The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1915-12-11
GOWN SMUCCLERS
WILL GUILT
French Girls Come Here with
Costly Apparel for FASH
ionable Trade.
LABOR LAW CHARGE ALSO

The latest French styiss coupled With
much excited French talk and not .
little French Indignation impaired . de-
cidedly PArisian atmosphere 70 United
states Commissioner Clarence 8. Hough-
tons court room yesterday morning
whom the Baroness Jeanne d'Dtreiliis,
head Of the recently established New
modistes. and three other persons con-
nected with that concern were a~rraigned
on warrants charging customs fraud and
violations Of tho contract labor Ian. All
will confess, their attorney says.
According to the warrants drawn By
Assistant Unitld States Attorneys Frank
r. carstarphen and Harold Z. Harper
the defendants sent girls employed In
the Paris house over here with costly
gowns and other articles Of apparel
which they brought In free Of duty by
declaring them to be part Of their per-
ona wardrobe.
In this way. Il 10 said. between SO and
100 expensive gowns were brought In
free since last September. The models,
saleswomen. drapers and fttersNnine in
all-who were sent over here by the
Parts house came ~ostensibly 10 ~ set TO
work In the New York branch a I 1 East
Fffty-third street. which was established
by Baroness d'ictreills only last fall.
Ths. the Federal authorities hold. was
in violation Of the Federal contract labor
Law.
Collector Mal0ae seaseA 00was.
The case w~s brought to the attention
Of the Federal authorities By Collector
Dudley Field Malone after he . caused
the seizure Of some Of the Boue gowns.
Baroness d'Etreiilis IL said to be the
head Of the Paris corporation q we'll -
Of the New York branch. With her were
arraigned Mime. sylvie Montegut. be-
lieved to be Baroness d'Etreillis's ST.
lent partner. and otherwise known as
Eva M~arienstras Eva Poiret. q sales
woman. and George Guedal Goldman. a
~bookkeeper In the New York store.
Unlike the other defendants, Nine.
fraudin& the Government Of duties on
eighteen gowns and some furs when she
came over here on the French liner La
Touraine on November ~ last. No
charge Of violating tho contract law II
lodged against her. She was held In
3l.400 bail. On the other warrants,
charging both violations Of the labor
contract law and the customs laws, the
Baroness was held in $4,000 bail. Mime.
$4,000. All cot bonds and were released
pending the outcome Of the Federal
Grand Jury proceedings.
TIT warrants also named A. de-
PENDANTS jacques MonteGut. HUSBAND Of
Nine. MonteGut. and the managers ot
the Paris and London branches. who ara
referred to In the complaint respectively
as Nine. Louison Roe and Nine. Louise
Roe. These defendants are in Europe.
Al the a~rraignment the women de.
PENDANTS. all handsomely Gowned. were
plainly agitated and underworld to ex-
plain matters in English M French.
Nine. Strauss was apprehensive lest h
two other names siven her In the war
rant might be regarded as aliases. She
explained that she had iived In London
during the wal and that the name
StQu ss was altogether too Teuonic, SO
SIRE had taken the naine Marienstras.
Poiret was her French business name,
she said.
Say Americans Advised Them.
Hpory r. Buckner. attorney for the
d~efefN6ants. admitted that some VIOLA
lions had been committed, but declared
that they were negligible and the result
of great Ignorance. a little folly n bad
example" The example. ne said. was
furnished by Wealthy American women
who were the firms customer In Paris
These women. Mr.. Buckner said. had
given the defendants the impression tina,
Il IL no crime to deceive the customs
authorities here. but rather the fashion,
and the defendants had aiken thetr ad'
vice. believing that the practice In az
general in America ASSN France. Two
er1sVka hR0tt1ht IN he aaiA 0yANA mi
opened ~ the customs inspectors.
Il will take my clients In TO se<
Assistant United States Attorney Car
starphen." Said Attorney Buckner. "an
have them make a clean breast Of every
thing on Monday morning. They arr
willing to pay a hne."
When the Baroness d'Etreiilis Rm<
over on the steamship Espaxne on Sep.
tenber 80 she brought with her forty
gowns, at least eighteen Of which. nc.
cording to the Federal authorities. came
through free OF duty because of heI
statement hat she was a nonresident
and hat they were her personal effects
Mile. Marie Engel. a draper in thu
Paris house. arlved here on the Nieuw
Amsterdam on August 25. according e
the complaint, and got by the customs
inspector AZ part Of her wardrobe twelve
gOwns and a number Of other articles,
All gowns brought in were designed for
models. according to Assistant United
States Attorney Carstarphen. but some
OF them were actually sold over here
There is no way. Mr.. C~arstarphen said,
Of estimating the amount Of duties lost
"a the Government through the customs
frauds.
After the a~rraignment Goldman said
that the Paris employees came over herr
because the war had made things so
dull In Paris that their services were
not needed there. II was really a kind.