Delaware gazette and state journal. (Wilmington, Del.) 1883-1902, 1901-04-04
Hoods $as.SaE9as'fafa
UNCLE SAINTS SPOILERS.
Especially the Man in Europe Who Looks
Out for Smugglers.


Out for smuggiers.
S. H. Adams in Ainslee's.
"Uncls Sans large and we'll
organized Secret Service Is made up
mostly OF men who come properly
under the head OF detectives with
police mowers, but it has its class OF
bona fide spoilers, whose entire duty
IL is to ingratiate themselves with
evade the customhouse duties and to
warn the baggage inspectors at this
end Of the impending swindle. In
cleverness, address, and adaptability
the secret service spotter is easily at
the head OF his profession, and even
ranks with the trained experts OF the
European diplomatic corps. II is
essential that be should BIZ man of
the world, for he must associate with
oil kinds of people, en- equal terms.
Ho has no fixed abode, but lives in
various European capitals when he Is
not on shipboard, where no is much OF
the time. He must never let himself
be in the slightest degree suspected.
There is always a number of these
agents in Paris, because Of the great
American trade there. They live at
the fashionable hotels and live the life,
apparently, of flaneurs and boule-
vardisrs. In all lines Of trade that
concern dutiable goods they are ex-
perts, and no large purchase by an
American in Earis is unknown to
them. Their circle of acquaintance is
enormous, hut nobody knows them for
| what they are. In one way or another
they contrive tn make the acquaintance
Of any person whom they suspect, and
unostentatiously but unremittingly
trail him. Many a time some man
who has made a heavy purchase Of
diamonds or laces and SO disposed
them that he felt sure OF being able to
get them through the port undiscovered
has been PASSED on the dock by a
chance acquaintance of the voyage
over who, unseen, presses q little
note into the hand OF the customs in.
spector. That note tells all that the
willy smuggler would wish to keep
'seorot, and his baggage is mercilessly
ransacKed until the hidden articles are
brought to light He has been followed
over BY the spotter. Men employed In
this line get good pay--as high as enc
a day-but itecosts them much to Hive
In the manner in which they must
| MAINTAIN themselves
Suspicious as IL is of swindles from
without, the government is more trust
full of the employees in its financia
centre than in any private corporation
In the United States treasury the who'll
output Of the nations currency Il
handled by men who are under neither
surveillance nor bond. The paying
teller handles $40. 900, 900 or $50, 0o0, Coz
year. The exchange clerk has ever,
day $50, 600 in change at hand. Tn,
money in charge of the keeper OF tn,
cashroom runs from S1.0, 900, 600 up
ward, and the, chief of the issu,
division, who is negro, handle
millioDs every. day. any of these mel
could get away with enormous amount
OF money and be reasonably seour,
against detection for a considerable
length OF time. Nevertheless, pecu
lations from the Treasury have beef
few and small in amount, during it
} history. There is an axiom in the de
rartment which runs as follows:
Wherever money is handled Their
is o point at which the honesty of tn
individual must be the main reliance.
And so the treasury dispenses witt
/ the services OF spoilers. However
private business interests involvin
the handling OF large sums of none
, are not likely to follow this example
Spoilers may be an evil, but they ar
q necessity In the present phase q
, human development, and until som
psychological chemist devises
preparation to make men honest, th
; type is likely to persist"