The Ketchum keystone. [volume] (Ketchum, Idaho) 1885-1899, 1897-08-14
SMUGGLING THAT PAYS.
How Cinnamon and Opium Are
Spirited Into This Country.
A Large Number Of Persons Actively
Engaged In Bringing Goods Over
from Canada Without Pay
Ing Duties.

| &
tiquity and one that many of the revo-
lutionary fathers and early settlers of
! the country, prior to the historic Boston
tea party, were won't to commit as fire.
| Iuently as the opportunity presented
| itself, and the excessive duties made it
| profitable. AS late as the latter part
of the eighteenth century the snug
Cling of wine, liquor, tobacco and bull
lion was SO generally practiced in
Great Britain as to become kind of
national falling" and the smuggler
was often regarded as popular hero.
The maximum penalty for bringing
into the United States dutiable articles,
with intent to defraud the revenue,
is five thousand dollars fine or two
years Imprisonment, or both, in the
discretion of the court, and for aiding
and abetting the importation of Chi
naman one thousand dollars, or one
years imprisonment. The degree of
punishment an offender gets depends
upon the circumstances of the case. The
smuggler also forfeits his goods.
There is a large body of men system
atically engaged in smuggling China
men and opium on the Pacific coast and
the Canadian frontier. The men who
successfully engage in this business
must be peculiarly adapted to it. The
first qualification is ingenuity enough
to invent ways and means; second, dis
honesty to the degree of defrauding
the government, yet with sufficient in
tegrity and honor to justify the import
ers i'll intrusting to their care hundreds
and sometimes thousands of dollars
worth of opium. 1t is popular fall
lacy that any man who is dishonest
enough and will assume the. risk can
make money at smuggling. If he has
sufficient capital he can buy opium in
Canada and possibly get it across the
border, but it is practically impossible
to sell it without detection. The deal
ers in the United States will not buy it.
nor receive it, from anyone save their
trusted agents.
According to statistics there are
about one million human beings in the
United States, principally Mongolians,
addicted to the habit of smoking
opium. 1t is prepared in Hong Kong
by sy adicate under the surveillance
of the Chinese government. Prepared
opium has the appearance of black
molasses. 1t sells in China for about
seven dollars per pound, and the duty
under the present tariff law is six dol
lars per pound. Formerly the duty
was twelve dollars per pound; it was
then that the smuggler reaped
harvest.
The methods of smugglers are too
numerous to relate, but suffice it to
say that the government has to main
tain an army of detectives and spoilers
to suppress them. The detectives who
render the most valuable service are
those stationed at the places from
whence the goods are imported. They
speed the parting guest and give the
tip" to the detectives at the object
i've point, who welcome the smuggler
whenever the opportunity presents it.
self. Conviction speedily follows, as
the United States statutes place the
burden of proof on the smuggler to
show that the opium was not illegally
imported. The Detroit river is one OF
the most favorable points for SNUG
CLING on the frontier, but, thanks to
the efficiency of Special Agent Wood,
one of the cleverst officials in the serv-
ice, it is practically broken up. The
usually crosses the river in
a row boat and drives by conveyance
to some small station near Detroit,
where he boards the train for New
York or Chicago.
The smuggling of Cinnamon is very
profitable, but difficult The Chinaman
will gladly pay one hundred dollars
TO be safely landed. Cinnamon were
Tor some time successfully imported
oy bringing them over in the state
'ooms of sleeping cars; woman's at
ire and black faces have been resorted
%, but the pigtail usually discloses the
,hinaman's identity, and this he will
lot part with, owing to the supersti-
ious belief in it as means to get him
nto a better rworld.-Detroit Free Press.