Charlevoix county herald. (East Jordan, Mich.) 189?-1953, 1917-08-17
sMUCCLERs BUSY
ON DUTCH BORDER.
Frontier Guards Find II I'm
possible TO Prevent II.
MUCH INGENUITY SHOWN


srs Of Bacon - Women Had Their
Hats Filled With sausapss-chlldrsn
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 1t. She invited large numbers Of
her friends and neighbors and all toast
ed and applauded her. What was the
reason for the jubileef you ask. She
had Just smuggled her fortieth package
across the border into Germany.
Strange events such as this occur
daily in Holland. Smuggling 10 rife.
So general has 1t beco. 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 1t take a hand In 1t 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 $35 and $40 a week.
In the. frontier districts no stigma
attaches to fines or Imprisonment i'm
posed for smuggling. Public opinion In
the districts farther inland expresses
itself as concerned for the morality Of
the frontier dwellers.
Appeal Made TO Churches.
The churches have been appealed to
to assist In suppressing smuggling.
The Netherlands Reformed, church In
one town answered the appeal by TAX
ing a severe attitude toward the snug
glers. 1t threatened to keep every con-
firmed 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 80 little used to hav-
ing money that they don't know how
to spend 1t, and therefore generally do
SO In q way detrimental to themselves
and to the community. Drinking and
fighting are the order Of the day with
them. Often they cannot even get rid
of their money quickly enough.
Instances are known In which they
literally consumed paper money as
sandwiches, spreading 1t between two
slices of bread and butter. Also they
have lighted their pipes with 40 or 90
form bills ($18 to S24). 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
most unlikely looking tumbledown cot
tages, and the women and children are
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 little
something for their families. The 9th
er day q party Of German women, all
well dressed and wearing large hats,
was interviewed I'm the waiting room
Of q 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 this
act by some Dutch women detectives
II soon appeared that each lady had
used certain number of sausages as
pads over which to do her hair. One
even had concealed q whole pound OF
tea amid the sausage and hair coils.
Bringing Home the Bacon.
Another case was that Of q polite
traveller whose politeness caused him
to be suspected. Every stitch OF cloth
ing was removed from his person be-
fore the contraband was exposed. 1t
was bacon, artistically cut In the very
shape Of his body and laid on and &C.
curely fastened all over 1t by leather
thongs Much diminished In bulk, he
was allowed to proceed on his Journey,
and there was mourning In one German
home ut least for the loss Of this appe-
tizing food.
1t has become customary In frontier
places for bands Of forty or f1fty Ger
man school boys and girls to come into
Holland to get what food they may. 1t
is extremely difficult to get rid Of them,
for when the Dutch frontier guard
takes them back to Germany at one
place they slip back at another. The
only way to get rid Of them 10 to Ques-
ton them about conditions on their
side, and when this has been done for
some time the German guard sees to Il
that they dox return foE fear they
~. ~ q. :. ;; y .,.. I..;.. !. -