Washington standard. [volume] (Olympia, Wash. Territory) 1860-1921, 1902-03-28

Custom House people and if she got
into any trouble he was the man of all
others who could set things right.
| The dressmaker cOnfded to him
that she had been abroad to buy
dresses for several Of her fashionable
patrons and she had half dozen
trunks crowded with garments that
were TO appear in the best social Cir
cles in the following season. She
then gave him the names of her GUS
toners.
! "Oh, know Mrs. So-and-so and
Mrs. So-and.so and Miss Blank" said
the elderly gentleman, "and there's
nothing in the world l wouldn't do
for them if 1 could. Make yourself
perfectly easy about the dresses; I'll
fix it so that your trunks won't even
be opened when we get to the dock
He was as good as his word. The
trunks were not opened at the
dock at all; they were, however,
opened in the seizure room OF the Gus.
tom House whittier they were taken
Immediately on their arrival on the
strength of the information that had
been given to the elderly gentleman,
who was a Custom House detective,
by the ft-hearted dressmaker. Some
of the dresses were redeemed by their
owners on payment of the legitimate
duties and q fine, but others were
never called for and were ultimately
sold at auction. The other passen-
gers who had given their confidence to
the stranger were compelled to pay
full duties on every article whose pos.
session they had acknowledged. He
"saw them through the Custom
House all right" but his interpreta-
ton OF those words was quite different
from theirs.
Some time ago there were among
the passengers of q steamer modest
appearing woman with her son of six
teen. The woman had two trunks and
the youth one, not large equipment
for returning travellers. They declared
that they had no dutiable goods and
the inspection revealed nothing; the
inspector passed the trunks and as he
was turning away he heard the mother
say in a low voice to the son,
Hurry up, Charlie. and get car
riage a. quick as you can"
Thereupon the officer said he would
take another look at the trunks. He
did so and as he turned the first trunk
over the woman turned pale, and we'll
she might for each trunk had false
bottom three inches in depth and in
these false bottoms there were several
hundred dollars worth OF laces from
Brussels. 1t was the anxiety to get
away from the dock that had be.
trayed the smuggler.
An organized system was recently
discovered by which considerable guam
titles Of clothing were received in New
York without paying duties. Agents
of English tailors were established
here and took orders for suits OF cloth
ing to be made in London and deliv-
cred to the customer here for less than
he would be obliged to pay if he pa.
tronized an American tailor. The
customers asked no questions; many
of them supposed that their garments
were properly imported and paid the
required duties, but others were not 90
guileless and boasted that they were
getting their clothes through the Gus
tom House by roundabout way.
The detectives worked quietly until
they had all the information they were
able to get without revealing what they
were after. Then one day they stopped
wagon just as it was leaving the
dock of q prominent steamship line,
and examined its contents. 1t was
found to contain box and large
bundle, and the contents of box and
bundle were suits OF new clothing just
from the hands OF London tailors.
One of the officers mounted to the
drivers side and told him to drive to
where he was going before they stopped
him.
The fellow sullenly obeyed, at least
apparently. He drove to certain
street and number and halted in front
Of a grocery store.
"This isn't the place." said the off.
Ger. "Drive to number-on Green.
wich street."
The driver saw he was caught and
that the officers knew more than he
supposed. He took the wagon to its
proper destination and there another
box of clothing was found; it had been
landed an hour or two before and the
consignees had lot had time to come
for it. The new box was added to the
load of the wagon which was then
driven 10 the Custom House where
the goods were promptly deposited in
| tho aeizura yoom
Recently" said an officer who has
been looking over the opium SNUG
glers, "a large quantity of opium was
sent by express over the Canadian Pa
cifc Railway from Victoria to st.
Thomas, Canada. From st. Thomas
the boxes were sent to Windsor, di-
rectly opposite Detroit; then they
were smuggled across the river at
night and the next day were shipped
to San Francisco. The consignment
of opium reached San Francisco in the