Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1910-03-20
Swindling Uncle Sam
Continued from page 4

aboard one of the Red Star liners at Dover or
of the American Line steamships at
Cherbourg. The gowns were marvelously
packed. the entire consignment being wedged
into medium sized trunk. This is known as
the sleeper" trunk. For the sake of appear
ance the buyer then usually brought over two
three thousand dollars worth of gowns,
which were regularly declared and proper duty
paid upon them.
After the arrival of the buyer the sleeper"
baggage came in unaccompanied, bearing the
name or initials of some innocent passenger who
had arrived at New York on steamship three or
four weeks before. The sleepers" slept on the
pier for two or three days apparently unpro-
tected: but subsequent investigation showed
that they were constantly watched by the bag
gage superintendent who was in the pay of the
smugglers There were many ways of getting
the "sleeperS off the pier unexamined. Most of
them were slipped on truck partly loaded and
were covered up with merchandise that had
been checked passed by the inspectors. If
discovered it would have been easy for the bag
gage superintendent to say that the trunk had
been brought to the pier too late to catch the
last outbound steamer. Some of these sleep
ers bore bonafide customs labels, indicating
that they had been examined. and it was
Deputy Surveyor Raczkiewicz who discovered
the fraudulent user of the labels.
1t was Lorne B. Walker, a customs inspector
with rowing commission, who was in the en-
ploy of the ring in Europe. The ring was origi-
EXCLUSIONS inspector named Fawcett. who lived
in Paris and knew the ropes in New York.
With such men Walker on this side and
Fawcett on the other it was not hard for the
smugglers to get the stuff through. Walker
was good man for the smugglers. He had adj
vantages over other inspectors. His rowing
commission gave him the opportunity of being
on any steamship pier at any time. and he could
guarantee to meet illicit baggage and get it
through Walker admitted in court that it was
1oIo 1c &1,a1 IS
honest inspectors. Armed with these he could
casually paste one on a trunk and the label
would enable it to pass out of the customs
lines like legitimately examined baggage
Running Down the "Sleepers"
TN August, 1907. Raczkiewicz laid a trap for
Walker. 1t was set quietly. The secret in
vestigation, which lasted six months, took the
federal investigators to Philadelphia, Chicago
and Boston. 1t made a nervous wreck for a
time of Raczkiewicz, who was directing it: but
he and his men rounded up the gang and ar
rested the ringleaders. With these in jail the
system was smashed. News OF the arrests
was flashed to Paris. but too late to halt five
"sleepers" worth fifty-two thousand dollars
then on the Atlantic, which were seized on
rival Important evidence was finally OBJ
tanned which brought about the indictment of
invent y-seven dressmakerS, OF whom fifteen
pleaded guilty and have been fined from five
hundred to seven thousand five hundred dol.
The public has by no means heard the end of
the sleeper" baggage cases, and some more
interesting revelations are promised within a
few months. Raczkewicz and his men took
desperate chances in digging up their evidence.
1t was unearthed against terrific opposition:
but Collector Loeb was behind them and Presi-
dent Taft and all the machinery of the Treasury
Department were behind the Collector.
Collector Loeb declared recently that he
would not have accepted the job if he had been
denied free hand When l became Col
lector," he said Il planned to run the depart
ment fairly and squarely without and within,
eliminating politics and pull entirely. l was
not content to let things run along in the lax
fashion of the past. l went after the rich as
well as the poor. the influential as well as TIE
humble l decided that the rich, who derived
more protection than the lowly from the Gov
eminent. no longer should bring in finery with
out the payment of duty have tried and
think succeeded in Kidding the service at the
port of New York of the undesirable en-
ployees who helped make smuggling possible,
and l have stood by and advanced men whom
l found had the courage to be honest. When
ever politician comes to me and pleads for
clemency for customs employee whom | am
positive is dishonest. tell him plainly that the