The Washington times., 1903-04-25
Porto RiCan SmuqgIeTs.
No Quibbling Can Obscure the Real
Point at Issue


the Administration mistaken efforts
to whitewash certain Government of
ffcialss charged with violating the
Porto Rican customs laws, We exam
med the curious plea in mitigation
offered by Postmaster General Payne,
and did our best to expose its flaws of
statement and argument
The Postmaster General had con
tended with some show of ingenuity
that there were two kinds of SNUG
CLING" abhorrent ard reprehen-
sibIe, the other pardonable and IN
nocuous. The army, navy, and civil
ian employees Of the Government IN
bringing wines, liquors, and cigars"
into San Juan for club or personal
uses had, according to Mr.. Payne's
logic, been guilty of only the venial
and playful sort of smuggling. They
were to be dealt with, therefore, IN a
spirit of good-humored indulgence,
not prosecuted with the seventies
visited on the vulgar commercial
slnuggler, who breaks the laws TO
make an illegitimate business profit.
We tried to show that from either
legal or a moral point of view the
smuggler who brings in goods for per
sonal use is no less a criminal than
| the smuggler who brings in goods to
sell them at market profit. And we
contended that an even greater culpa-
bility attached to an offender using a
Government uniform or a Govern
ment commission as a cover for Gus
toms frauds than to an offender
frankly challenging from the outside
the vigilance and ingenuity of the Gus
toms police.
No answer has been made-or can
be made-which will break the force
of so self-evident a proposition. We
are not surprised, therefore, to find
the Administration shifting its
grounds Of apology and exculpation-
1t is now stated that the Secretary of
the Navy Is incensed at the per
nicious activity" of the Porto Rican
authorities in ferreting out customs
frauds and indicting their authors.
The Secretary IS reported as eager to
shield and protect the accused officers
on the ground that their prosecution
is due TO petty jealousy" It IS even
limited that the Department IS consid-
ering the ACCESSIBILITY of ordering
some of the avictimnzed" officials to
'less oppressive posts of duty"
We hope there Is no real foundation
for these reports. Whatever the Sec
rotary Of the Navy may think of the
motives which have prompted The
Porto Rican crusade against uni
formed smugglers, he Is too sensible
to wish to interfere with the regular
and orderly progress of justice IN
Porto Rico If army, navy, and civil
ian employees of the United States
have violated the customs laws, they
should take their chances of punish
ment IN the courts, They should
stand before the law on the same level
with the poorest and humblest Porto
Rican native.
The Jealousy" of minor customs
officials may be in a measure respon-
| sible for the indictments found
against offenders IN high station. But
a lack of Jealousy on the part Of these
same offenders has more to do with
! their present predicament. Had they
been as Jealous Of their own honor
and Of their obligations to the Gov
eminent which they serve and whose
laws they are sworn to obey, they
would not now be subject to criminal
charges and 10 criminal prosecution.
They are entitled to ask no quarter
from an Administration whose inter-
ests they have betrayed and whose
credit they have lowered.