The Mount Holly news. [volume] (Mount Holly, Burlington Co., N.J.) 1891-1942, 1907-07-23
CLEVER SMUCGLERS.
Daring Efforts to Evade Uncle
Sans Customs Officials.
ONE BOLD PIECE OF WORK.
The Way Two Persistent Tariff Dodgers
Scared Ships Captain and Escaped
the lnspectors-A Poll Parrot That
Told Tales Out of School.

The Way Two Persistent Tariff Dodgers
Scared Ships Captain and Escaped
the lnspectors-A Poll Parrot That
Told Tales Out of School.
In the early nineties of the last cen
fury the precautions observed by the
officers of the United States treasury
department in preventing or rather at
tempting to prevent the successful
smuggling of dutiable goods into this
country were as adequate In their
{. scope and as rigidly applied as they are
today. This means that the achieve
ments of two smugglers, who may be
called Harry White and Richard Ber-
gen, need by no means be regarded as
insignificant. For years they piled
their trade upon the various transat-
lantic liners, and when at length their
system was laid bare through the acu-
men of government agents, their in
genuity still served to prevent the
just punishment Of many other Of
tenders.
The smuggling White and Bergen
did was confined to trunks full Of
nickel or silver plated German and
Swiss watches. English cutlery, wool
ems and tweeds. In the aggregate,
however, it may safely be ventured
that the revenue of the nation suffered
more through these two men than
through the occasional successes Of
diamond smugglers.
TnQvita hly Of ont1rca fhafr ~
umphs increased in duration and pro-
portion, the leak forced itself upon the
notice of the customs officers. White
and Bergen did not know this Agents
Of the treasury department In England
and on the continent were set to work,
and eventually suspicion was fastened
upon Bergen who was In London en-
gagged in the wholesale purchase of ia
BILE cutleIy. The two smugglers were
never abroad together, it being part
of the system for one to remain at
New York.
The government agents watched Ber-
gen for a fortnight One of them was
never far off when a purchase was
made, and when the object of suspi-
cion booked on certain liner that
fact, together with a complete list of
the dutiable articles In his possession,
was cabled to Washington. The vessel
was due past Sandy Hook on May 16,
1S9--, and the custom house inspectors
had prepared distinguished welcome
for the man whom they had long re-
garded as their special bette noire
De- Eoy
frequented the smoking room night
and day and was popular with card
players and the passengers in general.
One morning when the steamer was a
few miles east of Fire island there
came cry from the lookout, MAN In
small boat in distress off the port
boww The captain deserted a man
standing up In small sloop, the mast
of which was shattered and the craft
somewhat down by the head She was
drifting to sea, and the captain signal
ed for full speed astern, altered his
course trifle and finally came near
enough to the occupant of the sailboat
to throw him line, by which, wet
and bedraggled, he was hauled to the
deck, amid the cheers of the passen-
gers. If Bergen felt surprise as he
saw his fellow conspirator White
sprawled on deck, he gave no indica-
ton of it. In due time the ocean waif
disappeared from among the passen-
gers.
Developments were not long delayed.
The liner was approaching the Sandy
Hook light vessel when Bergen. Wild
of eye, with hair disheveled and cheeks
flushed, sought the privilege of an i'm
mediate and private interview with
the ships chief executive He was
taken into the chart room, where, fall
Ing on his knees before the captain. he
begged him never to divulge what he
was about to tell, and then he unfoIded
terrible plot which he had conceived
of destroying the vessel and her pas
sengers.
He was Fenian, he said, and had
been selected by his comrades to place
an internal machine in the hold of the
British vessel. Clockwork was attach
ed to the bomb, he declared, and it was
timed to go Off within twenty minutes.
He had remained firm In his deadly
venture throughout the trip, but now
at the crucial moment little boy with
whom he had played about deck and
had grown to love had swerved HIN
from bis QQz1osA "a SID teek Tie