Eagle River review. [volume] (Eagle River, Wis.) 1890-1927, 1907-09-13
OFFICERS TAKE
FAIR SMUGGLERS.
Big Seizure of Women and Fine Gowns
at the New York Steam
er Docks

NEW YORK, Sept. 9.-The liner La
Savoie brought in Sunday the biggest
consignment of undeclared trunks, called
in the vernacular of the customs officials
''sleepers," ever shipped from Havre by
dressmakers banded together to cheat
Uncle Sam out of MS customs duties.
Thirty of the trunks were taken to the
public stores seizure rooms for closer ex
animation than could be given to them
on the pier. 1t is estimated they coptaiR
$4,000 to $4,000 of dutable material.
The roundup of the dressmakers
caused excitement on the pier, and there
were exchanges of strong language be-
tween inspectors and the women whose
goods had been seized. A tall and eX-
tremely plump young woman, who calls
herself Nine. Hughes, protested so Wig
orOusly against personal search that the
surveyor in charge of the searching force
decided that some of her plumpness was
fictitious, and he ordered an inspectress
to take her back aboard the ship and find
out what she had under her dress Nine.
Hughes said at the bottom of the gang
bplank, with show of heat, that on her
honor as lady she had nothing under
her clothing except that which belonged
there.
Plump Woman Gets Thin Quick.
The inspectrcss, however, unwound
from Mme. Hughes person about $500
worth of lace and dressmakers material
She had gone up the gangplank, as the
surveyor remarked, looking like a load
of hay" She came down resembling q
bean pole.
Nine. Hughes trouble put the other
suspected dressmakers in state of con-
sternation. and they went away without
making any effort to get the ''sleepers"
Off the pier.
rNho 1rocep,oI orc an +I,o To Sovo;a dill
not know that after it had sailed from
Havre the customs officers had inaugu-
rated a new rule to prevent "sleepers
from coming into the port uninspected.
The rule is that every inspector shall
accompany the baggage that he examines
to the gate leading to the sect, and the
inspectors on duty at the gate shall per-
nit no baggage to pass simply on its la
bel. This was what tabbergasted the
smugglers.
Lady's Maid a Smuggler, Too.
Another dressmaker who got into Sc
rious difficulty was Nine kilgannon. She
failed to enumerate a number of trunks
which contained gowns and other dress
makers materials. There were no for
eign labels Oh the gowns, although they
appeared to be brand new, and Nine
Kilgannon said they were of domestic
manufacture. She had gotten into cab
and was driving away when the inspec
tors gave chase, following her about
block at top speed before they got TIA
cabman to stop. She was brought back
to the ship and subjected to personal
search and all the labels that had been
cut from the gowns in her trunk We're
found concealed under her clothing. All
her trunks were seized
Mile. Dautren, said to be the maid of
wealthy New York woman, had de-
clared only a small amount of personal
effects. but had in her possession also ii
large canvas covered trunk filled to the
top with Partisan gowns and dress
goods
The end of the trunk which usually
has the owners initials OH it was COM
pletely concealed with hotel pastors. The
inspectors removed these pastors and
found the initials which indicated that
the trunk belonged to another person
than Mile. Dautren. The young woman
was met at the pier by a Holland house
porter