The Seattle post-intelligencer. [volume] (Seattle, Wash. Terr. [Wash.]) 1888-1914, 1893-04-19
And He Jammed It in the
Mouth Of : Mogul Officer.
INCIDENT ON CHINA STEAMER.
Collector Wasson Has Difficulty in
Enforcing Orders ct Tacoma.
The Treasury Dspertas1t Notifies HIN
Not 70 Psrm1s Chinese e Land Tul
1Asy HAVE Proven TAsis Right - Be
Aanittod.

TAconA, April 1A-[special. + Customs
officers and the officers of the Northern
Pacific steamer Mogul fought this after
noon, and . revolver was drawn aud
jammed into the iEst officers mouth, but
Inspector Coblents, who held the gun. did
not pull the trigger. % no one was shot.
But Coblents. while in . passion, resulting
from his encounter with the officers, noti-
lied the captain of the Mogul and his off,
GERS that he would pull his gun and use it
on any one of them who interfered with
him in the discharge Of his duties - .
government officer. The Mogul's load of
Cinnamon Was the cause of the whole
trouble. There are two sides to the story,
40 usual.
In the first place. Inspector Coblents be-
lieves that . certain clique interested in
landing Cinnamon in the United States
are here in full fcrcs. and that they were
trying to get their mon aboard the Mogul
to instruct the Cinnamon how to answer
questions aud the like. At any rate, an
order has been issued to allow none of the
interested parties aboard during tho ex-
animation. Of the Cinnamon for admission
to the United States. During the after
noon Coblentz had removed from the
Mogul v. Il. Moore, Of Portland, who
registers from california. Coblentz be-
lleved Moore was coaching the Cinnamon.
and he also has reasons to believe that
Moore was interested in landing
Cinnamon, because he claims to have
located certain papers incriminating
Moore and others in smuggling. The
papers were lost by Moore ct hotel here
and Coblentz now AYERS that they are in
the hands of Bob Ehman. Ehman denies
possession or knowledge Of the papers and
Moore. it is said, will swear out search
warrant to secure the papers from Bob.
OF course, there srs any amount of rumors
a. to the contents of the papers lost by
Moore, some even intimating that they
implicate government officials high and
low in smuggling. Others 60 20 far ~ to
give the exact amounts of divvies paid out
by the smugglers, the amounts ranging
from $500 to a 400 year. Nothing Of
this nature ID proved and on such reports
coming to Collector Vasson's ears. he
promptly ordered it reduced to writing be-
fore he could consider it.
Coblentz had been aroused by what he
considered frauds on the government, and
u00 uV oC0it0tAOo AR 08UUb0k 6UO RBI t1SO
he believed t0 be- interested when he
caught them aboard tho Mogul. He was
in that frame of mind today when tho
first officer of the Mogul appeared on tho
gang plank with two men. Inspector
Leonard, small man. told them they
could not come aboard. At this tho
ships officer gave orders to those with him
not to pay any attention to the govern
ment officers, and to come aboard. Leon
ard attempted to intercept them, and the
officer with several Cinnamon surrounded
him. Coblentz sprang to the rescue,
knocking down . Chinaman in his way,
and finally reaching Leonard, and in the
scrimmage with the officer and his friends,
whom Coblentz believed were coal beavers,
he drew his gun, iamming it into the ofi-
GERS mouth.
At this the officer backed away and mott.
fed the captain and a great pow-wow
resulted. the captain asserting himself to
the extent of stating that it was . curious
pass to come to when his first officer could
not invite friend or two aboard his own
ship. The captain was wrathy, of course,
and so was Coblentz. But the latter did
not believe it right for petty Mogul officers
to interfere with government officials.
while the former deemed it an outrage to
treat his men as proposed. The upshot of
the trouble was the reversal Of the order
under which Leonard and Coblentz acted.
and tonight when a Posr-INTELLIGKNCER
reporter went aboard the Mogul no ques-
tlons were asked, not even when he
chatted with the Cinnamon in tho dark
about the prospects of their getting ashore.
Realizing that he Is going TO be criti-
cized if he is too liberal or too conservative.
Collector Wasson is trying to hit the
happy medium As far as details are con.
cerned, and therefore he did not insist upon
visitors being kept OFF the Mogul. Cob
lentz left the Mogul when this decision
went into effect and it is not expected that
he will return. Indeed. it is expected that
he will shortly resign unless he thinks diff.
ferently on account of today's rumpus.
The Northern Pacific officers seem to
think that Collector Wasson is trying to
iniure their line of steamships, and some
Tacomans accuse him of trying to give the
town black eye. To ali this Mr.. Wasson
refers to his orders and says he is doing
nothing more than obeying them. Be-
cause the orders for admitting Cinnamon
at Portland or San Francisco are less rigid
he is not to blame. as he did not make or
issue orders.
He is admitting about one ont of three
OF the 272 Cinnamon aboard the Moeul. nm
to midnight nearly 200 having been exam
ined. The burden Of questions ara re.
garding localities in the cities where the
Cinnamon claim to have previously re.
sided. The Northern Pacific officials deem
these questions, some of them, too diff.
cult, holding that some of them would
puzzle men who have resided long time
IN any city. For instance it Is held that
Wasson excluded on previous examina-
ton four Portland Cinnamon who were
born in that city. Papers have now been
secured identifying these men and they
will be admitted. A disinterested party
says:
have watched these Examinations eIose,v
and wssson seems 10 be smsrIiug q little too
much under adverse criticism and IL inclined tn
be oyer-nice on points invo. we'd. II il evident.
however, that he desires 20 do the right thing.
After all this trou bic il is expected hv ,boss
fsh,ing the alleged smuggling ring ira, there
will ba less trafic In Cinnamon. Ii Ia be-
lieved that too ulsny are watching, etc But a
y, is, the Northern Pacific steamship pconle ara
convinced that the manner of exarnina,ion 9.
imposing hardships both on that COMPANY and
the Cinnamon
The Chinese actors will be examined to.
morrow, the Mogul being delayed to ALLOW
the examinations to be concluded. Col
Efhnger, their attorney, will, as . last re-
sort, arrange for habeas corpus proceed.
ings by telegraph to Spokane. where Judge
Hanford's district court is. One of the ru-