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Show .4 Needed Reform In New York. "Washington, September 25. The Secre-retary Secre-retary of the Treasury to-day sent a letter to. District Attorney Dorsheimer, at New York, in regard to the examination of passengers' pas-sengers' baggage. He says, in part: "In March last, and immediately on taking charge of the Department, I directed the attention at-tention of the collector at the port of New York to what I had reason to think was a very defective and very scandalous condition con-dition of affairs, respecting the examination of the baggage of arriving passengers, and the criminal payment of money to the Inspector In-spector of Customs by such passengers. I have reason to feel that the deplorable condition con-dition then, and for a long time existing, has not been thoroughly reformed, although there has been, I hope, somewhat of an improvement. im-provement. I wish the utmost energy and vigilance be used to prevent the scandal of money payments by passengers to Customs Inspectors. I am told that inspectors demand such payments in a way to make the demand not much lesr than blackmail, and that the sums paid range as high in some instances as one hundred or more dollars, while the payment of five or ten dollars is a common and general gen-eral fact. I am sure you will agree with me that such scandal and such violation of the law shoall bi stopped. If it can't ba arrested arrest-ed in any other way, the Department will consider tho "necessity of ssnding the luggage lug-gage of passengers to appraisers stores to be examined, like merchandise regularly imported im-ported and entered. Taese gifts of money can't be without the guilty co-operation of those who are not customs officers, who are among reputable citizens, and who really are tempters. No merchant or corporation would permit its agents to be thus tampered with by outsiders. A casual passenger cannot be permitted to pay money to a custom officer who examines his luggage any more than a regular importer im-porter be permitted to "tip" an appraiser. Such transactions are suspicious on the face, and are quite indefensible and intolerable in every point of view. I have alluded to this condition of affairs in New York in order or-der to ask your aid and co-operation, as the chief Federal law officer at that port, in putting an end to it. I believe that the existing ex-isting Federal criminal laws are adequate to bring about the arrest and imprisonment of the guilty, whether passengers or custom officials, if the facts are as represented to me. If the existing law shall be found by you to be inadequate, I shall be glad to receive your views thereon at an early day, but meanwhile my desire and hops is that you will so far as it may be within your soope of official influence and control, take efficient steps to cause the arrest and punishment criminally of any and every passenger, without with-out regard to social or political influenoe, who pays, or offers to pay, or any custom official offi-cial who receives any money or thing of value in connection with customs' examination, examina-tion, under the statute of arriving luggago. |