The Devils Lake world and inter-ocean. (Devils Lake, N.D.) 1915-1920, 1920-06-16
ingenuity. Perverted il Trying TO
Avoid Payment Of Duties 4
on Gems.
CLEVER SCHEME FRUSTRATED
Customs inspectors Find $4,000.
Worth OF. Diamonds CONCEALED
h Fountain Pens and TUBE
efNTpoth Paste.

Hrsrs T' --NT0 -.
crooked things in business were spent
in carrying 1t on along honest and 'ac.
cepted lines" So spoke one Of the.
best-known men in the local jewelry
trade; the remark. being inspired by
the recent Illustration Of Z. very clever
scheme for smuggling diamonds past
the customs inspectors at this port. In
this case, an attempt had been made
to smuggle in $4,000 worth Of these
gems-13 separate stones--by conceal
Ing them In the barrels Of two foun-
tain pens and in a tube Of tooth paste.
'Of course" the jewelry merchant
went on, III a man has any tendency
toward smuggling, the present price
Of diamonds and the high, import, dur
ties levied on them afford him plenty
Of temptation. Under the present
tariff an importer Of diamonds must
pay ~one-ffth Of their value to the
government II they are cut, and one
tenth 6f it If they are brought in
rough. Consequently, IL the man with
the fountain pens and the tooth paste
had been successful, he would have
saved from $1,000 to $1,000 in duties,
depending on whether his stones werc
{cut or uncut. !!
Many Clever Schemes.
but, ven in the old days, when the
lower import duties. made smuggling
less attractive from a financial view
point than it seems to be now, all
kinds of schemes were tried to beat
the customs. Some Of them worked
for a long time; but. sooner or later
there was a slip-up somewhere.
I'm n interesting ease that came
to my attention the man involved had
been under suspicion for some time,
but the treasury department officials
had never been able to get anything
on him. They were morally certain
that he was smuggling In. diamonds.
but that was not enough to convic:
him, and they never could catch .him
with the necessary evidence. He al
ways worked without accomplices,
which made the customs people all the
more ashamed Of themselves for being
unable to land him.
FINALLY, the local authorities got
word from their agents on the other
side that the suspected man was buy
ing diamonds in a large way, and they
Immediately instructed those agents
to, trail him day and night and supply
all possible data. Tfds.was done, but
through some slip the suspect was
tipped off to what he was up against.
He Immediately laid plans to cover
himself. He finally wrdtei5 a. letter,
signed with a fictitious name, TO the
collector of the port here, giving what
seemed to be- inside information on
the suspect and his. operations. Not
only was the name Off the sship on
which he would reach this country
given, together with the number Of
the stateroom and other data. but the
letter actually told in what part of a
certain trunk the diamonds could be
found.
Found Paste Gems.
"All Of the details were. so accurate
that 1t was an easy matter for the To-
cal officials to follow them. up. The
suspected trunk was located and
opened, and, sure enough, there hay a
big collection Of stones. TIE customs
men were elated, hut whe6 the mat
ter was sifted down It was; fopnd that
the gems were paste and that the
man could not be held on al major
charge. He was released ,after3-eer-
tain necessary ceremonies had been.
completed, and promptly left, Tor the
hotel in, which he made his home.
Once there, he had his wife. peel a.
huge porous plaster, from HIS back.
Under the plaster were the real dia-
mOnfs. sas, VI
TN another ase the officials were
also morally certain that a ,sertain man
was smuggling. but here5egaln they
were unable to get the evidenaSe$neces.
sarys to convict. This man. however,
worked with accomplices ~andasgShen hs
was finally captured through 10 fault
Of his own, his system cameiittofligbt.
'It was simplicity itselfn He1gould
cache the diamonds In his sstazer0om.
the number Of which was always
known in advance to the chief accom-,
plice, and leave the ship. The. accorrs-
plice always booked eastbognd pas
sage on the same steamier, andsin the
same room, which ahs got throsgh a
friendly clerk In the Office sef th..
steamship company. He went aboard
as early as possible, and ditd! the
gems up into an sincopspicuous bnn-
die. Shortly before the ship sailed
q woman would come "a bid hin
bon voyage. She stayed On theSshlipp.
until the final whistle blew, and
then. n the resultant excitement ann:
aAbustfe. returned ito the dock without.
!: attracting undue atttsssaartion. with hher
she carried tnessnigggled dfalnonds. Il
was not until one time,.wten israfher,
elderly woman-hlled Tie role the
friend 81 tlles chief accodmlpElliicse andshadi
fafnting spell, that tn Eame wsss
discovered. Sheswas taken "a q AhiosId..
aataI*f prs treatment. ana there Ehee diAs1
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