CUSTOM-HOUSES

273

legitimate  fines  on  our  exports  to  them.  It
may  be  argued  that  in  the  end  the  cost  is  finally
borne  by  them,  but  the  fact  nevertheless  remains ­
  that  there  is  much  work  here  to  be  done
by  our  government  to  overcome  these  conditions ­
  for  the  benefit  of  all  parties  involved.  It
is  decidedly  unfair  for  a  country  to  collect
revenues  both  ways,  namely,  on  its  exports  to
us  and  on  our  exports  to  it.
The  importer  is  the  one  who  bears  the  brunt
of  these  burdens.  He  is  continually  paying
bribes  or  fines  which  are  of  course  added  to
the  cost  of  the  goods.  Failure  on  his  part  to
“come  across”  means  delays,  loss  of  goods,
higher  port  charges  and  incalculable  annoyances. ­
  One  of  the  great  objections  to  this  system ­
  of  robbery  aside  from  its  basic  principle
of  error  is  that  one  shipment  does  not  serve  as
a  means  for  calculating  a  price  on  the  next
one.  A  new  custom-house  official  (and  custom-house ­
  officials  are  changed  in  these  lands
as  often  as  a  chameleon  changes  color)  may
have  come  into  office  between  shipments  requiring ­
  a  higher  standard  of  fines  and  bribes