Evening star., 1902-02-19
-. L. NJ. SHAW, Secretary.
Response to the Circular Letter.

As substitute for individual responses
to this circular letter the secretary OF the
Washington committee which presented the
petitions to the President and Secretary of
the Treasury has dispatched the following
answer:
Dear Sir: l have your circular letter,
sending me number of questions as to
the petition lately presented to you in re-
spect to the collection of duties upon pas
Sengers luggage.
These questions appear to me to be in
the nature of cross examination of the
ladies who signed that petition, apparently
for the purpose of enabling you to judge
whether or not they We're justified in 50
signing it. Of course all cf us desire Ito
show the department the courtesy Of afford
ing it such information as may be in our
possession but most of your questions
seem to us to be quite beside the mark, for
tho thing of Importance here is not the in
formation which may be in our possession,
but rather what action do you purpose to
take upon the information which Is al
ready in the possession OF your department?
Some of your questions relate to the
matters covered by the third paragraph of
our petition, which Is a mere statement
Of the effect of the treasury regulations;
and it seems to us that the real question
in respect to these matters Is. whether or
not you propose to maintain those regula-
tions or to alter them. You say. for in
stance: Did you have receipted bills as
proof Of the value Of the goods purchased
abroad. and were these receipted bills ac-
cepted as proof Of value?" AS we under
stand 1t, you already have the answer to
these questions. and you know that the
receipted bills are not accepted proof
of value, because the departments instruc-
tions to the appraisers require that after
having seen the receipted bills they should
In every case examine the article covered
by the bill-at least, they say SO.
Other OF your questions relate to the
k}Nr1 NJ nyPa1A
pened on different voyages during a period
OF three years. 1t Is impossible for the
ma jority Of people to answer such ques-
tions as 1t Is for anybody to make the
affidavit in respect to his or her purchases
abroad required by the regulations: and
the futility Of these questions in your cir
cular letters suggests that they were pre-
pared by the same one of your subordinates
as drafted the impossible regulations
The last part of your questions appears to
to be fully covered by the last para
graph of our petition. 1t is not for us to
say how you should administer the law
We are not charged with it's administration,
but 1t seems to us proper to point out to
you, as we have pointed out In our petition.
wherein the regulations Of your department
constitute an onense.
petitioners, or such Of them as can be got
at. as your letter appears to indicate, and
you will arrange for hearing for that
purpose and will allow some counsel to be
S6leCteU Uy uS, ~ De present., ana Will also
submit your subordinate officials and the
custom, officials In New York to his cross
examination. we shall be happy to meet
you. and we feel sure that any doubt which
the department may have as to the exist
ence Of ita own regulations or their opera
ton. would in. that way be effectively
cleared UP. and we think also the unrea-
sonableness both Of those regulations and
OF the Law itseH. would be clearly demon
Respectfully yours,
- ELIZABETH G. HOBSON
T. Secretary for the Committee.