PART II
Picking up last month's exploration of Customs port operations at New York during the First World War ... we noted the United States had declared war on Germany and Austria-Hungary on April 6, 1917, and the Customs Intelligence Bureau (CIB) was established at the port on February 7, 1918.

The evolution of the CIB from the former War Port Squadron initially left the organizational leadership unchanged. The CIB staff at the time of establishment was composed of 100 inspectors and others from the office of the Surveyor, 100 employees from the office of the Appraiser of Customs, 10 from the office of the Naval Officer, and 50 from the Collector's office. Some men volunteered for duty, and others were detailed. After vigorous selective weeding-out eliminated those physically or temperamentally unfit for the work, the CIB emerged as a smoothly efficient enforcement organization.

The CIB was engaged in the actual enforce-ment of regulations issued by the Treasury Secretary, under authority duly vested in him through the Espionage Act. The Bureau did not create a new field of customs operations, but simply coordinated the port's diverse activities and extended them to meet war time conditions.

Organization
The CIB was headed by a Chief, and three Assistant Chiefs. There were nine operational units: Administrative, Information, Special Inquiry, Passenger Control, Marine, Seaman Control; and the Perth Amboy, City Island, and Rosebank Boarding Units.

Military-like sections were headed by a first and second lieutenant; then further divided into squads or platoons, consisting of a sergeant and seven corporals, or searchers. There was a separate cutter, or marine, section.

When in uniform, CIB members were not to salute each other. However, they were required to salute the National Colors, and whenever the National Anthem was played.

CIB headquarters was set up close to the action in the red brick Barge Office at the foot of Whitehall Street. Permanent headquarters for boarding officers were located at the Quarantine Stations located at Rosebank, on Staten Island, and Whitestone, Long Island.

CIB officers gather on the deck of the Customs cutter "Victory" on March 12, 1918. The cutter is docked in front of the Barge Office, where the CIB headquarters office was located. Note the armed patrol at upper left.

Stepped-up recruiting
The volume of work soon became overwhelming, and it was apparent the CIB could not continue working at optimum efficiency without an influx of new recruits. In April 1918, the Treasury Secretary authorized 300 temporary positions, with salaries set at $4 per day. Newspaper advertisements urged those men who were exempt from the draft, or in deferred categories, to "do their patriotic duty" and serve with Customs in protecting the Port of New York. Thousands responded. Each man was called before a committee and subjected to intensive questioning, followed by a thorough physical examination. Men who were fluent in more than one foreign language were especially desirable recruits.

The new hires came from a diverse range of academic achievement - from grammar school to university graduates. There were modern language translators, draftsmen, machinists, stenographers, trade artisans, chauffeurs, interior designers, policemen, lawyers, chemists, engineers, et al. And, there was a former boxer, whose physical presence and unfailing courtesy made him a valuable asset in maintaining order!

CIB officer at right - mustering out an incoming crew.

Diverse duties
The scope of CIB operations was extended to include the boarding and searching of vessels, verification of their stores, and control of departing passengers and seamen including the examination of their persons, effects, and documents. Further, the Bureau was charged with enforcing the Customs and Navigation Laws, and the prevention and detection of violations of any law or regulation encountered in the course of their port activities.

More specific duties included:

• Issuing certificates of citizenship to American seamen;
• Mustering crews of all incoming vessels, to establish their identity;
• Issuing identification cards to permit shore leave for crews;
• Guarding vessels to prevent persons from landing or boarding without permits;
• Visaing the passports of all persons departing from New York;
• Mustering crews of all departing vessels, to ensure there were no unauthorized persons on board;
• Before going down the Bay, officers assigned to Customs cutters called at the Information Unit, and received a set of suspect books to be used in checking crews, just in case such books were not ready for crew muster; and
• Surveillance of motorboats, tugs, and other small craft to prevent acts of sabotage.

Customs cutter "Victory" standing by vessel being searched, waiting for CIB officers to return down ship's ladder.

Uniforms
Soon after the Bureau was created, managers quickly noted the highest degree of efficiency could not be attained by a nondescript crowd in motley garb, with only a shield to identify their authority. The New York Collector consented to the officers being properly uniformed and equipped, however, he stipulated the force would have to personally foot the bill for their splendid new official finery! On June 1, 1918, the Treasury Department authorized a temporary increase in compensation of $120 per annum to enable the officers to purchase the required clothing and equipment.

Training
Organized along military lines, the CIB force was put through intensive training consisting of drills and lectures.

The drills, under a Customs officer who was also a National Guard Officer, were conducted on the roof of the Bowling Green Customhouse and in one of the local armories. There were setting-up exercises; formation and marching by squad and platoon; instruction and exercises in climbing wood, iron and rope ladders; as well as other tests of agility, such as was necessary in boarding and searching vessels, and the use of small firearms. Every officer was instructed in semaphore, or arm signaling, because communication between squads on vessels, Customs cutters, and shore was frequently impracticable by any other means.

Officer morale must have been high because a report stated the group showed "a most commendable spirit of the highest degree of loyalty"; ... they "cheerfully accepted assignment to the most arduous tasks, giving the best that was in them as their contribution to the Nation in the hour of its need"; ... and "though the large number of officers engaged in this operation were warned of the facts and atten-dant dangers, not a man flinched."

Casualties
Incident to the unusual hazards entailed by required activities, there were several casualties among the members of the force. One searcher died from injuries received by falling down a hatchway of a ship. Several succumbed to disease caused by exposure and what had been thought to be minor injuries.

During the epidemic of 1918, many CIB searchers contracted influenza - and several died. An example of such hazardous duty occurred while searching the crew's quarters of the S.S. Bergensfjord, where scores of the men were found to be infected. The search necessitated contact with the crew and their germ-laden effects over a period of 14 hours, all the while a steady procession of ambulances conveyed the ship's passengers and seamen to various New York hospitals.

The war ends
With the signing of the armistice on November 11, 1918, hostilities ceased. The CIB's out-standing contribution to the war effort was valued so highly that special commendations were received from the Secretary of War and the Secretary of the Treasury.

The Bureau remained on active duty until July 7, 1919, when the temporary officers were mustered out and awarded discharge certificates that were quite similar to those granted to members of the Armed Forces.

It is evident close bonds of friendship and esprit de corps were forged during the brief tenure of the CIB at the Port of New York.

Next month we will complete this historical overview by looking more closely at the CIB uniform, as well as a touching handmade tribute to a squad leader by the officers of one of the sections under his command.

References: United States Customs Service War Work -- Organization and Activities, Port of New York 1914-1919; Customs Today/May-June 1969; official reports, correspondence and papers of the period. The photographs are from the collections maintained in the Customs Archives.