The Abbeville press and banner. [volume] (Abbeville, S.C.) 1869-1924, 1907-10-02
HAUL Of STRUGGLED FINERY
Lacas, Dress Goods and Lingerie
in Booty Of Uncle Sam.
Thirty Dressmakers' Trunks Worth
$4,000 on La Savoic Seized at
Port Of New York.

New York City.-A gigantic syndi-
cate Of smuggling dressmakers, said
to have defrauded the Government to
the tune of half a million through
the illicit importation Of Partisan
gowns, was broken up by the clever
capture of three Of its alleged men,
bers and the c%oniscation of more
than $4,000 worth of rich dresses
and rare lace.
Included in the haul" made by the
customs inspectors is said to be the
maid Of a millionaire society woman
Of New York, who had entrusted her
servant with the smuggling of a
trunkful of gowns that a small for
tune would not buy.
simultaneously, the authorities de-
clare, they have closed forever a
wholesale scheme of label forgery and
substitution by means of which the
Syndicate" has been able to laugh
at the Secret Service sleuths for
years.
1t was the biggest coup ever exc
cuted in the seizure of Paris gowns,
laces and dressmaking fnery by the
customs officials of this port.
They belonged to forty Paris
dressmakers and French maids who
came over with a small ship load Of
trunks, thirty Of which were seized
when an effort was made to smugglc
them through. The affair created a
sensation at the pier, particularly as
some of the women succeeded in leav-
ing in cabs and had to be- pursued by
detectives and inspectors.
One of the women who looked to
be a model of plumpness when she
walked down the gangplank, was
taken back into the ship and
searched. Three hundred dollars
worth of fine laces and dress goods
were found wrapped about her body.
When the searching was finished her
plump figure had been changed to
n of decided slenderness.
She gave the name of Mile.
Hughes and resolutely declared at
first that she had nothing dutiable
except what was in her trunk. When
the inspectors insisted upon her be-
ing searched she threw up her hands,
eyclaiming in French: Eyes, I'm
loaded! Go ahead with your search
and let's have it over as sooa as pos
sible."
Another young woman, who said
she was a maid employed by a
wealthy woman in New York, and
gave the name of Mile. Dautran, had
a fine e trunk packed with costly
French gowns. The gowns had no
label, and the young woman declared
they were not imported goods. The
trunk had several labels pasted over
the initials, and when these were re-
vealed they gave a cleW to the own
er, but the inspectors would not re-
veal the name. This young woman
was met by a porter from the Hol-
land House.
Mile. Kilgannon had several trunks
literally stuffed with gowns of great
value, but she also declared that they
were not of foreign make. They bore
no labels. She exhibited anxiety to
get away from the pier, and before
the inspectors knew it had slipped
| through the gate and driven away in
a cab.
Inspectors and detectives followed,
and when she was caught and
searched the Paris labels which
should have been attached to the
gowns were found in her pockets.
Colonel John M. Bishop, Deputy
Surveyor of the Port, and a force Of
inspectors conducted the work, which
| required about three hours. When it
became known that the pretty French
women were in a ~predicament, many
of the passengers who had noticed
them on shipboard became much in
terested, and all other business on the
pier was neglected.
Bigger seizures Of precious stones
have been made, but this is the
largest haul of wearing articles on
record. 1t is believed that the false
label scheme has been worked sue
cessfully for several years. How tn,
| labels were obtained Is a mystery. 1t
is probable part of them were forged
and others stolen from other trunks,