Pine Bluff daily graphic., 1912-08-09
 "CREATING OPPORTUNITIES'' THE DEFINITION FOR GRAFT.
(The TradesnanO

NI IC IIduSoulduJ
 Graft-a word which originally si2nified the manipulation of a grow ing plant in such manner as to make it more productive. Originally it wa practiced on fruit trees, roses. etc., to enhance their quality of taste, suc- culence or beauty; more recently, the constructive sense of a not especially valuable portion of the commonwealth has given the world an applied sense which is more entirely accepted. popu iarly, than the dictionary meaning, e- The word was coined in it's later IT. sla7ng to express making an oppor- tdni;E produce more and richer re- V arl than was normal Rather witty in it's derivation-as much so as de- spicable in practice
 Grating" is born or opportunity Padding payrolls and falsifyin.. bank or other commercial books is not grating. It is simple theft. Per haps more recondite instance might partake of both. A diamond dealer iii New York while in Amsterdam bought quite a number of diamonds. He was met With the usual demand as to du- tiable goods on his arrival in New York and declared he had nothing. His purchase having been cablet: across by the detectives that watch such matters in tie principal Euro pean ports, he Was searched, so closely iii fact. as 10 discover {: pos- ous Llaster placed between h;s shoul- iers. in Whicf. were unusual puct4h- e~""cos. A corner being lifted, d;e- played a spalkling crystal He vas arrested and on arrival at the l,s- Gn Mas ali oWCl tu send for .1is law yer, who ca"1a and, at the prisoners raqpest l1eusl:. m some old ,hoes ''to add to the comfort of his situ:~ tion.'' The new shoes were sent to be placed on last, pending the set tiement of his case At his trial the event showed that the gems" in the plaster were all glass and not duri- able. False heels in the new shoe, would probably explain the reasos of this comedy. This vas not graft II was cunning and successful attempt to cheat the revenue.
 parallel case was equally crimin- al in intent, broke no law. it's acco;l- r'ishment was not punishable, and il was not graft, for it used the law ol the land to undue advantage.
 The case was this: The duty or Fren ,..l gloves is quite high-a duty based on the value of the article lad valOrem.' The custom is to swear to the truth of the invoice before the United States consul in the port from wnence the articles are exported Sbourd the government officers. On arrival of the articles, beleve lha. they Nere Gndorvalued, they res ,Ev2 the right to huy at the invoice prie G Snch seizures are periodically sold at auction. nan imported 1000 dog en of these gloves, worth at wholesale a dollar a pair, but declared them on false invoice at fifty cents per Goz- en. The counsel never saw the goods did not know the material and had no means of detection. On arrivai the gloves Wara promptly seized When sold, 2 gentleman present, one Of the Hld l2rs, drew attention to the fact that they al. seemed to be "left hand gloves Investigation showed that he was correct. The gloves were sold for ten cents per dozen. A month later, a similar importation of ;EhaEes came into Boston, equally un- 1 dervalued, but all for the right hand The officers saw the futility of action ai9d let them go through. The ques tion here was the imperfection oi the law, which bad never anticinaceI such procedure.
 Tn similar manners in the sold days of the so-called wild cat' currency though much of it was issued from reputable sources, there were rogues who would comply with the law by