The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1899-02-19

after room there was all In confusion. The
most skilful spollsmen our style OF politics
sver produced would turn green with envy at
a glimpse OF the Spanish placemaker. These
treasury rooms wore filled with long rows OF
desks, each with places for four clerks. There
must have been nearly $50 OF these clerks.
Each one had kept his W records. Those
of receipts and deposlts were kept In books.
all properly labelled. Besides these there
were rows Of racks along the walls, all filed
with sheets OF paper tied up in bundles. On
these sheets various records had been kept.
but as far IA yet discovered they we're not REQ
ords OF disbursements. When the Americans
entered the building they found these record
books and bundles OF leaves strewn about the
desks and tables and thrown promlsouously
about the floor. They lay In heaps or slDgly
and some Of the bundles looked as II they had
been opened very hurriedly and some Of the
leaves taken away. Whatever order there
may have been In the arrangement OF the
books and bundles in the racks along the
walls had boen destroyed completely and now
IL will be II herculean task to get the records
into anythinG like Ineligible shape.
One book wasfound. however. which showed
a state OF affairs which is likely tn interest n
good many pers ons by and by. including the
Americans who have to try to straiPhten out
the mess.
1t is a book showing deposits. OF which there
were several kinds. There were two general
classes OF deposits. necessary and "volun-
tary." The necessary" were deposits made
in the nature OF bonds, to secure performance
OF contracts or faithful service in office. or
some such thing. They were also made by
the holders Of all licenses of whatever charac-
ter. butchers. vendors. theatrical. liquor. and
so on. They were In money" meaning bank
notes. or in metal" meaning probably gold.
The voluntary deposits were OF two classes.
interest and bearing. In some
cases. apparently. the Treasury did a sort Of
banking business. by allowing interest on time
deposits ne our own banks do. Most OF these
deposits. however. as far as one can deter
mine from the books left behind. were made
simply for safe keeping. and the treasury bills
and bonds and stock OF the Filipino Bank
found in the reserve safes we're probably OF
this class. The certified checks may have
come under the depoSito necesdrio class. but
there was no way by which the Americans
could distinguish the classes Of deposits.
This book of deposits contains entries made
on Aug. II. the day before the city surren-
dered, showing that TO the very last the Span
iards kept o%pensfor business ut the old stand.
1t also shows that the total Of deposits which
ought to be on hand in the vaults and safes
was something over S3.0O0.OCO. Yet the
seized fund is less than SoOO,0O0 What be-
came OF the difference nothing has been dis
covered yet to show. II the missing funds
were trust funds. or voluntary deposits, how
much responsibility attaches to the American
successors to the Spanish thieves in the mat
ter of the distribution of the little there is leftP
1t will.be a pretty problem for some one by
and by.
Under the American regime things run a
1itt1a tlifareDtlv Tbora re Ir1y Four ,
OF revenue. the customs. internal revenue.
fees OF the office Of the Captain Of the Port and
fees collected by the Provost Marshal General.
The main'source. .of course, Is the customs. As
yet the Custom House is not conducted on a
satisfactory basis. There has been a lot OF
difficulty in adjusting the new American tar
III. TIL Americans were ignorant of the old
Spanish methods OF administration and Of tho |
law. and the outgoing Spaniards left practi-
cally no records which were Of any appreciable
service TO the Americans. Smuggling goes on
constantly, both by importers and exporters.
and there has been a good deal of stealing OF
goods tween the ship and the Custom House.
Recent arrangements. however, have been
made. by which Gen. Otis hopes 10 have mat
ters'put. on a much more satisfactory basis.
He has been much displeased by the defects, in
the customs administration.
When Gen. Whittier was Collector Of Gus |
toms some things happened by which a large
amount in duties was lost to the Americans.
1t was on opium. Gen. Otis sent an order to
Gen. Whittier on Sept. 9 to put tho United
tariff on opium into effect at once. For
reason Whittier did not see fit to obey
the order. The order was not made public
until Sept. III. when Whittier announced that
the United States regulations would be en-
forced from Sept. "a. But on the oath the
ono ration IF rho naua nbaJpla u-,s onot, 49,.
poned until Oct. l. In the meantime 10000 !
pounds of opium were imported. Twenty-six
made the importations. among whom
were one of the biggest jewelry houses in the
city and one Of the banks. The United States
tariff on smoking opium IS SO a pound. on
crude opium 81. At the lowest calculation,
then. there was lost $4,000 gold. or $4,000
silver. aud at the highest. tina. is. II It was all
smoking opium. $4,000 gold.
Under the Spanish the opium contract was
out and the tariff law was practically
nullihed by an arrangement which appraised
opium arbitrarily ut a nominal sum per case.
The old law provided. no wever. for the collection
Of 8 per cent, and q subsequent law added 2
per cent. The customs officers are now max
ing heroic efforts to collect this 10 per cent. on
the value Of the 10000 pounds which came
In free. Smoking opium Is appraised In the
States at SO a pound. crude opium at 81. II
the present Efforts are successful they will net
$4,000 gold. the duty IL all the lot
smoking opium, and $4,000 gold, the
duty il il was all crude. There is no record to
show what 1t was, and it Is doubtful il any
Is made unless the force of the mill
tary Government Is exercised.
The Administration at Washington has not
seen fit to send customs experts'to Manila.
and the result Is that the collection is in the
hands OF soldiers. nearly every one Of whom is
entirely inexperienced in the work. One man
who has been in the customs service a good
many years came out, but he was not made
and did not have much authority. 1t
Is not at all certain that he could have made
things run smoothly under the circumstances
even II he had had full swing. 1t is probably
due to the inexperience and consequent in
OF the men in the customs Office
that 80 many Irregularities go on and that
here Is so much smuggling. The merchants
u Manila have come to regard the matter as
something Of n joke. One OF them told THE
correspondent this story the other day
md laughed at the easy way in which he had
rot around the customs Olinnrg Ja had rI,