Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1913-05-04

they Weren making enough proht on the
imported gowns that they sold for five
or six times much they We're really
worth. They reasoned it out that II
they could just get out of paving any
duty on those gowns they'd be salts
fed. So they got busy. The first thing
they did was to corrupt a couple OF the
inspectors in the New York customs
house. Then they sent an emissary 10
Paris and corrupted the shipping agent
of one of the big steamship lines running
were ready.
"A buyer would go over for the bunc IA
and purchase thousands upon thousa nd $
of dollars worth of gowns from noted
firms of the fashion city. These would
be carefully packed in trunks and the
trunks would be sent few at time to
the corrupt shipping agent.
THE shipping agents part was simple
enough. When he received the trunks
he would look over his old lists and pick
out one or two people who had sailed for
Gotham week or so previously. Then
he would ship the trunks in their name
as left baggage In due course of time
the trunks would arrive in New York.
and. since the people to whom they Were
addressed had never heard of them, they
naturally would not be called for. So,
'sleepers. that being the name the Gus
toms men give uncalledf luggage.
Then came the ,.ne work of the crook
ed inspectors. That night they would go
TO the sleeper trunks and decora te them
with tags indicating that they had been
examined. The next day an expressman
would call for them. pretending to have
been sent by the addresses. In view
OF the tags, he would have no trouble
getting them and with his wagon loaded
he would drive off. And that would be
all there was TO it-except that fifteen or
twenty thousand dollars worth of gowns
would have been shipped in duty free
AS I've said the scheme worked right
merriiy for q number of months. 1t might
even be working yet but for the fact that
two OF the dressmakers involved in the
plot happened TO have a quarrel The
result was that one of them. determined
to have revenge, wrote a letter to the
customs office telling on the other OF
course. the other promptly retaliated by
telilng on her. and pretty soon the whole
bunch was rounded up and indicted. They
all pleaded guilty when they We're taken
to court and paid their fines without a
murmur. They were lucky at that They
came mighty near going to jail
There was another long pause while
Wilkie relighted his pipe and puffed
ruminatively
49, ehooSH, ne finally Femarke0,-
when it comes down to diabolicaI clever
ness You We got TO hand it to the opium
smugglers. Most of them are Chinese.
and when Bret Harte wrote that verse.
For ways that are dark and for tricks
that are vain, the heather Chinee is
peculiar, | may remark, from experience
that he knew whereof he spoke. Out on
the Pacific coast. where most Of the
steamers from the far east land, the
opium smugglers have become SO foxy
that, in addition to my regular agents /
have to be helped out by a set Of .ship
searchers, who literally go over every
men or an incoming ship from stern to
bow, deck to bottom, and even crawl be-
tween the skin and the side hunting
1or tins OF the dOpe-you know, it's not
allowed TO be brought into the country
a all.
And maybe you think those Cinnamon
aren't clever at finding hiding placesi For
instance. not long ago we received in
formation from one of our foreign agents
that a certain ship, due to arrive at San
Francisco, was loaded with some 5000
pounds of opium. OF course, we were
laying for that ship when it reached port,
but the most painstaking search failed
to disclose the slightest evidence of the
drug. The searchers crawled through
the manhOles, and even looked down the
smokestacks, but there was nothing
doing.
They were just about to give it up and
leave the ship when one of them was
seized with bright idea. He noticed
the big tank which held drinking water
for passengers and crew during the voy-
age. Mounting the iron ladder running
up its side, he climbed to the top, lifted
the lid and looked in. 1t was SO dark
fx,c;l ha I,sk
but he was not satisfied Climbing down,
he borrowed a pocket electric f1ashlight.
Then he climbed back, flashed the light
and looked inside the tank again. There,
floating around ON the surface Of the
water the folks had been drinking during
the entire voyage. were scores of tins of
opium, ali Theoretically sealed and just
as good as ever. These containers meas
ured about three feet In length and about
two feet in diameter, and they held