The Hawaiian star. [volume] (Honolulu [Oahu]) 1893-1912, 1893-12-09

CHEATING CUSTOMS.
vfrf~rc v.'ve Or DehLiNG WITH
rEt INSPECTORS.

~furira OF I'" h.us Are Neconuna""'
N,u usms...jr. Man who Was Little
N,ur".Af the Ports Of some Forelg"
,ouuirie. costly Tobacco In France.
Uu OBJ. promenade deck of an Atlantic
steamer westward bound, one often sees
group. of HH--eugers engaged in conNersar
NHuuI HH.tuUntly more than ordinary graV-
..y 90, same i- noticeable in the smoking
saloon aud tween decks. Certain charac-
far-tio- uf such conferences unmistakably
hatray fr,.r subjects. Old ocean travellers
say fHr, nla rrli It at Glance. They would
much >auupr take chances on guessing
Alright fH such "a case than the pools ON the
ships ram. for there il certain wistfui
p..rug into Tine future about Il. y mixture
Of nervous apprehension aud bravHdo that
i- always present. Once correctly dag
uu-.d Uh, syWUtoms seldom fail In such
b a conversational group it's lOto ill., mem
/ ncrs urg aut., .,pJting their experiences IN
. the cu-fUmhou.e.
/ ON the eastward trip the subject Is OF lit
tle Importance. People carry little to the
other side, and the search at English ports.
ot least, is not very rigorous. Bound for
uu American port, however. the case is
vastly different The trunks below are
filled with hrIca-hrac aud treasures from
]
ia European stores, and it becomes the try
ing question uf the moment how the Gus
toms officers shall be passed,
II is inevitable that some such advice a.
this Will bee heard. Put "a s. hill in an en-
yelupe aud lay 10 ON the top OF the trunk
which yHu intend to have first opened. See
that that pt1 ocular trunk is the first one
90 Dee examined Then when the officer lifts
the cover hr will see the envelope, and with
the remark, m glad to see you know the
usuge- of this port, will pocket It and put
his hierngiypnics on your baggage without
any further trouble ~
a very sensible little pamphlet distrib
uted on most Of the north Atlantic steam.
er- gives TINS advice: Don't attempt to
meddlc with the customs inspectors II
don't pay"
Nevertheless, it j. one OF the commonest
things aboard ship to hear asseverations Of
such things being done, aud that it is ex-
peutyd boy customs inspectors Peculiar
difficulty is encountered in pinning such
I statement down to a credible basis OF
fact, however, and it il und on btedly trueof
, most persons coming to nited States
ports that they neither bribe nor attempt
to do -p
\ fairly crcditable story OF New Hamp-
shire man is told, apropos of the bribe the
ury. In the popular parlance OF his native
place, he was one of those kind OF men
who habtually are little near that is
peuuruu- lie was rich and had become
50 by saving Shrewdness on the side of
economy was his financial system. 1t was
told of him that, having bought 2l street
cur tickets for 81, be would sit at the head
of the car and when the 8 cent fares We're
passed up from hand to hand he would
pocket the money and put tickets in the
CgshbDN. Thus he would make 3 cents on
every dollar worth Of tickets The story
has been told Of a good many besides the
New Hampshire man, but il 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, band Of the
inspector, saying, I've got qviVe ,, guam
tity Of cigars hcre. and l am anxious to get
an early rain home to"---
"All right the Inspector Is alleged to
have replied. and, chai&ing the mans bag
guge he went on his way rejoicing
The New Hampshire man had observed
the affair, and, approaching the same in
| speCtOr, he said, I've 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 gees that
| his luggage WAS passed quite as perfume
| torIly As that Of his predecessor. and that
/ he took the train Tor the Granite State, con
/ graduating himself THAT "a 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
/ other side that a gratuity judiciously pre-
seuted obviutes annoyance at the custom
| HOUSES on th, 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-
| pecally 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. Thoirwork 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 Gu stoms regulations
do not greatly bother the average traveller
| At a British port he is ked if he has ANY.
thing to declare, and his luggage is exam
ined in a most perfunctory manner. Lilo
uor and reprints of English books are
mostly sought. At French and Italian from
tiers, lies douauiers" ask for "tabac " The
temptation Co. take tobacco into these conn
tries is very strong. In both countries the
government holds "A monopoly of the man.
ufacture and sale of tobacco. Havana ci-
gars are obtauable IN Paris at enormous
prices, but pipe tobacco, the good old Vir.
giuia leaf that Americans like, is unobtain.
able for love or money.
The French government permits half A
pound TO be brought IN IL declared Bul n
one is caught smuggling "a duty of IA franc.
per pound l. levied, aud a tine of several
times the value Of the goods may be- infiict
ed. \ bright american, who should hav,
known better, recently undertook TO Snug
gle quantity of his favorite brand of hin,
tobacco 10y hiding il in his shoes in hi,
trunk. lie was detected and detained Hi
tobacco was contiscated, aud he paid at tn,
rate of S36 q pound on the small quantit,
he had with him for the experience Still
30 great Is the demand In Paris for Am.ri
can tobaccV that much il sent In Ia littl
package marSed samples OF no vain.
ir newspaper, and in the pockets of aecon,
mudatiug friends Boston Herald
lie Died Happy.
llumau nature Is queer thing. A ma
dIgl n NrN Jersey not far from here VII
WAS worth sl,1,uJ1 aud had no near r,l,
D t..l E.uf uu hmm I.f,r. A.. 49, a