Evening star., 1928-11-18

forfeiture value amounting to $11,20f
was collected from a traveller, and In
another a passenger delivered a per-
sonal penalty of 100 per cent on GER
tain jewelry he attempted to conceal
In still another case a sailor was appre-
hended trying to smuggle 100000 worth
of diamonds, and another sailor de-
livered Al wrist watch movements, etc.
And liquor? Well, enough was poured
into the Atlantic to intoxicate a
school of sperm whales.
Like the Marines, the customs agents
are land-sea-sky men. Along the IN
ternational borders Mexican and Cana
dian, the officers covered a distance OF
2.351,577 miles. The last II miles cost
no more per mile than the first two
million. All in all, it cost taxpayers
S0o5 per mile to maintain and operate
this ratrol The Customs Service is
furnishing its employees with high-pow-
cred automobile transportation at a
mileage rate that should cause every
railroad magnate to adjust his spec
tacles. If such transportation were
| national commodity, the trip from New
York to San Francisco could be bought
| for a Pullman porters tip.
| The customs auto patrols made no
less than 1898 liquor seizures during
the year, valued at $259,000. Alas! the
resale value of this alcoholic treasure
was nil But the Government didn't
lose money on its investment In $0.O5-
per-mile transportation. A bounty OF
100000 flowed into the granite Treas
ury at Washington.
But that's nothing. Government
economy has actually increased in the
last fiscal year. to wit: In 1927 the cost
of operating the Customs Service was
only $4,000 in excess of the cost in
1926, but the income of 1927 increased
$25 100000. Figure this out yourself
and you'll discover that in 1926 the cost
of collecting 81 was $0.0292, whereas in
1927 the collection cost was cut to
$0O285. That is a saving of $0.0007 per
dollar, a record that strikes pride in
the breast of every customs cop.
The Presidents subjects may, sans
reproche. ask themselves how much of
| this $0.0285 per dollar goes to support
the secret agents, informers and miscel-
laneous gentry who make living by
reporting other peoples purchases.
Probably the major part Of the $0.0285
goes to pay off commissions, salaries
and bounties. If the secret intelligence
arm of the service were unnecessary, by
virtue of travellers sterling honesty, the
cost of maintaining the customs would
be reduced to something like
so 0000000000002943 per dollar. If
such were the Gaze, passengers would
receive tariff schedules on board ship
and calculate their own duty bills. On
disembarking they would drop the re-
Quired amount~iutn "A coin box, which
action would close an electric circuit
and cause a loud speaker to spout,
THANK you'll"
AS for customs service at interna-
tional airports, that is not a thing for
the future. It was applied effectively
at LakehurSt, N. j., when the Graf
Zeppelin moored to her mast Apprais-
ers and inspectors we're on the job to
see that the Government Treasury was
not cheated or deprived Of income. But
with the development of international
aviation we will see branches of the
service planted away from international
boundaries and convenient to many in
land airports.
Activities of special agents are not
confined to dealing with Smugglers and
trafhckers They investigate the ac-
counts and daily efficiency of their own
corps. Customs officers are offered
bribes and threats so regularly that it
is necessary to have a reserve line of
shock troops to stand guard over the
regularS-Sort of policemen for police
men.
The shock troops service and foreign
agents made 2,116 separate investiga-