Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1931-05-03

Two corpSeS, clammy and genuine
~ he had attested by glancing be-
meath the lifted lid, had passed through in the
last few weeks and he had become. suspicious
OF came the top and in the small compartment
behind the hinges he sped a bundle.
1t contained hundreds Of yards Of exquisite
lace He prodded the body of the poor deceased
American. 1t was stuffed with thousands of
additional yards.
A gruesome Story-almost unbelievably fam
tastic Yet it is only one of many equally
grotesque incidents in the long and colorful
history of the American Customs Service
Those who know well the ways of the snug
ger are seldom surprised. They know that his
tricks are legion. Agents have found diamonds
in the baby'S rattle, liquor bottles strung about
the waist Of elderly invalid aunt, dope in
the parsons Bible" They have opened boxes
billed as earthenware and chocolates to find
smuggled watches, and have detected the subtler
crimes of differentiation and fraudulent draw
backs by checking import and export accounts
covering the merchandise in question.
While it is the business Of customs inspectors
and customs guards to intercept and seize
Smugged goods at coast and border stations
and if possible, make arrests, it is the special
agent" wise in the ways of the service and
especially trained, who gets the job of unravel-
ing the bathing cases presented by clever indi-
viduals and professional rings.
A glimpse Of the magnitude Of customs opera
tons is evidenced in figures available for the
fiscal year 1880, when smuggled merchandise
Aggregating $7,436. 233 in value was seized.
Multiply that figure by 100 per cent being
the usual estimate as to struggled goods inter-
cepted-and you will have a fair idea Of the
volume Of illegal trafic.
Sentences totaling 800 years were meted out
to offenders and more than $4,000 was levied
in fines. The total number Of seizures was
4l,19l, or 1874 for each working day during the
year. Customs inspectors examined imports
worth more than 81 ,000, 900 900 and collected
1887 900 in revenue.
"A VOLUME could be written on any of the
various phases of smuggling. The subject
fans into two main claSsihcations, tourist and
commercial, and Of these two the commercial
cases are the most difficult to detect and trace
because shrewd criminals, operating often on
an international scale, the ring leaders and
they seldom use the same method twice.
The tourist, amateur, frequently betrays
himself by his guilty manner and the crudity
Of his methods, though he is a pest at that.
Tourists today are so numerous.
While there some 10000 employees in the
Customs Service, including guards, inspectors,
collectors and special agents, the army protect
ing the tariff revenue is said by officials to be
nnGerstafed. Strung out along the seacoasts
and borders there would be less than one man
for every 100 milesi
There are some 200 special agents to keep
track CT this force and work on the solution Of
puZ1ulS cases. 1ney operate OuC VI IL dBeACleo
in the United States and main Offices and 2
sub-offlceS in Europe, where they are listed
as. treasury attaches" at different American
emphasizes and legations
Most special agents come up from the ranks,
selected from among inspectors guards and
clerks who show a natural aptitude for In
VeStigation. Legal training is recognized as an
asst, but is not required as in the case Of
Department Of Justice agents wide knowl-
edge OF customs regulations and procedure
essential. and, in view Of the many complicated
phases Of activity, Commissi iSr F. x. A. EOle