144 Urdahl—Historical Survey of Fee Systems. 
should not have been extended to all the other officers con¬ 
nected with the customs service, specially since action to this 
effect had been repeatedly recommended by the secretaries of the 
treasury. 1 
The tariff law of 1890, known as the McKinley bill, 2 abolished 
ail fees exacted for oaths except so far as provided in the act 
itself. It also placed all officers on salaries equal to the amount 
of fees which each would have been entitled to receive for his 
services during the year. This was a step in the right direc¬ 
tion, but only a very small one, as the salaries were left just as 
indeterminate and unclassified as ever. 
C. LICENSES TO VESSELS. 
In 1864 a new standard was adopted for estimating the fee or 
charge for each permit or license to vessels, in that the fee was 
was made to vary from twenty-five cents to one dollar, accord¬ 
ing to the tonnage of the vessel. Fees for permits to vessels 
belonging to foreigners were fixed higher than those of citizens 
of the United States. Then came an act in 1871 fixing the li¬ 
cense fee at twenty-five dollars for a vessel of one hundred tons 
burden, and charging five cents extra for each ton over that 
limit. The same change is noticeable in the fees which were 
allowed for measuring vessels. 3 Similar standards are applied 
to boat inspection fees. The first law 4 on this subject was en¬ 
acted in 1838, and fixed a fee of five dollars for the inspection 
of any vessel, and the same for each boiler inspection. In 1852 
vessels were divided according to tonnage into four classes 5 
ranging from one thousand tons to less than one hundred and 
twenty-five, the fees varying from thirty-five to twenty dollars. 
This schedule remained in force up to 1884, when inspectors 
were paid salaries; and the fees, which were fixed at ten dollars 
for a vessel of less than one hundred tons and fifteen cents extra 
for each additional ton, were collected for the treasury. 
1 Report on Collection of Duties, Secretary Manning, 1895. 
2 Statutes , U. S., 131, sec. 22. 
3 Acts , 1790, Ch. 34, sec. 44; and 1864, Ch. 83, sec. 45. 
4 Statutes at Large , 1838, V, 304. 
5 Statutes , U. S., 1852, V, 73. 
