L---.M—
gd
U.S. Customs Service
EL
Protectors of
Independence
Since 1789
/
I
'
4t
iE -
IL
ilL
An act of Congress signed on
July 31, 1789, created the U.S.
Customs Service.
Protectors of
The story of the United States
Customs Service is the story of
America itself.
Founded in 1789 to protect this
struggling new Nation from bankruptcy, Customs has come to the
aid and protection of the Republic
and its people for two centuries.
Customs gave America its first
source of revenue, became its first
Federal law enforcement agency,
and has affected and been affected by the Nation's history
from the earliest days to the
present.
After declaring independence in
1776, our struggling young Nation found itself on the brink of
bankruptcy. During the brief period under the Articles of Confederation, in which each State
assessed Customs duties against
its neighbors, Congress learned
that the national treasury could
not rely upon the States for funds.
When, in 1789, Congress first
assembled in New York City to
launch this country on its proper
course, it had one overr ding concern: Money. Where to find it, how
to ((dlDCf it hriur to lPPfl it rflhliflfl
in Fighting a revolution had left
the national cupboard bare: Such
was the price of liberty.
r
Colonel haip Delan
General John Lamb
A
ISO
.
a';..
Pat Garrett
N Wright Cunei
Matthew A. Henson
Edwin Arlington Robinson
•.
ii '/'
at
1(111(41
Aj
,;
(Y I"i'
tmt'1'
/
it
// A
/c
tt/I
'
L
fi
/
/
I.
4
/
t•' /'
/
I
/
,
-'fl,
/ 7•
i1.
,.4,
/
I
1
Ii,,,""
7
I
t IT ED
(17
"
,,, (
/
IL
0,
I/
ander II an'!!
Nathaniel Hawthorne
Herman Melville
Chester A. Arthur
Gail Borden
/ I /
IE
'Man —
I e jjted Stat
recS o
General Benjamin Lincoln
/
/
No less a guiding light than
James Madison of Virginia proposed the scheme that would
eventually make this Nation solvent: impose a duty on imports
and create a well-managed
agency to ensure its due collection. Responding to an urgent
need for revenue, the first Congress passed, and President
Washington signed, the Tariff Act
cf July 4, 1789. It established a
tariff and a system for collecting
duties.
The Act was considered so important that the press of the day
hailed it as a "second Declaration
of Independence." Customs districts, ports of entry, and the machinery for appointing Customs
officers and prescribing their duties were established July 31,
1789—one day before the Tariff
Act took effect. President Washington then nominated 59 Collectors of Customs and more than 40
other officers to staff the new Customs Service.
The entire Service was placed,
as it is today, under the Treasury
Department, headed by 32-yearold Secretary of the Treasury Alexander Hamilton. Hamilton's
tireless, dedicated commitment
to the new Service set an early
standard for Customs officials.
The Transcontiuental Railmad was one of
morn' public works p rograms funded by
Customs rovenue
Ak
James Madison
Alexander Hamilton
The first vessel to arrive at the
port of New York under the new
Customs law was the brigantine
Persis. from Leghorn, Italy, on
0"
/790
August 5, 1789. Commanded by
James Weeks, she was consigned
to one William Seton, who paid
the first customs duty ever collected by U.S. Customs—
$774.71. New York's Collector of
Customs was John Lamb, one of
the heros of the wartime capture
of Fort Ticonderoga from the
British.
Lamb and other Revolutionary
War heroes appointed to Customs
positions by President Washington were the first in a long line of
prominent persons to hold Customs posts:
4J
Herman Melville, author of
Moby Dick, was a Customs officer
in New York. Pat Garrett, the
sheriff who finally caught famous
outlaw Billy the Kid, held a customs post in El Paso. Edwin
Arlington Robinson, the American poet, was appointed to the
Customs Service by President
Theodore Roosevelt. Matthew
Henson, who accompanied
Admiral Peary, on their famous
expedition to the Artic in 1909
and was subsequently appointed
to the Customs Service by President William Howard Taft. Other
famous Customs officials were
Presidents Ulysses S. Grant and
Chester Arthur and author
Nathaniel Hawthorne.
t ft
/
J-s,n
Fantasy "Mediterranean Passports"failed to
protect American ships from the Barbary
pirates in the early 1800's. Customs paid the
captives' ransom
charge of the nation's diverse
needs. When America needed
lighthouses, for example, to guide
ships safely past treacherous
shoals, it turned to Customs to
build those lighthouses. From
1791 to 1850, Customs supervised the construction of more
than 300 lighthouses, from the
Great Lakes to the Gulf of Mexico.
