The Hawaiian star. [volume] (Honolulu [Oahu]) 1893-1912, 1894-06-04
CHEATING CUSTOMS.
VARIOUS WAYS OF DEALING WITH
THE INSPECTORS.

stories Of Eribing Are Secondh anded--A
New Hampshire Man who Was a Little
Near"-At the Ports Of some Foreign
Countries Costly Tobacco In France.
On the promenade deck Of an Atlantic
steamer. westward bound. one often sees
groups Of passengers engaged in conversa-
tion Of apparently more than ordinary grav-
ity. The same is noticeable in the smoking
saloon and tween decks. Certain charac-
teristics Of such conferences unmistaknbly
betray their subjects. Old ocean travellers
say they can tell il at glance. They would
much sooner take chances cu guessing
Alright in such case than the pools on the
ships run, for there is certain wistful
peering into the future about IL, mixture
of nervous apprehension aud bravado that
j. always present Once correctly diag.
nosed the symptoms seldom fail In such
I a conversational group it's 10 to It's 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 it becomes the try
ing question Of the moment how the cps
toms officers shall be passed.
1t is inevitable that some such advice as
this will be heard "Put s. bill in an en-
velope and lay it 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, aud with
the remark, I'm glad to see you know the
usages Of this port, will pocket 1t aud 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 IL
don't pay
Nevertheless it is one of the commouest
things aboard ship to hear asseverations Of
such things being done, aud that u is eN-
pected by customs inspectors Peculiar
difficulty is encountered in piuniug such
a statement down to credible basis Of
fact, however, and it is undoubtedly J. trueof
most persons coming to United States
ports that they neither bribe nor attempt
To do so.
a fairly creditable story of New lamp
shire man is told, apropos Of the bride the
ory. In the popular parlance of hi native
place, he was one of those kind Of men
who habitually are "a little uear'-that is.
penurious. He was rich and had become
so by saving Shrewdnc,s on the side Of
economy was his financial system 1t was
told of him that, haSng bought 2i street
car tickets for 81, he would sit at the head
OF the car and when the cent fare, were
passed up from hand to hand he would
pocket the money and put tickets IN I e
cashboN. Thus he would make 4. ut. On
every dollars worth uf tickets. III stul '
! has been told of good many besi e. tie
| New Hampshire mau, but it serves ust 5
well to illustrate this individuals uharac-
| ter.
He was bound in to New York from
| Cuba. When he went on shore he followed
| in the wake of man who, IA alleged,
slipped bank bill into the hand OF the
inspector, saying, I've got quite I, guam
| tity Of cigars here, and am anxious to p,.t
AN early train home to-
"All right" the inspector is allie .,ed to
have replied, and, chaiking the man bag
gage he went on his way rejoicing
The New Hampshire man had observed
the affair, and, approaching the same in-
spector, he said, "ive got about the same
quantity of cigars that man had; I'm ia
JtHh hb'Ah - bitA1i hhlIl as me- DuL 1
haven't any money" The story goe, that
his luggage was passed quite a, perfume
torily a. that Of his predecessor. and that
he took the train fOr the Granite State, con
graduating himself that n New Hampshire
Yankee is As good as u New York customs
inspector any day.
Whatever the facts may be, there is Rn
impression quite generally prevalent on the
other side that gratuity judiciously pre-
sented obyiates annoyance at the custom
houses on this side very materially. Su,h
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, e.
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 disagreeabe 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 "A British port be is asked If he has any
thing to declare, and his luggage is exam
ined in most perfunctory manner Liq-
uor and reprints Of English books are
mostly sought. At French and Italian from
tiers, lies douaniers" ask for "tabac - The
temptation t. take tobacco into these Coun-
tries is very strong. Ia both countries the
government holds "A monopoly Of the man
ufacture and sale of tobacco. Havana ci
gars are obtainable in Paris at enormous
prices, but pipe tobacco, the good old Vir-
ginia leaf that Americans like is unobtain-
able for love or money.
The French government permits half a
pound To be brought in If declared But "
one is caught smuggling u duty OF II francs
per pound is levied, and fine Of several
times the value Of the goods may he inflict
ed. A bright American, who should have
known better, recently undertook to SNUG
gle quantity of his favurite brand OF pipe
tobacco by hiding ii in his shoes in his
trunk. He was detected and detained His
tobacco was coniiscated, and he paid at the
rate OF SO pound on the small quantity
he had with him for the experience Still
| SO great is the demand in Paris for Ameri-
can tobacco that much is sent In in little
| packages marked samples of no value"
/ In newspapers, and in the pockets OF accom-
mOdatiug friends. Boston Herald
Aluminium bicycles.
The long looked forapplication Of alumni
| ium la bicycle making is now an assured
/ fact. Its deadness or lack of ieNibility ana
| its dbrs weak ness are said to have been
I overcome, and nov the desired qualities