The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1915-12-09

a book a round Dutch cheese. or some
equally ordinary shipment.
The parcel mailed at Amsterdam al
most invariably went to Rotterdam and
thence by boat to Copenhagen. There
II was put on a liner bound for this port.
This was exactly the course adopted In
handling the valuable package which
Great Britain intercepted. In II four
New Workers. had a stake. Three OF them
do business In q building noted In the
diamond tride as the homo OF the shadier
dealers. They were the -four firms"
interested. The three individuals in
cluded the man who was to convoy the
parcel.
The Convoy . Rich Austrian.
The convoy. known Familiarity an the
Skipper" Is an Austrian subject. a
wealthy diamond merchant OF Antwerp.
where he had been In business for twenty
years. He IL said to be a native Of
Cracow and was president OF one OF the
innumerable little diamond clubs that
filled Antwerp before August. 1914. or
the four New Workers. Interested one Is
reputed to be a deserter from the Bel
gian army. He has a father and a
brother at Scheveningen. the fashionable
watering place OF Holland. Another has
business correspondent In Holland
the third has his father in Holland to
facilitate the work. The fourth New
Yorker has a son In Holland and Is un-
derstood TO ne n naturalized American
citizen, 1t is said that the others have
taken out FIRST papers here. All seem
to be Austrians.
Such Antwerp diamonds as reached
New York did not upset the local mar
ket for several reasons. For one thing,
they were sold hero at close to the mar
kei price There has been no glut of da-
monds. because just now this country Is
buying diamonds as briskly as ever IL
| did.
ImpOrtattOns Growing Fast.
| In September. 1914. importations OF
rough diamonds Mt New York were only
about $4,000. last September fourteen
times as many. In September last there
were imported four times as many cut
! diamonds az in the same month year
! esirlier. These are. OF course. Legitimate
importations from Amsterdam and Lon.
don and they have grown tremendously IS
because prosperity here has made sell.
ing diamonds easier than ever. In q
recent week importations OF precious
stones at New York were thirty times
what they were in the same week OF
1914.
one OF the biggest importers OF d!a.
monds here said yesterday that he haC
little doubt that extensive smuggling had
been carried on from Antwerp. He de
clared that the sur-st way to stor
smuggling would bee for the Government
to publish "A detailed list of all lmporta
| tons. Then II would he known tha
such and such a merchant had brough
in $4,000 worth of stones and any sup
ply of diamonds that could not readil,
he accounted for would be instantly de
tec,ed II preferred the stones nigh
be listed by weight
II should be remembered by diamon,
buyers that Uncle Sam never rellnauishe
his lien upon diamonds until they hav
paid duty. Consequently smuggle,
stones are always liable To confscatiou
even at the expense of an innocent buye
and no matter through how many hand
they have passed since entering IN
country. II is therefore. risky to hu,
diamonds that are below the marke
price or that are ~ bargain" and Il /
equally risky to buy of any except
reputab and well known firm or dealer