When America needed a system of pension agents to honor
the debts owed its Revolutionary
War heroes, it turned to Customs
as the first "Veteran's Administration."
When America needed to provide for the relief of sick and disabled seamen, it turned to
Customs as the first public health
service.
When America needed armed
revenue cutters to patrol its
shores, it turned to Customs to direct those ships, making Customs the first coast guard. When,
in 1830, America needed to devise a system of "uniform, authentic weights and measures," to
ensure for merchants and consumers alike that a pound was indeed a pound, it turned to
Customs, the first "Bureau of
Standards."
And when masses of immigrants began seeking refuge in
America, Congress turned to
Customs to manage the influx. It
Philadelphia, 7u!y TOT
for ls>sga Them on Gosds, Wares, 401
Mrrca#l:ze, impssr5-d into the united States.
\VHERAS it s neclf' y for the mopport of
vernrn,nt, for tti 4ifchssrge of the debts of 1e
United Stares, a's-i Jhe ei Q/ragcrncni and pro.
tionof ina nufaSInfes,thnt dsmesbe laid ass goods,
;'ares and 'enrthanchne in'enred
Be it ersOed hr the Senate and Hoafe of Repre.
rc,ts'ir't3 of the UpisedSt:tnOf America in ('o
gre.s aiThmhled, That fsvm and after the firrt day
of AogssIl next enfing, the feveral duties hèi0
also mentioned thali he the00 the fal!os sag geeds,
s'arcs and merch-attdize imported into the Cnitnj
States, from any fordgn post or place—thot is 10
Cents.
lay:
On all dtllfled fp 5rs of janiaica oroof, imported fiont any kingdom or oossntrvwhatlo- to
per sslkn
ever,
g
rio.
on all other ditHied Ipirits,
do.
On moh:ffs,
2*
do,
,
On Mio5 e:ra wine,
do.
to
On all other woes.
On ever ga3ou of beer, ale or porter in )
S
calk',
On all cyder, beer, ale, or potter in bat-) 20
per dozen,
AC 11?
"Sea Letters" were intended to protect L.S.
cr5.
w'alnr it frnt impressment /,v/o,ejn powers.
Beyond revenue, however, it
was the Customs Service that
taught the fledging American
government how a federal agency
should operate. That task fell to it
by default: Customs was not only
the first fully formed agency, but
for years, it was far and away the
largest. By 1792, the Customs
work force totaled nearly 500
people-80% of all Treasury employees and more than twice the
number of the next largest
agency, the Post Office.
Because Customs was, in essence, the nation's civil service in
the early years, Congress would
turn to it time and again to take
The Tariff Act of] 789 placed import duties
on a variety offoreign products.
Ear/v Customs measuring devices from
1830 were quite primitive especially
compared to the precision measuring and
evaluation equipment found in today's
laboratories.
Iron yarn counter measured skein lengths.
Bell rings every 100 yards.
st
)
was the first Immigration and
Naturalization Service.
This was and continues to be
the character of Customs: always
ready to serve the Nation, to accept any challenge in time of
peace or war—to protect, secure,
defend. More diversified today
than ever, the U.S. Customs Service enforces, in addition to its
own statutes, more than 400 provisions of law on behalf of 40
/
Customs Inspectors pose at the entrance to
Windsor Ferry at the Canadian border, in
Detroi4 in 1898.
-
r,&
Polital cartoon chides President Polk on his
tariffpolicy.
other Federal agencies. Many of
these laws are aimed at protecting the environment; all are
aimed at protecting the quality of
American life.
More than 140 years ago, for example, this country first began its
baffle against pornography. It was
the Customs Service whom Congress first called upon to protect
the public. More than 100 years
ago, when American manufactured products started to become
the targets of unscrupulous counterfeiters, it was Customs who first
entered the fray to protect the
rights of American manufacturers.
Nearly 80 years ago, when drug
abuse first showed itself as the
corruptive force it is, it was Customs who made the first efforts to
close ranks in defending our nation in its war on drugs.
The traditional U.S. Customs
Service mission, as outlined in
the Tariff Act of 1930, is threefold:
• To assess and collect customs
duties on imported merchandise.
• To prevent fraud and
smuggling.
• To control carriers, persons,
and articles entering and departing the United States.
4
+
In the late 19th century, a Customs Officer
in full cowboy attire patrols the Southwestern border
Early Customs revenue euiIer.
.
Artist's rendering of interior of the New Ynr'
Customhouse c 1857
. -.
