The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1910-11-01
THE Law DIDN'T BOTHER HER
So HOOLGgRI.. HOME FROM PARIS.
GETS HER NEW GOWNS SEIZED.
sne Tsok the Proceedings smiiiBx AMI
Hrr Worried Father Paid the Biai.
which Came to $3.50 Customs Men
Puzzled NJ Her Mental Attitude.

Miss Hortense NJ Harder. daughter
81 Victor A. Harder o. the Harder Realty
and Construction Company Of this city.
was passenger by the Hamburg -Ameri-
can liner kaiserin Augiste Victoria. m
on Saturday. having completed years
schooling in Paris preparatory to coming
out She was accompanied by her mother.
and each made separate declsrati ton
The young woman, who il tall. handsome
and appeared to Customs Inspector Lake
To be particularly Ingenious. declared
three Paris gowns valued at S36i She
lowered near M. inspector, radiating
ingenu OuSness. while he was ma king
careful examination Of her big trunk.
He found seven more Paris gowns. some
OF which. had been worn little and which
bore no labels OF the makers. The in
spector called Miss Harder's attenti on
Ia the gowns and the missing labels.
Acting Deputy Surveyor John p O'Con-
nor decided that the trunk must 60 To
the public stores and ordered Miss
Harder. who took the decision with smll-
ing placidity. to appear yesterday before
Surveyor Henry and explain.
Her father and a lawyer accompanied
her To III. Custom HOUSE and the three
were examined by the Surveyor. his AS
sistant. Special Deputy Surveyor George
J Smyth. and MIR Barnes 81 the law
division. Miss Harder was the least dis
HIrbed % the lot Mr. Harder simply
could not understand his daughter
mental attitude toward the customs
laws Of the country. He said he had Ind
in mind the trouble thar returning Ameri-
can women were getting into by neglect
ing To declare things that they should
declare and he had sent to h- wife and
his daughter blue circulars Of instruction
from the Treasury Department telling
them what to do and particularly urging
them 10 desiars everything they had that
was dutiable. Mrs. Harder did ma. but
Miss Harder did as she liked.
The young woman stood a sev ere cross
examination without finching. She was
asked why SHE had taken the labels from
the seven gowns and she said she had no
intention to deceive the customs man
but that skre was coming out this fall
and that she did not want some of her
chums. who were also coming out, to du-
plicaie the gowns by examining the labels
and finding the makers. She admitted
tina, she had received her fathers letter
and the blue circular telling her wha, she
should do. but said that she suffered 30
much from seasickness that abe had lost
track OF everything. Her father showed
a letter she had written TO him 10 indicate
that her intentions were good She wrote
thar she would follow his instructions i'm
plicitly and declare everything.
The Surveyor was a bit habbergasted
by the unimportance which she young
woman seemed to attach TO the proceed
ing- He remarked tina, a criminal prose
cuiion would be j,isiihable IN the case II
she were not 81 young and inexperienced
After a consultation with Mr. Smyth and
MIR Barnes the Surveyor announced thai
she would not he prosecuted. but that her
seven gowns. which allowing for wear
were appraised a, t523 foreign value.
would ne seized. Mr. Harder was in
formed that he might get the gowns by
paving the foreign value plus the duty.
about ssso. and he ~aid he would do so.
The surveyor gave Miss Harder a little
lecture. saving that much lenity had been
shown IN her case because OF her youth
and that he trusted that she would profit
hy her experience and remember the
laws ~ her country in the future. She
thank e-i him with a smile and went away
with her father and lawyer still smiling.