New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1906-02-19
FEDERAL SINECURES.
Customs Officials soith Nothing
to DO.
from The Tribune Bureau.l


Washington, Feb. 1S-The onslaught OF Mr..
Payne. the Republican floor leader in the House.
on non-paying custom houses in the United
States is to be renewed again. despite the igno-
mnous defeat which the bill proposing reor-
ganization of these districts has twice met when
efforts made to obtain consideration for 1t
in the House
There are indications that this bill. which
was unanimously reported from the Committee
on Ways and Means. will keep bobbing up
throughout the session. the hope being that its
opponents will be forced to give up in sheer des-
peration. Representatives who believe their
districts will lose collectorshps are fighting the
measure. There are some interesting features
in the report of the committee the bill 1t
is shown that there are flfty-one ports in the
United States where the business has dwindled
to such small amount that the receipts are far
below what the government is paying in the
way of salaries for collection. New-York State
has three of these non-paying ports. At Sag
Harbor the receipts for the fiscal year were just
S12 90. for the collection OF which the govern
ment paid $S77 % in salaries to four men.
Port jefferson produced no revenue whatever,
but the expenses there are light, only S12 having
been paid out At Patchogue no revenue was
collected, and the government paid S474 80 TO
two men. Some OF the New-Jersey ports which
failed to pay expenses were Great Egg Harbor
(Somers Point. where 1t cost the government
S1115 20 TO collect SAL so; Burlington. whose
salary list is S2O6 n for $50 81 revenue, and
Tuckerton. 1903 AZ. without revenue. Some of
the oldest and best known ports on the Atlantic
coast are in the list OF those that have failed
to earn their expenses. The custom house at
Salem, Mass. made famous by Hawthorne,
maintains six employees at the expense OF the
government to collect revenue Of only one
fourth Of the expenditure; Annapolis shipping in
terests produced only s. in revenue for the
government last year. though two men are sta
toned there. at an expense of S929 A. The
Pacific Coast has similar ports that are nom
revenue producing. Yaquina, Ore. boasts of
collector at salary OF $1.040 TO- despite the
revenue for the year, and port known as Coos
Bay, Ore, is In the same class. In the
South ViCksburg. Miss. has failed TO pay any
revenue for the last year, and at Albemarle,
N c. one of the most conspicuous cases, II
costs the government at the rate Of 1921 80 TO
collect n dollar.
The lowest estimate made by the Secretary
OF the Treasury Is that there will be a
ing of S1G9 900 annually II a law is put into eff
feet providing for consolidation and reor-
ganization of the customs districts on BUSH
nesslike basis.
There is also an expectation that there will be
a still further saving in river ports Accord
ing to the report of the committee there
towns In the interior where customs officers
stationed, and where the growth of the country
and the railroads has changed the character OF
the commerce. thus doing away with the neces-
basis, the members Of the Ways and Means
Committee supporting the measure. have figured
that the total saving will be easily from half
million to a million dollars annually