The Washington herald., 1909-05-28


account OF the device known as the
seventeen holes and the iron hook" it
wa detrauGed on shipments Of sugar
reaching as far back as 1897. thus max
ing the total unpaid duties reach two
millions and upward. The trust has
rnaes restitution Of a million and a quar-
ter, after suit, and criminal prosecutions
are to follow.
II the inventive faculty applied TO
discovering methods Of evading customs
duties had been employed devising use
tuI appliances for the benefit Of man.
the Industrial and scientific progress OF
the race would have been far greater
Women are born smugglers. The pro
verbal mystery which surrounds the
dress OF a woman, in so far as the mas
cDiine mind is concerned, would make
il possible for her 20 carry out every
plan she laid 10 eyade the customs officers
with diamonds, jewelry, and laces, were
il not that female inspectors are employ
ed at all the leading ports. Il IS hard 10
make a man understand that smuggling
is criminal, and the customs people say il
IS impossiblue 10 bring the mind and con
science Of woman 10 q realization CT
this fact
The officials relate a story told by q
minister of the Disciples Church, who
had q charge in a Maine town. He re-
sided with one Of his parishioners.
widow. who remarked 10 him one day
that she was going across the border 10
q town IN Canada 20 purchase winter
outfits for her children The minister
chanced 10 meet her as she returned and,
as she did not carry any packages. was
surprised 70 hear her say that she bought
the chldren's clothing. His parishioners
thereUpon proceeded 20 show him her
underskirt, in which there vas q dozen
pockets, OF goOdly size. containing suits
for ell the children. and other things be-
sides. The clergyman demonstrated with
his landlady for violating the law 1T
Is man-made law" she replied. "God
allows widows 10 buy where Jhey can buy
the cheapest
Several years ago a little hunchbacked
man tTOt1ed down the Eangplank OF 8
steamer at the New York docks He
was a good-natured looking chap. and
several customs inspectors who freQuented
the races made bold to ask him 70 be
allowed 70 touch his hump IN order that
they might have good luck at the track
the following day The anger and nsrv-
BUSINESS displayed by the little man
aroused the suspicious OF the officers. and
they removed the hump. which was found
20 consist Of three porous plasters, be-
meath which was a tissue paper package
containing several hundred articles %
1ewelry. valued al thousands Of dollars.
The officers were never able 70 decide
whether the howls OF the smuggler while
the hump was being removed were cue
IN greater part 70 chsgrin OF physical
pain This nan had made twenty-sevsn
smuggling trips across the Atlantic.
sometimes employing one method Of
evading the law and sometimes another.
Il was charged that he had shipped
the body OF his old mother from Europe.
with the coffin containing much jewelry.
on which duty should have been paid,
but he indignantly denied the charge. He
said that Il was the h0dy OF his brother
which he had shippeL and confessed
that he had placed on The dead mans
fingers forty-tWo rings which would have
borne thousands OF dollars OF revenue had
the customs people found them.
One Of the most celebrated smugglers
with whom the customs officials have had
20 deal was q man named Lassr. who. up
70 a few years ago, made the evasion OF
customs laws his profession. His chief
accompIice was a woman. who would
meet him at Montreal when he came over
from Liverpool with smUggled diamonds.
She. TOO. wore a1(petticoaL Of many
pockets. and in these she would secret
the packages Of stones and run the
gantlet Of the inspectors at the border.
Lasar smuggled hundreds Of thousands OF
dollars worth OF diamonds, first and
last. selling them. It was proved. to
eminently respectable dealers in New
York
He did not always employ q woman as
sccOmplice. On one occasion, while on
the deck Of a steamer from Liverpool 70
New York. he encountered q nurse maid
who was giving q baby an airing He
affected 10 be much attracted TO the child,
and the day before the steamer reached
New York gave the baby rattle. But
when the steamer had landed its passen-
gers. d customs inspector observed Lasar
exchanging the baby's rattle for another.
An examination Of the toy which Lasar
had taken from the child showed that its
rattle" was produced by many thousands
Of dollars worth diamonds
On one trip across on a Montreal steam
er LasaT formed the acquaintance OF a
bridal couple from New York. and by
the time they had reached Montreal their
acquaintance had ripened sufficiently 20
permit him 20 request the couple 70 de-
liver certain packages 30 a man in New
York whose address he gave. He assured
the pair the articles were OF little value
and not dutiable. but impressed upon
them the Importance Of not allowing the
customs inspectors at the border 70 see
them. as 20 do so might occasion delay
and embarrassment The result was the
pair were taken into custody, owing prob
ably 20 their guilty appearance, and the
groom actually languished IN Jail for
about a month before he could establish
the fact that he was only g smuggler's
victim and not a guilty principal.
Some years ago the customs officers az
New York received a tip to the effect
that a certain man and MS wife were
en- route TO New York with diamonds.
The pair were questioned closely by the
inspectors when the steamer landed. but
it was impossible 10 elicit anything Ike
a confession. Finally the two we're sep
arated. and IN a few minutes the wife
was told her husband had confessed that
she had the diamonds She broke into
tears, removed her hat took the pins
from her hair coiled on her head, and
when the mass dropped down there lay
revealed chamols bag which was found
10 contain diamonds Of great value
Laces bear q heavy duty, and many at
tempts are made 10 smUggle them. Not
long ago q woman, who reached New
York on a steamer from France was
found TO have her body and legs swath9d
in the most costly laces-hundreds Of
yards Of them. She said she put on the
laces 10 protect herself against the cold
New York dressmakers are much given
10 the habit OF coming back from Paris
wearing so many garments beneath their
street dress that the slsnderest Of vounr