The Breckenridge news., 1906-05-16
SMUGGLING FOR FUN
Just For the Sake of "Getting
Ahead" of the Government.


Ahead" of the Government.
Smuggling for fun sounds ridiculous,
but customs inspectors who have spent
the greater part of their life in the
service of the government say there
are those who do it, Persistent eff
forts to detect those who would de-
fraud the government have been re-
warded by the almost total extinction
of the professional smuggler, but all
efforts have availed little against the
traveller abroad who purposely con-
ceals some article of value simply for
the fun of getting ahead" of the gov
ernment.
The government detectives put SNUG.
gers in four classes The first is the
thoughtless smuggler; the second, the
occasional traveller who tries to SNUG
gle; the third, the professional SNUG
gler, and the fourth, those who SNUG
gle for fun.
The professional smuggler has long
since ceased to trouble the federal Of
ficers seriously. The odds against him
are so great that he has turned his in
genuity to some safer method of dis
honesty.
The last, the smuggler for fun, is
bother Usually the duty he is at
tempting to save is hardly enough to
pay for the trouble of detection. What
people smuggle covers everything that
can be hidden.
Costly gems and jewels form the
greater part of the dutiable property
seized by the customs officers. The
few professional smugglers confine
themselves to diamonds. The SNUG
gler for fun is as apt to try to get in
pair of gloves, a bit Of lace, drugs or
expensive cosmetics. Lace. silk and
bits of bric-a-brac find their way into
out of the way places in the trunks or
grips of the occasional travellers who
think it perfectly justihable to avoid
paying the duty.
Trained agents in every European
city know of every purchase of gems
or costly cloth destined for this coun-
try. Weeks before the purchaser
reaches this side of the Atlantic his
name, address and the exact quantity
of goods he has purchased are in the
hands Of the officers on this side. His
failure to mention an article of the
slightest value Immediately brings him
to the attention of the inspectors, and
he is fortunate to escape with no more
severe punishment than the cOnfisca-
ton of the dutiable property.
To detect the amateur smugglers re-
quires keen detective work on the part
of the local customs officers. An es-
pecally quiet looking man who ar
rived a few months ago had concealed
a beautiful diamond I'm the heart of
lump of tobacco. The customs officer,
who had put this passenger down as
one of the honest travellers, had his
suspicion aroused when he saw him
make frantic grab for half plug OF
tobacco that he had accidentally dro.
ped. Before the passenger could rea
the tobacco the officer had planted H.
foot upon it and of course discovered
the stone.
A smartly dressed woman who had
been abroad for the summer limped so
painfully as she came down the gang,
way from the steamer that the customs
officer who had been detailed to inspect
her luggage was moved to ask If she
had suffered an accident on the way
over. She replied that she had. Be
fore he completed the examination of
her score of trunks he had excused
himself, sent another officer on board
and learned from the purser that the
woman had not limped at breakfast
that morning. She was asked TO ac-
company one of the women inspectors
to Il private examination room, where
a magnificent ring was found in the
toe of her boot.
Intuition more than anything else
aids the federal detectives In their
work-New York World