.
:
•
.:
-
••i
L
.
-
•••--.--
As
During its first year of service,
U.S. Customs collected two million dollars in duties for the new
Nation. Customs revenue paid
the Revolutionary War debt, provided funds for the new Nation's
defense and helped finance public
works.
In 1801, Customs revenues
paid Barbary pirates a onemillion-dollar ransom to free captured American seamen. (Piracy
became Customs' province again
in 1970, when the Service was assigned the responsibility of halting an epidemic of skyjackings.)
For nearly 125 years, until the
first federal income tax law in
1913, the Customs Service was
virtually the only source of income for the U.S. Government.
Customs revenues financed a period of awesome growth and acquisition as America moved from
13 Stales along the East Coast to
an interoceanic nation. The opening of the West; the purchase of
the Louisiana and Oregon Territories, of Florida and Alaska; the
construction of the national road
from Cumberland, Maryland to
Wheeling, West Virginia; the
Lewis and Clark Expedition; the
Transcontinental Railroad—all
these and more were financed by
a single agency. Customs collections built the U.S. military and
naval academies, not to mention
the city of Washington, D.C.
By 1835, Customs revenues had
reduced the national debt to zero.
By 1860, Customs collections represented 90 percent of all monies
raised for government operations.
Although passage of the Federal
Income Tax Act in 1913 made the
Internal Revenue Service the Nation's number one revenueproducing agency, even today the
Customs Service contributes more
than $16 billion dollars a year to
the national treasury.
No
•;:?3
(2
Snowshoes and a snowcyclewinter patrol equipment on the
northern border in the 1920's.
U
I
Civil War veteran E'i Corbh' (far left) partipates in ceremony raising the Customs revenue ensign
(Port ofPittsburgh, July 4, 1919.)
San Francisco Customhouse employees in 1905.
I
...
.
A
M
..
.
waf'AP P"',
,
T
,;
APv
pgk
$t
MItI1
I
1-Wj
i&W
-.
-
ot
I
/
TV
•
.5.
.
.
.
S
•..
S.
.
.
94.
Regulators and
Protectors of
our Borders
4iL
AT
The prevention of smuggling
has been a primary Customs
Service assignment, and one of
its most hazardous, since its inception.
In 1808, when Customs officials were trying to stop the
smuggling of dress goods along
the Vermont-Canada border,
merchants threatened to kill any
customs collector who attempted
to enforce the laws.
It was in 1808 as well that the
infamous Black Snake, a ferry
boat smeared with tar and turned
into a smuggling ship, plowed
Lake Champlain. For months,
the Black Snake, manned by a
crew of desperadoes, scorned
Customs officers and carried load
after load of potash across the
border from Canada. Determined
to put an end to this traffic, U.S.
officials dispatched the Fly, a 12oared cutter manned by Lt. Farrington, Sgt. Johnson, and 12
infantry privates who had been
detailed to pursue the Black
Snake.
On August 2, 1808, Lt, Farrington and his men boarded the
smuggling ship. During the ensuing melee, three infantrymen
were killed and Lt. Farrington was
severely wounded. In a last determined effort, Sgt. Johnson and a
detachment of soldiers captured
the Black Snake's crew. All were
jailed at Burlington, Vermont and
indicted for killing three Government officials. Three of the crew
members were found guilty; one,
Cyrus B. Dean, was hanged two
weeks later.
When American pioneers
moved West, Customs inspectors
accompanied the early settlers,
enforcing U.S. and territorial statutes relating to revenues, immigration, and smuggling.
In mountain states along the
Northern border, primitive enforcement conditions prevailed
well into the 1920s, easing only
IV4
During Prohibition; Customs agents display
their catchr bootlegged liquor.
Merchandise from Customs Appraisers
store. San Francisco, 1930.
The US. Customs air fleet of the 1930s
consisted of aircraft seized Jbr rumrunning.
One of these Curtis Falcon: carried 700
bottles of smuggled liquor
-
'
w.
7
with the coming of the automobile and later, aerial surveillance.
Mounted Customs officers
along the Southwest border faced
difficult terrain and desperate
smugglers. Officer Robert Rumsey was one of many killed in the
line of duty.
In 1853, the Secretary of the
Treasury authorized the appointment of mounted Customs inspectors for the newly created
Paso del Norte district. The
mounted patrol was responsible
for 1,900 miles of border along
the Gulf of Mexico, the U.S.Mexican border, and the Pacific
Ocean. Among those early
mounted Customs officers were
members of the First U.S. Cavalry, better known as Teddy
Roosevelt's "Rough Riders."
