The Pacific commercial advertiser. [volume] (Honolulu, Hawaiian Islands) 1885-1921, 1909-11-21
Sheridan offer Struggled.

san FRANCISCO, November Elm
raid made yesterday on the rooms OF
George ?. Burke in the fashionable St.
Mark Hotel in Oakland, District Officer
Robert MeGinnis of the customs service
and Lieutenant Of Inspectors John 7.
Stone, obtained possession Of $500
worth of smuggIed Chinese and Japa-
nese goods.
The presence Of the contraband arti-
cles IN Burke's room was discovered
through the energetic work of special
agents who were sent here recently
from Washington to put a stop TO the
operations Of smugglers.
In their Investigations the agents
have unearthed an ingenious and gigan-
tie system Of smuggling carried on by
employees Of the army transport service
and which it is believed has been sue
eessfully operated for years. Unfor-
Junately there is technicality prevent
ing the prosecution of Burke and others
who have followed the same plan of
defrauding the government. Burke,
who Is an employee of the commissary
department of the transport Sheridan,
was at his post of duty when the big
vessel steamed out of the bay on its
trip TO the Orient yesterday afternoon.
Shortly after beginning their work
here some weeks ago, Special Agents
johnson, Tidwell and Smith learned
that vast quantities of smuggled goods
from the Orient had been shipped from
Seattle to this city, and that the ship
ments invariably followed closely upon
the arrival of an army transport in the
Puget Sound city.
Suspicion pointed to Burke, and it
did not take long to learn the method
by which he had the goods brought
ashore. The Sheridan in its trips from
Manila to San Francisco touched at
Nagasaki and Honolulu. Burke laid in
his supply of trinkets and fnery at
Nagasaki. Reaching Seattle, he enlist
ed the soldiers in his cause, each TAX
ing ashore some of the goods, which are
exempt from duty up to 800 valuation.
Once on shore, the soldiers restored
the goods to Burke, who had them ship
ped to Oakland.
In Burke s rooms were found yester
day scores of rich silk jackets and XII
monos and a varied assortment of vafu-
able China and Satsuma ware. Burke
could have disposed of it all at figure
far below the American market price
and still have reaped big profit. I'm
der the law the government is entitled
to confscate the goods, but as Burke
did not personally smuggle them in,
there is no way of Furnishing him for
his offense.
Customs officers declare that this
method of cheating the government has
been in operation for years. There is
scarcely a returning transport that does
not bring thousands of dollars worth of
oriental dress goods and brio a-brac into
the country without the payment of
duty Until now, however, the exact
method of getting the goods ashore has
been a mystery which the customs Of
fcers could not solve.
Iroquois Is Black.
There have been transformations of
warships in Uncle Sam s naval service,
but none So radical as the U. s. S. Iro-
quois, the station tug of the naval sta
tion. From white hull she has chang
ed to one of black although her upper
works are still the old buff color.
Shipping Notes.
The Asia left for San Francisco yes
terdav morning at eight clock.
Tomorrow forenoon the japanese
cruiser Idzuno Will leave for Yoko-
hama.
The China is due here on Tuesday
morning from San Francisco. 1t is ex-
pected she viii bring many passengers
for this port.
The schooner Mary E. Foster came