1
TTIE OMAHA SUNDAY BEK: DECEMBER 17. 1011.
VV aiULllllg OlllUgglCld ell JT UI to JUl laolV U1 uni uam
(Copyright. 19H, by Frank O. Csrprnter.) i
EW YORK CITY-I had a bin
TwT I llt lcw wks ko. It was
11 I upf'n 'nllnK line In New
.iiri K MHiri inp to
Europe. 1 hal btn travel inn
n the continent, amt, knaning
it 0' T.
luu i. ..iim of the customs house ol
cers, had carefully figured my purchanoa
to that they d d not exceed the flOO limit
hlch every traveler Is supposed to hav
free. With head erect and the conscience,
of an honest cltlien. I walked down the
gangplank to the dock, expecting to be
rushed through without trouble, I waa
rushed through all right, but not without
trouble. My trunks were gone carefully
over, and upon the very purchase I had
declared I had to pay over In duties,
i Among the waa about $30 worth of
"God Bleea Our Home" German linens.
1 mean the tablecloth and napkins with
German mottoes embroidered upon them.
They were for my own ue, and I con
trued them to be on the free Let. 'i'he
Inspector, however, told me that all linen
row paya 60 per cent, and that on that j
little Item the aum of US waa due. It '
waa the eame upon other stuff of a 81 ml- :
lar nature, and at the end Uncle 8am got '
fr0 from me before I dared leave the dock. 1
That waa the aum the government col
lected from one honest passenger's bag
gage. It came from a recent construction I
of the law, which has hut out presents
and certain special classes of goods. And
i i if. -J uvwimg w nun lijb BlIlUKIlia.
which, in the past, has cost Uncle Earn
millions. '
Tkf Iasalns; of (be Smnsicler.
Indeed, the well-to-do, respectable tour
ist smuggler la fast passing away. Col
lector Loeb haa iim and her on the run,
And a righteous fear has soaked Into the
Souls of the hundreds of thousands who
annually travel. In Europe. As 1 stood on
the wharf It seemed to me that the ba
age of the individual passenger had per
ceptibly shrunk. Mefl whom 1 have known
to bring back fourteen pr fifteen trunks
are now content with one little steamer
a.nd a hat box, perhaps, while the average
woman had but little more.
All the way over from Europe to New
York the chief conversation on board
was as to the oustoms officials, and the
horrid way in which they went through
your baggage. I observed them go
through other trunks. The work was
rigidly done, and, . as a rule, without
trotfbl to those who bad made an honest
statement of Just what they , had in their
baggage. Some few fared ' badly, and
among these wera two young ladies, who
had sewed the well , worn ' labels, of New
York dressmakers ' inside 4heir new Paris
dreuses, and were trying-to get them in
free.
' One short woman with a bulbous boSom
w as found to be padded with Mace, and
another, for whom . the inspectors had
been told to watch out, was taken 'off
to a private room and searched, from her
crown to her toea, 1
' In such oases Uncle Sam has the right
to atrip any of his nephews and nieces to
the bare skin, and this is sometimes done
when occasion demands. Pearl necklaces
have been found in the hair and a dia
mond was once discovered under the little
toe on the left foot of a lady, while some
valuable rubles were recently smuggled
Into New York under a porous plaster on
the back of a man. In this latter case
tie spies of the Treasury department had
sent a warning to the Inspectors, and
when this traveler he was an Austrian-
landed a dosen red stones were found in
his cravat. They wera tested and it was
discovered that they wera not real rubles,
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The ninn was therefore let go, and a
cable to that effect sent to Europe. The
spies cabled back that he be examined
attain, and he was searched at the hotel.
The porous plaster had disappeared, but
a dosen little, holes in the skin showed
where the rubles had lain. .
Blr Fines for lll Meu.
I came to New York this Week to In
vestigate what Uncle Sam, patriarch, has
really done In increasing- our custom
house revenues. I have visited the wharves
and have watched the big steamers come
In. ' -1 have also spent some time at the
custom house where the collector of cus
toms, William Ixeb. jr., ha4 had every
source of Information thrown open to
me. With other things he has given me
a typewritten list of the criminal prose
cutions whloh have been made by his
office in the last two or three years.
This has the names of scores who have
gone through the courts and have been
fined all sorts of amounts from $1 to
2j,000. The total of the fines alone up
to November 1 waa a little over $200,000.
and this is a bagatelle la comparison
with the amounts which have been col
lected through undervaluations and on
merchandise, to which I refer farther on.
. These ilnes are almost altogether from
people who have tried to sneak things
through in their baggage from the steam
ers. The offenders are of all classes from
New York milliners and dressmakers to
some of the richest and most prominent
of the land. One Is the wife of a for
mer governor of New England, and an
other that of a prominent politician of
West Virginia, Each of these ladles tried
to smuggle in Jewelry and each was
fined li.OuO.
