Albuquerque morning journal. [volume] (Albuquerque, N.M.) 1903-1926, 1915-03-13
LARGE TRAFFIC
IN CONTRABAND
GOES ON DAILY
Utmost Vigilance of Italian
Customs Authorities Can
Not Prevent Illegal Ship
mentS Into Austria,
tA..oeInled rte.. N ,re.pondcnc,.l

Venice. Feb. Notwithstanding
al the vigilance Of the Italian Gus
toms officials, large quantities OF con-
itahand, chiefly provisions ana metals,
are daily crossing The frontier to
Austria. The traffic is mostly 10y
rail through P0ntcbba, but good
deal Is also going boy sea from Venice.
Austrian and German agents are
travelling all over Italy offering most
cAutmtant prices for all kinds OF
supplies urgently needed In those
countries. SO long as through freight
trains are permitted to be sent from
Italy to Austria 1t viii be practically
impossible for the customs officials
to prevent this traffic
Ingenious Devices.
Many and ingenious are the tricks
TO which the dealers in contra band
goods resort Sulphatc of copper was
found in a shipment of twelve hun
dred tons of sulphur, and a ship pur-
porting 10 be loaded with sand was
really carrying flour hidden beneath
a thin layer of the sand. Several
railway passengers have been tray
cling with suspiciously large guam
titles Of baggage. When the trunks
OF one of these were opened, they
were found to contain several hun
dred pounds OF tin
a common device Is to store large
Of provisions in some point
near the frontier, and then smuggle
them across in carts, and even by
hand. AS there is only one customs
officer 10 about three miles Of boun-
dairy IT is comparatively easy to do
this. Moreover. in these cases Of
small quantities OF food. the officials
are inclined to be lenient, thinking
that II will 90 chiefly TO feed their
italian countrymen In the TrentinO
Ausrlans Help All They Can.
Needless to say everything possible
Is done on the Austrian side of the
border to encourage and facilitate
all this eontraband traffic. The small
stOrekeepcrs and peasants are freely
permitted to cross the frontier and
sell anything they can to the Italians
In exchange for food
Small steamers and sailing vessels
are daily leaving Venice and other
Adriatic ports, with cargoes profess
cdly destined for some other Italian
port These creep along the shore
and finally slip across TO some Aus
trian or Hungarian port preferably
one whore there is no Italian consul
or agent 10 ask inconvenient questions
when the ships papers have to be
for returning to Italy
Customs officials say that the only
way to prevent this traffic would be
TO place officials on board each yes
sci until it is unloaded, which can
hardly be done
ppoftfa hid. RusinpAs
This contraband business Is large
~ conducted by Italians residing in
Austria Hungary Il Is enormously
profitable. Recently one Of these
agents purchased tin in England at
s $50 a ton and resold it for ship
mcnt to Austria for $3.50 ton, For
grain especially wheat, and also for
rice and maccaroni, the most eXtrav-
agant sums are offered. Copper ana
other metals and American lubrica-
ting oils are greatly sought after.
The port Of Genoa is crowded with
ana the dock Warehouses
are filled to overlooking with goods
largely contraband intended for Aus
tria and Germany. Immense stocks
Of provisions and metals are stored
At this moment in Venice awaiting the
first favorable opportunity for set
ting them across the frontier.
-Four freight trains are going from
Italy into Austria. through POntcbba
besides trains passing other frontier
gatewaNs. Many of the closed ears
are seulcd by the railway officials
at the point of origin, and II is i'm
possible for the frontier officials to
ascertain what Is In them. The only
effectual WAY to stop this contraband
traffic would be To have every ear
at the frontier. and the con
.ents reloaded into Austrian cars
At the present time Austria Hun
gary Is said to have some twelve
thousand covered freight ears belong
Ing to ITALY. and which are being used
FOR conveying troops and munitions Of
war And all the efforts Of the
italian railway authorities to get their
'ars returned are said to he in vain.
Some 500 of these ears have been
-aptured by the Scrbians.
There seems no reason 10 doubt
that the Italian government and its
customs, railway. gendarmes
lnd polce-are really endeavoring to
prevent contrahand goods being sent
81 'ustriH- Hungary. But the physical
are so great that unless
ne Official staff could be very large
s. increased all efforts to control the
rattle will prove vain.
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