Thomas County cat. [volume] (Colby, Kan.) 1885-1891, 1885-12-17

ment We are obliged to pay our own
car-tare. although when we are re-
CURED very late at night, or in very
bad weather, carriage is frequently
sent for us. We are often on duty far
away from home at meal times, and
on such occasions are compelled to
patronize the restaurants, which makes
quite an item in our expenses.
1--WE are given a percentage upon
| any cOntraband goods seized by us.
What makes these Government posi-
tons so much in demand is the abso-
lutte certainty of the pay and the al
most equal certainty that the employ
ment, once obtained, will be perman-
ent. There are eight only of us lady
inspectors in New York, and among
us we divide the work of inspecting
every vessel arriving on this coast, so
you may believe none of us are idle.
'lt would be dangerous for woman
to go alone at one or two o'clock in the
morning to some of the docks we have
to 60 to, therefore man is always sent
to take us to the vessel and accompany
us home again if we 60 back before
daylight. The most irksome part of
the duty of a lady inspector is that she
has never an hour that she may call
her own. She never dare make an APP
pointment to go out over an hour, or
60 to matinee, or even to church, for
fear that dispatch may arrive in her
absence telling her to be at such dock
to inspect a (named) vessel. In thirty
five minutes after receiving the tele-
gram she must be at the place indi-
Gated.
1--WE are rOwed out to the vessel, and
as in winter the weather is cold and
often stormy, the exposure is trying to
the health, and disagreeable task
even to the most robust. Nevertheless,
once a lady gets into berth in the GUS
tOm-hOuse-a most difficult thing to
accomplish-she stays. There are no
designations and very rarely death,
so that it may be said that there are
never any vacancies.
"A woman must be born detective
to make a good inspector. She should
know almost the first time she lays
eyes upon a lady whether or not she
has any Struggled goods in her posses
sion. Then, when it comes to search
ing woman, it requires great deal
of tact and delicacy to carry your point
and yet give no just cause for COM
plant. The firmness! dear me! Some
of them beg so hard not to be entirely
denuded that it would melt heart of
stone.
'What are usually secreted in lady's
dress? Oh, diamonds and other precious
stones. They conceal these everywhere
in the hair and in the paddings of the
dress; in the seams of the clothing and
in the shoes. They have shoes made
as if for large bunions, which they fill
with precious stones. The Italians are
natural born smugglers, and smuggle
coral chiefly. First and second-cabin
passengers smuggle by proxy now
more generally than in person.
'Steerage passengers are not re-
quired to declare their goods, so that
many people who want to smuggle
light but valuable goods like lace and
diamonds pay the passage over of a
Storage passenger on condition of his
or her getting through certain contra
band articles. 1t is rather risky, be-
cause the trusted person may walk off
with the goods, and the owner can not
recover them. or if he does, it is only
to have them nabbed by the custom
house officers, but there is less risk of
detection in the steerage than in the
cabin.
II remember an amusing incident:
A gentleman returning from Europe
brought back half dozen gold watches
as presents to his family. How to es-
cape paying duty on them tormented
his mind until he was nearing his ma
tive land. Having become we'll ac-
quainted during the voyage with six
gentlemen who had no watches. he
asked each one to wear watch until
he got ashore. They all consented.
Four of them brought the watches
ashore unchallenged by the officers,
but the other two vamOsed with the
watches, leaving the gentleman to
make the best of his loss.
Had he made any row or arrested
the thieves he would have betrayed
that he himself was trying to defraud |
the Government.
"Among the other accomplishments
of lady inspector must be a knowl-
edge of languages, unless she wishes to
be put to great inconvenience and con-
siderable expense in feeling interpret
ers. Immigrants arrive here from
every place under the sun. A lady
searcher has got to converse with them |
all. Among the steerage passengers a
knowledge of the various patois of a
language is as necessary as of the pure |
tongue itself. IN. y World.