The San Francisco call., 1910-02-13
NEW SMUGGLING
SCHEME EXPOSED
Customs Officials Fear Opium Is
Being Transferred at Sea
to COasting Vessels
Transport Logan Discovers Sus
piciOus Looking Japanese
Ship Believed Smuggler

Is opium being brought across the
Pacific by sailing vessels and trans
ferred at sea TO American vessels en-
gagged in the coastwise trade and ex-
empt from customs supervision when
they arrive at this port?
The customs officials here asked this
question when the army transport Lo-
gan, which arrived here yesterday, re-
ported having encountered small boat
100 miles off shore, in which were
three Japanese and one white man,
apparently an American. The boat
was sighted from the Logans bridge
Friday afternoon. Believing that IT
contained survivors from some wreck
Captain Stinson changed the troop
ships course and bore down on the
little craft When within hailing dis
tance Captain Stinson offered to take
the men and their boat on board the
transport. His offer caused some
tTepidation among the occupants OF
the small boat and the white man
fastened to assure the captain that
they were not in need of assistance.
ANSWER SUSPICIOUS
What are you doing out here?" in
quired the skipper
There was a silence and then, as if
struck by a happy thought, the man
in the boat replied:
er off to the westward"
There was schooner there all right
and three other small boats were later
seen several miles away in different
directions
The Logan's officers say that there
was nothing that looked like seal
hunting gear in the small boat and
when the matter was reported 10 the
customs officials here they evinced a
keen interest.
The customs officials are certain
that very little opium has been landed
here from trans-Pacific liners or other
vessels from foreign ports. In spite
of this fact the price of opium remains
the same. The five tael tin of opium
is worth about S25 in Chinatown In
Honolulu. where smuggling is said to
be comparatively simple, it is worth
$40. and it brings $40 in Manila. The
customs officials believe that the Japa-
nese schooner seen by the Logan might
hold a solution to the mystery of the
local opium market which, by all the
rules of the law of supply and demand,
should be steadily soaring.
WATCHING FOR CONFEDERATE
If the japanese schooner was trying
to intercept some coastwise sailing
vessel with which, probably, arrange
ments had been made beforehand. they
Z
of small boats and in this way COM
mand a greater range than would be
possible from the schooner's masthead.
Lumber vessels by the dozens come
here under sail from Puget sound
They frequently go much further of
shore than the Japanese schooner and
its string of boats were seen. 1t would
be no trouble to transfer a ton or more
of the forbidden drug at sea and there
would be enough profit in the trans
action to bribe all hands and the cook
TO silence. The five tael or half pound
tin of opium costs about s6 in Shang-
hal or Hongkong.
Arrived here the opium could be
loaded on an express wagon and
hauled up to Chinatown without fear
of interference, as lumber coasters,
except such as hail from British Co
lumbia ports, are given no attention
by the customs authorities.
AS a result of the Logan's report,
which has been communicated to
Washington, it is probable that reve-
nue. cutter will be sent out to investi-
gate the Japanese "sealer."