Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1929-02-24
1pors of Washington Take High Rank in Quality of Articles

small child with but q single eye and
that placed In the middle Of his fore
head. Some years ago. . pair Of living
Siamese twins was sent TO washington
from the land Of their nativity. The
twins were 70 be displayed Is edalca-
tional exhibits In o Government
museum. The wear and tear Of the
ocean voyage proved too much for the
strange pair. They we're dead when they
finally arrived at the Georgetown
Customs House.
The local customs ofacials scrutinSe
al incoming mail and packages care
fully to make sure that they contain no
obscene literature or pictures. More
than 20 seizures were made Of objec-
tionable articles of this type during the
last year. A vigilant lookout Is also ex-
erciSed to prevent the surreptitious en-
try OF narcotics concealed In wearing
APPAREL and other baggage or nerchan-
disc, At the larger ports Of entry. such
as New York. Boston and San Fran
cisco. the Government experts use spe-
cial x-ray machines as reliable sleuths
to bring to light Legitimate articles
has not been found necessary to provide
the Port Of washington with such
equipment. A record duty charge OF
5000 was paid In Washington several
years ago by q man who brought o
motor car back with him from Europe.
nURIN0 1923 $3.50 separate and dis.
finch entries Of merchandise ar
rived ut The local customs house by
either freight or express. Among these
imports was considerable silk wearing
apparel which required duty payments
Of so to rs per cent OF the value OF the
goods according to whether they were
plain or embroidered. The duty on all
classes Of jewelry Is four-flfths Of the
appraised values. Many washington
men patronize London tailors and I'M
port both suits and overcoats from Eng
land. The duty on these clothes Is
one-half their value plus an added
charge Of IS cents q pound for the wool
used. The ordinary imported suits
weigh 4 to 8 pounds. They cost their
owners from SIS to 500 apiece delivered
In this city.
English saddlery and hunting equip.
ment. as well as riding clothes, are also
imported from England BY washington
fox hunters. Aside from hunting boots
and golf shoes practically no footwear
from abroad Is shipped TO Washington.
Uncle Sam imports large amounts Of
scientific apparatus and equipment
from Switzerland and Germany for
Government research activities. Much
Of II goes to the Bureau Of Standards.
A recent shipment delivered to one
large Washington store consisted OF 20
cases from Germany which contained
little Of everything from toys to toilet
soap. The total value Of the shipment
was $l,4oo, while the duty charges
amounted to $500. A European for
warding agent sent this shipment to
the washington merchant, who used
the experienced services Of q Washing
ton customs broker to clear the goods
through the local port and to hasten
their delivery 70 his store. The ma
jority Of such entries are handled by
customs brokers who are expert In the
work and act as middlemen between
the customs house and the general pub
lie.
o. r. Lewis Is the assistant deputy
now acting In charge Of the Port Of
Washington, while the chief examiners
are w. 7. sayne and I. Z. Enyman.