New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1913-02-02


declara ton. and that IL also requires
that "the values Of articles shall be
determined by customs officers ire
spective of the statements Of pas
sengers relative thereto"
1T will thus be seen" adds the in
discourtesy in the requirement that
both declaration and an independent
appraisal shall be made" OF course
not. IL is not discourteous 10 require
from a passenger sworn statement of
facts within his personal knowledge.
and then treat his statement either as
waste paper or as a foundation for
criminal proceedings, or as presumably
a lie and he himself presumably an in
tending smugglcr. That is not dis
courtesy. II is custom house courtesy.
Or the discourtesy is in the law itself.
Mr. Loeb wishes us 10 understand.
Little wonder that he should desire to
relieve himself Of the odium. lady
whom | knew was kept two hours on
the dock while the forty-nine pieces OF
baggage belonging 10 her and her party
we're each opened and examined. She
was told that her presence was neces-
sary till the examination had been
completed. The presence of the keys,
OF the other members of her party. or
of her servants, was not sufficient.
Who makes and enforCes such orders
lad .;env On,
the dock? Is il Mr.. Loeb or the law?
To my account of recent European
custom house experiences and the CON
trast between their methods and his
Mr.. Loeb made reply through the
interviewer. To which there is this
headline:
Loeb Thinks Critics Potential Snug
glers.'
But. as sometimes happens. the head
line is stronger than the text. Mr..
Loeb does not quite say that He tells
us proudly that. during his tenure of
office. the collections on personal bag
gage have mounted up from S40O,Wn
TO $500. 600" There could be no more
effective criticism on his methods. He
answers various objections ! did not
make--none, so far as ] can see, tnat
did make, unless it he with reference TO
Liverpool. and his answer 10 that Is be-
side the mark. He thinks duties in
Liverpool may I've carelessly collected
because they apply only TO silver plate.
tea, tobacco and spirits. while in New
York he has To I've on the lookout for
diamonds. dresses, furs and the Ike.
But il is the system, not the character
of the dutiable articles, which supplies
the real contrast. Liverpool must obey
orders with reference to the English
tariff. But 1t does not feel Obliged to
treat passengers as liars and intending
smugglcrs or TO mishandlc their be-
longings as Is done Systematically in
New York.
Charles Grandpicrrc. who describes
himself "a having crossed every Euro
pean and many South American
frontiers and passed the custom houses
of two or three dozen nations That Is
a wider experience than mine. but what
is Mr.. Grandpierre's verdict? lie says;
New York customs arc the limit OF
petty chicane, absurdity. and dishon-
esty."
Mr.. Loeb thinks he has abolished
bribery. Mr.. Grandpicrrc, while dis
claiming all knowledge about the pos
sibility Of bribing customs officials 10
pass dutiable articles without paying
what the tariff calls for, says neycrthe-
less:
Every ocean traveller knows what
time and trouble it takes to get ones
trunks out Of the docks without being
blcd.'
He tells US of an Argentine inspector
who covered his counter with paper to
keep the contents Of the ladies' trunks
clean. and asked one OF them 10 lift her
clothes herself, since they were too
nice TO he touched by a mans hand.
Then, arriving in New York. "the same
woman had 10 do with superior
American who was nothing but an UNI
couth bear and handled women's fnery
as so much soiled hotel linen" We
have all seen that done In New York.
1t was and is habitually done. Could
not Mr.. Loeb compel his people to be
civil and careful?
He will not admit that he employs
spies In Europe. But it is the word,
mot the thing. which he dislikes. He
prefers to call them Treasury agents;
and says:
The customs department employs no
detectives in other countries. 1t has.
however, ways Of getting confidential
information through the agents Of the
Treasury Department, and whenever
they are employed the ends usually
Justify the means
Still more explicitly he says:
THE spies referred to by my critics
are confidential agents employed by the
Treasury Department"
There are spies, therefore. but ii is
the Treasury which employs them, and
Mr. Loeb as Collector who profits by
this Treasury spying. He is master
n, delicate distinctions and 10 this he Is
unite welcome: the more so as he says
.o,,i1 hin, Golf emploV sDieS III the