Springfield globe-republic. (Springfield, Ohio) 1884-1887, 1886-11-20

formsrs-smugglIng Diamonds.
The day Of genuine .mugghng Ii gone
! The Smuggler OF the boys romance Of the
sea, who sailed in dark. suspicious looking
craft and had a cave hid somewhere far
away. where he StOred his goods and held
dark Conclaves at night. has passed away,
and there are those who believe h0 never
existed at all. But smuggling has not
stopped Only now they do not 60 in gangs
and sail th.ir own ships They do not wear
red shirts and cutiaSs,.S nowadays. They
arc entirely respectable people, ami 60 in the
best society They wear fine clothes and
diamonds, and are very friendly with tho
customs officers. The smuggling is now
done mostly by fashionable people who
travel and by business men.
We can never tell how much is DONE "
said a special agent OF the government to q
reporter Il have no doubt an immense
number Of things are landed without duty
lhero is no such thing band OF SNUG
glerS but nearly every steamer brings over
some contrahaud goods.
They are generally fine laces, millinery,
expensive tailor trimmings, and the like. A
great many business men go abroad with
trunks and bring them back full of these
things. They are very expensive, and many
thousand dollars worth can be brought over
in a very small space. Expensive feathers,
fine velvets and ribbons, laceS, silk braid
and trimmings of all sorts take up but little
space and are subject TO high duty. Some
times smugglers get caught We can't tell
how often they don't. Jewelry is smuggled
in to great extent, particularly diamonds.
Ill 4. =. IL.
country are smuSgled. We know that a
great quantity Of these gems are imported,
but we have never collected duty on many.
Such an immense value can be carried in so
small place that it is easy to evade the
customs officers. Ten thousand dollars
worth Of diamonds might be carried in
mans vest pocket. Who would think to
search him unless he was suspected of SNUG
gling' The customs officers can't search
everybody
But then" he added as if he feared he
offering too much encouragement TO vio-
latiOns of the customs, you must not think it
altogether a safe business. You might get
caught when You least expected. Men who
think they arc perfectly safe often fall into
trap. There are people who are always
ready to give information that will lead TO
the uncovering OF a smuggler. The govern
ment was warned by en- anonymous letter
not long since that certain party would sail
from Europe on certain steamer, and that
IL we would search him we would find dia-
nlondS We were OH the watch He was q
very Gentlemanly man Of fine appearance and
good address. He had only the ordinary lug
gage; was perfectly willing that it should be
searched. but was amused at the idea of being
suspected Of smuggling. The officers felt
rather cheap after fruitleSs search, and
were apoloGizing for the trouble they had
given him, when one of them picked up
cake of soap out of his dressing case. There
was nothing peculiar in the appearance Of the
soap, but when the officer handled il too
roughly it broke open and out rolled the Ittle
sparkling gems The inside OF the cake had
been followed out and $4,000 worth Of dia-
monds slowed away in the cavity. Had wo
not been notified he would have been per
fectly safe and got through as the others have
done But no man can be sure that he will
not be the one to be caught. Our informers
are everywhere. The government can give a
reward OF as much as half the value Of the
goods seized TO the informer. This is an in
ducement to many people to report any cases
Iuhb GOlIlc uIlutL lBtIE ubllte lUtT6 are
people constantly on the lookout on the other
side, and we are notified when TO look for
srnugglers. A great many patriotic citizens
have al antipathy for smugglers, and do. as
a matter of principle, report every one they
fnd. Preachers are particularly apt to do
this The cloth Is our best source OF informa-
ton People generally brag, on going
abroad. that when they return they will
bring so and so without duty We generally
hear of this and are on the lookout. Only
the other day a gentleman came to the Office
and informed me OF parties who were going
to bring over lot Of valuable things. He
did it merely because he hated smuggling.
GIVE THEM AWAY.
Their fellow passengers frequently give
them away. In coming over that way, all
crowded in close quarters, and away out al
sea, people become more confidential than
they would under ordinary circumstances,
and they tell each other what they have in
their trunks that will escape duty. Some
times man will give confidence in order, to
get it He will tel! how he is going to fool
the customs officers, and, like tho man with
the moist eye get the confidence Of others
who want to do the same thing OF course
be never has any contrahand goods himself
and he SEES that the rest don't get through the
custom house. Sometimes passengers get
mad with each other and turn informer out
Of spite. Women frequently do this. have
heard, too, OF information being given as
practical joke which afterward turned out
seriously.
But experienced smugglers," continued
the special agent, do Eot get caught thus,
They are generally known as dealers, and
their baggage Is very closely watched, but
they never make q confidant of any one
Tourists do much smuggling. They bring
presents 10 their friends and collect orna
ments and all sorts of things they can get
cheap abroad, and try TO slip them through
without duty. Many people do this without
knowing that they are violating the law.
They think that anything they do not intend
to sell Is not dutiable. With thousands Of
dollars worth Of things in their trunk, they
will swear that they have no dutiable goods
Their surprise is genuine when the goods are
seized. The question what constitutes a lady 5
or a gentleman's wardrobe is one that botherS
US much. In former years the station Of the
person was taken into consideration IL Il
very wealthy man had a dozen suits Of
clothes, lot of jewelry, and all sorts Of ex-
pensive toggery, it was considered nothing
more than his right. But for a man Of less
means to have so much made him an object
of suspicion, and he was liable to arrest for
smuggling. The same way with women A
rich woman in fashionable life could bring
over 100000 worth Of jewelry and dresses.
Though this was logical, inasmuch as it
might properly be presumed that one who
could not afford TO Wear such expensive tog-
gerry must be bringing it not for their own
use, yet it seemed an unjust discrimination
against the poor in favor Of the rich, and the
method had to be ebolished-W ashington
Star.
How Read BoOks-
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