Daily independent. [volume] (Elko, Nev.) 188?-1915, 1893-07-18
SMUGGLING IN THE NAVY.
Officers and Men Strongly Tempt
ed to Break tho Revenue Laws
Having Many Opportunities to Obtain
Curlos Abroad, They Very Naturally
Want to Bring Thorn Home but
Arc Requlred to Pay Duty.

80 AS"o AASO h1dSGA WI BOOhS, ouDT
posed to have como from the United
States man-of-war Kcarsarge, have re-
Gently been seized at Norfolk r~cvives
an old subject of scandal. There is q
strong feeling in the navy that officers
and men on board tho vessels of tho
navy should be permitted to bring in
free dutiablc articles so long Us the
value OF such article is not great
enough to make their admission q
source of any considerable loss of rev.
cnuc to the government. Men and Of
ficerS argue, Us the New York Sun
thinks, plausibly enough that since
the ships of the navy arc already so
closely packed with the things they
must necessarily carry, there can
hardly be for such quantity of
foreign merchandise n6 would cut IN
important figure in the custom house
Or in the commercial transactions of
the country. Livery square inch of
available room in nearly all parts of the
ship is occupied by her belongings or
needed for the convenience and com
fort of mcn and officers in moving back
and forth, SO that it Is true that no
great bulk of merchandise could be
SlONSCu "lGLt)llI SOI1C-
body to the point of rebellion. On tho
other hand officers and racn ere, for
the most part, not rich enough to buy
precious stones and like small articles
OF high value. 1t is true, however,
hat officers and men do pick up curios
of II sort or another on their visits to
foreign countries, and doubtless many
of these things come in free of duty.
An officer returning from the China
station colac years ago brought 4 pack
age for 4 brother officer who was not
then coming homo, and vas required
to pay one hundred dollars duty on it's
contents.
1t has long been understood that
officers of q United States mnn-of-war
may be brought into port free of duty.
The theory doubtless is that such
things arc purchaccd for consumption
aboard ship, and, aG supplies of the
voyage, arc not properly dutioblc.
That is true as to the great bulk of
such articles. Wines, liquors and CT
gars for the ward room arc usually
bought abroad. 1t is cheaper usually
to buy champagne and other expensive
French wines in the Wort Indies or
almost anywhere else than in the
United States, and of course fir3t-class
cigars arc cheaper in Havana. for cx-
ample, than here. Nearly all naval
officers smoke. and If an officer cruising
in the West Indies expects shortly to
be stationed in the United States or to
be on leave or waiting orders he uGu-
ol1u In we in cNfnn fln,,rD ,,1c >E IIo,-0o1
cigars. Sometimes he buys them
through the wardroora caterer and
sometimes directly from the wardroon
stores. He gets them q good deal
cheaper than he could buy them at
homo. and he feels justified in giving
n box here and there to friends ashore.
There is tho best reason to believe,
however, that officers do not purchase
such things for civilians, and The Off
Ger who should be found making acr-
chandisc of his privileges would be
unanimously snubbcd by his ship
mates. Everything that men drink
and smoke in the wardroom of on
American man-of-war is from ten to
forty per cent. cheaper than an equally
good article ashore in this country,
"Hu OhSiS 10 III CluD, llO"CVCr WCll
managed, whose wine list is rs cheap
in proportion to quality rs that of the
wardroom. 1t is impossible, however,
for an officer to bring any considerable
quantity to this country US his private
property, because of the cvcrprcGcnt
difficulty as to stowagc. 1t happens
occasionally that n United States ship
from n foreign station suddenly goes
out of commission upon reaching home,
perhaps when NIL on board had ox-
pectcd to be Mt sea again after u short
stop in port. In such case the ward-
oom stores are oil sold to another
wardroom or divided among the off,
GERS. In the latter case some foreign
stores doubtless como ashore duty free.
ONE heat unit equals 772 foot pounds
md the heat that must be extracted