Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1930-02-18
WOMAN CUSTOMS
! COLLECTORS HERE
Four, Only Members of Sex
/ to Hold Such Positions,
Attend Conference.
BY GRETCHEN S. SMITH.

Four women, the firt and only mem
bers of their sex to hold the positions
of collectors of customs, are attending
the collectors of customs conference
which held its opening sessions at the
Willard Hotel yesterday morning. This
is the first conference held by the COL
lectors of customs in IA years and the
first ever attended by women, as it was
not until the first term of President
Coolidge, in 1922, that a woman was
appointed collector of customs.
The first woman appointed by Presi-
dent Coolidge was Mrs. Jennie Patton
Musser. who at present is collector of
customs of district As, which embraces
the customs territories of Utah and Ne
vada, with headquarters at Salt Lake
City. Previous TO her entrance into the
customs service Mrs. Musser had
worked for four years in the Hawaiian
Islands. where she taught school and
assisted in public health work. She is
a native of Salt Lake City.
Has Four SubpOstS in District.
Mrs. Eddie Mccall Priest is collector
of customs of the Tennessee and Ar
kansas districts, with headquarters at
Memphis. Mrs. Priest was appointed in
1925 and has four subpoSts in her dis
trict. which it is her duty TO visit for
inspection purposes.
Although Mrs. Priests district also
possesses no seaport, it was pointed out
that an equal number of imports enter
the inland territories with those re-
ceived in the seaports of the country.
One Of the most interesting articles
entering Mrs. Priests territory recently
was a brace of pistols at one time sup
posedly the property of Napoleon Bona
parte The pistols were admitted duty
free, having been established as an
tiques.
Another inland customs district. of
which a woman. Mrs. Nellie Gregg Tom
linSon, is the collector. is the State OF
Iowa. with headquarters at Des Moines.
Mrs. Tomlinson has four daughters and
her husband is an attorney at law
practicing in DeS MoineS.
One of the most interesting imports
to come under Mrs. TomlinSon's juris-
diction recently we're IS bells. part of
a carlton installed in a campanile on
the Iowa State University campus.
England. brought several thousand dol
lars as duty to the Government.
Smuggling Provides Problem.
Few attending the conference have
come from a greater distance than Mrs.
Jeanette Hyde, who was appointed in
1925 to be collector OF customs of the
port of Honolulu and the Hawaiian
Islands. district whose customs serv-
ice comprises over 100 officials. Mrs
Hyde has three sons and two daughters,
whom she will visit in this country be-
fore returning to Honolulu.
The greatest problem which con-
fronts the port of Honolulu said Mrs.
Hyde, rs the smuggling of opium and
narcotics from the Orient. A few
months ago customs officials of Homo
lulu seized a ton of opium in drygoods
boxes from Hongkong."
The four women customs collectors
agreed during a brief interview that
Americans travelling abroad would save
themselves lot of trouble If they would
study the American tariff laws before
leaving the country, at the same time
registering in the port Of their de-
parture all clothing, jewels or other
dutiable articles, which might be as
sessed as purchases from abroad upon
the travellers return to the United
States.