Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1903-11-18
Favors Abolition Of Fees.

Favors Abolition Of Fees
| He reports the fact that there is no little
strife among neighbOring consuls for the in
clusion of territory into their respective dis
| tricts, in order to secure notarial fees, the
| result being that in place of that harmony
! and esprit de corps and the salutary
| change of views between consuls which
should exist he found the consuls not only
out of harmony, but hardly having rela.
! lions with each other. owing to the com.
petition for notarial fees. The natural ef-
feet of this, he says, Is that it acts preju-
dicially to the interests of persons for
whose benefit the consuls have been given
notarial authority. In the settlement of
estates and other legal business, Mr. PIERCE
says, the temptation exists, and not infre-
| quently is yielded to, for the consul to sup
ply or recommend legal counsel, receiving
division of the fees, and thus placing an
additional tax upon the client He there
tore recommends the addition of all COM
pensation to the consul by fees, of what
ever sort or nature, compromising him ade-
quately by salary and requiring him to
cover all fees into the treasury.
An Unfortunate Practice.
Mr.. PIERCE regards as unfortunate the
appointment of naturalized American citi-
zens to the country of their origin in a
| consular capacity. not alone from the
point of view of the government to whom
they are accredited, which seldom regal ds
SUCH appointments with Satisfaction, Du.
from the point OF view OF efficiency. TIE
employment of foreign clerks to consuls ne
regards as unwISe. because he says, 1t s.
highly probable that such clerk, owing
allegiance to another government and rec
ognzng none to our own, o.her than that
of taskmaster, would ind the temptation
| to reveal matters which might be OF the
highest Importance a strong one If induce
ments were onered him. He suggests that
| at the rate of $1,000. and in some instances
somewhat more. we could Mi all these
positions with bright, young American
citizens, II they We're encouraged to feel
that they had a reasonable prospect of pro-
motion to the position of consul. Mr.. PIERCE
thinks that considerable class OF Ameri-
cans look upon the consul as having Teen
sent to his post to serve Their convenience
and obey their behes.s. While ne found
consuls ready and wiling to obIige Amerl-
can tourists. often at great inconven. ence
to themselves, yet. he says he discovered
cases where demands upon the consul have
been most unreasonable and not always
courteously presented.
Some Consular Abuses
Mr.. PIERCE calls attention to an abuse
which has grown up in the certifcation OF
invoices of merchandise shipped to the
United States under the law which limits
the necessity of a certified invoice to a
shipment of goods amour ing to 500 or
more and that what really constitute sn-
gle shipments split up into many of
less than 500 each.
Another abuse complained of, and which
is extensively practiced. is that forwarding
houses and agents of American firms unite
bills OF goods into one shipment, attaching
the various bills into one invoice which is
brought to the consulate for ratification
In this way, he says. for the small fee of
$2.50 consular services are obtained con-
Stunning a considerable part of the officials
day. In fact. he says the shipper of goods
invoiced at slUl pays the same fee as the
shipper of goods of the value of 100000.
hot til,
sum requiring an invoice to be certified
should be $50 instead of 800 as at present,
and that the fees charged either should be
upon sliding scale, with a minimum fee
OF 70 cents and a maximum of $50 on in
voices of 100000 or more. or that the sys-
tenn of consolidating invoices into one
should be discontinued. and the regular fee
or reduced one be charged upon each sep
arate invoice. In this way, he says, the
consular revenues would be doubled. In the
interests of protection Of our customs tariff
Mr.. PIERCE urges that the system of our
treasury experts be extended all over Eu-
rope to facilitate the work of preventing I'M
LIBERALIZATION
immigration.
The report deals with the subject of imrni-
grafton and the duties Of consuls in connec-
ton Herewith. which he says are excess
sivey arduous. involving irregular hours
and exposure. not only to the weather but
to contagious and infectious diseases By
the Terms oi the recent law. Mr. Peirce
says, the emigrant passenger manifest Is no
longer signed by the consul. by anybody
at the port of embarkatiOn. but by the i'm
migration inspectors at the port Of arrival
The actual labors however, Of the consul
he says. in connection with the bill of
health and the inspection of immigrants,
remain the same Consequently, he says,
after delivering to the captain of a vessel
clean bill Of health. 1t is entirely possible
for rejected immigrants or others who have
not been examined to be taken aboard after
the consul has LETT. thus vitiating the en-
tire bill of health. He says that when the
cost of bringing emigrants to the United
States is considered. steamship companies
can well afford to take the risk of rejection
of immigrants by the authorities upon ar
rival in this country.
He concludes by remarking that the con-
ditions In Germany with regard to emigra-
ton afford. a greater protection to the
United States from the importation of emil
grants than do those of Russia, Poland and