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The "general Order " Business

The "general Order " Business image
Parent Issue
Day
19
Month
January
Year
1872
Copyright
Public Domain
OCR Text

It is an unfortunate consequonce of tho desultory nianuwr m wkioh tho tnvestigation into custom-huuse abusos has been oonduotod, that tho evidunce of uicrohants and officials as to tho extortionate character of Leot & Co.'s monopoly of tho "General Order busiuess" has been BOftttered over raany columns of th papers, and, thcrofore, lost upon Uhm who have not carefully studied the testimony. Wo havo already publishud, in the articlo ■which directed attention to this outrageous system (and whioh has already been orerwhelmingly sustained by the sworn evidenoej, a eíew narrativo of its origin and its reckliss innnageuieixt by Leet and Stocking. l?ut it may be1 worth while just uow to collatn some of the ovidenco sinoe addnced, and show preciscly what the merchants of New York have beeu compellcd to endure and the amouiit of monoy out of which they have been swindled, in order that a rotired army captain and Butler may live and grow rich. The "General Üider business" grow out of the uecessities of the great steamship couipanics about 1554. In order to make rapid runs their vessels required facilitios tor discharging ; and Congress, upon proper representations, gave them the right to unship crgoes before inspection and entry into warehouses under a " general order " from. tho custom-house to 'isoharge. Each separato invoice of thu vdrious importera was then entered at the General Order stores, and thu responsibility of the steaiuship nouipany ceased. This system, thus originating, continued without general oomplaint by merchants, and at reasonablc cost, until 1870, whoi, on representation that much thieving and smuggling were going on at the Jersey City and Hobokcn stores, Collector nell moved tha General Order slore3 to the New York side, and placed theui uuder the saiuo regulations as bonded warehouses. SimiUtiiiieously, Collector Grinnell organized a Cartage Bureau, by vrhich it is clairaed that tho expenses of the Ganeral Order business were reducod nearly 0 pur cent. " Mr. Grinuell inBisteJ," toitifies Mr. John P. Lindsay, ■who was directed to examine iiito tho Bystem, " that it should be roduoed somo thirty per cont." In 1H70, George K. Lect, then a captain in tho arruy, appeared in New York, a completo stranger, with only a letter of general intruduution froin President Grant, on whose staff he had serv(;d in tho army, and at once set up a claim to the possession of tho General Order business. Ho was given a sharo of it, which he sold to a notor;ous Tainmuny politician named Francis M. Bixby, for the sum of $5,625 per aniiuui, ana an equal share of the profits, over $lü,i)UO. ïhis is in proof over Leet's own h;tndvritiag. Not content with this protitable arrangement, considering that ho had never invested a dollar, Leet claimed tho whole " General Order business." On the roinoviiL of Mr. Grinuell, which Leet hafl thrcateued to bring about, saying, as Mr Lindsay swears, that "ho would have a now Collector it' he did not gut wliat he ■wantod," he carne intofull, and until this time undisputed possession. The low rates established by Mr. Grinnell were at oncodiscarded, and sincethen Leot has practically been uulimited ii his cliargus by xny regutations o-f the tom-House. Mr. Alexander ï. Stowavt bas tostified that in consequenco of the gift to Leot of this monopoly, which he denouuced as au outrago upon the merchauts, (l)tlie storage capaeity of the General Order stores had been reduced, thougli the basiuoss had been augmented by the transfer of thu Jersey stores tothis. aide; ('2) th.it au extra, unneeessary charge for cartage had been made conipulsory ; (3) that " interminable delays," resulting ircqueutly in heavy losses to the importer trom fluctuations in prices, often as much as 20 ptr cent-, hndensaed ; (4') that insurance rates on General Order goods had advanced from 40 cents to 65 cents per handled dolían ; (5) that the charge for storage had nearly doubled ; ((5) and that Lee.t wae ohargingfrom $l.'25 to $1.75 per package, wliicli was doublé tho fair and furmer rates for storage, cartage and labor. Mr. Stewart'a clerk in charge of the General Order business stated in additlon, as corroborating emd ïtrengtbening the iirst statement of his chiof that sincc Leet cauie into his monopoly only two " General Order " stores reiuainod in th wUolo port of Xew York, and that while $1 per package was the maximum charge uuder foruier divisions of the business vhiii thoro were sufficieut stores, the charges aow were $1.70. David Ogden, anothor old merohant, sworo that tor tho benefit of " Loet's pet wareliouses " he was charged storagc when his goods remained on his own hip, and that ior a wedding-caku gent him Irom Kngland he had to pay $1 fur and cartage, though hu had walked UÜ' with th&package under his arm. Mr. Heiu"y A. Garrison tt'stitíed that uudir tho oíd systerti he had nevcv paid at Jerst-y City aiil Hoboken more than $1, whureas he had paid Leot $2 and in one iustauco $'2.áü per packagi'. Nor wero these tho only witnesses svho showed conclusively that under Leet the charges had advauced fully 50 por cent. l'or the purpose of arriving at a calculation of what ïuerehants have suffered at tho hands of this imported monopolist of the General Order business, let us adopt 5üc as the dift'crence butivcen the average charges of a y car ago aud the present exorbitaut ratos. Mr. Lindsay iurnishodin his important tobtimony a calculation of the business tbr a single quarter of the dullest season of I86t), showing that 130,000 packages went to General Orders. This is at tiiü rata of 620,000 pnekages a year, a very low oalculalion, as every mcrchant acquainted with the business vvill coneludu. Ilere, then, isa, total profit to this interloping caplain of tho army, without anv interest in the trado of the port, uever huving invosted ono penny iu the business, of 1260,000, wrang trom tku inerohuiits thus htlplessly subjected to the rapicity of a mero politieiun with mysterieus influence ut Washington. It secms to us that nothing more ought to be aeceesarv to be udded to this brief statement of the well-establisbed facts in regard totbis outrageous system to secure its sumniary oorrection. Mercliants oan not hu expected to subniit furuverto such exactions. ÍS'o admiiiistiatiuii or party can aft'ord to sustain such impostora :is Lett und Cüiupany. We appeal to Qeneral (iraut for the guko of bis administration and our party to get ril of Loot a great deal quieker than he got rid of Murphy.

Article

Subjects
Old News
Michigan Argus