Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1895-08-17


last January bought in a diamond neck
lace and sold it to a big corset manufac-
turer who wanted it for his wife. got
$3.50 for that necklace and both the lady
and myself made nice thing off of 1t.
While the young man was saying this,
however, it happened that special treas
try agent was standing nearby. He IN
1uired as to the smuggler's identity. He
looked the matter up during the next few
days and reported 1t to the collector. The
manager of the exchange, the gentleman
smugsler, received notice to come to the
custom house, and before he left he paid
$500 for that drink and indlscreet remark
which followed it in the Hoffman bar room.
The detective, of course, got his percent
age, and had the smuggler not been man
OF prominence he might have gone to
prison.
Diamonds are smuggled in all sorts
Of ways. They are so small that
is not unusual to put them, into
soap, to have them sunk between the
soles of the shoes or In the padding of
coat. The treasury officials say that in
stances are known of men concealing dia-
monds and pearls under porous plasters, and
cases have occurred where they have been
put into raw meat and fed to dogs just be-
fore landing, and the dogs thus brought off
with the diamonds inside OF them. This
last Is something similar to story which
has just come out concerning the SNUG
Cling of opium from British Columbia into
the United States. AS the sto-y goes, it is
doctored up and fed to old oxen, who are
then driven across the frontier and killed
in order to get the opium out of their
as to the horrible taste of opium and of the
decided objection that any sensible OK
would have to eating it would regard this
story as decidedly fshy. At least it is so
regarded at the Treasury Department.
Money in Opium.
Opium is smuggled. however, in all sorts
Of ways. The business has fallen of some
to Sc pound. 1t still goes on, how
ever, and great quantities are shipped
into the United States every year. 1t is.
estimated that 100000 pounds of the drug
are used annually in the United'S States, and
1,OOO.000 of our people have the opium
habit in greater or less degree. There
are hundreds of men and women who use
laudanum and opium who are never sus-
consumption of opium in the United
States, and it is estimated that at least
100, 900 pounds of that used are smuggled
across the northern frontier from British
Columbia. This escapes the duty, and at
the old rate 1t would represent a loss to
Uncle'Sam of 81, 100000 a year, and at the
present duty of 100000 year. The opium
is brought in the crude state from China
or India and is manufactured at the great
factories along Puget sound into opium
for smoking and medicine. The British
own the factories, but the Chinese, I am
told, do the work. 1t is said that hundreds
of thousands of dollars are invested in the
business, and fortunes have, I am told,
been made by smuggling the drug into the
United States.
For years there was great opium ring
on the Pacific coast. The department knew
that 1t was in opera ton, but it could not
get evidence against it. 1t was so strong
that it bribed or intimidated the agents.
About two years ago. however, sufficient
evidence was collected for the demanding,
Of a special grand jury at Portland, and
this grand jury found indictments against
twenty-seven persons among whom were
an ex-collector of customs and an ex-
special agent. A few months later an