Butler citizen. [volume] (Butler, Pa.) 1877-1922, 1893-08-04
CANADIAN SMUGGLERS.
How They Get Their Merchandise
Across Niagara River.
A RemuneratIve Business That Has Been
Carried on for n Number of Years
Uader the Noses or Gus
toms Officials.

toms OtictEis.
'sThere has always been more or less
smuggling carried on across the Mag
ara river, and all the watchfulness of
government agents seems powerless
to prevent it, said customs officer,
according to the New York Sun. The
principal part of this border snug
Cling is from Canada to this side. The
only articles there is any profit in get
ting from this side into Canada free
are kerosene and lager beer. Our
kerosene is so much superior to the
oil made from Canadian petroleum in
every way, and it could be sold so
much cheaper than the native prod
uct, that the Dominion government
levies a heavy duty on it. Such is the
case, also, with our beer. The busi-
ness of smuggling these two articles
across the river is not so extensively
carried on as it was four or five years
ago, as the Canadian authorities dis
covered the ingenious method by
which it was made an easy matter to
cheat the customs officers, and estab
1ished a regular river patrol with in
structions to keep an eye out entirely
for the detection of the oil and beer
free traders. But they still manage to
do profitable business in this class of
smuggling.
"The way the oil and beer are taken
across the river is by weighting the
barrels or kegs on one end so that only
the head appears above water, and
chat only for an inch or two. A tow
of barrels thus sunk is attached to a
rowboat, which a slzillful riverman
rows across at night If the river
patrol discovers the boatman, and the
latter is likely to be overhauled, he
cuts the ropes that fasten the tow to
his boat. The barrels are thus cast
sdrift, and the smuggler has nothing
in his possession for which the officers
may apprehend him when they come
up. These tows frequently escape de-
lection by the government agents, as
the barrels float away in the darkness,
and watchful companions of the boat
man, who has cut them adrift, hover
Ing about on the river, generally sue
ceed in recovering them, and proceed
with them to their destination. In the
early days of this oil and beer smuggl-
ing the points from which it was chiefly
carried on were Lewiston and Youngs-
town. The goods were taken to st.
GATHERINGS and other places on the
Canada side. Nowadays the smuggled
goods can be landed only at out-of-the-
way localities where landings may be
made secretly, and all sorts of sub
terfuges have to be adopted to dis
tribute them successfully among the
men who take the chances in dealing
tn them.
''There is no doubt but what there
are scores of Canadian merchants who
regularly employ agents to snuggle
goods purchased on that side of the
river to those who purchase them on
American side. The number of people
who 60 to Canada and buy dress goods
and clothing, not to sell again, but for
their own use, and arrange with the
merchants to deliver them duty free,
Is surprising. The smugglers who take
the chances of delivering the goods at
the American points agreed upon work
on commission, which is division of
the sellers profits on the articles.
There are miles Of wild and unmatched
river front, and the agents are selected
for their knowledge of the country and
their skill in strategy and watercraft.
They work only on the darkest nights,
and use very small boats. If they fail
in landing goods in safety they get no
pay. So vigilant and expert are they
that the percentage of their failure to
their success is very small. There are
numerous citizens of the Canadian
border conspicuous for their prosperity
who owe the foundation of their com
petencies to the commissions they
gained in delivering safely Canadian
goods free of duty to American pur-
chasers.
Eggs and butter were formerly
largely smuggled from Canada to
American markets, even before they
were made dutiable. A small entry fee
was collectable on them, but the Can
adian traders objected to that, and
were in the habit of packing large
quantities of eggs and butter in loads
of hay that were sent over to this side.
The hay was subject to duty, payment
of which could not well be avoided,
but the eggs and butter which the
trader succeeded in getting over free,
hidden in his hay, more than made up
for the duty on that. Since regular
duty was placed on eggs more atten-
ton has been paid to loads of Cam
adian hay by customs officers, and
these importations do not afford the
safe hiding places for eggs they once