Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1905-09-09
mond-eyed Japanese who had done tn
work for them.
Bodily DisproportionS Betray.


Then. too, in his unconscious cerebration
the willy inspector combines with the acu-
men of the psychologist and the mysterious
skill of the modlste, the profound canons
of anthropometry. Down to fine points he
has the formulate of human proportion
Foo example a very handsome well-dressed
woman whose trunks passed muster was
noted to have a very small face and yet
robustness of body which, by comparison
excited suspicion She was therefore
turned over to the woman searcher who
found that she had, bound around and
around her petticoat, enough rare lace to
trim a dozen dresses. During the process
of !ts unraveling she was kept spinning
about like a top for quarter of an hour.
When spying a passenger who has sus-
pic.ous protuberance to starboard or port,
these inspectors have a way of brushing up
against the suspect in the most accidental
fashion and of then apologiZng most pro-
fUsely they depart: but meanwhile they
have felt that spicious-lookfng bulge.
This test applied to a man recently re
suited in the discovery that he carried in
ona of his trousers pockets eight little gold
watches of the finest feminine persuasion.
Opium Hidden in Lines.
A customs man who recently stood at his
office window congratulating himself that
the ships quota of passengers had been
run through with, saw lime fly over
high fence that inclosed a vacant lot i'm
medately adjoining the wharf Before
long another piece of fruit of the same
species repeated the flight The customs
man thought nothing of it thus far, as the
boys about the wharves are wont to throw
missiles of almost any kind at the rats
which escape down the ships hawsers. But
when a veritable shower of lines COM
menced to fall he descended to the lot and
dissected one OF the little yellow things
with his knife. He found each lime plug
lie
wrapped in oiled paper the plugs being re-
turned to place in watermelon fashion.
Nothing is more easily concealed by SNUG
glers than the thin silks brought in from
China and Japan. These are of such fine
texture that four or five handkerchefs of
ordinary size can easily be packed inside an
English walnut shell. One male smuggler
carried in his trunk an ordinary cake OF
soap, which passed inspection at the first
handling and until the inspectors eye hap
pened to catch a line Of irregularities cir
cumscrbing its surface The cake was
promptly pulled apart and inside were Sc
creted collection of valuable diamonds.
Similar Irregularities upon the vanished
heel OF a passengers shoe resulted in the
discovery that this means of support was
hollow and that it contained gems to the
value of $4,000.
Searched Artificial Arm.
OF course, there are times when the In
spector wakes oversuspicious. Word re-
Gently came from Bremen that a certain
cabin passenger was bearing with him S1O,-
600 worth of jewery. All of his baggage
was overhauled without avail, he was duly
bumped by the inspectors. was duly apollo
gized to for the jostling and was about to
be dismissed when 1t was discovered that
ne wore an artificial arm. The man in the
blue REFER and brass buttons shook hands
with himself and turned the MANNED sus-
pect over to a searcher, who demanded that
the wooden limb be promptly embarrassed
and "forked over" But it was found to be
empty and the passenger went his way,
threatening a damage suit.
But how Is it that these clues to probable
smugglers are flashed over the wide ocean?
In the chief cities of Europe our Treasury
Department employs secret agents who
keep track of sales made to Americans by
all of the big jewellers and exporting houses.
There are five of these in Paris, four in
London three IN Berlin, and so on, each re-
ceiVing IS a day and expenses. They re-
ceiye ready cooperation from the foreign
merchants, who do not wish to see the
smuggler undersell them in their legitimate
importing business. Certain large houses
abroad Immediately notify the treasury
agents when an American has made pur-
chase of diamonds, silks and other duttab.e
goods. One noted tobacco house In Ha-
vana regularly gives the same sort of warn
ing Moreover, the treasury agrees to d.
vide the value of seized goods with disinter-
ested persons giving clue to a departure
oe smuggled articles purchased abroad.
In addition, there are always employed to
20 back and forth on the big ocean liners
travelling spoilers" who receive $40 day
and expenses, and whose business II is to
ingratiate themselves with passengers and
learn what they can concerning their for
eign purchases. tits the favorite ruse of
these Chesterfeldian detectives to grow very
confidential with passengers and to drop the
j