The Washington herald. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1906-1939, 1907-02-03

it dominates everything for half mile
around
From its tan Flagstaff, between the
hours Of 10 a, m. and 4 p. m. every bust
ness day in the year, is flown a flag with
vertical instead Of horizontal stripes, and
with a union" that does not carry
stars. but an anchor upon a blue ground.
Many who see this building for the first
time are puzzled. That it is a center of
important activities is shown by the
large number Of trucks that drive up to
its back doors daily, leaving and taking
away great loads Of every conceivable
sort Of merchandise: the hundreds Of
men and women who are engulfed by
its grim, arched doors every morning and
emerge from it every night, and the con-
slant, though not large. stream of Wis
itors. every one of whom is clearly there
on urgent business.
This building bears no sign TO denote
its use. It has no expansive plate glass
windows. There is no display of the mer-
chandise which the trucks transport to
and from the structure. Millions of good
Americans have never heard of its ex-
istence.
Yet those who know is as the United
States Appraisers Stores" for the district
of New York understand that in a way It
is the very heart of the United States
customs service. whose flag it flies; that
the men employed within its massive
walls pass upon the major part of all
goods and commodities Of every kind I'm
ported into the United States, and that
their say so determines the amount OF
duty each Importation shall be assessed.
But only a 1.-THE even of those who
know all this understand that. IN addi-
ton TO the board Of general appraisers.
the local appraiser and the small army
OF samplers and examiners who belong
10 the force. Uncle sam maintains within
this grim red building "a force of the most
competent practical scientists Of their
class in the world. This is the fact. how
ever, and were the laboratory staff of the
New York Appraisers Stores 10 be dis
abled suddenly d large part of the coun-
trys importing business would be brought
TO a standstill and could not be resumed
until new scientists had been appointed
and broken in This staff consists Of
eight chemists five jolariscopists, and
enough assistants of various grades to
bring the total up to the mystic number
of twenty-three. They are among the
most important Of all the wise men en-
plOyed by Uncle sam. There are similar
though smaller corps at other ports, but
these twenty-three wise men do the bulk
of their sort of work for the entire
country.
It may seem odd that so few men can
MI so important a place in the customs
economy of the nation. but if is so. Not
q pound Of sugar can be imported into
this, the greatest sugar eating country IN
the world, until these scientists have
sampled the cargo OF which it forms a
part and found out how pure It is. Not
a gallon of vinegar can come in without
similar examination.
These two are the only commodities
every consignment Of which must be
sampled and passed upon by the APP
praisers chemists but foreign drugs.
both manufactured and in the original
forms, as roots, banks, nuts, gums, and
fruit, are often hauled over the Goals by
the laboratory force in order to deter
mine their exact constituents, and
strength. SO are wines. cordiaIs, wills
kies. brandies. and other alcoholic prod
ucts. These include fruits and other
foods preserved in spirits.
Ores and smeIted metals must also re-
ceive the Stairs attention.
The great range OF the laboratory
work viii be fairly apparent when you
understand that more sugar. both in
value and bulk, is imported into this
country than any other single commodity,
that chemical analysis is sometimes ap-
piled to such diverse imported Comm0d-
tiles as poker chips and toy donkeys and
that all such things as paints, oils. var
nishes, and compounds Of every sort fan
naturally under the chemical schedule.
The Battling chemical Schedule"
Chemical analysis is the only test by
which the constituent parts of many sorts
of goods and commodities can possibly be
arrived az. and this makes the chemical
schedule one OF the most important divi-
Sions of every tariff law in every civilized
land. Upon its proper Interpretation great
sums of money depend money that should
or should rot be paid in duties and added
10 the couuuy's revenues.
This has been borne in upon every local
appraiser and board Of appraisers in the
history of the service. but never with
greater force than about ten years ago
next July, when the present Dingley
tariff law went into effect Chemical
analysis was as necessary under The i'm
mediately preceding Wilson tariff as It
now is and had been under the still earlier
Mckinley tariff. but in 1897 the New York
appraisers laboratory was far below its
present plane of efficiency. The entire
outfit of the appraisers stores, in fact 1
was w0efully unfit. They were housed in
a crazy old building away down town
Everything was years behind the times,
and the laboratory, quartered and apart
from the main Offices in a few small
rooms over a saloon, was Inadequate even
TO do the current work then required.
Wilbur F. Wakeman was local appraiser,
and when he looked over the elaborate
chemical schedule of the new tariff law.
and reflected that il could be interpreted
only after much original chemical work
had been done he realized that he was
up against it." It would never be pos
sible 20 make the chemical Investigations
necessary TO the laws Interpretation N
the Anticipated little laboratory over the
Washington street saloon. Sometimes,
when in reminiscent mood" he tells his
friends about the way the problem was
solved.
7 did not then and do not now know
anything about chemicals or chemistry
he says. The chemist in the appraiser \
laboratory knew what to do under the
Wilson law schedule, but they We're pref
~ hay about the DingIey schedule, and
it would have been impossible for them
20 work it out and DO their current work
even If the laboratory facilities had been
sufficient. One day while I was trying
20 work out the puzzle George J. Sea- /
bury. a friend Of mine. suggested that