Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1907-08-29
SEIZE SMUGGLEO GOODS
HABERDASHERY FOUND IN
SHIPS LAUNDRY BAGS.
Traffic Has Been Going on Some Time.
No Clue to the
Principals.

| NEW YORK, August 29.-With the seiz-
| ure of silk shirts, pajamas and neckties
| valued at $1,000 in the laundry being taken
| from the Atlantic Transport liner Mime
apolis half an hour after she locked at the
foot of West Houston street. the govern
ment custom house officials believe that
they have run upon a system of smuggling
| which has been carried on with great profit
| for years.
The goods were found in two bags being
taken from the ship by John Kellaway, one
of the 'luggers" in the stewards depart
ment. Kellaway was taken to the custom
house and questioned at length. He said
that he believed that the bags contained the
soiled linen of a passenger in the first
cabin, but that he did not know his name
Chief Steward Martin could throw no
light on the matter, saying that the soiled
linen was collected as the boat approached
the port and taken off to the laundries in
bags by his men as soon as it had been
sorted and counted.
The government officials were very reti-
cent about the seizure. No arrests were
made yesterday and Kellaway was allowed
to go after he had been questioned.
A Kindred Scheme.
Ever since the discovery some weeks ago
that gang of smugglers was carrying
gold leaf into Boston in the laundry from
the boats of different transatlantic lines,
the custom house inspectors in this port
have been on the watch for some such
development here.
Every bag of laundry that has been taken
from the big liners has been searched, but
nothing was found until yesterday. Special
Inspectors Isaac Wilson and James Breeze
ninski have had charge of the work and
were on hand yesterday. When the laun-
dry bags were searched, one by one, moth
ing but soiled linen was found until Kella-
way pitched the last two bags on to the
pier.
to contain Paris and London haberdashery
Of the latest design. The stuff was gather
ed up and taken to the appraisers ware
house in Washington street, where it was
Expect Other Finds.
The customs officials believe that the men
operating the system have been unaware
of the recent vigilance of the inspectors
and started their regular fall shipments as
usual They think that the stuff gathered
in Yesterday was probably the first of a
series of consignments which are ordina-
rily sent across the ocean at this time of
the year, and that they will make more
finds in the laundry bags of other liners.
me gold leaf seizures made in Boston were
distributed among the boats of half dozen
different lines hailing from almost as many
different ports
The government officials are of the opin-
ion that the smuggling has been carried
on by men who have not even appeared on
the piers. Agents the other side have
put the stuff on board, they believe, and
then it has been cared for by some person
employed on the boat in a mental capacity,
who has been able to get it into the laun-
dry bags.
1t is believed that the management of the
Atlantic Transport and other lines
which seizures may be made Will do all
that they can to assist the officials in fer
reting out those at the head of the traffic
and their confederates on the different
boats.
Profitable Traffic.
The traffic is most profitable one, the
tariff on all fancy haberdashery being so
per cent of its value. Several of the large
Broadway haberdashers were asked yester-
day what they thought of the seizure, and
they almost unanimously replied that they
had for long time suspected that some
such thing was going on.
All of the manufacturers labels and
trademarks were carefully removed from
all the smuggled goods, 1t is believed, as
was the case with the stuff seized yester-
day, and the goods were then placed among
the assortments of furnishings about to be
auctioned or sold at bankrupt sales"
great deal of expensive haberdashery
clearly of foreign make, has been found
among these lots. say the merchants
The government officials believe that they
will get but little aid from the laundries in
running down the principals in the traffic
The wash from the liners is taken to
dozen different laHndries. and it is believed
that the bags containing the smuggled
goods probably never were allowed to reach
their supposed destination, but were re-
moved from the trucks as soon as they
drove away from the piers.