St. Paul daily globe. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn.) 1884-1896, 1895-08-18

y =
A six-Foot Girl in a Five-Foot
Dress.
pelng too free with their condolences
both on the way across the Atlantic
and after they have arrived. An in
stance occurred not long ago of
politician from one of the Western
states who got a valuable diamond
through without paying, and then
sold it for $4,000 After doing so he
boosted to his fellows about it, He
mad an enemy in the crowd, and this
man sent note to the New York
custom house. An inspector was sent
out and the man was arrested. He
had to refund, and instead of MAX
ing fortune he lost one Diamonds
are struggled in all sorts of WAYS.
They are SO small that they can east
ly be concealed, and it is not unusual
to put them into soap, to have them
sunk between the soles of the shoes
or in the padding of a coat. The
treasury officials say that instances
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 before
landing, and the dogs thus brought
OFF with the diamonds inside of them.
This last is something similar to a
story which has just come out con-
corning the smuggling of opium
from British Columbia into the Unit
ed States. AS the story goes, it is
doctored up and fed to old oxen.
VINO are then driven across the
frontier and killed in order to get
the opium out of their stomachs.
Any one who knows anything as to
the horrible taste of opium and of
the decided objection that any sensi-
bic OK would have to eating it would
regard this story as decidedly fishy.
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 off some since the reduction of
the duty from $12 to Sc a pound. It
still goes on, however, and great
quantities are shipped into the Unit
ed States every year. 1t is estimated
that 100000 pounds of the drug are
used annually in the United States.
and a treasury officials says that
more than 100000 of our people have
the opium habit in a greater or less
degree. There are hundreds of men
and women who use laudanum and
opium who are never suspected, and
the opium commission which was
sent by England to India, and which
has just made it's report, states that
moderate opium users are just as
common in the far East as moderate
drinkers are in this country, and
that one can eat a little opium all
his life without becoming an opium
drunkard. At any rate, there is
vast consumption of opium in the
United States, and it is estimated
that at least 100000 pounds of that
used are struggled across the north
ern frontier from British Columbia.
This escapes the duty, and at the
old rate it would represent loss to
Uncle Sam of $1,000 600 a year, and
at the present duty OF. $780, 900 a 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,
am told, do the work. 1t is said that
hundreds of thousands of dollars are
invested in the business, and for
tunes have, 1 am told, been made by
smuggling the drug into the United
States.
PORTLAND OPIUM RING.
For years there was a great opi,,m
ring on the Pacific coast. The de-
partment knew that it was in oper-
alton, but it could not get evidence
against it. 1t was so strong that it
bribed or intimidated the agents.
About two years ago, however, suffi-
cient 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
another grand jury found additional
indictments, and forty persons were
charged by the two juries with con-
spiracy to smuggle opium and Chi
nese laborerS into the United States.
AS the matter went on it was found
to be even more serious than had
been suspected. The trials estab-
lished that in the twelve months pre-
ceding 10000 pounds Of opium had
been struggled into Portland alone.
This should have paid duty of $780,
600, and it was also shown that the
same ring had during that time
struggled in 1900 Chinese laborers.
In the ring were some prominent men
of the states Of Washington and Ore
gon, and of the forty, seven of the
smugglers pleaded guilty and three
others were convicted.
EXCLUSION OFFICERS SNUG
GLERS.
1t is curious that exclusion house
officers frequently engage in smuggling.
The ex-collector of this Portland ring
was probably tempted by the money
mada in fhn c,lcoessflll smuggling If