Evening star., 1901-09-03
GEN. SMITHS REPORT
History Of the Philippine Customs
Service
DIFFICULTIES OF ADMINISTRATION
imperative Demand for More
Storage Room.
INCREASED 1MPORTAT1ONS
INCREASED 1MPORTAT1ONS

INCREASED 1MPORTATIONS
The division of insular affairs has made
public summary of the report of the col
lector of customs for the Philippine Islands
to the military governor, dated May 81.
1901. which Is Of much greater interest than
ordinary reports upon administrative SUBJ
iects.
The secretary to the military governor,
Brig. Gen. E. H. Crowder, in transmitting
this report, gives a brief resume Of the his
tory and conditions attending the admins
tration Of the customs service, from which
1t appears that Lieut.. Col. G. A. Whittier
(afterward brigadier general Of volunteers)
opened the Manila custom house for busi-
ness on August 20. 1898. and on October 21
following he was succeeded as collector by
Lieut.. Col. G. R. Cotton Of the 1st Ne
braska $nfantry. Lieut.. Col. ]. D. Miley in
turn succeeded Col Cotton on May Is. 1880.
and held the position until the time Of his
death, September 10 Of the same year, at
which time Lieut.. Col. w. F. Spurgin be-
came collector of customs, and remained
in charge until failing health required him
to return to the United States on October
8. 1900, at which time Brig. Gen. James
F. Smith was detailed as his successor.
Gen. Smith was at the time military gov
ernor Of Negros and commander of the mil
itary subdistrict of that name, the duties
of which offices he had performed at crit
ical time with excellent judgment and tact.
He was selected as collector on account or
his well-known legal ability and the inde-
fatigable energy displayed in all work as
signed him, and Gen. Crowder states that
his appointment has been fully justified by
the results attained under his administra-
ton.
Efficient and Honest Service.
During the year there was no important
legislation affecting the customs service,
and the Spanish tariff laws. with the modi-
fications noted In the last annual report,
remain in force. Subsequently to the sub
mission of the report of the board of ofh-
GERS on tariff revision a new tariff law was
framed by the Philippine commission and
forwarded to Washington, where IT. was
given publicity and returned to Manila Tor
the action Of the commission on the
changes resulting from the consideration
given 1t here
Gen. Crowder states that the customs
department has been repeatedly Inspected a
during the past year by special agents
sent out from the United States and by
officers of the inspector generals depart
ment. No charge affecting the honesty OF
the customs service has resulted; Its efd-
cheney is shown to be as great as seems
possible under existing legislation. He adds
that the marked increase In the value or
importations and duties under American
administration of the customs service noted
in the last annual report has been more
than maintained during the past year.
The Coasting Trade.
The importance of the coastwise trade to
the islands can hardly be overestimated.
Transportation facilities by water and the
lack of them by land have made local COM
merce almost entirely one carried on by
means of water transportation. The ports
of entry maintained during the past year
are Manila, Iloilo, Cebu. Zamboanga, Jolo
and SLASH. There are in addition ninety
ports equipped for the cOasting trade, the
necessary officials being mainly officers
from the army. The maintenance Of these
equipped ports has been necessary pri-
marily as a protection against trade In ar
adds that it is thought the time Is near at
hand when the present system may be prac-
tically done away with and the supervision
of maritime commerce, necessary to pre-
vent smuggling, be turned over to the local
presidentes or other civil officials Of the
various towns
Brigadier General Smiths account of the
growth of the customs service under Amer
lean control gives glimpse Of the more
humorous side Of life in that far-away
port:
A Forgotten Official.
'The city of Manila surrendered on the
18th of August, 1898. under the terms and
conditions finally agreed upon on that day
by the high contracting parties. 1t devel-
oped, however, some days after the surren-
der Of the Spanish forces that the admins
trador de Aduana had not been consulted
as to laying down his arms, and that he re-
fused to yield his pen Of Office to the bid
ding of the sword. The administrator was
a little old man. grown gray In the service
of his beloved Espana beyond the seas. and
-1,-l &l.af xLak <I~~
authority had any power whatever to sur
render him or the office that he held. Had
he been properly besieged, undermined and
taken by assault. all we'll and good. But
nothing of the kind had been done, and
hanged would he be before surrendering to
anything less tha ma superior force, and
then only after resistance commensurate
with his means of defense. It was pointed
out to him that he mad been overlooked in
the hurry and hustle of overcoming the
military, and that had the Americans only
known his attitude he would have been
properly carried at the point of the bayonet.
1t was urged that the omission had been
wholly unintentional and without malice
aforethought, and that he really ought to
give up without obliging further expensive
military operations. But the old man was
mad all the way through, and wouldn't do
anything of the kind. Finally Major Cen
eral Greene directed the deputy provost
marshal to produce the superior force, In
the presence Of which the administrators
III.
by way of no harm, the entire personnel
Of the custom house and firing protests as
he went.
1.-THE defeat Of the sturdy administrators.
however, didn't give the victors much rea-
son for congratulation, and, like. .lhe man
who caught the bear, they hardly knew
what to do with the custom house after
they got 1t. Nevertheless, Brig Gen
Whittier. U. 8. ". was appointed collector
and Lieut.. Col. Cotton deputy collector OF
Manila on the implied understanding that
fbaxv 70 vf<rt,S &1~
custom house as If nothing more serious
had occurred than change of adntnistra-
tion. OF course, they couldn't do anything
of the kind. Neither of them knew much
about customs systems in general, and a
whole lot less about the Spanish system in
particular. Under these circumstances the
new collector and his deputy became, for
eleemosynary contributions from the Inn
porters. Now that the cruel war Is over
such a method Of managing a custom house