In the Far West, where Customs has had a continuing presence since the territory's
acquisition, Customs officers
managed to preserve their Customhouse flag during the devastating earthquake of 1906.
With the passage in 1920 of the
18th Amendment—prohibiting
the importation, possession, and
sale of liquor—smuggling in the
U.S. reached a new high. "Bootleggers" worked the borders with
boats, trucks, and planes.
Customs countered with seizure after seizure of contraband
alcohol. When the rumrunners
were caught, Customs officers often confiscated their transport vehicles along with the liquor they
carried. During Prohibition, in
fact, the U.S. Customs air interdiction fleet consisted wholly of
aircraft seized for liquor smuggling.
__
Customs mounted patrol Texas, a 1941.
This border-crossing
station at the Mexican
border in Calexico,
CaliJ'omia is typical of
Customs' 24-hour-s-day
operations.
gE
Kathleen I. DL'cson, frst
woman inspector in
Miami Florida, was also
the first to wear a
uniform. The year, 1947.
AStr
fr
C.)
V5 Loo-oll000,
Smuggled Pre-Columbian art)bc[.
/
/
PAST AND PRESENT
y ell tv pine amid her iron reinforcements were
a l l c Ipper astemied. Aloft she carried three
skysaiC and her P )fty slender masts with long
THE CLIPPER SHIPS
Dv \\'. S. Dent.
With the passing
Of
the clipper ships frOm
the Pacific, passed munch or the romance of the
tapering yards made her the pride of the clipper (leet.
sea. The no idern vessels have taken "sailing the
11cr masts and yards were finished in natural
from the pa-cs of adventure and set it
wood, varnished, while all the deck, bulwarks
down in the must y vi ilumes of staid commercialism. III da y s ever y bo y yearned to he a
sailor, but no\vadav the business of con\'crtillp
I
ntniiber of miles
a unit of coal into ,
and housin were pure white and kept in such
has but small pulling' power for our niodern
youth and were it not for the call of the "Land
of Farawa y " ver y few of our boys would he
Tile "St. Stephen" was commimnanded hy Capt.
seas
presenting themselves before the shipping c
101-
mission ers.
Of all the clipper ships which made this port
in the early 80's, the American ship "St Ste pltcn
was known to shipping men as one of the very
fine condition as to reemnhle porcelun, which
meant that alwa y s sometlnng could he found for
her crew to (I
iii. F. Douglas, who served his apprenticeHhip on the (rand flank IiCing ch loners. sail
to he the 1iardct school III world and one
fnrmmisliing tile host capahle hut hardest officers
a fl at, Capt. I )ouglas tvmm no exception to the
mule and t\ as 11 ted as all excepth nal daring
driver even ill class. It is said that on one
finest.
Built by Chapman and Flint at Bath, fCc., and
trill from Tfnglamol he drove this ship (lowli the
completed in Januar y . 1877. she was 208 feet
long', 40 1 / foot beam and registered a ti Innage
like the famed I"lving I )ntchmnan. o lien all other
of
1392 tons
net. She was made of oak and
Ifnglish channel at a 17-knot clip (Iur ig a gale,
vescls were "hove to.
With a full cargo of flour the tvriter, as one
PETER J. WHALEN
JollY a. DOWER No. 1.
p1YridR BURNS
SERGEANT STEPHEN V. DUNNED JOHN E. MALONEY
JOHN (JALLAWAY
POLICE OFFICERS OF THE FRONT
EDWARD Al. OWENS
passed through the customs formalities and as
the vehicle hearing- the prince rolled past him
In the transaction of Customs business the
assistance of the police oftentimes has been
found necessary, and such service has always
been given \villingly and efficiently. This is es-
up went the officer's hand in military salute and
the same was gravel y returned just as precisely
b y the prince.
pecially true of those boys of the "Harbor Sta-
Whalen's fame does not all lie in the above episode b y any manner of means. He was appoint-
tion' whose duties bring them in contact with
ed to the force May 21. 1883, and since that time
Uncle Sam's Customs men.
has performed continuous dut y , on which he has
To mention an y one of the Finest' without
made thousands of arrests. He has arrested
memories crowding- in that would fill a book
drunks, thieves, buncoinen, shavers of the queer
itself on the waterfront, is impossible, but the
and every kind of lawbreaker known to the po-
above named have put in their time for many
y ears where the tall masts lift their heads.
