The times dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1903-1914, 1911-05-23
Creosote Duty
Because They Cant
Afford to Pay
STORY IS Toll
BY J. 3: B. STUART
Ex-collector of Port at Newport
News Tells Committee How
Government Is Being Mulcted
Of Millions Through Re
versal Of Order by Sec
rotary of Treasury.

Washington. D. c., May e2.-Testify-
Ing before the House Committee on
Expenditures In the Treasury Depart
ment to-day, j. E.. B. Stuart, former
collector of customs at Newport News,
va, declared that Secretary OF the
Treasury Macveagh had told him that
the department reversed a ruling call
ing for collection Of q 90 per cent.
duty on c%rsosote imp~ortations because
the railroads could not AFFORD to pay
duty on that commodity. Another Wit
Neagh's brother had interested himself
In the matter.
Mr.. Stuart, h instigated an In
v~cstigation into creosote imports at
New Orleans last fall. charging tina
government was losing millions in
revenues because creosote, dutiable at
20 per cent. ad valorem. was being
admitted as creosote oil free OF duty,
was summoned before the committee
as the result of testimony given pre-
viousiy In executive session By Allan
L. Benson.
Order Reversed.
MIR. Stuart related how he found that
no duty was being collected New Or
leans from foreign ships whose mani
tests showed their cargoes to be creo-
sote. the car8oes being received as
creosote oil. which. is on the free list.
He told how last September Assistant
Secretary of the Treasury A. Piatt An
drew had ordered hat duty be collect
ed on such imports, and that subse-
quently Assistant Secretary of the
Treasury Curtis had reversed the order,
claiming that the goods were not sub
ject to revenue because they did not
contain as much as . per cent. chlorine
gas. and could not be classed as re-
fined creosote. He said that he had
called on Mr.. Curtis and was Informed
of the decision and then had visited
Secretary MacVeagh, who explained
the decision.
Did Mr.. MacVeagh give any reason
for the order?' asked Chairman Cox,
of the committee.
Yes" MIR. Stuart replied. HE said
that the railroads could not afford
to pay duty on 1t"
Was that the only reason he gave?'
asked the chairman.
That is the only one I recall" was
the reply.
Previously. Allen L. Benson had told
the committee in executive session
that Stuart had told him of the re-
mark that Secretary Macveagh is al
legged to have made. Benson also Wis
IL u III - SdSu 10
inquire about the %creosote ruling. He
told the committee that Mr.. SIacveagh
had informed him that his instinct
told me In favor of the railroads"
To Preserve Timber
When the committee asked II Mr..
MacVeagh gave any reason. Mr.. Ben
son replied:
Mr.. MacVeagh said that timber was
becoming very scarce in this country,
and that everybody should do VIA ha
could to preserve and conserve what
timber we have. He stated that this
creosote Is a preservative and Increases
the length OF life OF ties. and that the
railroads should be encouraged in
every way to use 1t. He said hat IL
made a very serious difference with
the railroads whether they paid the
duty or not. I tried to get him to
repeat the statement that Mr.. Stuart
had made to me. that Secretary Mac
Veagh had once told him that the
railroads could not afford to pay duty
him outright whether he made that
would give him an opportunity to
make the statement II he desired. He
did not say 1t to me in SO many words,
but he did broach that question by
saying that the railroads ought to be
encouraged to use that p~reservative.
"He also said that his brother,
Wayne, had called on him one day
to inquire what the department was
going to do In the creosote matter.
and he said he told him that they
were going TO admit It free. and that
his brother then said, a was
right"