Wheeling register. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1878-1935, 1883-03-23
IHE TARIFF ON woMENs TRUNKS.
How Customs Officers Dive Into tn
Mysteries of the Feminine Toilet.

How Customs Officers Dive Into the
Mysteries of the Feminine Toilet.
Ne,g York Times.
There is bride among the passed.
gers-a sweet thing, the soul of con-
scientiouSneSs. When the question,
Anything dutiable?" is propounded by
the matter-of-f fact customs officer to her,
she appeals to Harry, standing by her
side, with a confident You know"
''But really don't know, my dear. You
can tell better what's in your trunks
than can" from Harry. "Oh, but how
can tell" she continues in despair. AZ
don't know what is wanted. / have
some presents for friends; some little
things bought for myself, but
really / don't know" Would $50
cover the COST" This from the stat,
II think it would, but perhaps you had
better say 500" "All right, you will
swear to thai" ~ "Yes, but please wait
a minute; perhaps l ought to think
again before / swear. Oh, Harry, dear,
is there anything | have forgotten? 1t
would be so dreadful il | should swear
to lie. Let me see; after a minutes
calculation), yes; | really think $50 will
cover the utmost" When the bride
had vanished, the staff takes occasion
to remark that this is quite an excep-
tiOnal case. Usually" he continues,
81 much prefer man declaration to a
wOman's. As rule, you can't depend
much on women. They have no sense
of responsibility, and with most of
them the desire TO smuggle something
amounts to q mania"
TO the inspector the face is an open
bOOk-The feminine smuggler is caught
and she knows ii. Her cheeks glow as
if with fire, great drops of perspiration
stand on her forehead, her eyes have
the look of q frightened hare, and all
the while that wide-awake inspector is
getting deeper into the mysteries of q
young wOman's toilet. II is the GUS
toms for inspectors to pass rather lightly
over some articles, to make as little ado
about them as possible, because long
experience has taught them that women
have feelings about some things which
even a CustOm-houSe officer is bound to
respect. But this is no common case.
Duty is duty, business is business. Moth
idg must be sighted. Each article is
therefore, separately uafolded, carefully
felt over, held at arms length and re-
luctantly put aside.
Quite another picture is this: 1t is
brides trunk that is now undergoing
examination. Besides the inspector
there is a Deputy Appraiser present,
inasmuch as her declaration made it
certain there would be something for
him TO do. \ delicate perfume ascends
as the lid OF the trunk Is lifted. And,
as the examination proceeds, scarcely
a single article is displaced. Whatever
the mysteries of the toilet hidden in
that capacious receptacle they remain
so for the most part, for what Inspector
would not spare the bushes of a bride ?
\ glance informs the appraiser what
the value of any article IS, and
in twinkling he has prepared
a schedule, figured the cost at
! SIS lquite a shade below the sum to
which the lady was willing to make
declaration, the duty at Sl4 %, passed
her over to the collectors deputy, who
accepts the money, gives receipt there
for, anu the business is finished. 1t
may be remarked here that the GUS
toms officers seldom evince any dis
position to go behind the declaration.
Thus the articles on which the bride
paid duty were intended for friends, ac-
cOrding to her own declaration; had she
said they were her own, for personal
use, nearly all would have passed duty
free. One article, for example, was a
handsome fan, another a scarf pin,
another lace collar, &c. Some people
will speak Of her as lady, Others a
fool.