All of these officers have performed voeman
lice, lie has rendered service with honor to
himself in riots and fires and among countless
vouchers of his untiring efforts in preserving or-
service since they first donned the uniform, but
der are many detailing deeds of heroism and
it is said, only one, not only of the waterfront
mercy (luring the terrible disaster of 1906.
men, but of the whole force, has ever had the
Although his record is one any man might be
honor of saluting, and of being saluted by, a real
proud to bear, Officer Peter Whalen does not
live on his past performances, and though in the
live prince, and to Officer Peter Whalen falls
this honor.
autumn of life, he does ''his little hit" each clay
Officer Whalen gained this distinction when
with the snap and enthusiasm which character-
Prince Tsai Fu erstwhile arrived at this city on
izes in general the work of the Harbor Police
the steamer Mongolia. The royal entourage had
on the waterfront.
1?(, Th\
I
\
TTT
--
.\
R(VE!)
t
)
•'A:\
/
-
'H
fI/
/
/
-/-
-
E_
- 7•r
j}
I
('01,.E. W, M.\SIJN
i-bob lo,,i aiul le,t,iier
)'RNELI)!-'i'OOIIEV
Kl,o,v me a l'r,,se,aii blue spot'
-
Ili it,
\
CI-IAR1Ei- F. K1NNEALLY
A Collector 01 Whorl Rates
PETE WHALEN
Veteran 01 the city front
VETERANS OF THE SERVICE
when I entered the Service
ill
1873. Shan-
non was a man not educated ill
To Frank B. Sharpe helongs the honor ot he-
-I
but with
knowledge (If men and possessing a won-
the V. S. Customs Serv-
derfull y developed sixth sense, lie was noted
ice at this port, having entered upon his forty-
for his blunt epigramic remarks and he it was
ing the real veteran
01
third year of continuous service. 'p to the he-
who originated the phrase, 'Platforms are made
pinmng (It the year 1h1 Colonel Ihoinas Craig
and spread with molasses to catch voters.' lie
SIvl)soil hoth deceased) (lid
was also a forceful man with plenty of self-confidence and often when apparentl y cornered with
and Lncie
J01111
yeoman service U or nearly fifty y ears. C IloneI
Chas. 11. Mimi is lust five y ears behind Sharpe,
having been appointed in 1875. and Alfred Lip
a regulation or decision that seemed to he agamst
commercial interests, he would sa y , '\\'e will go
has I een on dut y on the cit y front as an inspec-
ahead as best stuts the Service and settle with
tor for thirt y -six y ears .Sharpe was appointed
the Department at terwards.
b y Collector Thomas B. Shannon and served as
collectors clerk ill
,ill
collection
detail was oil Bark 'C'asmar' from Liverpool,
of duties oil
at the Folsom street wharf. I was appointed
wharf, as deput y surveyor for
ill
Auditor's ( )ffice and is
I was appointed an inspector and my first
in ov perforlllillg clerical work at the entr y desk
Deputy Surveyor No. 2. April 18, 1873.
At that time there were two deput y survey-
ill No. I. Illinn has also held various
ors. No. 1 being ill
important offices, having \vrittell more permits
while No. 2 supervised the outdoor operations.
four years, clerk
of the inside work,
for the deliver y of foreign carp)) than probably
The inspectors were then headed by a captain
an y other man, having performed that dut y for
and a lieutenant and the force consisted of pa-
twenty-five years at a stretch. He was Special
trolmen, district officers, searchers, discharging
Deput y Surve y or under Surveyor \\oodwaud for
officers, night officers and bargemen. Instead
several y ears and is now an attache If the Col-
of
lector's Office.
going out to incoming vessels in a steam
launch all craft were hoarded b y means of the
idloillas W. Scott is another old veteran. i-Ic
hargeb (at, manned by a crew of four oarsmen
iv w doing duty as the Warehouse Bond Clerk
all(l was appointed to the Customs Service
and a captain. This port was then noted for
the skillful manner in which the ha y runners
1866. but dill several y ears duty as cashier in the
handled their whitehall boats and the C'tistom
Post ( )ftice in the interim and finally lauded hack
Crew was generally the pick of the lot.
ill the Custom House.
"We also. in the old (lays. had plenty to keep
track of those who were entis busy ill
deavoring to get the best of our Uncle Sam's
I,,;
Mason C. Southard has held down the job of
inspector alongside of LIp since 1880.
