Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1909-11-19
Undesirable Employees Drop
ped From Customs Service
by New York Collector.
FOUR OF HIS VICTIMS
Ex-ASSISTANT WEIGHERS
TREASURY TO GIVE OUT NAMES
]. F. Vail, G. E. Bedell, ]. p. Hyland
and J. o. Carroll Out.
Inspectors Charged With Accepting
Brides to Pass Baggage Get
Summary Dismissal.

Summary Dismissal.
NEW YORK, November 19.-Colector
of the Port William Loeb, jr., today an
nounced the removal from the customs
service of seventy-three employees and at
taches of the weighing and other divi-
sions of the customs service here.
Among those dismissed are James F.
Vail. formerly deputy surveyor of the
weighing division; George E Bedell. an
inspector, formerly chief clerk of the
weighing division; James p. Hyland and
Joseph o. Carroll, ex-foremen Of weigh
ing districts.
Others on the List.
Besides those enumerated the removals
include ten assistant weighers, three in
spectors, formerly assistant weighers;
one Inspector, formerly an assistant
gauger. and one assistant gauger.
In addition, the collector states that
since March last. the day he took Of
flee, he has removed from the service for
irregularities in the weighing department
eighteen other officials, six Of whom are
now under indictment. In other branches
Of the service he has removed for cause
thirty-six officials, making the total num-
Der Of removals from the service since
March seventy-three.
In connection with the dropping Of
Deputy Surveyor Vail Collector Loeb an
nounced that the Office of deputy collector
which Mr.. Vail held has been abolished.
Vail Fired for Inefhciency.
OF Mr.. Wallis removal he said:
1.-The collector has no proof, nor have
Special Assistant Attorneys General Slim
son or Smith, of any corruption on his
part. But he was in charge of the
weighing division during the time that
the extensive underweighing frauds were
perpetrated, and the fact that such con-
ditiOns could exist in his department war
rants his separation from the service on
the grounds Of negligence and inef-
ficiency.'
Collector Loeb, in making today's an
nouncements, added, significantly:
The collector is continuing his investi-
CATION
Six inspectors ousted.
Six customs inspectors were suspended
yesterday by Loeb. Two Of them were
charged with having accepted a tip of IS
each from a woman and her husband
passengers on the steamship Kaiser Will
helm. at the HobOken dock Of the North
German LLOYD line.
The investigation was continued in the
surveyors Office today. The trunks OF
the passengers were traced, one Of them
to Boston. 1t was brought back to this
city and, with the others, sent to the
appraisers warehouse at Christopher and
Washington streets for examination. to
ascertain If the tips" had anything to do
with passing the baggage.
Collector Loeb said 1t mattered not
whether the baggage was properly passed
violation of the rules. and that when the
investigation Is concluded the papers In
the case will be sent to the district at
torney for action. The collector ordered
the names Of the passengers withheld I'M
til the examination had been concluded.
Four of the inspectors suspended were
formerly assistant weighers. Mr.. Loeb
refused to give the reasons for their sus-
pension further than to say that 1t had
nothing to do with their services as In
spectors.
Within a month probably one hundred
employees Of the customs service will have
been dropped as a result OF the investi-
cations of the sugar frauds and other
Irregularities. The shake-up is even
larger than was expected.
Wakeman Back From Washington.
Wilbur F. Wakeman returned from
Washington yesterday. He would say
little about his trip.
II saw Secretary MacVeagh," NE said
land talked over the whole customs sit
uation with him. One thing is sure, Mr.
MacVeagh will stand right behind Col
lector Loeb in anything the latter does,
and. Furthermore, 1t is my belief that Mr.
MacVeagh will clean up the customs
service in manner never known be-
fore"
Mr.. Wakeman was asked IL he thought
Henry c. Corsa, the sugar sampler who
exposed the crookedness In sampling SUI
gar when Mr.. Wakeman was appraiser,
could be reinstated
Yes said Mr.. Wakeman, land
would be willing to do all in my power
lieve he could only be put back in the
service by executive order.
Charles III. Treat, who obtained for
Corsa his appointment and to whom the
sampler first told the story of getting his
bit said yesterday he had the highest
IT often wondered" he said. why 1t
was that the story he told me and which
1 told him to take to Mr.. Wakeman
never resulted in anything. or course.
Wakeman. 1 never knew that Secretary
Gage was informed of the matter until
the publication of that fact was made In
the newspapers q few days ago.
removed because some one had gone to
Mr.. Whitehead, Mr.. Wakeman's sue
cessor, and had said the man was in
efficient, or something of that sort. I
wrote to Mr.. Whitehead asking that Mr..
Corsa be reinstated. The reply l re-
ceived was very curt"
Whitehead q Candidate.
George w. Whitehead, to whom Mr..
Treat referred, is said to be a candi-
date for the position recently vacated
by James B. Reynolds. that of assistant
secretary of the Treasury.
In many quarters the talked-of congress
sional investigation of the sugar frauds is
regarded with suspicion. Henry NJ. Stim-
son, who is prosecuting the sugar weigh
ing cases, was asked:
Twill YOU say whether sugar trust Of
ficials called in a congressional irYvestiga-
ton would be immune from prosecution
i'm connection with matters upon which
they might testify?'
Mr.. Stimson replied:
TT would depend upon the terms of
the investigation. Congress could give
immunity as a condition of testifying,
but it could not compel a witness. against
his will. to give discriminating testimony
unless it did promise to grant him i'm