The Hawaiian star. [volume] (Honolulu [Oahu]) 1893-1912, 1912-01-20
COLLECTING THE DUTIES AND WATCHING FOR
SMUGGLERS ON THE WHARVES OF new YORK

of November was little over $780,
OOO and this is a bagatelle in COM
| parison with the amounts which have
been collected through undervalua-
tions and ON merchandise, to which l
refer farther on.
These fines are almost altogether
from people who have tried to sneak
things through in their baggage from
the steamers, The offenders are of
all classes from New York milliners
and dressmakers to some of the rich
est and most prominent of the land.
One is the wife of a former governor
of New England and another that of
a prominent politician of West Vir-
ginia. Each of these ladies tried to
smuggle in jewelry and each was
fined $5OOO
With others are the wives of trust
magnates whose millions have come
from the tariff protection of the things
their husbands manufacture. One
such case was as to a pearl necklace
and other jewels brought in by the
wife of a millionaire making agricul-
tural machinery. This was the Adri-
ance affair of which something has
appeared in the newspapers. The
madame was fined $4,000 and the
goods she attempted to smuggle were
forfeited Upon this her husband 1e-
nounced the government for persecut-
ing travellers who sought to bring in
"a few petty things free" AS l re-
member it, among the petty things"
in this case were some pearls valued
at $4,000, which the lady had hid.
den in the folds of her straw hat. The
millionaire's remark was reported to
Mr.. Loeb. whereupon Loeb said that
Mr.. Adriance had made a big fortune
out of the duties which the United
States imposed upon such machinery
as he manufactured, but that when it
came to his paying any duty himself
he objected.
A somewhat similar case of a trust
fortune failing to pay duties was that
connected with the Leeds necklace.
This case came up shortly before Col
lector Loeb got his appointment. w.
b. Leeds, one of the millionaires of
the tin plate trust, had gone to Paris
to live, and while there Mrs. Leeds
had bought a famous necklace at a
cost of 100000. She wore the neck
lace in Paris, but part of her bar
gain was that it was to be delivered
to her in Newport without duty with
in certain time, if she SO desired,
In order to escape paying some of the
duty the syndicate took the necklace
apart and shipped 1t in as loose
pearls, in which shape it was invoiceG
at 100000. The tariff upon loose
pearls was 10 per cent, and, as 1 un
derstand it, at that rate the necklace
was passed.
In the meantime, however, the spe
cial customs spies at Paris cableC
New York that the necklace had beer
worn by Mrs. Leeds before it was
shipped and that it should therefore
pay duty as a necklace. Upon this the
matter was again taken up and the
duty raised to $4,000, or $4,000
more than the original sum. To this
the importers objected, and the court
then fixed the duty at the loose pear
rate of $4,000, This decision was
appealed from, and, as 1 understand
it, the case has gone to the United
States Supreme Court and it has beer
adjudged that it must be reconsid
cred.
In the past much of the petty SNUG
Cling has been done by dressmakers
and tailors. 1t used to be customary
for English tailors to take orders II
New York and make clothes to meas
ure, agreeing to deliver them to the
customers free of duty. Dressmak
ers' samples gowns were brought II
as personal effects, and orders fol
gowns made in Paris were taken the
same way This was a regular bust
ness. Only last January twenty
seven dressmakers were fined from
$500 to $4,000 for being implicated il
it, and one of the great surprises
sprung by the present administration
was when it began to prosecute won
en- of this class. One of the frs
cases mentioned in the list given me
by Collector Loeb is that of Eliza
beth Kilgannon, who had to pay
$4,000. Mrs Kilgannon and her hus
band a man named White were part
ners in smuggling Mrs. KilgannoI
) was known as Nine. Loran, milliner
) and her husband White we're classe,
as silk importers. Others were impli
, Gated in the transaction, and wheI