The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1896-05-03
THE GREAT DIAMOND TRAIL
TAIN EFFORTS TO STOp III UG0LINa
FROM CANADA.

NNANNH - ffNtH wv NN'
Treasury OncIai- 20 Convict Then -1hs
Trap Howriis set aud How ~ Worked.
United States Commissioner Shields dis
charged from custody n few days ago Alvin
=. StrasburVer. n Maiden lane diamond dealer,
who was charged with attempting TO bride
James II. HeC'rnan. IL United states deputy
collector OF customs, stationed Mt Montreal
The dismissal OF the charge was made en-.
tirely upon the weakness OF the testimony Of.
fercd by the complaining witness, and the
failure of the case marks one more futile off
fort in the cndcavor TINT United states
Treasury agents have been making for over
twelve years TO prevent the flooding of the
country with smueglcd Jewels by way of what
has become known TO them ms "thc GreaA
Diamond Trail"
The failure of 1Icffernan's case caused mt
a little amusement among the older Governs
ment agents. nearly all of whom have hn1 cx-
pertence with this line Of frauds upon tte
customs revenue. and nearly all Of whom
have seen their best laid plans for the capture
OF slauPglcrs 20 wrong. IIrfTcrnan. who Ia
stationed at Montreal for the especial pnr.
pose of protecting the ,ustnms revenue on the
northern frontier, became Convinced that n
man named Baxter, who was making fro
quont trips between Montreal and this city.
was engaged in diamond smuggling. He fol.
lowed Baxter to this city and to tho
place of business of Louis Strasburgcr &,
Co.. dealers In diamonds Mt IL Maiden
lane. There he saw Baxter take from his
pocket n wallet containing twenty-five unset
diamonds. This wallet the officer possessed
himself OF, but he did not arrest Baxter. It
WAS at This point. iietternan says, that Stras-
the matter. The ofiiiciail''s testlmony " was SIS so
unsatisfactory that Commissioner Shields
discharged Strashurrcr, and doubts are exc
pressed whether the stones seized by HefTer-
nan can be held.
An occasional brilliant seizure of smugslcd
hhSmsp or yet the the records '%'l@dsS Of y" the T rPe%.n rSi' iie.
partmcnt are full of the history of months aud
even years spent by the brightest of the Govern
ment agents IN efforts, to catch aud convict dia-
e aiSRd e sm%GiyiS as this fad latest eetF ends srs5y Of f1 Hetl has
mans. For years thousands of dollars worth
OF gems have come into the United states with-
Der have come by way Of Plattsburgh. Govern
ment agents have devoted thousands OF doll
glers only to fail, and to-day the older agents
fight shy of a detail to this class of work, and
To the younger men in the service there Is al.
ways a temptation to take up this work. In adj
iition to the glory of making a brilliant capture
the Selling officer gets 25 per cent. of the value
of the goods seized. when they are forfeited
and sold. Diamcnds are staple, and when sold
at auction generally fetch somewhere near
their value. Urged by these considerations,
the officers new to the service enter upon their
themselves up against insurmountable OBJ
stacles at the end.
the fact that diamonds are on the free list "if
the Canadian tariff schedule. Under the Ca
madam customs regulations the importer is
presumed to make a declaration of his i'm.
ports. whether free or otherwise. but this rule
ls not rigidiy enforced MS regards goods free
take advantage Of this laxity. The diamond
dealers in this city have brokers' in London.
for them regularly. BY far che greatest num-
Der of Ihe purchasing houses are located in
Paris. Dealers in this city Who make n bust
ness OF evading the customs laws and the
duty have ii regular system of running their
goods into the country. The Jewels are sent
Post ONCE until called for. There the agent Of
the purchaser or co1nsignee in this City secures
and safest method of running them across
T. the % border ,o,,h a., In the long run the smugslers
the safest, although they must run the saunte
let of the Custom House at Plattsburrh, and
q Sor late er6 yenrs the the customs force on the New
In ten years there have not been a half dozen
In 1ss5-6 the Treasury authorities made a
effort to stop this smpggIing Of
and the Canadian customs officials extended
TO this Government. every, aid in their mower.
Agent F. D. Howeils, now dead. who was then
qt plattslurgh. He was a hic:
courage and considerable detective skilf. x
special agent attached to the New York ofics
WIN a wide acquaintance among Maiden lnno
was detailed to work up the case in
this city. One diamond importing firm. with
in London and Paris. was then doing
nnderselline Its competitors. Reputable i'm
onrters who paid their duties suffered greatly
rom the connection of firms which smugcici
Ialf their stock and evadcd the ten per cent.
lnty, and they, were always willing to aid tho
from. these firms and from special agents sta.
,ioned In Europe. information came that tho
firm referred to was consigning large
nj pfifl ono IN Nnpf rng1 T1n
gent OF the firm was followed to that city by
towels. who visited the Post Office and saw
i1% t FtGeiv Sa q n] aGes?area, It w Sns Son"is sn;T Z, 20
%ontatn precious stones valued at Q $1,000.
Iork. HoweIis watched the outgoing tta o iG .ra HS.
nd entered the sleeper for New York at.
ayes S, is st oct HiSnn eSp Hs sf to t f@d h Isf m PI,t the
urgh. Howells stepped over to the agent and
nvinE any, contraband articles about him.
lie declined to be searched, however, and
is peril; HoweIis. whose resemblamcuo to
rover, Cleveland, both in face and figure. was
i'm on his back. ii the aisle. and Sniu sat On linn linn
,nIlG ba he no searched sinS 6 him thoroughly; The
HIorrided,, ToweIlss f Iifted tho S0G msn h'm To- hi.
set with the most profuse apologies. 4 suit
In ims anim stSr.a against ;m n th he G%oyernmsent and
nough. the agent accented the apologies With
turther protests and did not pursue The
- ANtthl bIlNl IL lTnl nHU
een, advised Of Howells's movements by an
OF the Montreal Post Office. and the
cent had passed tle package of stones to am
man, who had carried them to Windsor,
,ossed the river, and shipped them by OK.
ress from Detroit to this city.
For eighteen months work on these cases
as continued without diminishing the In
ux or smugRled stones. Two or three mr..
and seizures were made. but the limos.
pity OF identitying absolutely individuals
al unset gems rendered all efforts nllgat0rv.
or three times what were considered Good
.ses were worked pp. hut while it could bo
. ynrtnlheu EASILY mat levels consigned 10 =
ace OF them was lost after that. The & ".
nmeht nnaily relaxed its efforts. and only
az on the inflow o. diamonds by way of the
atts2nrGh trail. When pursuit on the
aGges to st. Adams; to Niagara Falls, TO
A., stephens, and at times to Detroit. II never
ayes the settled lines OF travel. hnwevcr'
lere are no detours through woods and
amps. no hiding by day and travelling by
Sht, The dangers OF tho customs service
Q less dreaded than the perits and discom.