Evening star., 1926-11-21

and steel.
In the days before prohibition
Washington customarily imported
about $4,000 worth Of superior
liquors and alcoholic beverages. To-
day. this luxury money. unable to
purchase foreign stimulsnts which
may not be shipped to the United
States. Is expended for costly gems and
jewelry. Ten years ago the National
Capitals importation OF diamonds was
nil, while today It aggregates an
amount equivalent to that which for
merly was spent for high-power bev-
erages.
Shortly after John Barleycorn got
the gate" in this country, attempts
were made to sneak liquors through
the local custom headquarters dis.
quised among other importations. For.
example, one large importation OF 100
barrels Of olive oil contained several
barrels of spirituous liquors. Ordi-
narily, when the importation Is ex-
tensive, the law requires the national.
inspectors to examine only one-tenth
of the shipment. In the case Of olive
oil consignment this meant the OPEN
ing and testing of 10 barrels. When
alcoholic stimulants were found In
one barrel, the entire shipment .
was examined and all the contra
L OdnQ HQulQ6 WGI0 COttti6N6SC0 otAA
destroyed. The importer, Of course.
is fined or punished in such a case
II it can be proved that he was seek.
| ing to evade United States laws.
If shipper falsely represents the,
value Of an importation 50 that its
stated value is three-fourths less than
| it's true worth, II Is also confiscated
| by the Government. The Washing
ton examiners have to keep in close
touch with the market values OF
stupendous category of goods, both
here and abroad, to be competent
to appraise .importations correctly.
The New York customhouse aids
| by disseminating regular market re-
ports which cover this field.
AS a general proposition, confisca-
tions are extremely rare in Wash
| ington. Some years not single
| importation is taken possession OF by
| the Government. Washington ranks
among the. "a leading ports OF the
United States in the total volume OF
its imports. Last year the value OF
| the local importations added up TO
well over the $1.o00.o0o mark.
| During the year 1924. l44,bsS par
| cells received by mail from foreign
countries were examined at our local
/ Customs Bureau. The following year
this total increased to 157.746 i'm.
] portations. During the first 10
months OF the current year, 116, ,4S6
articles have been examined. duty has
been assessed, II due, and deliveries
have been made. November and De-
cember are the banner months or
mail receipts. Yuletide cheer from Eu-
ropean, Asiatic and Oriental sources
| flowing to the Capital of the United
| States in everincreasipg amounts. In
4 - - hn
collected annually as duty on mail
| importations since 1922. Usually 1t
| takes 10 experts to handle the reg
1 istsred mail matter and Official par
eel post, which stream to Washing
/ ton from the ports OF creation
around Christmas.
lMAIL importations Of less than Po
value received by registered mail
or oficial parcel post are appraised at
the Customs Bureau At the Washing.
ton City Post once. and after being
assessed, If dutiable. are turned d.
rectly over 10 the postmaster for de-
livery and collection of duty. Such
parcels and packages are not entered
at the Washington customhouse. Mail
importations by parcel post. 4mciai
Iivered to Washington importers 10
days after shipment from British
ports Mail importations that exceed
i 800 in value must be formally en-
tered at the local custon1house. This
necessarily delays delivery little.
However, IL the essential consular IN
voice is presented promptly by the Inn
porter, entry made and duty paid. the
| difference in delivery time Is practi.
cally negligible. Most all classes OF
through the mails, although mems
clothing for our best haberdashers as
well as private individuals, perfumery,
/ toilet preparations, silk apparel. hne
/ lingerie and beaded bags for mtlady
are outstanding. The duty on mems
wooden suits and overcoats Is 30 per
cent of the cost plus an extra tax OF
As cents pound. The duty on ladies'
evening gowns from Paris which cost
5000 to $500 runs as high as 30 per
/ cent of appraised value.
washington's importations have been
multiplying so rapidly during recent
wears that a spacious addition to the
/ customhouse out Georgetown way
was compulsory. This annex provides
| increased amounts Of warehouse
space, which has been badly needed
for some time. Larger quarters, II
possible, will increase the promptitude
| in handling mportations--a rapid-hre
j service Of which the washington ex-
perts are pardonably proud.
4 One Washington importer practi-
caIly controls the distribution or Bava-.
rian hops in this country. The hops
| are used In the manufacture or near
beer. The last importations consisted
of some so bales, weighing 500 POUNDS
apiece. When you understand that
two ounces of hops are sufdcient Tor
beer. you can appreciate that the bev-
erage produced from this source Is
considerable.
/ II Is notable that art treasures and
ANTIQUES are free of duty II the I'M
porters can prove that they are 100
years old or older. If the plumage OF
i prohibited birds, such as the egret
and bird Of paradise, Is discovered In
any shipment 1t is returned to the
sender or else is confiscated and pre-
| sented to some American museun1.
Razors, knives, cutlery, surgical In
i strumerts, clock works and watch
works must invariably be marked with
1.-THE name Of the manufacturer or i'm
porter and the country Of origin. or
else they viii be refused entry to this
country. The duty charges on cutlery
are 80 high as to make the tmporta-
ton Of such articles almost prohibi-
tive.
Perplexing puzzles constantly arise
to test the wits and initiative OF the
customs people. About one and half
years ago q certain Washingtonian
/, Imported S24 worth of grape sugar
from Spain. On entry at the Wash
| ington port this shipment was exam
ined and found to contain no alcohol,
1t being 90 per cent grape sugar.