The Richmond palladium and sun-telegram. [volume] (Richmond, Ind.) 1907-1939, 1908-07-12


year, or that they were made on this
side, and that they are now wearing
them back again, when of course it is
plain to us that the furs are brand new
are in the latest style and are really
liable to heavy duty. But what can
we do when an extensively dressed
woman swears that her furs are a year
old?
Il will never forget the laugh we
had over two young ladies whom we
caught with the goods on some time
ago. They were well dressed and al
parently above suspicion, but we no.
ticed that they walked with extraordi-
nary discomfort. The poor things
were suffering so that we asked them
to step into a stateroom while we re-
lieved them. We found that each
had put her feet through ermine muffs
which she had pulled up around her
knees. 1t was very clever scheme,
but unfortunately the muffs had work
ed loose and slipped down around their
ankles. And there they were trying
to walk around with a heavy fur
bracelet around each ankle-no won
der they found progress slow!
There was another very handsome
ly dressed woman whom we searched
and found her clothes full of struggled
silk and lace. AS soon as she was
told she was liable to a heavy fine she
Indignantly exclaimed: Why. 1 am a
member of the church, | recognized
her as woman very prominent in the
work of the church l attended and
knew her pastor we'll. She was great
| ly outraged when she heard herself re-
ferred to as a smuggler and thought it
perfectly unspeakable that a church
| member should be subjected to such
| indignities She was very prominent
| ly connected and in some way she got
off merely with the payment of the
full duty.
Babies and children are often used
| for smuggling purposes. We halted a
mother once whose baby had twenty
five watches sewn in its clothing, and
sometimes a childs body is swatched
in yards of filmy lace that is very hard
| to detect. We once caught man
whose two young daughters, about 10
and II years old, had frocks on that
were simply lined with rare ermine
The children we're perfectly self-pos.
sessed when we took them in; were
not in the least frightened, and had
evidently been we'll drilled.
Yes. l really believe women are
worse at smuggling than men. Men
go into it for gain, but women seem
actually to enjoy it. They all do il
more or less. We've found poor Ital
ian women in the steerage who had
wound themselves with yards and
yards of canton flannel in the hottest
weather. They were hoping to snug
gle it in, not knowing that it Is not du.
table anyhow. We find lots of cheap
| jewelry and gaudy scarfs and shawls
among the immigrants. and they are
dreadfully disappointed and frightened
when we catch them. But the rich
women are the worst at the game. II
all the women who are perfectly able
to pay dKy would quit their SNUG
| Cling there would be very little for us
| to do.
| Never a steamer arrives that we dc
not know that some of the, womer
have goods concealed ABOUT them. We
are absolutely certain of it in our owr
minds. but still we can't get tangible
evidence against them. You see We
have to be extremely careful before we
order a woman to be searched, because
there would be all sorts Of trouble i
we got hold of a prominent woman
whoproved to be entirely innocent
We must be extremely cautious and b.
absolutely certain of the facts before
we dare detain her. So it happen:
that a great many women get by u!
every year who we are certain ART
beating the customs, but whom W,
can't catch with the goods on