The citizen-Republican. (Scotland, Bon Homme County, S.D.) 1???-19??, 1911-01-12
Steamer Trunk Tricks

are the principal vioiators
or the customs law. The extent to- which
the sleeper-trunk frauds were carried suf-
feed to rob Uncle Sam of millions OF dol
lars of duties. These frauds needed only a
little conspiracy between a person on each
side of the Atlantic, and a steamship off,
cial. A trunk bearing the name OF some
rlch or famous American would be sent to
the pier of the departing steamer too late
to be carried on the outward voyage. The
next ship out would carry 1t as delayed
baggage. When 1t reached New York the
steamship conspirator would lave 1t
~unloaded and 1t would remain unclaimed.
As the steamship agents supposed they
had listed 1t with the passenger the trunk
would not be included In the manifest of
the second ship. A drayman, calling in.
the night after the customs authorities
had left the pier. would remove the trunk
ana the rest was easy. No one will ven
ture to say how p.uch this class OF s7a,3g-
Cling costs the Gated States.
All sorts of tricks are resorted to by
professional smugglers to get their wares
through the ports without paying the i'm
port toll. One man confessed that he had
struggled thousands Of dollars worth of
diamonds In a coffin which was supposed
to contain the corpse of his brother.
Smugglers have been caught with secret
cavities In the heels of their shoes. Wom-
en- have been discovered converting their
bodies into huge spools, wound round
round with precious laces and rare silks.
Others have concealed diamonds in their
hair or secreted dutiable belongings In a
multitude of secret. pockets. In one case
a smuggler transformed himself into a
bunch back. When he rive at New
York a mar who was going to the races
that day, and who wanted to touch a
hunch back for luck, put his hand on the
back of the seemingly afflicted traveller.
He concluded that the 'hunch" was not
real and ordered the man examined. The
lump proved to be a package of diamonds.
AT the customs houses a piece of goods
may DO linen today and cotton tomorrow.
The law provides that textiles shall be
rated according to the classification of
their ingredient of principal value. In the
~huctuation of the market linen thread NAV
De worth more one day and cotton thread
more the mex day. The manufacturers
make goods which are approximately half
linen and half cotton and IL linen is up
they will come in as linen. If cotton Is
the higher they will be rated as cotton.
Not all goods are brought into the United
states on under-valuations, or even as low
as their real value. A dishonest importer
Of paintings. knowing that there are a
great many rich Americans whose only
knowledge of art is the price mark, values
his daubs at thousands of dollars. The
government has no other alternative than
to accept his valuations. When he at
sefipss 70 maRo II raie ne points WITH
pride to the fact that aver the customs
house put a high value upon his wares
This very often clinches the bargain. HI
Is permitted by the government to keer
his paintings in bond for a year, and to
send them back to Europe II they are not
sold at the end of thai time, after paying
a duty of 1 per cent.