Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1899-01-09
NOT GUILTY OF SMUGGLING
The Case of Keck Decided by the Supreme
Court
Misplacing Colon Regarded rs In
significant-Crime Not Completed.
Hence Not Criminal.

The tDited States Supreme Court. through
Justice White, today rendered opinion
in the case of Herman Keck. charged with
smuggling diamonds into the United States.
holding that he not guilty charged,
and thus reversing the verdict of the
United States district court for the east
ern district of Pennsylvania.
This case involved the construction of
the meaning of the word smuggling and of
paragraph 4f7 of the Wilson tariff act,
under which it was claimed that it in
tended to make diamonds free because
semicolon follows the word diamond" in
this paragraph. 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 Will
son act imposing duty on precious stones
generally.
Goods Not Landed.
The court gave its principal attention to
the charge of smuggling. holding that it
was not applicable, because the goods i'll
question We're not landed and that there
fore the act was not completed. The dia-
monds which were alleged to have been
smuggled were brought to the United
States by the captain of the steamer
Rhlnelander, at the request of Keck, who
appears to have met the captain in Ant
werp previous TO sailing. and to have
quested him to, bring over a package, the
contents of which he did not mention, and
forward it upon his arrival to a person in
cincinnati, whose name Keck gave him.
ms package proved to contain diamonds,
and when the Rhineiander reached the
harbor at Philadelphia the customs inspec-
tors, who had been notified of the probable
arrival ofTthe package boarded the vessel
END made a demand upon the captain for
1t. He promptly turned it over and it was
cOnilScd ted, and keck placed under arrest
on the double charge of smuggling and ille
gally importing the diamonds. In the dis
trict court for the eastern district of Penn
sylVania he was found guilty. The effect of
Justice Whites decision was to reverse the
decision of the district court and remand
the case.
Attempt Was Not Completed.
In passing upon 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 snug
Cling was not completed, and said it was
clear that an act could not be criminal if
something essential remains to render it
complete.
-Four Of. the members of the court. Chief
Justice Iuller, and Justices Harlan, Brewer
and Brown, dissented and Justice Brown
delivered 4 minority opinion, defining the
word Smuggling meaning an attempt
to clandes tinea introduce merchandise into
the courtry and holding that Keck was
guilty under, this construction. He said
that the defiDition which the court had
given The word, namely. that it referred
especially to aehe unlading of goods had
never found Judgment in law dictionary
OF accepted authority nor in adjudicated