The Pacific commercial advertiser. [volume] (Honolulu, Hawaiian Islands) 1885-1921, 1909-12-06
WATERFRONT NEWS


Today the Otsuishi station was to de-
spatch a message, and on the goth,
oath and 25th messages will be sent
from both the Choshi and Otsuishi sta.
lions. The two japanese stations have
arranged to receive messages from the
American stations at Hawaii and San
Francisco for three days, from the 2lst
to the 23d Engineer Torigata works
at the San Francisco station to receive
messages from Japan. The japanese
authorities concerned are awaiting
with keen interest the messages to be
sent from Hawaii on the 21st and
22d, and from San Francisco on
the 23d
Japan Gazette, November 18.-The
wireless experiments between Japan
and America, which have been carried
out since the night of the 10Th inst,
have so far proved unsuccessful, but
hope is entertained that those between
Japan and Hawaii may be crowned
with success.
Struggled Opium Off China.
The seven tins of opium found on
board the steamer China and now
housed in the Appraisers building are
just tins of opium to the ordinary OBJ
server, says the S. F, Bulletin. But to
the eve of the customs inspectors they
reveal a lot. They give strong evil
dence that the opium manufacturers of
China are in league with the Chinese
crews of the transpacifc steamers and
the would-be smugglers on this side to
defeat the law prohibiting the importa-
ton of the drug into the United States.
In the first place, the tins have been
reduced in size. Before the prohibit
tory law was passed, the opium always
came here in cans about four and
half inches high or larger. and those
that were taken from smugglers since
the Gid was closed down were of
smaller size The objected of making
them smaller is clearly to enable them
TO be concealed in corners were the
old tins would not fit and where the
inspectors would not think of seeking
them
For about three months not a single
tin of the drug had been found on the
oriental steamers Either the snug
glers had suspended their efforts or
they were beating the inspectors. How
ever. the customs men were satisfied
that no great quantities were getting
past them, since the price of the drug
in Chinatown was advancing steadily.
It has continued to advance, and it is
said that the seven small tins of sweet
black poppy juice taken yesterday
could have been sold for $1,000.
Another strange feature of these
opium cans struck the customs men $
eye It was that they were ''hermeti-
callv'' sealed. Instead of being fitted
with the usual tight lids. they had been
closed with molten metal so that the
whole cover was one solid sheet
Dramatically sealed can may be
carried in many places where the old
lidded can would be useless In parti-
cular, it comes to no harm through
being immersed in water, and the
manufacturers were evidently prepar-
ING for the possibility of having to get
the opium ashore with the aid of boats.
Opium smugglers in Australia have
been known to use the trick of throw
ing the tins overheard. to float till
they were picked up by acomplices
from the shore.
1t was Inspector f. E. Eniow that
unearthed the opium cache on the China.
The vessel had been pretty thoroughly
searched. but Enlow bethought him of
a hiding place where he had once
found packages of oriental silk It
was on the hurricane deck, behind
box of deckcIeaning materials. So he
went with his prober and poked around
the box. A heap of old sails. coils of
wire. poles and other ships tackles
had to be removed, and then apparent
" all that was underneath was the
sand and cocoanut shells that are used
TO scrub the deck. But the Inspector
iabbed his probe down into the sand
and at length he struck one Of the
opium tins. Further search revealed