Los Angeles herald., 1906-02-16
NO OPEN HEARINGS BY
GENERAL APPRAISERS
DECISION REACHED AT WHITE
HOUSE CONFERENCE
Following This Meeting Root Informs
Baron Won Sternberg That United
States Cannot Change Its Present
System
BY Associated Fress.

toyl ASsOCldteu rTeSB.
WASHINGTON, Feb. 15.--An impor-
tant conference was held at the White
House this afternoon at which 1t was
decided that there should be no open
hearings before the board of general
appraisers. In view of the fact that
ae new maximum and minimum Ger
man tariff goes into effect on the first
of March and of the wish of the Ger
man government that the hearings in
contested valuation cases should be
open, the conference assumed interna-
tional Importance. Among those pres
ent at the conference beside the pres-
dent were Secretary Root, Secretary
Shaw, Assistant Secretary of the
Treasury Reynolds, President Devries
and Messrs. Fisher, Waite and Sher-
retts, members of the board of general
appraisers, Mr.. Barnhardt of Marshall
Field & Co., Chicago; ]. e. Camp, coun-
sci of the board of appraisers and
Thomas H. Downing, William w. Smith
and w. E. Meade of the Merchants
association OF. New York.
The question of open hearings was
considered in all Of it's phases. 1t was
developed that on the part of many
great important interests, including
large concerns in Chicago and New
York, there was no demand for open
hearings. Mr.. Barnhardt said that the
enforcement of the customs laws and
regulations was the least of the trou-
bles of his company and that it had
no more difficulty about such enforce
1nent than it had with the enforcement
of the law against murder.
1t was pointed out by Secretary Shaw
that the demand for open hearings
came from import brokers in New
York and to some extent from German
merchants who are exporters. to this
country He explained that under the
law and treasury regulations the i'm
porter was projected absolutely, as he
had a right of appeal to the various
courts clear up to the supreme court
of the United States.
1t was decided finally that there
should be no open hearings and that
the board of general appraisers should
continue to handle contested valuation
cases as heretofore.
Although the decision against open
hearings is final, there were other sug-
gestions looking to the modification of
some of the more stringent regulations
OF the customs service which COM
mended themselves strongly to the
president and Secretary Root and
which. have been submitted through
Baron Speck Won Sternberg, ambassa-
dor of the German government
at the White House Secretary Root
returned to the state department,
where he held an hours conference
with Baron Won Sternberg. At this
conference the ambassador was in
formed that although it had been
FOUND impracticable to upset the pres
ent system Of appraising or to permit
the introduction of testimony and cross
examination at the hearings, the WASH
ingaon government was prepared to in
struct its agents in Germany to CO.
operate in every way with the German
boards of trade and other similar or
ganizations as well as with leading
German merchants in the effort to Sc
cure accurate information regarding
the value of the exports to America
:. Baron Speck Won Sternberg sent a
long report of the conference to his
government tonight, and 1t is expected
an answer will be Forthcoming within
the next few days.