The Salt Lake tribune. [volume] (Salt Lake City, Utah) 1890-current, 1910-08-28
COLLECTOR LOEB,
REAL REFORMER
Is Shaking Up New York Gus.
toms Department in Truly
Strenuous Style.
MJLLIONAIRES, N0BLEMEN
AND FAIR WOMEN PROTEST
They Are on Equality With
Poor Immigrant When Bag
gage Is Searched.
Rv Leased Wire TO The Tribune.

BY Leased Wire to The Tribune
NEW YORK, Aug 27.-Seated beneath
q Nile green chrome OF Colonel Theodore
Roosevelt done In three-quarters length
size and OF heroic proportions. william
Loeb, Jr collector Of tho port OF New
York, said today that we are In the midst
of the greatest shake-up In the history
of the United states customs department.
And If corroboraticn were necessary. one
might point to the incident OF FRIDAY
morning. when the great steamship
Mauretan!a. just IN from England; was
searched from her hold to bridge by GUS
toms sleuths, while fair women wept ana
millionaire tourists gnashed their teeth
in rage.
bull by the horns. The superficial sur
vcys. and baggage that has been merely
glanced at, are thing Of the past NOBLE
women Of Europe. American men OF mill
lions and pull. fair women OF rlch ana
powerful families are ali treated alike,
Their luggage and their effects get the
same treatment these days as is accord
ed the third-cabin chap whose goods and
| chattcls are done up in oil cloth and tied
with q rope.
Ii Teddy's Footsteps.
Mr.. Loeb. the pupil of MIR. Roosevelt:
| nolycoddles and the former national ex-
| ecutive, was prevailed upon by The Trib-
| une corresondent today TO tell something
| about the crusade which is under way
to make returning tourists be honest
even In their dealings with Uncle Sam.
| Last year MIR Loeb saved the United
States government S12 900, 900. and the
i figures this year Will exceed those OF last
] year.
= We'll" he began. "the problem wasn't
so difficult as it might appear a first
glance. All that was necessary was to
make not only the public but my subor-
| dlnates feel that / was sincere In my
| make people pay the money they right
FULLY owed the government
| We are In the midst OF the greatest
shake-up In the history of the United
| States customs service. More employees
have been dismissed since | took charge
than In all the entire previous history
of the service
How Loeb Works.
II had to make everybody feel that
l had the determination and the WILL" he
said. not to be DETECTED from my pur-i
pose. Or course. nothing could have been
! accomplished unless I had first got tho
methods Having secured their confidence
and let me emphasize that-the rest
was easy, They soon realized that 1
would back UP to the limit the men who
performed their fun duty. They next lost
the fear Of the old days that they might
get into trouble and endanger their po-
| sitions II they reported Irregularities on
the part OF people who had al their
command influence-either political or
financial And any subordinate was made
TO feel at once that If he failed to do his
duty he would be summarily dealt with
and no sort OF Influence would avail to
save him
"of course. am constantly innpressing
upon the men that l will not tolerate
| In the service the acceptance of tips or
gratltuties. as the taking of money In
| any form by customs officials is not con-
sistent with their sworn oath to protect
| the revenues OF the government.
| IT'S q short step from the tip to the
bribe.
My Investigations showed that there
had always been immense frauds at this
port that had their beginning in the tip
| for working overtime the tip for eXpedit-
Ing the work, the tip for relaxing the
customs regulations IN various ways 1t
must be borne in mind that 1t is not only
| look out for attempted frauds. but all
along the $50 miles of water front Of the
| port Of New York. "
Good Effect Seen.
Just then secretary stepped in and
handed slip OF paper to Mr.. Loeb, on
which were several pencled names.
"Why, here is an example OF Just what
I was saying" remarked the collector
with smile. Outside is a committee
OF gentlemen In the precious stone busl-
ness They are doing all they can to
In their trade. We have the figures con-
cernlng the importation OF precious
stones. They show that the importation Of
stones has greatly Increased in the last
year. Really this is not so; 1t is merely
that we are getting q record OF stones
that we never knew of before, because
they were smuggled into this country"
He told OF the days when a passenger
with pull could have &C" chalked on his
trunks and get through without them be-
ing opened. The times when leaving
$50 bill in the top OF the trunk saved
any further payment are likewise ended.
The steamship companies realize
fine must be paid by them and not by
their employees. II anything comes in