The Opelousas courier., 1888-01-21
FEMALE SMUGGLERS.
How Their Baggage is Inspected
in New York.
Twenty-Five Business Women
Who Serve Uncle Sam.

ing the morning meal and the mighty
army of beings in trousers is about to
resume the well-worn pathway of its
daily avocations, a score and two comedy
women trip briskly through the shaded
walbe of the Battery Park and enter the
big do Drway of the new Barge Office.
The little troop are custom inspectors.
They arc dressed for work and pretty
and bright-eyed, as some of them are,
all wear the plain clothing and stout,
broad-heeled shoes that are suitable and
comfortable in the performance of their
duties.
The "Inspectresses, as they are dcs-
ignated mthe Civil List, get So a day
and, under the system devised by Sur
veyor Beattie, their labors have been of
practical benefit to the government.
Their duties consist of examining the
baggage of the women who arrive from
foreign parts and very often Of searching
the persons of the women who
are suspected of attempting to
defraud the revenue by secret
ing dutiable goods. These latter exam
nations are made in little rooms IN Che
steamship wharves provided for the pur-
pose. In these days of big busties and
Tower of Pisa hats the inspectors of
women's wiles are kept busy. -
Women were first appointed Inspectors
in June, 1861. They were then known
as temporary aids. There were only
two, namely, Sarah A. Genet and Mary
E. Wadham. At first the duties of these
two inspectors consisted in looking for
contraband letters. For instance, when
the Great Eastern made her second trip
to this country the passengers were sus-
pected of bringing information to the
Confederates, aud the two official wo-
men were sent down the bay in a small
boat to board the Great Eastern and ex-
anime the letters and papers of the fe-
male passengers. In August, 1862, Ru-
fus F. Andrews, then Surveyor of the
Port, appointed two more temporary
aids, and raised the wages from So to
So. so a day. The number was gradually
increased till 1867, when nine of them
at So a day had been appointed. 1t was
about this time that the official title in.
spectress wasbestS5wed upon them. The
inspectressos were permitted to remain
at their homes, and reported for duty
only when summoned by telegraph.
They had to pay Tor the kilograms.
Subsequently the Government paid fol
the kilograms, but the inspectresses were
still permitted to remain at their homes
until sent for. This system prevailed
until Surveyor Beattie took the chair.
Inspectrcsses, like other women, like
to shop and visit, kilograms will some
times go astray, and frequently the in
spectresses did not get to the wharve'
until after the passengers had beer
landed and had gone away. No RECORD
was kept of assignments to duty OF o
the rerformance of an assigned duty I'm
less a seizure was made.
Surveyor Beattie was in doub
whether all the inspectresses should b.
! dismissed, or whether he should increas'
their duties and adopt asystem to which
they could conform, similar to tina
governing the male inspectors. It wa
| decided that the large number of womel
travelling without escorts on the oceal
steamers required sharper looking ate
than ever. The Surveyor, through
Collector Magone, applied to the Secre
tary of the Treasury for authority to in
crease the force. The Secretary ap
proved, and after twelve women hat
answered some civil service question
the force was increased to twenty-five
| Their names:
On June 23rd last, when the new ap
pointments had been confirmed, Sur
veyor Beattie swept aside the old tradi
tions of the office and ordered all tn
| inspectresses to report daily for duty a
the Barge Office, part Of them al
o'clock in the mosrnning and the other
at 9 o'clock. They are relieved fron
Guty at 4 o'clock in the afternoon, un
less & steamship is reported that vii
pass Quarantine before shutdown. 1
that event q contingent Of tho inspec
tresses is detailed to the steamship
wharf. The inspectresses have specia
apartments in the Barge Office, whic
are under the immediate charge Of Mrs
williams. While not on duty they sew
read novels or study. Some of ther
are studying French and German
Nearly all are beyond the type writin
and stenogaphy age, but all are work
ers. Mrs. Williams and several Of he
associates are expert teIegraphers, an
have charge of q direct wire to quarar
tine.
Il complete record, is kept Of the tim
when they report for duty, the vesse'
TO which they are assigned, the nlmbe
Of pieces of baggage they examine, th
amount Of duties they collect, and th
seizures made either from the baggae
Or from the person, and IN all 9TH
respects the same system that govern
.u.sa - ri