The Forrest City times., 1894-12-14
WEALTHY SMUGGlERS.

 Prominent Citizens as Public swindlers-
 The Collector Has Them on His List-He
 Will Give Them an Opportunity to Como
 Forward and Pay Up, Failing in Which
 They Will be Exposed.
 NEW YORK, Dec. 11.-Collector Kill breth of the New York customhouse has a Christmas gift for Uncle Sam that is calculated to stir society circles in this and other large cities to the foundation. It is in the shape of au- thenticated information that certain well-known Americans, many of whom are leaders in other things besides so- ciety, have been detected smuggling Paris finery and valuable trihes of vari- ous descriptions through the New York customhouse.
 THE COLLECTOR IS MUM.
 The collector will not divulge the details of his investigation, but the main facts are well known to his subordinates, and when the story is made public, as it will undoubtedly be, it will create sensation. Judge Kill breth's lynx-eyed inspectors have been at a loss for some time to account for ehC Aui SO uuhioCI Ol tTuuhS home from Europe by American tour ists, and recently the collector took the matter in hand himself and started an inquiry on both sides of the big pond.
 ON BOTH SIDES OF THE BIG POND.
 He learned that number of prom inent people had brought home with them valuable gowns and dress goods under the rose, so to speak, and that these goods were subsequently, distrib- uted to friends in this country. Of course, if a passenger feels like bring ing stock of clothes home from Flu rope, the customs officers can not ob- ject, but if he or she goes into the busi- ness of buying at wholesale in Europe and selling at retail in America, the collector has good reason to interfere. CELEBRATED EVANGELIST INVOLVED.
 This, it seems, is exactly what has been done. In one case the family of a celebrated evangelist brought forty. eight trunks to New York on the steam ship Paris. It was learned later that the contents of eight of these trunks were distributed to friends in this city and elsewhere. A prominent politician, who is said to be member of the United States senate, handled seven trunks full of dresses, etc, in the same way, and scores of others are said to have been detected carrying on similar operations. Collector Kilbreth re- ceived considerable assistance in getting at the facts from a woman who represents New York ladies' tailoring establishment in Paris. This agent is supposed to keep her employers posted as to who are large purchasers of goods abroad and of their movements. It is said that she has been in weekly correspondence with Collector Kilbreth since July, and that through her the collector has done some valuab ble collecting.
 HE HAS LITTLE LIST.
 It is understood that he has In his safe list of names which, when pub lished, will open the eyes of the coun. try. Many of those involved are promi nent in New York, Washington, Chi. cago San Francisco and other cities The collector has sought the advice of the treasury department, and it is barely possible that he will give the guilty parties an opportunity to come forward and pay the duties on the smuggled articles, failing in which they will be exposed
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