The Birmingham age-herald., 1906-10-07
PARIS SMUGGLERS DEAL IN ALCOHOL Curious Methods of Which
 They Make Use
 - FUNERAL WREATH A RUSE Hollow Beams Contain Gallons of the Prohibited Artcle--A cleverly Hidden Tank in the Roof
 of Car.
FUNERAL WREATH A RUSE

most often smugsled through the gates of Paris. and this is due to the fact that the tax upon 1t has steadily increased during the past few years Naturally increased taxation means higher profits on eontraband goods and therefore quick ems the ingenuity of smugglers.
 Under our very eyes, writes an officer of the Paris custom house in the Scientific American, these men annually pass thou sands of gallons of valuable spirit into the city, where it Is readily disposed of at high prices 10 makers of perfumes or to liquor dealers, who use it for adulterating their goods Yet we keep a sharp watch on all who pass through the gates of the 1 capital None can enter until he satis- l fies us that contraband articles are not 1 hidden on his person. no vehicle Is ad- mitted until it has been thorouhgly searched and every cask of liquor must be declared before the owner is author ized to pass on.
 Nor can any one question the severity and consciousness of the inspection, as the men under my orders have share in the proceeds of the sale of any alcohol seized at the barriers. At given periods this is sold by the municipal authorities one-half of the receipts going to the city funds and the other half to the octroi em- ployes. These men are not overwell pai1 so they look forward to increasing their incomes by extreme vigilance in capturing smugglers.
 We'll Worth While.
 I can assure my readers that it is well worth while to smuggle alcohol into Paris l The dues on each liter or quart amount 10 four francs 15 centmes say S6 cents. Imagine the profit to be derived by any one who succeeds in smuggling several thousand gallons of alcohol a year. Among l the thousand and one methods by snug l glers some very curious ones have come under my observation during the twenty odd years that I have been connected | with the service. In the warehouses of the Hotel de Vile are stored all sorts of ingenious smuggling apparatus. They are so numerous that quite a museum could be formed,t were it not for the fear of teaching dishonest mon how to defraud the l government.
 For several months smugglers disguised as stone masons carried wooden beams through the gates without our suspccting 1 for a moment that they were hollow and contained large quantities of alcohol But the fraud was eventually discovered by l pure accident, as nearly always happens. ! One day, just as the last man of a squad passed the barrier with a cheery "Bonjour cam arades," he stumbled over stone and fell headlong. Fearing that the man was hurt, I darted forward to help him to his feet and had no sooner done So than to my utter astonishment he arose 1 with astounding rapidity and made off. leaving the beam behind him; moreover, his companions also took to their heels. The reason for their flight was soon ap- parent From one end of the beam there | oozed a thin stream of liquid, winch l in- stnctively detected as alcohol.
 Double Bottomed Bottles Common.
 Double bottomed bottles and othe" ves- sels are common contrivances of snug gers. In order not to awaken our sus- picon they are usually filled with some beverage, beer or wine. and this Is duly declared by the man in charge of the | vehicle We have often been swndled In this way in the past. Now we are never deceived by double bottomed bottles nor for that matter by hollow horse col lars. which was at one time another fa- vorite dodge of the alcohol smuggler.
 But I have come across even more in- | senious tricks than these In smuggling | alcohol through the gates of Paris it Is
 
 and a bulky cargo A single man can carry quite a quantity of alcohol, and in quite different sense from that usually applied to drunkards. A smartly dressed gentleman under his spotless waistcoat and white shirt carries an India rubber plastron brimful of alcohol. True, his appearance is rather bulky, but then he can probably put that down to good liv- ing, and ten to one he will slip through our hands.
 ! Sometimes the India rubber waistcoat | is replaced by a tin one, also filled with alcohol, and have known even an inn | maeulate looking tall hat to be found to contain some heavily taxed liquor. Then again this class of smuggler will often carry an innocent looking portfolio which | contains not papers but alcohol Thus surrounded by alcohol on all sides. he | walks past us with the gravest of airs, taking care not to make false step, oth- erwise his heavily loaded hat might fall | to the ground and reveal the fraud. have known this class of smuggler to be l accompanied by a fashionably dressed lady. under whose skirts there has been | enough alcohol to stock small sa- loon.
 Are Hard to Catch.
 | These two defrauders are very difficult l to catch, for the reason that they do not need to pass through the BHtes oi pie Il city but can come into Paris by boat, and my colleagues at Charenton or Bercy
 are hardly likely to detect them in the'r
 perfunctory examination of baskets and
 handbags Sometimes, of course, suspi-
 cion is aroused and the well dressed gen.
 tleman and lady are followed, not by
 ordinary otroi employees, but by detectives who are always on duty near the bar riers and landing stages.
 During a period of more than six months the customs employees at the vari- ous barriers at Paris saw two men regu- larly pass before their offices carrying a very fine funeral wreath. Naturally they | never asked them to pay dues on such an article as that. and never sunspected Tor a moment that it contained 40 litres oi pure alcohol. The smugglers took every precaution against discovery. avoiding for instance passing through the same bar rier twice running. However, the trick was eventually discovered by an officer who insisted on examining the wreath and found that it contained tin interior filled, of course, with the valuable spirits Among the many smugglers whom have caught red handed there was one man who disarmed suspicion for months II. u-r