The Saint Paul globe. (St. Paul, Minn.) 1896-1905, 1900-11-04
TRAIL OF TIE DIAMOND
FROM MONTREAL TO NEW YORK
ARE SMUGGLED MANY GEMS
EVERY YEAR
MILLION DOLLARS WORTH
Some of the Schemes Used to beat
the United States Customs
Out of the Duties
on stones.


ON stones.
Diamonds worth 100000 are said to
have Eeen Struggled isto this country
within the last half dozen years by the
woman who eluded SO successfully
the customs officers the Other day by
leed-nS lot of valuable gems to I4er
small Cog in pieces of pork fat killing
me animal and recovering the property
when she had reached a place of safety,
says the New York Press The govern.
ment detectives searched her in the most
thorough manner possible after she had
crossed the Canada border, using a fc-
male assistant to perform the more deli
cate part of the job, but neither on her
person nor in her baggage could a single
precious stone be found. 1t was only
some days later that the method of con-
Cealment adopted was learned, and by
that time the diamonds had been sold.
The woman came over the diamond
trail, which leads from Montreal to New
York city. 1t is the route by which near
~ all of the precious stones smuggleI
into this country find their way, the es-
innate of the customs authorities being
that at least $1,000,G eco 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 pIir-
temptation to evasion of payment. Dia-
monds represent such a highly concen-
trated form of value, and are concealed
so easily, that almost no duty at all
would be collected if the tariff were
high. Even as it is the business OF
smuggling them is sufficiently profitable
TO employ many Sharp-witted persons,
who are so clever at it that the gov
eminent detectives rarely succeed in cap
turing cOntraband consignment Of this
kind or in securing the conviction of an
offender.
The real center of the diamond snug
Cling industry is in Maiden lane, New
York. In that neighborhood is the fa-
nous 'jewelry district" which supplies
the trade all over the United States Dia-
mOnds are a staple, not subject to much
tluctuatiOn, and ordinarily they are sold
pretty ''close"-that is to say, on no
large margin or profit. Hence it comes
about that the saving of the 10 per cent
duty, II it can be eVaded, is ma tier
of no small Importance, and the dis
Covery 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 Gus
toms authorities to the circumstances
and agents of the suspected concern are
Swallowed painstakingly.
Canada admits gems free Of duty and
so there is no difficulty in sending any
quantity of diamonds from Europe to
Montreal through the mails. 1t is then a
question merely of collecting them at the
montreal poStofice and conveying them
to the United States. This cannot be
done safely either by mail or by express,
because the postal and customs authori-
ties are too actively on the watch, and so
1t is necessary that some person shall
carry them, and here is just where an
ingenuity of the highest order is eXer-
cised. The border is watched with a
vigilance that never sleeps, and inasmuch
as the diamonds are always brought
through by the regular routes of travel,
the smugglers being obliged to pass in
specuon by the customs officers, it might
be supposed that they would frequently
be caught Yet such is by no means
the case
While on the one hand the detectives
Keep a sharp eye upon 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 obliged to assume that it is
so, and they conduct themselves accord ,
1ngly. At some future day one of these
clever Togues will write a book, descri5- !
ing the various stratagems resorted to
by the followers of the diamond trail |
and 1t Will afford some racy reading. 1t
is contest of wits against wits all the
Ume-ltteraly diamond cut diamond |
and up TO now the detectives have not |
come out ahead.
A case about fifteen years ago proved |
great disappointment to the treasury
department Persistent underselling OF
the market by a certain firm of diamond
dealers in Maiden lane had aroused sus-
clon, and other evidence had convinced
fIn IN
ton was smuggling the gems in a large
way Its agent was Swallowed to Mon
streal and seen in the act of receiving at
the postoffice there a package that was
known positively to contain valuable
consignment of stones. The agent APP
p2rently suspecting nothing, took the
1Iain for New York that night and the
detective, whose name was HoWellS !
found himself alone ON the sleeping cs.r
with his prey. He demanded the sur
render of me goods, and when the man
denied that he had any diamonds about
him, he proceeded to sit upon him and
search him. Sure enough, not a spark
Ter was discovered, and the detective
was much coScerned lest an action
against himself for damages might fol-
low. His fears proved groundless, how
ever, inasmuch as the smuggler was
satisfied to get off so easily having
quietly transferred the parcel of gems
10 a confederate in Montreal, who con
Veyed them safely by another road to
New York
Prosperity has increased the demand
Tor diamonds in this country, the same
as for other Injuries, and this has given
additional encouragement to the business !
Of smuggling them. The industry may be
said to have two branches, professional
and amateur the dealers making their il |
legal impOrtatiOns by way of Canada, be- !
cause the diamond trail' is the easy
route, while individuals fetch over small |
quantities of stones, relying upon various |
methods of concealment more or less iu- |
$enOuS w omen are said by the Gus
toms officers to be the best smugglers !
usually hiding things about their per-
sons, and bonnet or a pocket in a corset
may contain fortune in diamonds. Even
when thus hidden they will hardly es-
cane search, but such q measure can be
taken only when there is special reason
Tor strong suspicion.
HOW 1T LEAKS OUT.
The treasury department has sources of
information about matters of this kind |
which are not a all suspected by most
persons who try to cheat the revenue
by smuggling gems. In the first place |
nobody can make a large purchase of |
precious stoses in London. Paris or any |
where else in Europe without exciting !
more or less attention; and the trans |
actloli Is HdpIe 10 De reported TO TIE |
customs authorities on this side of the |
water. In any big gem dealers estab- |
lishment abroad there is likely to be |
some emplOye who has private relations |
with the American customs officers He |
may be only sub-clerk, and probably |
the firm that employs him has no notion |
Of this business connection of his: but
he is on the lookout for the reward which |
IS paid under our laws to the informant !
in such cases. He learns that a certain |
american has bought a lot of precious |