Hawaii Holomua, Volume II, Number 28, 20 ʻOkakopa 1894 — The Sutlers in The TarifCamp. [ARTICLE]

The Sutlers in The TarifCamp.

> Tbere ar<" nttornoys in New York. Pbi ndelphi.i aud W »shington known as *‘refund attornevf wlio w <tch for arabignities ' in «nv new tirirt Iegisl»tion, tbat tbt-y m»y reap wbere they h«ve not sown. Every new tarirtf law me»ns enormous g»in to thera. Through ambignities in the Mc- I Kinley bill,and others in tbe past, sorae iuillious of Joll«rs bave been ra»de bv tbese nonpro* ducers who lie m wait. Tlio Wilaon bill gives promise of snch harvests for the ra«n who 8teals bec«use his neig!ib >r does. Whon tlie latter bill wenl to the Senate it contained ;ibout fifty tbousand words, making a volumo of two humlred large pages. , The Seuate added mueh to this i length before it *had served the . lobby of the varied class interests f that wauted something «t the ex- ? pense of others. The McKinley > bill m»de ono limulred and sixtyi two pages hefore it got by tbe • Senate. In sucb an enonnous nmount of 11 printed matter it is inevitable ’ tbat errors eome iu, even sup- ‘ posīng tbat evcry man through whose hunds it passes is houest abovo qnestion. Anecdotes nre ‘ current amoug Iobbyists, whoro 1 clerk’s at the last moment have ’ been bribed to cbange a eomma ‘ or a word that wonUl inake one of 1 these Iabored bills re«d directly ‘ »ppisite tho intention of the fr«mers. Probably the first elean tiritTbill that will pass an Ame 1 r’can Congress will bo one orderng tho disch»ige o/ that gre«t • nuy, tbe cnstombouse employees md the salo of customhouses «n<l rovenue cutter». tlie proceeds to l»o convertcd to the puhlie trea <«ry. A biil like tliis wouKl take ibout »ix linos «nd might get 1 tbrough withont rewrsal of its meaning. Where the nature of <ny action is founded in fraud, there the sutler of fraud holds carnival. Tbe '‘refnnd” attorney vill be out of business when the oainp is hroken np. Exaraples <>f the “refand M at<rney's operations in the past ro ei>ormous. A paragr»ph nowu as the “cbarg»*8” par«'raph was re)>ealed in the tariff <ct of 1883 This paragraph <rov;dtd tbat the a)ipraiser iu idja<lging values of g<>ods shou’d kake iutoaccouut broser’s chaiges nd tha cost of p »c<ages, «dding :beae to tbe li»t cost of the isnK>rls. A New York attorney, ooking over tho tar;tl* act of 1833 liscovered that the practice of lie aj»praisers was in conflict ■ritb this p»r»grapb—tbe pme tice had not been cbanged to «greo witb tbe new law. He elaimd that witb tbe “cbarges” para- < :r <pb ropealed, duty con!d not :>e col»ect»fd save on tbe nnked , imported. Be pointed this >nt to importers »nd tbey ailow* *d him to bring a test case, 'iviog bim a coDtiogent intervst , n tbe rosu’,t. Tbe dectsion made he Uwyer indepeudently we«l:hy. Io 1872 th>re w«s a * b ongbt for rofuu,ls on imports of tr >pioal fruits The engrossing ‘ cbrk in copvmg wrote, “frmt 1 pl nt«.’ inste«d of *‘{roit-plant8 ” ■ Accordiag to tbe letter of tb« 1 law tbe mi.lake wassoobvioos th«t the lre«snry offioi»U m«de refind witbont cooteatiog tbe eaae. The «ttornoy did uot eren ' b«ve to bnng auii. Tbe fee? o( k 'he Uwyera in tbe>o casea •- j uiouaUal to Uall • uul- 1 •

■ » !!■■■ ■■ ■ ■ « ——— The law of 1883 made a’cTl«si*j .ficat!on of silk goods at jifty per| c-nt. »nd goods of whieh siik ! «as > eompoeani part at tbirty five per cent. In tbe silk ribbon imports th-* imp >rters had a cotton thread run tbrongh tbe lengtb of tbe fabric aud then demanded a refuod of the fifteen per cent. Tbe courts sustained thi.s evident trick making nnotber f«t fall lo tbe sutler. A fuod sait •»ver tbe classification of tobacco undertb« law of 1883 was of a situilar n«tare and cosl tbe government serer«I millions dollars. Sorae m;llions were returoed tobe J<vided between the iraporter and his attorney iu tbe recent celebrated hat-trimmings case. Tbe ouimissioo in tbe text of tbe law of the word “similar’ 1» ft an arnbiguity tbat resulted in «normous profit to tbe sutler It loo<s now as if be wooKl wax prodigiously «iid grow fre>kishly fat on the cbvious bluuders iu tbe tvpograpbv of tbe Wilson! bill. Ill American.