The Scranton tribune. [volume] (Scranton, Pa.) 1891-1910, 1896-05-27
THE CELEBRATED
DIAMOND TRAIL
Vain Efforts 10 Stop Smuggling from
Canada.
UNCLE SANS AGENTS PUZZLED
Although the Smugglers Take Well.
known Routes, 1t Seems Almost
Impossible for the Treasury officials
to Convict Them,
From the New York Sun.

From the New York Sun.
United States Commissioner Shields
discharged from custody few days
ago Alvin $. Strasburger, Maiden
Lane diamond dealer who was charged
with attempting to bribe James H.
Heffernan, a United States deputy COL
lector of customs, stationed at Mon
treal. The dismissal of the charge was
made entirely upon the weakness of the
testimony offered by the complaining
witne sses and the failure of the case
marks one more futile effort in the en-
deavor that United States Treasury
agents have been making for over
twelve years to prevent the flooding of
the country with smuggled jewelry by
way OF what has become known to
them as the Great Diamond Trail"
The failure of HefYernan's case caused
not a little amusement among the older
government agents. nearly all Of whom
have had experience with this line of
frauds upon the customs revenue. and
nearly all of whom have seen their
best laid plans for the capture of
smugglers go wrong. Heffernan who
Is stationed at Montreal for the special
purpose of protecting the customs
revenue on the northern frontier. be-
came convinced that a man named
I>dAttT, WHo was
between Montreal and this city, was
engaged in diamond smuggling. He
followed Baxter to this city and to
the place of business of Louis Stras-
burger & Co, dealers in diamonds at
l6 Maiden Lane. There he saw Baxter
take from his pocket a wallet contain
ing twenty-five unset diamonds. This
wallet the officer possessed himself Of
but he did not arrest Baxter. 1t was
at this point. Heffernan says, that
Strasburger offered him a bribe Of 500
to settle the matter. The officials testi-
mony was 80 unsatisfactory that
Commissioner Shields discharged
Strasburger. and doubts are expressed
whether the stones seized by Heffernan
can be held.
FEW CATCHES MADE.
An occa sional brilliant seizure of
smuggled jewels by Treasury officers
always gets into the newspapers; the
failures the public seldom hear of; yet
the records Of the Treasury department
are full Of the history of months and
even years spent by the brightest of the
government agents In efforts to catch
and convict diamond smugglers, and
nearly every case has ended exactly as
this latest endeavor Of Heffernan's.
For years thousands Of dollars worth
Of gems have come into the United
States without paying duty. and by far
the greatest number have come by way
Of PlattSburgh. GOvernmentagents have
devoted thousands of dollars and their
best energies to trapping smugglers
only to fail and today the older agents
fight shy in detail to this class Of work,
and look upon attention to 1t as
time thrown away. To the younger
men in the service there is always a
temptation to take up this work. In
| addition to the glory Of making bril-
liant capture the seizing officer gets
25 per cent. Of the value Of the goods
seized, when they are forfeited and
sold. Diamonds are staple. and when
sold at auction. generally fetch some
where near their value. Urged by
these considerations, the officers new
to the service enter upon their investl-
cations with ardor and zeal. only to
find themselves up against insurmOunt-
| able obstacles at the end.
The KEY Of the whole situation Is
found in the fact that diamonds are on
the free list of the Canadian tariff sche-
dule. Under the Canadian customs
regulations the importer Is presumed
! to make declaration Of his imports
whether free or otherwise, but this
'ule is not rigidly enforced as regards
| FOODS free of duty. and many importers
| # precious stones take advantages of
| his laXity. The diamond dealers in this
| city have brokers in London, Paris,
| Vienna, and Amsterdam who purchase
| from them regularly. By far the
| greatest. number of the purchasing
| houses are located in Paris. Dealers In
| this city who make a business of evad-
| ing the customs laws and the duty have
| a regular system of running their goods
into the country. The jewels are sent
| to Montreal by parcel post, and held
| at the post office until called for There
| the agent or the purchaser or con-
| signee in this city secures them, and
takes what seems to him the best
and safest method of running them
across the border. In the long run the
smugglers have found the shortest and
most direct route the safest, although
they must run the gauntlet of the GUS
tom house at Plattsburgh. and of late
years the customs force on the New
| York frontier has been greatly
strengthened. In ten years there have
been half a dozen notable seizures OF
gems smuggled through Canada into
the United States.
THE HOWELL CASE.
| In 1856 the Treasury authorities
made a determined effort to stop this
smuggling Of diamonds by way of the
Montreal postotlice, and the Canadian
customs officials extended to this Gov.
"