Green-Mountain freeman. [volume] (Montpelier, Vt.) 1844-1884, 1877-05-30
New York Letter.
CRIME AMONG WOMEN -SMUGGLING-THE
GAMBLERS-THE END OF TILDENlSM-
THE WEATHER.

New York Letter.
CRIME AMONG WoMEN-SMUGGLING THE
GAMBLERs-THE END OF TILDENIsM-
THE WEATHER.
NEW YORK, May &c, 1877.
CRIME AMONG WOMEN.
/ The removal of sixty-eight female con-
victs from the prison at Sing Sing, to the
Brooklyn Reform Prison was a curious and
instructive sight. When n woman does
get bad she is as much worse than man
rs possible. The women were marched to
boat and their profanity was something
wonderful. Their first exploit was an at
tempt to drown an obnoxious officer,
which they nearly succeeded in doing, and
they sailed away singing the most horrible
travestes of the most sacred hymns. One
woman of sixty, named Elkins is the
mother of eight children, all of whom are
Mt this time in prison, and there has never
beena time since the youngest was ten that
five ofthem have not been in confinement at
the same time. The old lady was, in her
youth u pickpocket, and the most skillful
one in the city, but of late years her fingers
lost their nimbleness, and she has confined
her attention to shop-lifting. The little
freedom of the boat, reused all the old en-
thusasm. How l wish | was out" she
said. Couldn't | work the second floors
of the stores on Sixth Avenue, where there
amt but one clerk It's too bad. And
the old harridan sighed to think of the
opportunities she was missing. One beau
tiful girl of not more than twenty-five,
belonged to one of the best families in the
city. She fell in love with Il moustached
pickpocket, who married her, her family
cut her off, she became an adroit thief
herself, and went down, us women do,
like a shot. She became abandoned, and
utterly reckless, her family count her as
dead, and she is one Of the worst and most
unruly of the prisoners. Another is II
woman of good connections, who is con-
firmed kleptomaniac. She was well enough
Oft, having husband in u good business,
who was very liberal to her. But she
could not avoid theft. She would steal the
most useless articles, things that she could
not Use, and that were of no possible ac-
count to her. Shop-keepers dreaded to
see her come into their places, for it be-
came necessary to detail clerk to watch
her, and even then, so expert had she be-
come, that she would get away with plum
der. She was arrested Il great many times,
and was saved from punishment by her
husband going to the expense of saving
her every day or two. Finally it broke
him up, and he was compelled to let the
law take its course. She continued her
operations in the prison She would Sc
crete needles, threads, dishes from the
table, food that she could not use, every
thing that could be concealed and carried. |
1t is an incurable madness, and she would |
be better in an insane asylum, although in
all other respects she is perfectly sane.
The others had histories, but there were
siXty-eight of them.
SMUGGLING.
Women have been for many years in
the habit of smuggling laces, silks &C.,
but it is only recently that men have tried
the smuggling of wearing apparel. The
lannon's London tailor Poole, made an ar
with the officers of Il Cunard
steamer, to get goods through without
paying duties, and then sent man here to
canvass for orders. Without paying duty
he could undersell the Broadway tailors,
and besides the swells never consider
dressed till they have Il pair of
Poole's pantaloons. The New York tailors
got wind of it, and were ready for the
Cunarder when it landed The detectives
spotted and seized thirty suits of clothing,
the most of them for the best.known men
in the city The extent of smuggling is
little understood. There is house in the
city in the book-trade, who have n print
ing establishment just across the line, near
Rouse's Point, in Canada 1t is in the
woods and remote from everything. The
II successful American book
makes its appearance, it is stereoyped,
printed and bound on the other side of
the line, and carried to the nearest station
by the thousand, and sold at prices that no
American publisher can compete with,
for they have no copyright to pay, and
their labor and material are cheaper.
Some of our best-known authors have
been nearly ruined by this smuggling of
Canadian printed books. The smuggling
of cigars from Cuba is 4 very large trade,
The incoming vessel having cigars on
which no duty is TO be paid, displays Il
peculiar signal when approaching the
shore, and she is boarded by men from
small boats, who take off her cargo and
land it on the coast anywhere. Or the
cigars are packed in oil-cloth, and when
-he vessel is coming up the bay the captain
throws them overheard to the boat making
The proper signal. Liquors come down
Lake Champlain, and over the great lakes,
md find their way to the city, duty free.
1t is an immensely profitable business, and,
50 long is our frontier attended with very
little risk.
TIE GAMBLERS
IRE having Il bad time of it in New York.
The law against pool-sellng is being rig
IDLY enforced, and Senator Morrisey, Mr..
Tilden's friend, has moved his establish.
nent to Jersey City, just across the river,
md the others have followed suit. All
The pool houses have gone over there,
much to the delight OF the ferries for that
part of the gambling fraternity whose
business is betting on horses and basel
70 over every night And, as the Jersey
ties are attempting to put their laws in
force, the booksellers have fitted up barres.
which they anchor out in the stream. be-
rond the jurisdiction of both states; and
herein they not only sell pools, but they
indulge in faro and similar pursuits. The
aw seems powerless TO prevent men from
making fools of themselves when they
ret their heads set in that direction.
THE END OF TILDENISM.
Tilden has announced that he will not
contest the claim of President Hayes to
his Office, because it would be likely TO
french the country in gore" The fact is,
he old man has had the best lawyers of
he country ut work ever since the decis-
on against him, to ascertain if there was
not some hole through which he might
crawl into the presidency. Last week
hey announced to him that HAYES claim