Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1899-01-07
CUSTOMS CONTROL
II be
Effect of the Change in Administra-
tion1in Havana.
PROMPT DISPATCH OF BUSINESS
-st.,-- f fs n
Colonel Bliss Shows What Ameri-
can Methods Are.
CUBANs FOR THE OFFICES
Copyright, 1889, by Charles NJ Pepper.)

1 have been interested this week in the
| business end of it. Generals Brooke and
Ludlow have multiform problems to solve,
| all of which cannot be worked out in a
| day. The United States made good be-
ginning in assuming sovereignty. Those of
| us who were here felt that Sunday. The
| days which have followed have strength
| ened that feeling. The general features of
| military authority, what is strong in it and
what is weak in it, will develop themselves.
| For the present, the system is working
smoothly. This gives the chance to look
into some of the branches of administra-
| ton
The customs service is the branch which
most closely touches the business COM
| munity of Havana. Its successful admin
| istration will be a practical test of what
can be done in the way of improvement.
1ne Aduana, as it is called, is the old
cnurch OF San Francisco on the waterfront.
Inc English occupied it when they took
havana in the last century, and thereafter
the franciscan monks considered it pro-
Iane edlf1ce and refused to re-enter if. So
LOT d hundred years and more 1t has been
given over to profane negotia tions. More
corruption has been witnessed within its
walls during that period than in any other
building in the world. The stone images
OF the two saints which fill lofty inches in
the outer walls could tell tales if they were
:
from their perches at the change that is
gong on beneath them. The gray stones of
the Aduana are already crumbing with the
rust of age. If these things keep I'D they
may fall apart from sheer establishment
An Army officer as Collector.
Inc custom house passed into the possess
sion of the United States along with other
appurtehahces of vanished Spanish SOW
ereignty on Sunday. The previous day
uiCh off
large amount of duties I had found the
building practically deserted and had
amused myself by watching a squad of ar
lllery, who We're camped under its shade
waiting to embark on the transport in the
haroor. Ihey were having their breakfast
OUT Oh huge iron caldron and were divid-
ing 1t with a number of beggars These
spanish soldiers were not interested in CHS
toms rates and could not tell me why the
lmporta ions that day were so small Mon
day morning Col. Tasker II. Bliss, the
army collector of customs, was at the GUS
tom house early, was Deputy Collector
donaldson, who represents the Treasury
Department The outgoing Spanish officials
had taken the hat racks and most of the
other office furniture but they had been
good enough to leave the desks and chairs
A dozen vessels were already in the har-
Dor. Most of them We're laden with pro-
visions. No wild rush was made during
the morning hours by the importers he
cause the afternoon is the time when the
methods in vogue make it convenient to at
tend to their custom house business But
a great many questions had arisen in the
minds of the importers and they were wait
ing to have these answered. They wanted
to be sure they lost none of the benefits of
the American tariff. The old employees
were all in their places. The majority of
them were useless for the time being, be-
cause they did not know what was expect
ed of them and if they had known would
not have fulfilled expectations. They were
simply waiting to see what would happen
and nothing particular happened. 1t was
simply change in methods that was being
put in force, and the new methods were not
fully III derstood.
The Havana Inspectors.
An intelligent Cuban who has been en-
ployed in the custom house for several
years as Interpreter and in other capacities
enabled me to gain insight into the way
things We're working. He thought if he
had personal introduction to the Ameri-
can officials his prospects of remaining
would be better. So l introduced him. My
motives were not entirely a dSinterested
desire for the good of the public service
They were selfish. 1 wanted to study the
effect of American methods on all classes
who come within their sphere. In other
words. a living Subject for study After
the Introduction was made I left
my Cuban protege to his fate and spent
u.
The 'vistas' were the special objects of
my attention. They were the most forlorn
set of men in Cuba during that first day of
American custom house administration
The ''vistas'' are the customs inspectors
and appraisers They are sixteen in num-
Der. In the days that are past to be
Havana vista was greater than to be a
Roman citizen a few thousand years ago
Prime ministers of Spain had their needy
relatives made vistas One of the finest
houses on the Prada excited my attention
and | asked about the owner. He was
vista in the custom house for ten years"
was the reply. That was enough to enable
him to build magnificent mansions. From
this it may be gathered that the vistas are
the personages who made the Havana Gus
tom house famous. They appraised -four
as guano or coffee onions and they in
spected with their eyes shut and one hand
behind them. Then they divided equally
with the importer and caused the honest
merchant to go out OF business. They We're
not bad fellows, either. They were part of
the Spanish official system, that was all.
This day they continued forlorn. They
did not have much to do because while
many vessels " ere coming into the harbor,
the cargoes were not unloaded rapidly. But
they seemed to feel out of place. Two or
three of them whom / knew looked at me
reproachfully The importers clerks and
the custom house brokers appeared to fight
shy of being seen in their presence. When
something had to be done which called for
their experience they did it in mechanical
way. The merchants IN the meantime were
taking advantage of the new regulations,
which suppress many port and vessel fees.
They did not fully understand the new
tariff rates. which was natural enough, but
they did understand that a vessel could
come into Havana harbor and unload with
out having to pay tribute for every fathom
of water in which the anchor was dropped.
That put them in good humor, and they did
not fret over the inevitable annoyances.
Employees Must Work.
In the eveningrL had a caller at my rooms.
He was the interpreter who had wanted a
personal introduction and had got it. He
dropped into ao,chaff, limp as Spanish
flag Horrible ldaye he murmured, and
was too weak to make further comment. A
disagreeable rain had spoiled a bright af-
terroon, and I said the weather was bit
unpleasant mot the weather. he re-
piled YEARLY. =" At Tthe custom-busy all
day-kept me till half-past five-awful."
Then he became animated and his eyes
glittered as he hold HE the events of that
awful day. English owas too slow and he
dropped into Spanish, He could not under
stand why l laughed so much at his recital
1t had been tragedy to him. First Col.
Bliss had wanted something DONE then
Donaldson had wanted something done
There was much confusion over manifests
and a hundred other details of oucto,,