They Object to Itatlea.
With others are the wives of trust
magnates whose millions have come from
the tariff protection of the things their
husbands manufacture. One such case waa
as to a pearl necklace and other Jewels
brought In by the wife of a millionaire
making agricultural machinery. This
was the Adrlance affair of which some
thing haa appeared In the newspapers.
The madams was fined 16,000 and the
goods she attempted to smuggle wera
forfeited. Upon this her husband de
nounced, the government for persecuting
travelers who sought to bring in "a few
petty things free." As I remember it,
among the "petty things" in this case
were some pearls valued at 1 118,000,
which the lady had hidden In the folds
of her straw hat. The millionaire's re
mark waa reported to Mr. Loeb, where
upon Loeb said that 11 r. Adrlance had
made a big fortune out of the duties
whloh the United States Imposed upon
such machinery as be manufactured, but
that when It cams to his paying any
duty himself ha objected. -
somewhat similar oaaa of a trust for-
tuno falling to pay duties waa that con
nevted with the Jeds necklace. This
case came up shortly before Collector
Lfoeb1 got his appointment. W. P. Leeds,
one of the millionaires of the tin plate
trust, had gone to Pails to live, and
while there Mrs. Leeds had bought a fa
mous necklace at a cost of $340,000. Bhe
wore the necklace In Parts, but a part of
her bargain was that It was to be deliv
ered to her In Newport without duty
within a certain time. If she so desired.
In order to escape paying some of the
duty the syndicate took the necklace
apart and ahlpped it In as loose pearls,
in which shape it was invoiced at t-A.-000,
The tariff upon loos pearls was 10
per cent, and, as I understand It, at that
rate the necklace was passed.
In the meantime, however, the special
custom spies at Paris cabled New York
that the necklace had been worn by Mrs.
Leeds before It waa shipped and that It
should therefore pay duty as a necklace.
Upon this the matter was again taken up
and the duty raised to $122,000 or $110,00.)
more than the original sum. To this the
Importers objected, and the court then
fixed the duty at tbe loose pearl rate of
$3,000. This decision was appealed from.
and, as I understand It, the case has
gone to the United .States supreme court
and It has adjudged that it must be re
considered. . v
In the past much of the petty smuggling
has been done by dressmakers ana tailors.
It used to bo customary for English
tailors to take orders In New York and
make clothes to measure, agreeing to de
liver them to the customers free of duty.
Dressmakers' wimple, gowns were brought
In as personal effect n, and orders for
gowns made in- Paris were taken th
same way. This was a regular business.
Only lust Junuury twenty-seven (trews
makers were fined from $'i00 to $2,000 for
being implicated In It, and one of the
great surprises sprung by tho present
administration was when It beK&n to
prosecute women of this class. One of
the first cases mentioned In the list given
me by Collector Ieb Is that of Ellsn
bet Kllgannon, who had to pay $R.000, Mrs.
Kllgannon and her husband and a man
named Whits were partners in smug
gling. Mrs. ' Kllgannon waa known as
Mine. Loran,. a nllliner, and her husband
and Wblte were classed as silk Importers.
Others were Implicated In the transaction,
and when the suit waa brought it Is said
that the lawyers offered to pay more than
$2fi0.000 if the government would drop the
matter. That, however, la not the wny
Uncle Bam is doing business. The smug,
glers were arrested. Mrs. Kllgannon was
fined $5,000 and her husband waa sent to
prison on Illackwells Island for a. year.
White was glvon two years and went to
th federal prison at Atlanta.
But I might fill a page of this news
paper with the Htorles of smugglers who
have been fined and with thof who have
come forward upon being caught and
have compromised by paying the duties.
Take the wife of a millionaire ship owner
of Hoeton, who trU-d to snesk In a pearl
necklace via Canada. The nocklare was
valued at $23.0uO and she paid $.".00U fine
Ex-Governor ttotlltis paid $,000 and Jules
and Hugo Rosenberg gave back to t'nele
8am $J6,0O0 each. The wife of a former
head of 4h Panama canal work made
nil underdeclaration of the stuff she
j brought In, and her husband ooughod up
$10,000 to settle tho trouble. A rrominent ;
woman of Wisconsin had $3,000 In Jowelry
In her baggage. It was all new and she
did not declare It. iha was compelled to
pay $100 fine and forfeit th good.
With the other selsures mude waa one
of two C-karat diamonds, which be
longed to Uie Princess Montylgen. ghe
claimed they had been In the family for
years, and were not suhject to duty. An
other was thirty trunks of rarls finery,
which ws valued at $:.W, and a third
was one of sleeper trunks which contained
t;i0.000 more.
