Year: 1874

- ,,,pk IL worth while TO save the commuters 5
time and my own by dispensing with the reading
have here printed in pamphlet those resouio"s anu
tns s,eoal report made by special committee on the


h,oc, after long and tedious investigation, also con


,n,ng some other proceedings OF the Chamber OF Com
nsre which may be Of interest TO the Commttee ana
a, the proper time I will furnish the Committee Win
copies


And now. gentlemen wish ~ follow as far as can
the suggestion made by your chairman, that there sha


o no renetIt,on You must be witnesses, think, that
40 far there has been no repetition. but owe II TO my
self and candor TO say that the maze ooh
by the Boston and New-York Committees were tnat
should follow the others and pick up such crumbs as
they might drop, In other WORDS tnaI snou" oo
permitted to slop over little and save anything
could


Tho CHAIRxAN-I did not mean TO suggest that there
,boud be no repetition for that would be impossible
but that moro cumulative argument should be avoided
far ne possible.


TUX INTEREST AND POSITION OF THE MERCHANT.


Mr. scHULrz-I shall strive very hard TO accomplish
that want then TO assume not to argue, two propo
siions The first h that the importing merchant Is as
positively aud directly interested in the proper eOec
tion OF tho revenue Government tsof ia far more
So because with the Government 1t is mere question
OF five per cent OF revenue. while with the mer-
chant II is question Of life death. lie must dsoon-
tnuo bis business IL he has to compete with men under
selling him by of their underiDvoices. That is
40 selteyident that need not argue it, merely state
the proposition want therefore, to receive us as
ooaborers the adjustment of these little difficulties
coaborers with you trying to mend and fix up this
friction which has como in our revenue laws


The second proposition which wish you to admit is
thus that the lnporter is not nOn-producer that he
Ia essential to our society that he may honest
man. aud that prejudice ought to attach to him Dy
reason OF his profession. make this remark because
nnd that in society people think that merchant
necessarily be a bad man. They regard him some
what In the spirit said have existed In former times,
n when John Randolph pressed very hard protec-
tion on wool remarked that he would at any time
mile out OF his way 10 sheep" hope no gentle
man Of this Committee would a mile out of his way
kick merchant. Give me these two assumptions ana
will proceed.


here, gentlemen, to ask representatives
OF tho Government TO give some OF the projections
or the checks il you please. which the Govern
ment at present has fraud You think that they
are checks on fraud. We do not But ask you TO give
them up. whatever they may be- In order to show
the representatives Of the Government. that you
up those checks you have ample power to secure
the revenue without these extreme measures, pro
pose. If you have objection to land cargo of goods
right upon this table, and to show the operations OF
the landing OF that cargo. And when conclude am
going to ask you whether in that operation any
opportunity for fraud To see, whether without those
Checks which ask you to abolish you have not got
enough left absolutely and positively the
tire revenue and at tho going to ask you
whether the abolshng Of those checks may not bring
back to this Government the affection and the loyalty OF
merchants which, for tae years the Government
has done as much as possible to ALLEVIATE.


THE WHOLE PROCESS oF IMPORTING GOODS.


In tho first place the Government has at every port
abroad consul. His duties shall not speak of very
extensively because they have been commented upon
already His duty to give a consular certificate and
to examine ana determine to the value Of goods.
But he Ia more than CONSUL He Is a commercial
agent and his duties not only to make these
suar certificates, but whenever he is written to, he
Corresponds with the departments TO give them special
Information In short, the Treasury Depart
ment OF the Government has an agent GDl
this Ia the mani In every one OF those foreign
ports whose duties ~ is not only to give information
but to send to the different customhouses prices
current keep thom advised OF the market prices OF
goods and give all the Information aid
In asoertaining the value OF goods. The Government
has something more OF which you have heard nothing
1 going tell you about special agents
Europe.


You not aware perhaps that there are special
agents Of the Treasury roaming the whole of Eu-
rope. 1 two OF these gentlemen there and
know something of their duties their Objects and their
purposes. am not complaining of their being sent;
perhaps IL Is well that they should be. One of their du
ties TO bring INTO harmonious relations all the Consu
lates OF the United Sates to examine their dongs and
workings and to make suggestions that shall be
perfect harmony In the departments. But in addition
20 that duty they through the country the mer-
camille people believe TO set up sort of job wherever
they i0d undervaluatons or difficulties with manufac-
turers They obey instructiOns whatever they in
struced 10 do they do only they otentimes
have authority 10 employ other agents, persons not
known and various ways these special agents Of the
Treasury make themselves useful in the collection Of
the revenue this side by giving information. Mer-
chants have never objected TO it. We know perfectly
we'll that the Government s bound to exercise all due
diligence. and have hnted to you before, it is the
interest Of the merchants to have Vii this diligence
oised. But will say here that am the other
sde and do not propose to back .againiever either
III body argument. But there a axness in de-
tectve system. and Generalization that credit
able " the Government.


THE VICES OF COMMERCIAL AGENTS


Almost every importing house America has a trav-
cling agent purchasing agent abroad. and more
worthless dissolue class of men il
my fortune to meet on any continent All the vices of
continents believe these gentlemen indulge In
During their dinner parties TO the mIldest
possbe there good deal OF Interchange Of informa
tion. The agent for importing hardware house apt
10 tell the Of importing dryi goods house what
his perience is. When these gentlemen get beaten
the purchasing Of goods they very apt to write
and give information to the greater their
competitors and that they bought goods 10 tper
cent cheaper to that these travelling and
purchasing agents for importing houses not Of
high and exalted talent and mora worth which the
distinguished special agent OF the Treasury described TO
you the other iay desirable the part OF special
agents. What wish to say is this that secrets leak
out Ia These eonvivial parties There sometimes
twenty thirty OF those eeutlemop together In
hotel Nobody knows this better than our distinguished
committeeman, Mr. Roberts, and think he will bear me
In what say In that respect. No gentleman has
Travelled In Europe for the last three or four who