The Detroit times., 1911-09-01
CUSTOMS OFFICER
| SEARCHES LINER. !.
FOR OPIUM
ines Correspondent Spends Day
With Inspector in Going Through
Ocean Steamship at San
Francisco.
els Some Of the Peculiar But In.
teresting Things He
k,Al. Saw.
BY r. w. MADISON.

oAlN rhANttDNO, Ohi.s sept. L.
he trans-Pacinc greyhound, Nippon
Faru, was deserted. except for the
Ihinese crew and the customs guards
Six men, In oyeralls and caps, car
Ying electric torches. q long wire
hne and screwdriyers, were proving
pre- and there, from the bow to stern
fom the first-class cabins on the top
kost deck to the dark, dirty IRE
pom, where coolies. naked to the
aist. feed the great furnaces.
These six men were searching for
Pntraband opium.
Inspector @. ]. Benninger opened q
hpboard. drew out a tray of many
asses and disappeared on his hands
nd knees. He had gone into a mar
pw passage In back Of the cupboard
len minutes later he emerged, GOV.
red with cobwebs and dirt. He
admit found any opium. A minute
tier he was rafting q loose part OF
gigantic cupboard.
The last trip that piece of wood
as tight Might be opium here
b murmured as he numbered his
frewdriver and began operations on
be cupboard.
Half OF the side came on, showing
narrow space capable OF holding a
pzen or two OF tins Of opium. II
las empty. But Inspector Benninger
asn't overlooking any bets. He had
pt forgotten that the strip was tight
hen the Nippon Maru made her
lst trip. II was q small thing, the
soseness OF this strip. but it's the
4 mall things that count when you are
Uniting for opium, From the dining
Aloon he jumped TO the narrow pass.
'ke way, tapping walls here, explor.
,kg narrow holes between water and
d lean pipes. because a flve-tael (half
pound) tin OF opium Is mighty
mall.
Down In the fireroom p. o. Hui.
lker, Benninger's partner In search
N &. was working like a fireman, run
Ing his long wire cane into piles OF
Lhes, prodding the coal bunkers and
zen opening and looking into the
Barring furnaces, while curious coolies
3rned into black men by the coal
list, looked on and grinned. chatter
w about this crazy white devil
no was wandering around the bot
I'm OF the ship turning everything
bside down.
Huffaker went on, -peering into wa.
fr casks and thence into. the SHAFT
Dom, where the huge steel shafts
bnnects with the monster propellers.
Ee prodded packing. peeked Into dark
brners, tested suspicious looking
Iaces for false panel work. But
IilMre met his every move. Then ne
lined his partner on the upper deck.
4 II is always the unexpected that
Appens In an opium search. AS the
Herman combination" Chats what
'Iuffaker and Benninger are called by
keir fellow searchers) met, word
hme down from the freight hold that
blum had been discovered.
la curious inspector had casually
bked his wire cane into barrel OF
fckies. The cane didn't go as far
bwn as II should. Investigation die
Nosed tins Of opium concealed pc
bath false bottoms In the pickle
Arrels, and l40 cans. valued at about
, 900. was found.
1 In a frst-class stateroom inspectors
Iuffaker and Benninger uncovered
hother hiding place. Unscrewing a
kg cabinet from the wall, they swung
81 clear and revealed a small round
Bile cut into the partition. There
las nothing there.
"But II was there, between the
lalls that we found quite bunch
\ hon" said Huffaker. The inspector
.lhIv smiled when the reporter asked
|ibw they happened to look into mat
.rticular place, for there are nun
eds of such cabinets screwed TO
le walls of the ship and to take
,em all out would mean a weeks
!ork for dozen men. The smile
'I.ohahIy meant that the special
rents IN the orient had tipped" the
ace when the liner sailed.
"A Two DAYS later the customs omcers
ere turned into laborers, moving nve
Inns OF coal in the bunkers ana III
~ unearthing many tins OF opium.
The smugglers are not particular
dhe,e thew stow away opium. II has
.er found in the quarters OF the OF
~. even. in the captains ROOM
lrohahIy placed there by some enter
ir,s,rg coolie who thought the cap
I'm would be immune from search.
It,s no cinch hunting opium lot q
hisrv on "a a day, and II you don't
flieye II. Just watch some time when
he men are at work.
Il 9TH. next Story will tell how the
,N,,.,gier gets past the guards ana also
kn,,, the most valuable opium In the
tnrid ~hich Is regarded as a govern
ient bond by John Chinaman.)
IA go aANn Tn RH-EREEn