Pullman herald. [volume] (Pullman, W.T. [Wash.]) 1888-1989, 1912-06-07
U. S. CUSTOMS STORY
BY v. S. c. GRAD
Ray Pickrell, NJ. Il. 'O7, Tells How
Tariff Duties are Appraised and
Collected

During the past three years the
United States tariff has been up
permost in the minds and consider
alton of the American people. For
this reason a brief narrative of how
uncle Sam estimates or appraises
and collects the duty or tariff on inn
ported goods into the United States
would probably be of interest to the
readers of the Alumni Quarterly. The
Facts contained in this article have
obtained through experience and OBJ
seryation as an employee in the Unit
ed States Customs Service at the
ports of Kansas City and New York
City.
Two thirds of the custom duties
are collected at the port of New York
City, where it costs the government
two cents to collect every dollar, so
an account of the appraisal and col
lection of duties at this port will de-
scribe the methods employed, in their
| 6ASoNSOI anu 6lIlCleuCY.
The collection of customs in New
York City is under the supervision
of the Collector of Customs, William
Loeb, Jr,, and under him the apprais-
al of duties is in charge of the APP
praiser of the Port, Francis Bird.
All collections or payments of duties
are made at the magnificent stone
Custom House, at Bowling Green, on
the most extreme end of Manhattan
island, after the valuation of the
goods has been determined at the APP
praiser's store, a large ten-story
building occupying one entire block
at the corner of Christopher and
Greenwich streets, and overlooking
the Hudson river, directly opposite
! Hoboken, N. J.
Under the appraiser are eight dep
uty and assistant appraisers, who
have supervision over about one
thousand employees, whose duties are
receiving, unpacking, inspecting, ex-
amining and determining the classifi-
cation and valuation through expert
knowledge of the goods in question.
About 800 inspectors examine the
| baggage of all persons arriving from
a foreign port at the piers of the var
ious steamship companies. Each dep
uty or assistant appraiser is in charge
of one division or one class of goods;
for instance, one division handles all
goods coming under Schedule of
the tariff, such as iron and STEEL tin
plate, bullion, ores, etc. Another di-
vision handles all goods coming I'M
der Schedules X and of the tariff,
that is, all wooden and cotton moods.
In each division is employed a num-
Der of examiners, who are experts in
their professions. Their duties are
to visit regularly the piers and to
classify what is dutiable aud what is
free, and to place a valuation on all
goods entering under an ad valorem
rate of duty. To assist in the CLASH
fication and valuation of imported
under chemist in charge and en-
ploying fourteen chemists. The lab
oratory not only does scientific work
for the Port of New York, but also
for various other ports which either
have no laboratories or are unfamil-
lar with the analysis of the goods in
question. The work that is done in
the laboratory covers wide range
including the determination of the
degree of polarization of sugars and
molasses, analysis of candies, silks,
wooden and cotton goods, teas, oils,
baking powders, soaps, wines, bull
ions, brandies, perfumes, patent med
icines, steels, babbit, and type metals
and numerous other articles.
There is an invoice bureau which
has cha. ge of all invoices of import
ed goods and the distribution among
the various divisions also an ana
lytical bureau to assist in the identi-
fication of the wooden, cotton and
silk goods There is also a protest
bureau, which handles all protests
ade by importers against classifl-
cation and valuation ftheir goods.
A board of nine appraisers conven-
es daily in the appraisers store build
ing and sits as a court to pass judg-
ment upon the protests of the various
importers from the different ports of
the United States. 1t has been my
privilege to have been once called by
the board of general appraisers to
give expert testimony. The assist
ant attorney general of the United
States, situated at New York City
and his assistant, defend the cases for
the government. An appeal from this
board lies in the United States Court
of Customs Appeals, which convenes
at Washington, d. c.