The independent-reporter. [volume] (Skowhegan, Me.) 1909-1955, 1924-05-15
DETAILS OF OPIUM SMUGGLING PLOT
TOLD BY FORMER SK0WHEGAN MAN
Frank S. Cairns was Formerly Insular Surveyor
of Customs in Philippine Islands

type he had few equals and no su.
periors.
This quality, combined with the
more or less reliable information ac-
CURED through my Investigations as
to his former career. ranging from
misdeeds and outright crook edness in
Central America to opium smuggling
in Honolulu. was sufficient for me tc
always regard him as a dangerous
element and a person to be constant
| ly kept under surveillance.
HANGS AROUND
"In time he opened an electrical
! business which subsequently closed
cntailing losses to friends who had
backed him. He seemed TO have
considerable business i'm the lower
provinces of Lu2on, and in a town
of the Contra Costa he built large
dwelling which mysteriOusly caught
fire and burned.
"He hung around Manila most oil
the time after failing in business. etc.
without any regular and steady bust
ness | believe il was in 1906 or
1907-howeyer, as to dates, | am not
certain, it was so long ago-the Phil
lippine Gold Dredging company with
extensive holdings in the Paracale dis
trict; purchased and imported large
dredge from the United States with
which To begin operations. Upon
arrival in Manila Il was loaded on
a coastwide steamer and sent TO its
destination where attempt to land il
from large barge was rath-
or disastrous, few of the principal
parts being lost overheard.
"The manager of the dredging com
pany. Frank lngersoll of Manila, de-
cided to have the missing parts made
in Hong Kong, rather than send to
the United States for them. thereby
saving time, which was essential and
to facilitate the manufacture of sew
eral heavy castings, he deemed 1t
advisable to send as representative OF
the company some person OF mechani-
cal experience, who would have per-
sonal supervision.
Louis T. Grant was employed for
this particular job, and went to Hong
Kong with full powers. The manu-
facture of patterns for the castings
and the work of finishing them, took
a much longer period OF time than
was contemplated. Grants position
was a sinecure; good pay and little
to do. II you know Hong Kong
you will realize that without friends
and associates it Is a lonely place to
loaf. Grant went there well recon-
mended by Manila Americans and of
still greater Importance, by Manila
Chinese merchants. With plenty OF
time on his hands he soon formed
congenial acquaintances among Brit
ishers and the better class OF Chi
nese. Among others he met few
Americans, one of them secret
agent of the Philippine customs,
operating under my Instructions.
Grants movements were wen
guarded He associated intimately
with a British engineer whose name
has escaped me, and through him,
met several Chinese whose reputa-
tions as smugglers of opium into the
philippines was we'll known to my
agents. He attended carefully to
business entrusted to his care and in
that respect nothing was suspected.
Although many of the minor details
have escaped my memory after so
many years, the salient points are
wildly remembered because of the ex-
ceptional incidents in which | partl-
cipated.
although kept under surveillance
until his departure for Manila, on II
steamer sailing from Hong Kong pri-
or to the one which brought the mach
merry, no special circumstances or &C
currence In Hong Kong had aroused
suspicious OF the special agent sutii-
GENTLY to cause the belief that n
gigantic smuggling scheme had been
planned by Grant, with assistance or
the British engineer, and his Chinese
friends who financed the deal.
CAS- | remember the circumstances,
il was after Grants departure that
information came to the agent from
Chinese sources that certain special
castings had been made, not parts OF
the dredging outfit, and that they
were filled with very large ship
ment of opium in small oval shaped
tins. the usual containers for manu-
featured opium; also that Grant had
preceded the shipment to prepare for
it's reception and delivery in Manila,
"For intelligent comprehension OF
the scheme to land this opium. an
understanding of customs methods
and regulations is necessary. Grant
had had considerable experience In
the clearance of importations and
was well versed in the procedure. He
knew that machinery was treated with
the utmost liberality, that 'shipside
permits for prompt delivery directly
from the importing vessel with a
minimum of examination by the GUS
toms guards on the vessel instead
of the regular appraisers was the
custom; that such permits were east
ly obtained from my office and that
none of the different pieces were re-
quired sent to appraisers stores for
examination, and once delivered on
barge from the ship he could land
/ the shipment anywhere. All steps
necessary to a safe and quick deli
very were we'll known.
'SHIPSIDE CASE
"In the meantime a code cablegram
arrived from the Hong Kong agent
and | was prepared to give Grant all
/ the leeway necessary to connect him
with the prohibited Importation. As
the handling of 'shipside deliveries
was entirely in my hands and control
4 | waited for him to make his appli-