The Washburn times. [volume] (Washburn, Wis.) 1896-1976, 1919-05-29
Customs Officers Puzzled to Find
Way to Prevent Threat
ened Evil.
HARD TO ENFORCE RULES
Treasury Department Bombarded
With Requests for RuIings-Air-
planes and Hydropianes CIassed
as Automobiles for Time
BeinQ.

Westinghouse by airplane
sounds exciting. and is proving so to
the customs division Of the treasury,
which is, so to speak, ''up in the air.
about it. For the time being, the de-
partment has ruled that airplanes and
hydroplanes are automobiles SO far
as it is concerned, but it is well aware
that calling bird a wagon will not
bring it down to earth where it can
tell what kind of bird it is.
So far there has been no report OF
illicit importations by air line, but ex-
pectation of such traffic is not denied.
How to prevent it is perplexing prob
lem, growing more and more pressing
as requests for rulings come from dep
uty collectors on our northern and
southern borders. In the latter case
they have had to do with tobacco
brought in from Cuba by way of Key
West and Tampa.
Here is an entirely new problem for
the treasury to deal with in the col
lection of revenue through customs du-
ties. 1t is one to be solved by treas
ury regulations {born of decisions) for
which no additional legislation is need
ed. That it may be solved by COM
prehenSive order is almost deSpaired
of because the best thought Of the de-
partment, although the need of deal
ing with the situation has been long
foreseen, has not been able to hit upon
a method to close this door to secret
importations thrown open by mod
err method of transportation most DIFF
fcult, if not impossible, to control.
May Require Registration.
It is believed that some scheme may
be worked out whereby all airplanes
leaving the country will be registered
at the nearest custom house on the
border, where a certificate will be is
sued to be presented at any custom
house in returning, as is done now in
the case of automobiles. This would
in most cases be mere formality, but
would permit search in suspicious
cases and would tend to keep down
smuggling. "Will be registered" is rec
ognized as putting it strongly, as it
is admitted it would be impossible to
compel such registration of machine
miles above the clouds. The auto
mobilist finds it best to comply be-
cause without his certificate to surren-
der on return he must prove his car
is of American make or pay perhaps
IS per cent ad valorem duty. There
would be no way to stop the flying ma
chine, coming or going.
Deputy Collector Hayden L. Moore,
at San Juan, Porto Rico, seems to
think he has them going, if not COM
ing To him airplanes are not auto
mobiles but seagoing vessels. Serious
inquiries from business men on the
island have caused him to make this
ruling:
''In the absence Of specific instruc-
tions from the department, l shall re-
quire airships clearing from Porto
Rico for foreign ports to be properly
documented under the rules of the de-
partment of commerce in the same
manner as seagoing vessels are regu-
lated, entries and clearances to be
made and all dues paid at custom
houses in districts where landings are
effected or voyages started"
This is very simple, but airplanes
are peculiar in their mode Of travel.