The daily morning journal and courier., 1904-12-21
D JDGES IN SMUGGLING.
SPECIAL AGEN1,s kTORT TOLD
Of the Ingenious Frauds Perpetrateds
 by smuggIers.

The old special agent with the grizzled moustache took his cigar out of his mouth, regarded 1t critically for a moment, and then said slowly: Unn. yes; I suppose they have all sorts of new tricks and are eonstantly devisihg others, and I don't doubt that they succeed in beating the customs house officers every now and then. But they don't seem to be doing anything spec tacular just now perhaps they're un- caught as yet.
 You know these people who make a business of smuggling, and mean the people who try to bring in thousands of dollars worth of things at a time, are as keen as a knifeblade. They're not ordinary people; they's got all the dar- ing and ingenuity of the old-time suc-. cessful cracksnen, and it takes a mighty good man to get ahead of them. Sometimes the customs-house people, even the special agents of the treasury, are dead up against it when 1t comes to. dealing with this cool and clever class of, crooks.
 Now, just let me give you an exam pie of the astuteness of one of them at least. It will show you. the sort of thing we had to deal with in the past
 nOne day a cablegrafn reached the treasury department signed with the name of treasury agent in France, stating that a certain passenger on a certain steamer bound for New York had with him about $50, 900 worth of fine diamonds which he intended to smuggle into the country. A full description of the man accompanied the notification as well as "a general description of the stones. The steamer and the staterooms occupied by the passenger were noted, and we were warned that he might att tempt to change his appearance by re- moving his beard, which was full and < pointed at the time the steamer sailed.
 The most interesting part of the message was the statement that the passenger would probably have the gems concealed beneath a porous plaster spread across the small of his back Therefore we were not to listen to any of his protestations of innocence, nor to his eagerness to have his bag 4 gage examined in order to establish | that innocence. We were to take him into his stateroom and undress him and { pull off the plaster.
 We had much amusement over the < cablegram and also at the new varia- & tion of an absurdly old device for smuggling, because time and time again dutiable things had been found wrapped in bandages which concealed S supposed injuries. We also pictured the < c1ismay of the man when we should get down to his skin, as it were.
 N In due season the steamer arrived, and with it the passenger against whom we had been warned. There he was, and he had actually reduced his beard to a pair of thin side whiskers and re- moved his moustache. We inquired and found that he had made no mention of diamonds upon the declaration before % the inspector.
 Before he had a chance to get ashore one of the special agents went to him and quietly asked why he had not de- clared the diamonds he was bringing into the country. He jumped as if something had stung him, and then just as calmly said he had no diamonds, that we could go through his pockets, E anything he had. He said 1t was most remarkable to accuse him of such a
 thing, but he did not fly into a rage. he acted just as any innocent manawould have acted under the circumstances. Then we knew we had to do with a good 'un. 5s