The sleeper Trnnk Treads.
This sleeper-trunk game Is one which
wn.i worked very laraely before the ad
vent of Collector Ixieh. H consisted of
leaving trunks on the dock and of sneak
ing them off afior the inspeotors and
other custom officials had left. Some of
the custom officials were In this con
spiracy to defraud, but when Mr. Loeb
ramo in he appolnlad a new set of watch
men' and reorganised the old force. He
now has the docks under Inspection day
ami iitahl, nnd any . one attempting to
hike away a trunk uninspected Is ar
rested. Tho business has been probed to
the bottom und una of th chief sources
of i iiiuniiliiia stopped.
Another means of passing the customs
w as by sponging off and changing the
ImIkIh, and others got goods through by
bribing tli officials. Not many years
imi I am told that one could lay a $10,
u $J0 or even a M bill on the tray of his
trunk and the Inspector who examined It
thought nothing of putting the bill In his
pocket and cloning the lid. Even now
checks are sometimes sent to the Inspeo
tors by passengers who have been well
treated, but such checks are Invariably
turned 'in to the collector, for If the man
did not and It waa discovered he would
surely be dismissed.
Oar Ilia Castonts llaalaeas.
Let us here stop a moment while I tell
you how big the customs receipts bulk
In the treasury of the United States gov.
emment. I hava been looking up th
figure and find that last year they
amounted to more than $31 millions of
dollars. That waa more than $1,000,000 for
very working day of that year. Indeed,
the customs 1 the biggest gold mine that
Uncle 8am haa and aver since the be
ginning he haa relied upon It to pay his
employes. Th total amount so far re
ceived slnoe 1TH haa been something like
$11,000,000,000, and this is equal to more
than one-half of all the taxes which have
ever been collected for the national gov
ernment. In this statement I Include the
Internal revenue and all sorts of direct
taxes. ,
Collector Loeb tells me that 70 per cent
of these customs receipt are now coming
Into New York, and that this port in Its
tariff duties ts now paying about 40 par
cent of tho working expanses of the gov
' eminent Proro this It will be eaen how
Important it I that we have an honeet
man at the head of it, and that that
honest man have the nerve and ability
to collect what 1 really (rue to oup own
Uncle faro. I believe this to be the case
with Collector lieb. He Is running th
customa as a business Institution and hi
only renulrem nts of his employes are
efficiency and honesty.
The t olleetnr and Mis Job.
louring mv talk with the collector to
day 1 asked him an to his work. Tin
replied:
"All I hav attempted to do Is to take
this place out of politics and administer
it on the nlane of honesty. ood govern
ment and In accordance with the liwi,
I did not make the laws. I am here
only to enforce them."
These are remarkable statement from
a man who holds an office which In the
past haa been one of the chief political
plums of the president. It ha beea one
of th best paying office under th gov
ernment, and the one most fought for.
When Garfield became president It waa
the appointment of' th Nw Tort col
lector of custom whloh caused th break,
between blm and Conkllng. and It
that which drove Conkllng from publte
life, and which Indirectly caused the
assassination of Garfield by the villain,
Dulteau
Twelve Tbnasaaa vs. a Mlllloa.
The collector of custom now receive
a fixed salary. He get $1,000 a month,
or, as a whole. $U,W a year. In th(
past he wss paid a commission of 13 per
cent upon all compromises and fines forj
tmder-valuatlons. Blnce Mr. Loeb took
office the mounta collected of this natum
have footed up more than $7.M.000. and
at the old rate his commission therefor,
would amount to more than tl.009. I
This represents a wonderful lncrae.
ami also the detection of many fraud
that have been going on for year. On
waa that ef the sugar trust, where, In
round numbers, about $2,900,009 worth otl
dutten were collected, and for whloh enn
of the Investigators received a fee of $100. J
000 from the government for hi exposl.
tlon of th frauds and th detection eC
the criminals. i
The story of that fee wi published I
and lno then. Mr. Loeb tell me, many;
people hsrve aent la Information a to
other frauds, hoping to be paid for aid-,
Ing the government In that way. The
total flnea and penalties for fifteen year
preceding Loeb'a appointment avrac4
only $fil.000 per year. , f,
The Caatora Hvema CaJea. ,
I asked him whether th purchaaea ef
American- traveler In Europe had fallen
off In consequence of the rigid ceUectlao,
of duties. He said: . . ,
"I hava no flgurs or statlstloB twlatlnsj
to that matter, hut front many of the
leading merchants ef IDurop wh hava
been accustomed to sell to American
traveler I understand that their euslnesa
has fallen off enormously, and that sora
of them hav really been closed up frenk
th decrease In uch purchases. Th pro,
ability Is that an enormous amount el
good which was formerly bought abroad
1 now bought at home. W know that
the purchase are surely much lesa tham
they were and - w also knew that tha
duties paid are vary much greater. la
1$0T the number of passengers who eame
In from Durope waa a little aver ZM.000,
and tha duties collect od wera, la round
number, $488,000. In 1909 the peesenger
wer only a few thousand mere, hut th
duties collected were more than doubled,
and In lOld.wltH k paseengar list of about)
830.000, th duties war mor than $1,778,
000. This year they will prekably run
Over $2,000, 000. , f
FRANK a CARPENTER.