5
Villiain I. Rip. son ()f Bishop Nip of early
revenues. Among others, and probably the cun-
San francisco histor y , has been occupied as a
clerk Cr twenty-five years.
ningest character of the lot, was one, 'French
Toe.' i-Ic was continually making trouble, but
Ann up the rest of the 01(1-timers who have
Customs Service for t \venty-h y e years and over
was never caught. T remember at one time we
ill
sand dtines.
had him corralled ill his shack
but when we closed in oil place the bird had
are: V'in. J. Shepinan. F. Al. Dean, Win. P.
flown, and was never again heard nor seen. Oth-
Johnson, F. P. Flesh, Win. A. Sprague. f.
ers of the regular gang' were Ferdinand and
])cell continu) lusl y for Lncle Sam in the
;overll, V ' m. B. II amhurg. John 1. Kelly,
1ruik Fuller, James Hall, E. U. I [ills, B. A.
I lolnies, H. T. ( )'Lcary. James McGuire,
I )orsev. 1). S. V c Icenna, Chits. T. Cook. T. A.
C'iprino with their crew which we captured and
sent across the ba y to San Quentin prison. Billie
Bo y d, a noted runner of contraband, was capitted suicide, while another notured and committed
Ifagar, Jno. 1 race, Lee Hibbard, Peter Kelly,
trious character ill same nefarious husi-
I,onis Davis, Ed. Durkin, John (ireenan, F. F.
iiauied ' Funi Shoe' Whaley, when hard
pressed suddenl y and quietl y left for parts unknown and as far as I know was never captured.
Murphy, Chas. F. Brown. II. F. Farmer. B. J),
Matteson, N. S. Farle y . I.. B. Anders n. C'hMS.
Fitzsiinmons,
V. A. V (-Aulifte, Sam Crowney, I). C. \hern. K.
I. .V arple, W. A. I imhaugh, C.
T. ,\[cGinnes, I,. A. Rent and Mrs..\[. V. LawI cnce.
In speaking of the many changes in the Servs, Frank
111 n ci and methods,
11C55
"In my time I have served under many Collectors and with man y men ()f the service, and
all ill all have found ever the 'boys of the waterfront' to he a compan y with whom I have been
proud to serve and whom I have alwa y s found
ii. Sharpe, the rankmg employee at this port,
willing under aii' and all c i rcumstances at any
time to (10 more than their share of the work
as regards length of service, says
of the moment, no matter how trying or how
ice. both in the pers
"The
"
lIon. Thomas B. Shannon was Collector
difficult.
WATERFRONT IN 1850
Not only must an examiner of merchandise
A Customs Inspector named II cad
have an extensive knowledge every kind of mer-
Found (lope 'neath the C hinam an's bed,
chandise and its value, a judicial mind and all
Did he can the vile hop?
the qualities of a diplomat, but he must also
Of a truth he did not;
see to it that all his writings, even memos,
But he (lid hop the can, it is said.
are couched in the purest English. \Vitness
1 ackage mail is arriving in great hunches at
the local postoffice. Men are busily engaged
untying parcels and passing contents before the
eagle eye of U. S. Customs Examiner George
Re y nolds. One parcel contains shirtwaist which
What is the difference between Inspector
Enlow and a flea?
One (logs about till he finds some hop, and
the other hops about till he finds some dog.
has evidently been through the laundry many
times and shows it George writes on tag, "One
old lady's shirtwaist, 50c." Bundle is rewrapped
and forwarded to owner. Several days later
George receives the following: "1 would thank
There once was a heathen Chinee,
Who went on the
for a spree
I Ic said. "the hop at this Fair
"zone"
your Government smart-Alicks if you would tend
Fav to some, be quite rare.
to your own business and not make funny re-
As for me, I am filled \vith ennui."
marks about the ages of your betters." TillS
15 Ti I F LIFE
Why are the legs of a certain three hundred
pound employe of the Appraisers ( )ffice like true
Said a ponderous dame named i\larie,
"What is customs dut y for me
l'he facetious examiner
friends of \V. R. Hearst?
Because the y are stout supporters of the Exam iner.
Then got his for slamming her
When lie said with a smile ''Beef is free."
A stranger wandered into P. P. 1. F. Bonded
Warehouse No. 1, saying he was from the in\\ h y does an assistant weigher have an ephem-
terior, lie never saw the ocean before and
eral existence?
wanted an empty bottle to carry back home to
Because he has but for a day (four a day) to
Eve.
the folks, as a souvenir, some salt water to show
eli) what the ocean looked like.
The repeal of Prohibition in
1933, of course, marked the eventual wane of rumrunning. But as
liquor smuggling decreased, the
illegal entry of narcotics and dangerous drugs increased to threatening proportions.
