The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1899-01-10
SMUGGLING DEFINED.
New Construction of the Words Mean
ing Made by Five Justices.

New Construction of the Words Mean
ing Made by Five Justices.
WASHINGTON, Jan. 9--The United
States Supreme Court, through Justice
White to-day rendered an opinion in the
case of Herman Keck, charged with snug
Cling diamonds into the United States. hold
ing that he was not guilty as charged, and
thus reversing the verdict of the United
States District Court for the Eastern dis
tIict of Pennsylvania. This case involved
the construction Of the meaning of the word
smuggling and of Paragraph 467 of the Will
son tariff act, under which it was claimed
that it was intended to make diamonds free
because a semicolon follows the word dia
monds in this paragraph. The court held on
this latter point that it was merely an error
of punctuation, and that diamonds were du-
table under Paragraph 33S of the Wilson
act, imposing duty on precious stones gen.
orally
The court gave it's principal attention TO
the charge of smuggling, holding that it was
rot 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 smuggled were
brought to the United States by the captain
of the steamer Rhinelander, at the request
of Keck who appears to have met the cap
tain in Antwerp previous to sailing and to
have requested him to bring over a pack
age the contents of which he did not men
tion, and forward it upon his arrival to a
person in Cincinnati, whose name Keck
save him. This package proved to contain
diamonds, and when the Rhinelander
reached the harbor at Philadelphia. the GUS
toms inspectors, who had been notified of
the probable arrival of the package, boarded
the vessel and made a demand on the cap
tain for it, He promptly turned it over, and
it was confscated and Keck placed under
arrest on the double charge of smuggling
and illegally importing the diamonds. In
the District Court for the Eastern district
of Pennsylvania he was found guilty. The
effect of Justice Whites decision was to
reverse the decision of the District Court
and remand the case
In passing on the charge of smuggling,
Justice White said that the common law
meaning of the word still attached to it
since its Incorporation into the statutes of
the United States, and that the definition
of the word under the common law en-
braced the taking of goods through the lines
of the custom house. He concluded that in
this instance the attempt at smuggling was
rot completed and said it was clear that an
act could not be criminal If something es-
sential remains to render it complete.
Pour of the members of the court-Chief
Justice Fuller and Justices Harlan, Brewer
and Brown-dissented, and Justice Brown
delivered a minority opinion defining the
word smuggling as meaning an attempt to
clandestinely introduce merchandise into the
country, and holding that Keck was guilty
under this construction. He said that the
definition which the court had given the
word, namely, that it referred especially to
the unlading of goods had never found lodg-
ment in law dictionary of accepted au-
thority nor in the adjudicated cases.
The United States Supreme Court to-day
dismissed the case of the Blythe Company
VS.. Blythe, involving the Blythe estate of
California. No written opinion was filed in
the case.