in contend
| ing against the artful frauds OF GER
tain importers the appraiser has made
some mistakes. 1t would be singular
enough if he had not. The point is,
however, that he is striving to enforce
an honest and impartial collection OF
the customs revenues, that he is sus-
tanned in his work by his chiefs in the
treasury department, and that he is en-
couraged by the cooperation of reputa-
BILE merchants and importers through
out the country.
The temptation to some men to rob
the government is about irresistible,
and the success of these men, and the
maintenance of their standing in bust
ness life, involve other men, through
what they deem business necessity, to
follow the pernicious example. Thus
the integrity of business methods is as,
saulted and polluted beyond what can
be known to the general public.
| Many importers contend that this
corruption is hseparable from the sys
tenn, just as many men feel that honest
dealing with the tax assessor is impos'
sible. Therefore free-trade newspapers
everywhere are ready to take up the
complaints of the scheming importers
under the impression doubtless that
that they are opposing the principle
and policy of protection. But the ques
ton involved in this case is whether
there shall be equality and fairness
and honesty in the collection of Gus
toms duties, or whether through false
invoices and such fraud as dishonest
men can invent the government shall
be robbed of its revenues and honest
men be made In great field of compe