The Brattleboro daily reformer. (Brattleboro, Vt.) 1913-1955, 1913-03-07
CUSTOMS JOBS NOT
AS FAT AS THEY WERE
mont Districts But Fees Will be
Cut Out-Salary Set
at $4,000.

4 telegram received yesterday by
The Reformer from Congressman Plum
ley sets at rest one of the questions
which has agitated Vermont politicians
for more than a wear and which will
probably have direct bearing i'm
changing the ambitions of some. The
telegram has to do with the order of
President Taft in reorganizing the
customs department and abolishes all
fees, manifests and emoluments of the
office OF collector of the customs of
Vermont and substitutes for it a salary
of $4,000 per year. 1t also settles in the
negative the question as to whether
the two districts in Vermont are to
be consolidated by definitely establish
ing the boundaries of each.
With the exception of the change in
the remuneration to the collector. the
order which reduces 165 customs dis
| tricts to 10 i'm the United States will
make little difference to Vermont ex-
cept that a few minor SUPPORTS will
be abolished. Since both districts re
main iu Vermont. it follows that Bur
| lington will he the headquarters for
the western district. as it was only i'm
/ case of the consolidation that ST. Al
bans was mentioned as the probable
/ seat of the main office
/ The order of the president goes into
! effect AT the beginning of the fiscal
! year of 1914, which is the first of next
! July. The counties TO comprise the
/ district are those already included ana
/ the ports of entry will be Burlington.
/ st. Adams, Richford, Alburg. Swautou
| and Highoate. The eastern district
| viii consist of Coos county i'm New
. Lon 1rslH11 = L
/ ingtou, Orleans, Essex. Calendonia.
/ Windham. Orange and Windsor in
/ Vermont. The ports of entry will lee
I Newport. where Headquarters will re
main, North Troy, Derby Line. Island
Pond and Beecher Falls.
There are some good reasons why
the Vermont districts should have es-
capped humiliation when 50 many 9TH
ers went down. One is that Vermont
is so divided by the mountains that
two districts are really necessary and
another Is that both are growing in
receipts and Importance with each
year During 1912 the western dis
trict collected more than was ever be
fore collected by the entire state and
the receipts were more than Il million
of dollars, the district standing third
! in the number of entries and 18th in
! the amount received. Inc roof9anlZa-
ton was aimed at many districts
which had existed from the old days
of sailing vessels and which are ut
present doing practically no business.
In one instance, a collector received
only a little more than a dollar in a
year and it cost the government sew
eral hundreds of dollars to gather in
that small amount. This is true of little
ports which years ago had their own
fleets but which. since the advent OF
steel ships, have done no mercantile
business. 1t was chiefly such places
as these. situated along the Atlantic
coast. that constitute the 116 districts
which win be done away with on the
first of July. The bill which destroys
so many plums was passed during the
busy times of the national conventions
and escaped the notice of most poll
ticians