Bridgeton pioneer., 1917-08-23
SMUCCLERS BUSY
ON DUTCH BORDER
Frontier Guards Find 1t Im-
possible to Prevent Ii.
MUCH INGENUITY SHOWN


ers Of Bacon - Women Had Their.
Hats Filled With sausages-chiIdrsns
Get Much Food For Themselves, but
Also Give Away Information.
There was jubilee feast at little
town on the border between Holland
and Germany the other day. A woman
gave it. She invited large numbers. cf
her friends and neighbors and ali toast-
ed and applauded her. What was the
reason for the jubilee? you ask She
had just smuggled her fortieth package
across the border into Germany
Strange events such as this occur
daily in Holland. Smuggling is rife.
SO general has it become that fear
neither of the law nor Of the church
can stop many persons living on the
border from taking advantage of the
need for supplies in Germany. Even
men who have been selected to put an
end to it take a hand in it themselves
and sometimes even the military men.
who are sent to re-enforce the civilian
customs officers cannot resist the temp
tation of making extra gains that often
amount to $50 and $40 a week
In the frontier districts no stigma
attaches to fines or Imprisonment inn
posed for smuggling. Public opinion III
the districts farther inland expresses
itself as concerned for the morality Of
the frontier Gwellers.
Appeal Made to Churches.
The churches have been appealed to-
20 assist in suppressing smuggling.
The Netherlands Reformed church In
one town answered the appeal by tax
ing severe attitude toward the snug
glers. 1t threatened to keep every con-
firrled smuggler from the holy COM
munion so long as he or she continued
in this trade.
Some of the smugglers-those OF the
lowest order-are so little used to hav-
ing money that they don't know how
to spen0 it, and therefore generally do
so in Way detrimental to themselves,
and to the community. Drinking and
lighting are the order of the day with
of their money quickly enough.
Instances are known In which they
literally consumed paper money as
sandwiches, spreading it between two
slices of bread and butter. Also they
have lighted their pipes with 40 or 60
aorin bills ($16 to $24. Such mems,
children often suffer want and fall to
the care Of the community when the-
father is down on his luck.
Others provide well for their homes
and pianos, talking machines and 9TH
er luxuries are now to be found In the
Cost unlikely looking tumbledown cot
tages, and the women and children ana
clad like Solomon In all his glory
The Germans also do lot Of SNUG
Cling. Large numbers Of them come
into Holland to eat, and upon return
ing home they generally take ntt1o
something for their families. The 9TH
er day party Of German women, an
well dressed and wearing large hats.
was interviewed In the waiting room
Of railway station on the border By
Dutch customs officials. The WOMEN
declared they had nothing with them
They were politely invited to take on
their hats, and when assisted in thkz.
act by some Dutch women detectives;
it soon appeared that each lady hadi
used a certain number Of sausages n
pads over which to do her hair Onar
even had concealed whole pound of
tea amid the sausage and hair coils.
Rrinoino hore the Bacon
Another case was that Of polfts~
traveller whose politenesS caused him,
to be suspected. Every stitch of cloth
ing was removed from his person be-
fore the contraband was exposed 1k
was bacon. artistically cut in the veHT
shape Of his body and laid on and se-
curely fastened all over it by leatlnEr
thongs. Much diminished in bulk, h
was allowed to proceed on his Journey,
and there was mourning in one German
home at least for the loss of this appe-
tizing food.
It has become customary in frontier
places for bands Of forty or fifty Ger
man school boys and girls to come fntD>
Holland to get what food they may n
Is extremely difficult to get rid of them.
for when the Dutch frontier guaxd
takes them back to Germany at GnoS
place they slip back at another. ThR
only way to get rid of them is to queD-v
ton them about conditions en- their
side, and when this has been done 1hr-
some time the German guard sees. to ~
that they don't return for fear thsX
will give too much information to nen-
trails or enemies.
Near Maastricht a secret subterranexR.
passage has Just again been discovexz1,
in st. Peters mount, which led straSgAe
into Belgium. This must have been
used for months, and immense quants>
ties must have been smuggled through.