The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1897-04-11
JACK TAR'S CURIO TRADE.
CONSTANT SMUGGLING oN BoARD
NdTdL TESSELS.

tomas Oniccr~-A Profitable BusineSS Carried
On with Dealers In Tbl- Metropolitan CIS.
wAsH1HsroS. April 1o.-sailors in the United
States navy are indefatigl able curio collectors.
They take more interest and probably spend
moro money in tho business than the officer %
| cruising ships. IS n rule. they make their col.
Icctions to give to their mothers. sisters. nr
swcethearts: but there is n considerable and
growing class OF bluciackcts who engage in tho
collecting business purely for profit. and ;hcse
men do not have TO make many foreign cruises
before they are in shape 10 quit the naval ser
vice for good.
Every American man-of.w1r that returns 10
the United States upon the conclusion a; a
cruise OF scverll yea IS in foreign waters has Allie
out-ofthc.way hooks and crannies stuffed With
the collections OF officers and men when tie
homeward-bound pennant is broke from the
mizzcn. The bilgcs arc often SO jammed with
the curio chests OF the men that the blucjackeA
have to put in hours in breaking them opt Hui
| ~estowing them every time bilge-insocction
day comes round. The men belonging 10
the engine-room gang OF a ship make uso
at times OF one or two OF the unused boilers
in which to stow their boxes and packages
OF curios. and when. as often happens. I've
chief engineer orders these boilers 10 be frcS,
the disgust of the I" black gang is too deep for
utterance. The deck men run the risk Of conrt..
martial by stufing the ships launches eri cut.
ters full OF their purchased gear. and In doing
this they employ an amazing degree OF cunning.
and their quiet, rapid way OF shaking fbs stuff
out Of the boats into other hiding places az s"on.
as the ship gets into American waters and pre-
pares to drop its mudhook is hardly less dis
tinguished for ingenuity.
Although naval sailormen are not supposed 20
have anything whatever in their lockers besides
their clothes and small stores. and the blue
jacket is not permitted to bri .lg curios over lis
ships side, officers do not enforce the rule with
stringency, perhaps because the regulation APP
plies to the officers as well as to- the men. An
officer who himself has slowed away in one OF
the ships spare storerooms a quartz r-ton box o'
crrios designed for the ornamen a,tion Of his
shore home is pretty apt To look in another
direction when he sees bluejackets CO ming over
the gangway with bullying packages of curios
under their arms. All that the offic,r' asks In
ferentially Of the sailor Is that the latter shall so
conceal his collection that the officer u lall Eos
stumble upon it in making inspections.
In secreting their curios the sailors have
another purpose to serve besides getting them
out of the sight OF their officers. This is tho
evasion of the customs, inspectors. The exta7
OF the examination made by the customs oficeis
Of men-of-war arriving from foreign ports varioI
o %fIs rse pc eof'; oven tn E SsTs hip p0T With me as sDi maGS.
thoroughness as they do merchant vessels. In a,
IRsIP search q Of fh SeRP G5fts; RG Is peE,a IN a6s laFF F:s
rule, the officers are obliged to pay dgty
to. the he ' direct t'U question. % %Any, hing dtpGtii::
able aboard r. none OF those who have a
S %ili @afe G Pep pGt'@ @N s5cTe On s such IN oe e ssG5e F tSs2
invariably point out their goods 70. appraisal.
i Euse Wa fhGqsR Vii hHT feil to G pat TINS question TaasfEs 'a 20 al
the officers singly. and as no man. OFFICER or
vessels in frantic efforts TO help out customs in.
spectors In their work, some OF the officers get
arp m NiTf ny rhpir tnlEGu1afas
The sailors do not have TO pay duty on the r
Surio collections once in a dozen RETURN cruise.
The customs inspectors rarely 60 forward TO-
examine the living quarters OF the men. ana.
even If they should make a practice OF doing %
ing in order TO make their visits pan out. ON
boarding a wa-ship. the customs Officers. after
may be pointed out by the Officers. Generally PUT
tothe commanding officer the question,
Not that l know Of" replies the captain.
quite truthfully. and the customs men are. as a
rule. satisfied with the assurance.
Thus the sa!lormen are able 10 watch the Gus
toms officers boats sheer OF from the shin WIKI.
In ten minutes they are all below. breaking out,
their boxes and packages preparatory TO send
opportunity. The bumboatmen are of inestima-
be, service 10 the sailors in getting their cqrio
and when n big ship arrives in a home port they
make considerable money as common carriers
People in New York city who purchase beau
tiful pieces of hric-a-hrac and articles OF vertu
phenonenaliy low. cannSt Of course know thai
in very many cases the reason for this chcspness
States in American men-otwar. free OF duty. by
men for'ard. Yet such is the fact, and the bust.
ping on vessels hound on extended cruises In
foreign waters. old-timers make il q point 10
enter into arrangements with dealers in curios.
aud they are enabled more than TO quaIurle
the amount OF the pay they receive from tho
their return TO this country. they should hapncn
TO be ntpped by the customs men and forced -
pens only once in n great while and at tie
smaller ports. they can make considerable profit,
upon their transactions, for the sailors engage:
In this business are great bArSain getters and
infinitely closer buyers than tourists who ri :
not buy offhand the first things they sec whcn
they so ashore in d foreign land. In Japan. for
i ins Business ess d HoSsI not rfsh I "shor r@ al hE Yoiob SSI5,
or kohe. or Nagaseki. or Hakotste. and clean
out the merchant stall at on" fell Swoop. ~
United states his New York curio dealers have
provided him with a detailed list OF just
they want. With this list in bis poGGkci.
The iiSort tradins nnTGf'w ", gets She.
curios he is commissioned TO get. in thu ports 40
which his ship lies, he makcs up-conniry triTs. In
tho interior towns and cities the Curios are about
five times cheaper than they are in the ports.
and this is one Of the facts that the mAn,of:
the very outset OF his business career. Most OF
the articles he purchases arc smsnl in bulk. aad
paratively little trouble. The sailor who is d in tho
cprio-collectInE business for profit is generally
able TO make arrangements with one OF The three
ships yeomen, who are in charge OF The ships
storerooms, for the slowing of his goods.
1t is on the China station. that IN" man-ofwar
trader picks NJ The stun that nets him tho most
money. In the interior towns OF China, Corca,
and Japan the people seem In. have litllc apprr-
citation OF the modern value OF superb examples
Of the art Of their ancestors, and IN search OF
these old specimens the h]artCrtng sailors, who in
time become very fair 60, noi>srnrs, make qEico
tours among the huts md houses Of the inferior
people. In this way they occasionally make pro-
digious finds. In 1898 u m~an-Of.wlrsman whose
shin was in Corran waters happened upon u mag
~nttcent pair of Corcsn vases in Se"ul, Examples
OF the ceramic art in that country several cen.
turtles ago. lie bought them for u song, and COB
s., 500 for them from II dealer when his ship
reached New York.