The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1900-02-18
SMUGGLING NOT EASY NOW.
THE s HOUSE INSPECTORS
MAKE FEW SEIZURES.
women's Dress No Longer Adapted to tho
smuggling OF Ari!r.ss for Feminine Use
-Th. work Of women Inspectors-rho
M, t,oo skirts and Their Utility.

The Work Of women inspectorS-i
Old Hoop skirts and Their Utility
III. rood old days Of smuggling are gone. and
Aha life Of the customs inspector IL one OF deadly
dulness Even the women inspectors cannot
a., , ripple of excitement, and are. ns one OF
,b.m said to a Sun reporter, nothing more OF
loss than scarecrows In the oornfeld. This
pe,ceiul state Of things may argue a moral reform
in the travelling public, but IT Is hard on the in
,rectors and wherever two or three Of these ON
cinls are gathered together, there one may hear
lament for the days that have departed
why, even the dressnakers come In on the
straigh, now. said a woman inspector who has
been in the business for many years. They
don't bring in many gowns now, They go abroad
for ideas, and there's no duty on those. \ dress
maker brings in a few model gowns, and some
odds and ends IN trimming. buttons, buckles,
&c. that have struck her fancy. She declares
them, pays The duty, and that's all there
"TLe chances u detection ara too great to-day.
Smuggling doesn't pay. OF course, all sorts
Of it'll" things nrr brought through, constantly
We knox Tint but can MOI, stop IT. "" can not
search q woman, unless we have very good reason
10 believe Tint she has something dutahlr con-
cealed IN her clothing. 0nd | suppose not one
woman in twenty comes oil a steamer, without
carving something thrt ought to be seized, but
nine times cat Of ter, the things about which
they have %p"tiurel Themselves, Arrp't more i'm
portqulthan souvenir sponsor cora pms. There
has been q little furry If Lace smuggling lately,
since lace has been 50 fashionable; but the present
dress isn't adapted 10 smu ciing and Theses
sheath skirts can't even lldc a Wuman'S ncurc,
10 say nothing Of cunceaIinc any duuahir goods.
Women used 10 take valuable sllhs and irc"S
and bnstc them into pc'troats, 50 that they might
wear them, in leaving the steamer hut thN' Sor,
OF thing doasn' go now, I've seen silk p%ettlcon's
covered, from hem 10 belt, with row upon row
OF the costliest lace and I've ripped magnificent
lace out from between tho lining and the goods
Of dress skirts. BY the way, the last find | made
between the lining and goods ~ q gown, was n
gorgeous lace altar cloth, The woman seemed
70 be very charming aud rich, Nud she was bling
ing this magnificent thing oier a. n present for
her rector. Funny, how lttl" conscience good
women have about smuggling, isn't it.
Hoop skirt days were the harvest time for
customs examiners. \ woman could brng in
almost anything fastened To- her hoops, and We
women wer, kept busy then. I remeabcr one
woman who Ind costly lace wound around every
one Of her hoop skirt wires | spent three days
unwinding that lace, and then turned IN" job
over to someone else, beior, | was half through;
u huh uA"'NlA " 'i'a~ w ~ hN'''F .
stopped. Then there was another case. where
an old German woman had meerSchnum. pipes
fastened all around her hoop wires. Some II
the pipes were loose, AMI the old lady ratified SO
mvsteriously that we had 10 evamin, her.
One fayorite way Of bringing in lncc, silk and
fine stubs Of any kind wa, to wind the goods
about the body like a tight bandagc. before putting
on any clothing. The th.n women have a great
advantage in smuggling, you sce. Thy can
pad their figure with anything from point lace
- solid silver. Steamer chair pillows ore things
Nat will stand examining, too. The amount
Of dutiable goods that has been ished out Of a
pretty girls chair pillow is simply miraculous.
Among the immigrants. feather beds have always
BEEN the great hold ais for smugglcd goods.
I've seen whole junk shops dug out Of beds. but,
as q rule, the immigrants give Little trouble.
The people who can best afford 10 pay are the
ones that do the most smuggling, and it is aston
ishing TO see how little consequence cultured and
apparently respectable persons attach TO their
V~<t~vita and how Indifferent they are about
SS:fury. Still, every one isn't liz" that, ard 1t
Is amusing 10 see how differently members 81
New Works. wealthy set regard the customs
question. We know about what To- expect from
all Of them,
Not long ago, two very wealthy tew Workers
came in from Europn. one Of them had On in.
voice list Of everything she had bought from
the time she landed in England until She boarded
the return steamer. She simply turned the list over
u the officials, and paid the assessment " .thout
a murmur. Of course she would never miss the
money, but thu PRINCIPAL Of the thing was fine,
Her fellow passenger, who was equally able to
pay, made affidavit that she had nothing dutiabl"
and raised a Tremendous row when her thirty
trunis wer' taken t! the appraisers warehouS"
and about 5000 duty imposed. There, tn
difference b'tw"n two persons Of the same grade
The customs hl~In"SS gives an excellent Oppor-
tunity for n study Of human mature.
We have most impressive tNrliI speeches on
the dochS d~"llVl r'd by incoming Legislators.
Two or three Con rrc-sm'n have paid duty with
poiive JOY, and Unlisted that they were proud
" carry out the law wnIcn they helped % make:
but I've an idea that even the men who voted
for the bill aren't ahlvr carrying muggl'd goods
NJ their sleeves and # they have scIuples. their
wives and daught r, haven't. II l. amusing
TO study the ways IN which our detectives spot
prisons who are trying to cNad" Tia Law. Some
Of the mon seem almost t. hay" a sort Of second
sight. OF course W. have agents abroard who
watch heavy buyers, and keep Us informed about
Suspicious cases, but, even when there has been
no warning. II il very difficult tpr q Icr,on a. carry
through u smuggling scheme II any IMPORTANCE.
Well-dressed women bring small quantities #
!ewcry. la", &" through blt, IN Sven
cases out Of ten, Il man OF woman working an
important deal will give il away by some slight
sign, a nervous gesture, an oycrdonr careless
ness, a look, or a tone.
we all know the agents who travel hnck and
forth often, and can tell perfectly which ones
nee watching. officers on the ,hips sometimes
lodge information, md pnSsJrs'rS whom we
know give us r word NJ waning about fellow
Passengers. Those words Of warning mustn't
be swnllOwed Who'll, though. Sometimes they arn
blinds TO throw us oil p real scent, only n short
time Ago a we'll knOwu sporting man spoke n
one Of tn" inspectors whom he knew, and, pointing
out n rather conspicuous woman whose luggage
was in the same section with his, snil;
Say, on the quiet, she's positively stuffed.
Look out Tor her
THAT So said The inspector. Well, II that's
the case, ! guess you'll need a pretty thorough
overhauling.'
"He called up an assistant and they got So, 200
duty out OF the friend Of the law.
"A pretty girl Is the most pulling proposition
for the men INSPECTORS. She bushes and dimples
and is confidential and i~rlploring and coqucttlsh,
and the roor fellow can't tell whether shea doing
II from force Of habit or o guilty conscience; but
about her luggage or not, because m inspector
Is lust an inspector to her, and isn't complicated
by being q man, too.
There's one thing We miss among the luggage
since the 500 exemp, clause went into the tariff
law. That's the hat box, In the old days no
woman cam back without new hats, and hat
boxes were as plentiful as steamer rugs. Now
We hardly see one, and | miss the show. A woman
may wenr n Paris hat, but she doesn't bring any
more. They swallow that 500 too quickly; and
Shs prefers buying her hats in New York and
importing souvenirs Tint can'tbe bought here.