During the 1960s, '70s, and
'80s, Customs officers have faced
the almost overwhelming task of
fighting the influx of opium, heroin, cocaine, hashish, marijuana,
and amphetamines into the
United States.
Through diligence, close inspection, sophisticated technology, and the sacrifice of lives,
Customs has given an excellent
account of itself in fighting the
flow of illegal drugs into this
country.
A unique tool in Customs' drug
fight is its force of drug detector
dogs, their trainers, and the Customs officers who work with these
canine detectors.
First used on a wide scale in
1970, Customs' narcotic detector
dogs save countless manhours in
locating narcotics in vehicles,
mail, unaccompanied baggage,
and on cargo ships. A dog and his
handler can check 500 packages
in 30 minutes; it would take a
Customs mal examiner several
days to inspect as many. At border ports, a dog can inspect a vehicle in about two minutes; the
same search by a Customs inspector woud take at least 20
minutes.
The seizure of contraband and
the continuing effort to eliminate
illegal traffic in narcotics and
other drugs are some of the more
dramatic episodes in Customs
Service history. Today these tasks
are made easier by the use of
modern technologies and by improved equipment.
I
More coc
dolls.
,
Customs Inspector checks a returning
travelers' purchases.
"'I-
.1
Customs Securit y Officer (Sky Marshall),
pet-fbi. ni,uz predeparti're check ofpassengerc
handbag. Dulles International Airport)
Customs officer seizes bales of marijuana
from fishing boat.
Customs officers apprehend drug smugglers
aboard a fishing bout.
w":%
9
Customs' fleet of specially fitted
interdiction aircraft pursues
would-be smugglers to remote
landing spots in difficult terrain.
Science and analytical research
assist Customs officers in their efforts to stop illegal and fraudulent
activities. The Customs Service
maintains eleven laboratories in
the U.S. and San Juan, Puerto
Rico, where sophisticated equipment analyzes certain imports to
determine their appropriate
classification—a far cry from the
crude manual weights and
gauges of early Customs labs!
Computer technology has also
increased and accelerated Customs' ability to perform surveillance and enforcement missions
and has enhavced its role as registrar of statistics vital to U.S.
trade, commerce, and security.
Since 1969 Customs has relied
upon the Treasury Enforcement
Ccmniunicatons System (TECS)
to perform instant checks on suspicious travelers, vessels, airciaft, and importers, and to
expedite the processing of lawabiding travelers.
Protecting 96,000 miles of U.S.
land, air and sea borders, and
more than 300 ports of entry,
some 15,000 dedicated employees of the U.S. Customs Service
perform many functions aimed at
controlling carriers, persons, and
articles entering and leaving the
United States.
Heroin was hidden in this false-bottom wine
jug. A glass partition separated a small
amount of wine in the top from the
contraband
Customs chemist uses her modem laboratory equipment to ident(Ji wood fibers.
V.
At Miami aipor1 a Contraband
Enforcement Team member searches for
narcotics that could be concealed in
boxes offiowers.
Customs Agents in Tampa, Florida ,find
cocaine in hollowed-out boards.
a:-11 E
'
ii
10
I
,
gft
Customs' Contraband nfo,ce,,;eu lEarn
,n.,n/k'r Sean D. I ereault at Marniv
seaport
-.
$*
1
r
T1
/
k
Ak
1
___
Ae
1
4
4
p
0
4
0
I
In
M
E 0__
The Customs Service was
seven months old when Congress
defined the daties of Customs officers at U.S. ports of entry and
provided for overall inspection of
Customs documents by a specified person.
By 1846, two Treasury officers
had been permanently assigned
to special duties. For 14 years,
their findings were submitted
through the Customs Collector at
the Customs port being examined.
On May 12, 1870, a Congressional Act established a Special
Agency Service, forerunner of today's Custcms' Office of Investigations. The prevention and
detection of fraud on Customs
revenue was included in its
assignmenl.
Recent history has witnessed
an increase in illicit trade in cultural property. Working with
INTERPOL—the International
Criminal Police Organization—
the Customs Cooperation Council, domestic and foreign police,
and other law enforcement agencies, Customs has participated in
the return of many art objects
stolen from the world's great museums. Customs also enforces
regulations restricting the importation of certain foreign artifacts,
thus protecting the cultural heritage of other countries.
As America has changed and
grown into a major world power,
the U.S. Customs Service has
kept pace, assuming broader and
more complex responsibilities,
constantly changing and modernizing its activities, idts tools, and
its approaches to the enormous
and important tasks assigned to
it.
