The Minneapolis journal. [volume] (Minneapolis, Minn.) 1888-1939, 1905-09-29
MILLIONS IN GEMS
WERE IMPORTED
GREAT INFLUX OF DIAMONDS IN
10 MONTHS ENDED JUNE 80.
Customs Experts Kept Busy Values
Of Many Kinds of Precious Stones
Doubled IN the Last Five Years.
New York Times.

These are busy days for Uncle Sam s
diamond experts at the Custom House.
n !! the fiscal year ended June 80 last,
diamonds and other precious stones,
New York e sa}hhe e va Mets Of aBSSrssss
an increase over the preceding year of
50 per cent.
The record since the beginning Of
the treasury s new. year, July /, shows
that the figures of last year are in a
f fsl way to be eclipsed by the time the
August imports 0 at New York York. for 'e *
ample, amounted to $2,275,873, or IL
per cent more than in the correspond
ing month Of 1904. The precious stone
entries SO far this month are very
heavy, and scarcely day passes with
out the arrival OF gems from Europe.
shipped from ebrosd on st ony tRsee
lines of steamers. Now, however, the
foreigners lose no time in filing or
ders, and practically every steamship
line is utilized to get the stones to
the American market. When the
I precious s stones arrive, on the steam
SHIP, the government truckman is
notltied and the. gems are soon stored
away in safe in the office Of Deputy
Collector Swords at the appraiser S
warehouse.
AS a rule, importers are in a hurry
tor their goods, and as soon as the
appraiser has received the necessary
the safe and carried to the diamond
room on the fifth floor Of til
warehouse. Without d special dispen.
sat1on from the proper authorities none
other than custom house employees is
allowed within the locked and barred
i1n n91osg where frequently million
dollars worth of precious stones are
spread out on tables for examination
and appraisement.
The Diamonds usually come to this
country wrapped in plain white tissue
paper. The wrappers are undone, and
the gems carefully weighed to see if
they correspond with the weight marked
on the outside Of the package, after
which the number and character of the
stones are noted to ascertain if they
agree with the accompanying invoice.
IF the gems have been entered. at cor
rect market prices, and the other fea-
lures OF the examination prove salts.
factory, the stones are quickly re-
turned to their coverings, and the i'm
porter notified that his Importation is
r. ready Tor delivery upon payment of
Notwithstanding the great value Of
the. gems annually handled and ap-
praised by the New York custom house,
losses by theft or. otherwise are infni-
tesimal. I.F .s
General George W. Mindil, the gem
expert at this port, said yesterday: 81
so far as thefts are concerned they
are practically unknown. The only ex-
ception I can think of was the case of
an employee who, after many years of
service, betrayed the confidence placed
in him and stole package Of gems He
was promptly arrested and later CON
.fessed his guilt and is serving his term.
As soon as the stones reach New York
they are brought to my room by a trust
ed messenger and locked up, 50 you see
there ism It much chance for robbery
a Il Z suppose thatf90 per cent Of all the
precious and semirprecious stones i'm
ported into the United States are en-
tered at this port. New York is the CEN
ter of the An erican diamendStra and
from here the gems are distributed all
over the country. The government does
not maintain diamond experts at the
other ports, and as a result we do a
great deal Of advisory work for the Of
fcials at other places. Because of the
| lack of experts at other ports the Sec
rotary of the treasury endeavored some
time ago to have all gem imports en-
tered and appraised here. r.
"The precious stones are received
| both in the mails and in the regular
way thru the custom house. 1t is in
teresting to note that some of the
grades Of stones have. doubled in value
during the last five yearS.'' rst-- -