The Cape Girardeau Democrat. (Cape Girardeau, Mo.) 1876-1909, 1899-01-14
REVISED AND REMANDED.
The keck Smuggling Case in
the Supreme Court-The Word
Smuggling Defined.

Washington, Jan. 10.-The United
States supreme court, through Justice
White, yesterday rendered IN opinion
in the ease of Herman Heck, charged
with smuggling diamonds into the
United States, holding that he was not
guilty as charged, and thus reversing
the verdict of the United States dis
trict court for the eastern district Of
Pennsylvania.
Involved the Defnition OF the Word
Smuggling"
The case involved the construction
and the meaning OF the word "smug-
Cling" and of Paragraph 467 of the
Wilson tariff act, under which it was
claimed that it was intended to make
diamonds free because n semicolon
follows the word diamonds in this par
agraph. The court held on this latter
point that it was merely an error of
punctuation and that diamonds were
dutiable under Paragraph 33s of the
Wilson act, imposing a duty on preci-
Gus stones generally.
Not Applicable to the Goods In Question.
The court gave its principal atten-
ton to the charge of smuggling, hold
ing that it was not applicable because
the goods in question were not landed,
and that, therefore, the act was not
completed. The diamonds which were
alleged to have been struggled were
brought to the United States by the
captain of the steamer Rhinelander, at
the request of Keck, who appears to
have met the captain in Antwerp prev
ious to sailing, and requested him to
bring over Il package, the contents of
which he did not mention, and for
ward it upon his arrival to a person in
Cincinnati, whose name Keck gave
him.
The Sleuths were On Hand.
This package proved to contain dia-
monds. and when the Rhinelander
reached the harbor at Philadelphia the
customs inspector, who had been noti-
fed of the probable arrival of the
package. boarded the vessel and made
q demand upon the captain for it. He
promptly turned it over, and it was
confistated. and Keck placed under ar
rest under the double charge of SNUG
Cling and illegally importing the dia-
monds. In the district court for the
eastern district of Pennsylvania he
was found guilty. The effect of JUS
tice Whites decision was to reverse |
the decision of the district court and
remand the case.
Common Law Meaning Of the Word.
In passing upon the charge of snug
CLING Justice White said that the COM
mon law meaning of the word still at
tached to it since its incorporation
into the statutes of the United States
and that the definition of the word
under the common law embraced the
taking of goods through the lines of
the custOmhouse. He concluded that
in this instance the attempt at SNUG
Cling was not completed and said it
clear that an act could not be
criminal if something essential re-
mains to render it complete.
Four Member of the Court Dissent.
Four of the members of the court,
Chief Justice Fuller and Justices Har-
Ian. Brewer and Brown dissented, and
Justice Brown delivered a minority
opinion, defining the word smuggling
meaning an attempt to clandestine-
" introduce merchandise into the
country, and holding hat Keck was
under this construction. He said
that the definition which the court
had given the word. namely. that it re-
ferred especially to the unloading of
goods. had never found Judgment in a
dictionary of accepted authority
nor in adiudicated cases.