Today, Customs investigators
delve into smuggling attempts,
fraudulent entry of merchandise,
undervaluation, cargo theft and
pilferage, neutrality violations,
and the illegal export of sophisticated technology to Soviet bloc
nations. Officers have authority
to search and make arrests and to
seize and confiscate smuggled or
prohibited articles.
12
1
E
Canine Enforcement Officer watches as his
dog sniffs out a vehicle during narcotics
search.
./ .1
Im
During drug smuggling simulation, airborne
"smugglers" drop bale of marijuana.
ljw
l
LI
Seized circuit boards and video games
violate both counterfeit and cop yright laws.
Drug smuggling has become
an increasing area of concern for
Customs. In an effort to lock arms
against international drug traffickers, the U.S. Customs Service
participates with olher federal
agencies in coordinated enforcement and interdiction efforts to
prevent marijuana, hashish, cocaine, heroin, and similar illicit
substances from entering the
country. In 1987, the Customs
Service was designated lead
agency, under the direction of the
newly created National Drug Policy Board, for narcotics interdiction. As drug smuggling has
re-emerged along certain U.S.
borders, notably Florida and the
Southwest, the Customs Service
has enlisted the assistance of
state and local law enforcement
agencies to stem the tide of riarcotics coming into the country.
Operation Exodus seizure: A VAX high-tech
computer bound for the Soviet Union.
RNOTPOOM
=
US. Customs Sen lcs Commuu..
Communications, Control and Intelligence
Center (C31), at March Air Force Base,
Riverside. California
Blue Lightning Operations Command
Center uses Tigh-technology tracking equipment to curb drug smuggling along the
Florida coast Other centers are located in
Houston and Gulf-Pon, They provide a
radar net along the entire Gulf and
Southeast Coast.
A Blue Thunder Customs high-speed
catamaran chases nautical smugglert.
_W
13
Black Hawk helicopter.
i
7.
*
......
19
1r
1
/
I
S-
-*
Along with manpower and poiicy initiatives, technology is also
being put in service of drug interdiction efforts as well as protecting public revenue. Technology
has not only helped to extend the
eyes and ears of personnel at
ports of entry, it has become a
major tool in managing all rational programs. New computer
systems are bringing Customs
closer to the paperless office. Inspectors use terminals to enter
work for data entry. An automated commercial system expedites the collection and
processing of cargo informatiori.
Similarly, automated systems
help brokers, Customs agents,
the enforcement community, and
ultimately, users, to perform a variety of functions. Services ranging from the assessment and
collection of user fees to obtaining
instant information on new or
changing import quotas, monitoring high-risk shipments, exchanging law enforcement
information nationwide—these
are just a few of the tasks that
computerization has helped to
speed up and simplify.
Or
Modern Customs aircraft the P--,!B AE IV
(airborne early warning) fights the war on
drugs,
CHET[ Customs high endurance tracking
aircraft
.
.
.,
•4iE,.
15
ji
Precisely because of the advantages technology delivers, certain
proscriptions exist regarding
high-technology exports to Soviet
bloc nations or to other governments hostile to the United
States. Under Operation Exodus,
begun in 1982, interceptions of
munitions and high-technology
cargo of immense strategic and financial value have been made.
Though exporters of these goods
often attempt to camouflage their
transactions by routing them
through "third-party" countries,
Customs seizures of illicit munitions and high-technology shipments have increased each year
since the program began.
The world is a different place
indeed than when Customs began
two centuries ago. Yet the same
beliefs for which our forebears
fought are still at issue—starting
with the belief that the dignity
which America represents will
continue only with a forthright,
steadfast protection of our independence.
Protect, secure, defend—that is
the U.S. Customs Service legacy
and its future.
SO*
Citation
Customs radar aerostadt located at Ft
Huachuca, Arizona, is one of several located
along the Southwest border. These aerostadts along with the BLOCC radar in
Houstoa, Gulf Port, and Miami will
provide a radar screen from California to
the East Coast of Florida.
T'
f1W4
16
: ..
••
'4 nation cannot exist without
revenue Destitute of this essential
support it must resign its ndependence and sink into the degraded
pos&tin of a province. This is an
extremity to which no government will
of choice accede. Revenue rherfore
must be had at all events'
- Alexander Hamilton
The Federalist
November 27, 178
A
Department of the Treasury
U.S. Customs Service
Public Information Division
Washington, D.C. 20229
Publication No. 534
Revised May 1989