Wood County reporter. [volume] (Grand Rapids [i.e. Wisconsin Rapids], Wis.) 1857-1923, 1891-03-12
How Sharp Diamond Merchant Sue
ceeded in Battling the Custom
House Officials.
His Cunning Effectually Deceived the
Most Experienced Officers for
Long Time.
He is Caught.at Last and Tells How
he Outwitted the
Detectives.

| persons WHO 10 nOU MAKE d business OF
violation of the revenue laws
AS is generally well known, the customs
inspectors making seizures of dutiab lie
goods are entitled to rewards for their
work. These rewards vary with the vaIu
ations made by the official appraisers.
Not many years ago the average annual
income of an inspector from this source
far exceeded the amount paid as his salary.
But at present the custom house inspector
like the Wall street commission broker,
replies, when airsone asks him how he is
getting along, We'll, things are pretty
dull. | am eking out living, but the re
is nothing in the business any more.
wonder if the good old times will ever
come again?''
CHANGED to meet a few nights ago a
well known member of the Collector S
staff, who was an inspector when Chester
A. Arthur was collector and who returned
to his old place under Colonel Erhardt
He was surrounded by group Of customs
inspectors in an uptown cafe, and all were
| bewalllng the fact that there was much
less money now in Uncle Sans service for
the boys than there was ''in the good old
days. Major Blank agreed entirely with
the general sentiment.
BIG SEIZURES OF THE PAST.
"Why," said he, from 1868 to 1878 we
had seizure of considerable consequence
almost every week, and if we did not get
two or three rich seizures every month we
did not consider that we were doing any
business at ALL"
Il think the cieverest man who ever
gave us a long chase to catch him was a
French Jew who devoted himself en- tirely
! to smuggling diamonds. The man was
worth many thousands of dollars. He
could have retired from business and
spent the remainder of his years in ease
and luxury, or he could have established
a big legitimate business and carried it
On successfully. But he has made his
money in this way. There was an i'm
mense profit in the sale of the smugged
| brilliants, and as he had been uniformly
successful he preferred to remain a
smuggler. If there ever was a man who
made smuggling a fine art it was this fell
low. He was just in the prime of life and
was as shrewd and clever as any man |
ever came In contact with. We were sure
he was engaged in smuggling. His trips
to France and back were too frequent for
a man who was engaged In a legitimate
i business
1--WE searched him time and again. but
nothing was found either in his trunks or
on his person. Finally we made up Que
minds to have him watched in Paris The
collector put himself in communication
with the United States minister at the
French capital, and few weeks later re-
celved letter from the late E. B. Wash
burn, who was then our minister to
FranGe, informing him that he had had
our man watched and that he had been
purchasing large quantities of diamonds
The minister stated that, from informa-
ton brought to him, the value of the gems
was close to a quarter of million dollars
Soon after we received cablegram
telling US that our man had sailed with
his stock of precious stones. Did we feel
good? Well, now, do you know the CON-
mission on that seizure would make mary
a man consider himself rich? Our trap tc
catch Mr.. Smuggler was complete. At
least we thought it was. We sent three
specially instructed inspectors down the
bay to meet the steamer. As soon as they
boarded her they spotted our man, and
they never took their eyes from him till
the boat reached her dock. The moment
the gangplank was put in position two OF
our men walked up to the suspected man,
| slapped him on the shoulders and in
! formed him that he was a prisoner
THERE WAS NOTHING THERE.
HE demonstrated, but they told him
they knew their game and he must come
along. Well, sir, we spenv the greater
part of day searching that fellow. We
stripped him. We ripped open his cloth
ing. We searched every nook and crevice
in his trunks, but not single stone did
we find. The three disguised inspectors
simultaneously said 'd-n, and | Joined
in the chorus. We were sure he had the
diamonds still, but we had nothing on
which to detain him. The impudent
rascal put his finger to his nose and saun.
tered away and remarked, You fellows
thought you were smart, didn't your?
Two weeks later we learned that our
prisoners agents here had literally flood.
ed the market with very valuable and
he had gotten the best of US. [ stayed
awake nights trying to imagine how he
did it, but was forced to give up.
''ln less than three months our man
again appeared upon the scene. This time
he was given away by one of his partners
on the other side. The collec or received
ali anonymous letter from Paris telling him
just how the smugger proposed to oper
ate. The fellow had cheated him, the
writer of the letter said, but even then he
would not have given him away but fol
the fact that besides cheating him he had
persuaded his sweetheart to leave him
and this was treachery that he could not
forgive. When your man gets into port,
the letter said, he will feign illness. On
his back he will have a big plaster, put
there of course, as he will tell you, by the
ships surgeon Take off this plaster and
inside of it you will find 40 large and
valuable stones. In short time the
smuggler arrived and again we made him
prisoner. He acted exactly as the letter
stated he would act, and when some one
touched him in the back he WINGED as il
IN terrible pain. We were ready for his
acting, however, and soon had his coat
and shirt off. There was the plaster, and
beneath 1t the inspectors found 40 glitter
ing gems, just as the letter stated they
would The man was hustled OFF to the
Ludlow street Jail and the diamonds sent
to the appraiser.
| INSPECTORS FOILED AGAIN.
1--WE were all jnbilant, and the chief In
spectOr who had made the seizure, went
home and told his wife what beautiful
sealskln sacque he was gong to buy her
The next day when l reached my office the
first thing reached for was a big envel
ope from the appraiser. containing state
ment Of the Value of the diamonds. we
had varlouslv estimated them the Gay be,
fore at from $50 COO to 800, 900. When
opened the envelope and read the official
apprai~ement you could have knocked me
over with feather. This Is what he said
The forty mine diamonds you sent for ap,