Arizona weekly enterprise., 1889-08-17
OCEAN BUNCO STEERERS.
PEOPLE WHO ACT AS lNFORMERS
 UPON SMUGGLERS.

They Make Good Thing Out of It,
 Though tie Calling Is Rather Con-
 temptible-Merchants Who Put a Fly |
 in Their Rivals Coffee.
 There are scores of men and women i'll this city who make large income every l year by acting as informers upon snug glers. Sometimes they take trip to Europe themselves. They are generally well supplied with money, and to the majority of their acquaintances their source of income is a mystery.
 For years past it has been the policy of the government, through the secretary of the treasury, to award 25 per cent. of the value received from the sale of smuggled articles to the party who dis covered the smuggler, or who gave in- formation leading to such discovery.
 It is estimated that in this manner the government pays out the sum of 5000 6 year.
 BETRAYING FRIENDS.
 In some cases the special deputy offi- cers employed in the custom house are given percentage of the seizures which they make, and this is the principal req son for their vigilance toward incoming passengers, which has in many cases been very offensive.
 The stewards and stewardesses of near ly all the big steamships are among the most active informers, and they ire quently make lot of money through it.
 "They have not the slightest compunc- tion in betraying their best friends, said special agent. "They make a practice of finding out which of the passengers have diamonds, or silks and satins, or other valuable articles that they hope to smuggle through, and to these they inti- mate that smuggling is the easiest thing in the world. As soon as the vessel ar- rives the informer rushes to a special agent with the information, and the would be smuggler loses his or her goods as result of listening to the talk of the tempter. There is not a trip made by oneof the great atsteamships when this does not occur. An exception was noted the other day when the stewardess of one of the French line vessels was herself caught smuggling, and goods valued at S1,000 were taken from her."
 Milliners and tailors do not hesitate to turn informers in order to get rival
 into trouble, although they do not often
 ask for share of the reward.
 "We often receive cable from Paris
 reading: Look out for milliner Miss
 Smith on Etruria,'" said the special
 agent, Cor some similar wording. The
 cable is sent by some rival milliner who
 knows that Miss Smith Is to sail on the
 Etruria, and that the chances are ten tc
 one that she will endeavor to smuggle ir
 a trunkful of gewgaws with which tc
 ornament her stock of headgear. Pool
 Miss Smith seldom learns how the GUS toms officers learned of her attempt while her stealthy rival probably comes
 in on the following steamer and escapes
 through the lines without suspicion being
 attached to her."
 American tailors and cloth importer who visit England for goods are inveter , ate informers upon their rivals in busi ness, and most of the tips upon whicl the special agents act are cabled acros , by some anonymous sender who does no care for the reward, but who wants t
 get rival into the meshes of the custom house.
 "Jewelers stick together better thar
 any other class of men who smuggle, said customs official yesterday. "It
 rare indeed that one jeweler will inforn upon another, and when one is caugh smuggling the others flock around hin in sympathy, and sometimes conlb lbine t make good his losses"
 l There are several professional inform CTS who make it their business to trave
 almost constantly on the ocean steamers
 where they lure amateur smugglers int their net
 These men are well dressed and pos : as business or professional men wh l have been abroad on vacation. On the voyage from Liverpool one c them makes himself agreeable to tn men on board, and as the steamer near :, New York he boasts of his ability smuggle anything through the custor U house, from diamond pin to an elt = phant.
 s II always do it." he exclaims, cor T fdently. "I never make a Europea U trip without bringing back several hur U ' dred dollars worth of goods free ( U duty"
 , Then he urges his friends to mako th ,. attempt also, and one or two at leas 'S always do so.
 U Of course they are caught, while tt .o gentlemanly informer makes the pric , of his passage and considerable spendin -s money as the result of his work. 'l Such informers are well known to tf 'S J custom house people, who designat ~ them as "ocean bunco steerers." q No attempt is made by the steamshi ,e u authorities to prevent the work of u Il Il informers, some of whom pick out iS good steamer upon which to emplc . their talents, and practically live f. n l' years upon it.-New York Journal.