The Providence news. (Providence [R.I.]) 1891-1906, 1893-11-29
CHEATING CUSTOMS.
IARIOUS WAYS or DEALING WITH
THE INSPECTORS.

Near''-At the Ports Of Some Foreign
Countries--CostlyT Tobacco In France.
On tee promenade deck of an Atlantic
steamer westward bound, one often sees
gronps Of passengers cn3ased in coaversa-
tion OF apparently more thaa ordinary C,rav-
ity The same Is noticeable in the smoA ing
saloon aad tween decks Certain charac-
teristics of such conferences unmi3takably
betray their subjects. Old ocean travellers
say they can tell II at glance They would
rluch sooner take chances on guessing
Alright in such a case than the pools on the
ships run, for there is certain wistful
pccring into the future about It, mixture
Of nervous apprehension aud bravado that
Il always present. Once correctly dag
nosed tho symptoms seldom fail. In such
N conversational group It's 10 to its mem
bers are anticipating their experiences in
the customhouse
On the eastward trip the subject Is of lit
tie Importance People carry little to the
other side, and the search at English ports.
at least, is not very rigorous. Bound for
an American port, however, the case is
vastly different. The trunks below are
! filled with bric-a-brac and treasures from
fascinating aggregations of pretty things
| in European stores, and IL becomes the try
| ing question OF the moment how the Gus
toms officers shall he passed.
! IL is inevitable that some such advice as
this will be heard: Put IS bill in an en-
velope and lay il on the top of the trunk
| which you intend to have first opened See
! that that particular trunk Is the first one
! TO be examined. Then when the officer lifts
the cover he will see the envelope, and with
the remark, Pm glad to see you know the
usages OF this port, will pocket it and put
his hieroglyphics on your baggage without
any further trouble"
A very sensible little pamphlet distrib-
uted on most of the north Atlantic steam
ers gives this advice: Don't attempt to
meddle with the customs inspectors. It
don't pay"
Nevertheless il is one of the commonest
things aboard ship to hear asseverations of
such things being done, and that it is ex-
pected by customs inspectors Peculiar
difficulty is encountered in pinning such
statement down to a credible basis OF
fact, however, and it is undoubtedly trueof
most persons coming to United States
ports that they neither bribe nor attempt
10 do so.
A fnirly creditable story Of New Hamp-
shire man is told, apropos Of the bribe the
olSs tuc pOpuidE VI HIS ndtlVe
place, he was one of those kind of men
who habitually are "little near"-that is,
penur:ous He was rich and had become
so by saving Shrewdness on the side of
economy was his financial system 1t was
told of him that, having bought 81 street
car tickets for 81, he would sit mt the head
of the car and when the B cent fares were
passed up from hand to hand he would
pocket the money and put tickets in the
cashbox. Thus he would make cents on
every dollars worth Of tickets The story
has been told Of a good many besides the
New Hampshire man, but it serves just as
well to illustrate this individuals charac-
ter.
He was bound in to New York from
Cuba. When he went on shore he followed
in the wake of a man who, as alleged,
slipped bank bill into the hand of the
inspector, saying, 'I've got quite a guam
tity OF cigars here, and / am anxious to get
an early train home to"--
"All right" the inspector Is alleged to
have replied, and, chalking the mans bag
gage, he went on his way rejoicing.
The New Hampshire man had observed
the affair, and, approaching the same in
spector, he said, "Pve got about the same
quantity Of cigars that man had; I'm in
just about as much hurry as he, but /
haven't any money" The story goes that
his luggage was passed quite as perfume
torily as that OF his predecessor, and that
be took the train for the Granite State, con
graduating himself that New Hampshire
Yankee is as good as New York customs
inspector any day.
Whatever the facts may be, there is an
impression quite generally prevalent on the
9TH ia hot t,,,t i,,I I;~g~ Al
sented obviaies annoyance at the custom
houses on this side very materially. Such
opinions, however, have usually come TO
the speaker second hand. He has not
learned the fact Of personal experience. A
careful observation Of the operations, es-
pecially at New York, where by far the
larger portion of passengers from Europe
are landed, strengthens an impression to
the contrary Of the above opinion. There
is certainly no port on the other side where
a disagreeable duty is performed with
greater courtesy or with more apparent
honesty than in New York. There is moth
ing in the looks or behavior of the men to
suggest corruption. Their work Is certain
ly performed more thoroughly than at any
frontier in Europe, save possibly that of
Russia. The search is made quietly, intel
ligently and with much patience and tact.
Across the water the customs regulations
do not greatly bother the average traveller
At British port he Is asked If he has any
thing to declare, ond his luggageis exam
ined in a most perfunotory manner. Liq-
uor ard reprints Of English books are
mostly sought At French and Italian from
hers ''les donaniers' ask for "tabac." The
temptation to take tobacco into thesc coun-
tries is very strong In both countries the
government holds monopoly Of the man
utacture and sale of tobacco. Havana ci-
Gars are obtainsblc in Paris ut enormous (
prices, but pipe tobacco, the good old Vir.
giaia leaf thar Americans like, is unobtain-
able for love or money.
The French government permits half
pound 60 be brought in If declared. But II I
one is caught smuggling duty of IA francs /
per pound Ia levied, and fine of several
times toe value of the'goods may be iDflct.
ed. A brign. Ame.icsn, who should have
known better, recently undertook to snug
gle quantity Of h's favor.te brand of pipe
by hiding it in his shoes in his