The Washington weekly post. (Washington, D.C.) 1878-1916, 1900-10-23

tue other day by feeding d lot OF yalu-
able gems 20 her small dog in pieces %
pork fat. killing the animal and recover
lEE tGe property when she had reached
"a place o. safety. The government de-
tectiyes searched her In the most thor
0lgh manner possible after she had cross
81 Jhe Canada border. using 2 female as
sistant 10 perform the more delicate part
- the JCb, but neither or her person nor
iB her baggage could a single precious
stone be found. IL was only some days
later that the method Of concealmcEt
adopted was asceTtalHed. and by that
time Jhe diamonds had been sold.
The woman came over what is known
as the diamond TRAIL" which leads from
Montreal 20 New York City, IL is the
route by which nearly all OF the precious
stones smuggled into this country find
their way, the estimate Of the customs
authorities being that at least 100000
worth Of diamonds alone are imported
duty free by this road every year The
duty on the uncut gems is only 10 per
cent. being made low purposely, in or
der % avoid Offering too great a tempta-
ton 10 evasion OF payment Diamonds
represent such highly concentrated
form OF value, and are so easily con-
cesled, that almost no duty at all would
DE collected II the tarn were high. Even
as Il f., the business Of smuggling them
Is sufficiently profitable 10 employ many
sharp-Wtted persons, who are 50 clever
al 1t that the government detectives rare
~ succeed in capturing conuaband con-
sigument Of this kind or in securing the
conviction Of an offender.
Canada Charges No Duty.
The real center Of the diamond-smug-
Cling industry is in Maiden Lane New
York. In that neighbOrhood is the ia
nous "jewelry district" which supplies
the trade all over the United States. Dia-
monds are a staple not subject TO much
fiuctuatiOn, and ordinarily they are sold
pretty ''clOse'-that is to say, on no very
large margin Of profit. Hence, il comes
about that the saving OF the 10 per cent.
duty, II IL can be eyaded. is a matter of
10 small Importance and the discovery
that a dealer is selling large quantities
OF diamonds at prices under the market
always eXcites a reasonable suspicion
that he is importing the stones by the
Canada route. Other dealers privately
call the attention Of the customs author
tiles 10 the circumstances, and agents of
the suspected concern are painstakingly
Swallowed
Canada admits gems free of duty, and
20 there is no difficulty in sending any
quantity OF diamonds from Europe 10
Montreal through the mails. Ii is then
a question merely OF collecting them at
The Montreal pOst-office and conveying
them into the United States. This can
not be done safely, either by mail or by
express, because the postal and customs
authorities are too actively on the watch,
and so IL IS necessary that some person
shall carry them. and here is just where
an ingenuity of the highest order is ex-
eTcised. The border is watched with
vigilance that never sleeps, and mas
much as the diamonds are always brought
through by the regular routes of travel,
the smuggleTs being obliged TO pass in
spectiOn by the customs officers, it might
be supposed that they would be frequent
~ caught. Yet such is by no means the
case
Polling the Detectives.
While on the one hand the detectives
keep a sharp eye on the dealers agents,
the latter when engaged in this sort of
business, take it for granted at all times
that they are Swallowed. Such may or
may not actually be the case but they are
oblighed TO assume that il is So and they
conduct themselves accordingly. At some
future day one OF these clever rogues will
write a book describing the various STRAIT
agems resorted TO by the followers Of the
diamond trail" and II will afford some
racy reading. IL is a contest OF wits
against wits all the time-literally d!a-
mond-cut-diamond-a up to now the
detectives have not come out ahead.
ago which proved a great disappomt-
ment 10 the Treasury Department Per-
Sistent underselling of the market by a
certain firm of diamond dealers In Maiden
Lane had aroused suspicion, and other ev-
idence had convinced the authorities that
the concern in question was smuggling
the gems in a large way. Its agent was
Swallowed 10 Montreal and seen in the
act Of receiving at the pOSt-Offlce there
package that was known positively to
contain a valuable consignment Of stones
The agent. apparently suspecting nothing.
took the train for New York that night
and the detective. whose name was How
els, found himself alone on the sleeping
car with his prey. He demanded the sur
render of the goods, and when the man
denied that he had any diamonds about
him ne proceeded 10 sit upon him and
search him. Sure enough. not a sparkler
was discovered, and the detective was
much concerned lest an action against
himself for damages might follow. His
fears proved gToundless, however, mas
much as the smuggler was satisfied TO
get OF so easily, having quietly transferr-
"a the parcel Of gems TO a confederate in
Montreal. who conveyed them safely by
another road 10 New York.
Great Demand for Gems.
Prosperity has Increased the demand for
diamonds IN tins country, the same as for
other luXuries. and this has given addi-
uonal encouragement 10 the business Of
smuggling them. The Industry NAV he
said 10 have two branches. professional
and amateur the dealers making their
Illegal imp0rtations by way u Canada.
because the diamond traiTN Is The easy
route, while individuals fetch over small
quantities Of stones, relying upon yari1us
methods Of coEcealment more or less IN
eeulOus. Women are said by the customs
officers 20 be- The best smugglers. usually
hiding things about their persons, and a
bonnet or pocket IN a corset NAV con-
tain quite a fortune in diamonds. Of
course. Even when thus hidden. they
viii hardly escape search, but su.n a
measure Tan oll-N ne taken when there is
special reason for strong suspicion.
The Treasury Department has sources
Of information about matters Of this kind
which are not at all suspected by most
persons who attempt 10 cheat the revenue
by smuggling gems. In the first place
nobody can make d considerable purchasa
Of precious stones IN London. Paris or
anywhere else Ia Europe without excit-
Ing more OF less attention, and II the
purchase be large. II Is liable 10 DE- re-
ported 10 the customs authorities On this
side o. the water In any big gem-aeal-
eT's establishment abroad there Is likely
10 be some employe who has private fela-
tons with the American customs offi..rs
lie may be- only sub-cleTk, and probably
the firm that employs him has no notion
Of this business connection OF HIS; but he
IL on the lookout Tor the reward which is