Omit
nun
Calendar' Set Ak-esid.
Insofar as time affects prices, beginning Monday morning, the prevailing prices in our
Piano Department will prove to you that two weeks ahead of time we are starting the greatest quality-giving, money
saving piano sale in the history of the piano business. We expect a successful sale, and if expectations are realized our
Pre-Clhiristmas Piamo Sale
will be an annual event that all Nebraska will look forward to. We always sell
higher-grade pianos for less money than other Nebraska houses, and during our
Pre-Christmas Piano Clearing Sale, by calling at our piano rooms, you will find
that never in history have such
High Quality, Low Prices and Easy Terms
been offered. We have about three hundred pianos to dispose of between now and Christmas Eve; AND WE ARE GOINO TO SELL THEM in the time stated; if price is any consideratioln you should buy
during this sale; if the matter of payments has been causing you to delay, we assure you that we are in a position to make them so easy as not to worry you longer. Accept this invitation. Call Monday
morning. The first come will have a selection from the grandest assortment of beautiful high-grade standard pianos, at an actual saving (when compared with the prices asked on like qualities at other stores)
of from thirty-three and one-third to sixty-five per cent, which means a price reduction,-and a saving to you, ranging from $60.00 to $225.00. .
CAREFULLY READ OVER THIS LIST OP PRICES, THEN COME AND INVESTIGATE THE WONDERFUL BARGAIN OPPORTUNITIES THAT
ARE PRESENTED TO CHRISTMAS BUYERS DURING THIS THE GREATEST OF PRE-CHRISTMAS PIANO CLEARING SALES.
1 large, Handsomely carved mahogany Uepular l beautiful colonial style in golden oak Rcirular V medium size plain mahogany Ketrular price
price $750, Christmas sale price ........$375
1 handsomely carved . mahogany Regular price
$725, Christmas sale price $3G5
1 beautiful art style figured mahogany Regular
price $350, Christmas sale price $250
1 art style mahogany Regular price $335, Christ
' mas sale price $245
2 large colonial styles in beautiful walnut Regu
lar price $450, Chrittmas sale price ....$325
2 large colonial style in mahogany Regular price
$450, Christmas sale price $325
X mission art style in fancy mahogany Regular
price $400, Christmag sale price $280
1 art style in fancy mahogany Regular price
$375, Christmas sale pric $275
3 handsomely carved mahogany Regular juice
$350, Christmas sale price $250
price $300, Christmas sale price S225
1 Corinthian design in beautiful mahogany Reg
ular price $365, Christmas sale price . . . .$285
1 Corinthian design in mahogany Regular price
$350, Christinas sale price , . t. . . .$275
2 semi-colonial in mahogany Regular price $300,
Christmas tale price $225
1 small mahogany colonial design Regular price
$500, Christmas sale price $400
1 massive colonial design in flemish oak Regular
price $300, Christmas sale price $200
1 plain colonial in Circassian walnuts-Regular
price $400, Christmas sale price $300
$300, Christmas sale price $200
2 plain oak cases Regular price $300, Christmas
sale price $200
1 art style in burl walnut Regular price $350,
Christmas sale price $250
1 art style in figured mahogany Regular price
$350, Christmas sale price $250
2 Louis IX in nice mahogany Regular price $350,
Christmas sale prico $250
1 colonial design in English oak Regular prico
$300, Christmas sale prico $200
1 small size colonial design mahogany Regular
price $300, Christmas sale price $200
5j
p4lh)
airs
Every Piano Shall Go!
In order that our floors may be entirely
cleared by Christmas night we have made ar
rangements to deliver pianos anywhere in
Omaha, South Omaha and Council Bluffs, if
necessary, as late as six o'clock Christmas
night. We have made these arrangements be
cause we feel certain that every visitor to our
warerooms will become a purchaser. If the
greatest piano bargain will make you buy a
piano, you will here find the inducement.
To obtain a real piauo bargain you must
first receive piano quality; reoond, you must
receive the best of piano quality at a very low
price; third, you must receive the best piano
quality at a very lew price and ou, terms that
are suitable to your income. This is the de
scription of the piano bargains wo offer m our
pre-Cliristma3 piano clearance sale.
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