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 Wm. H. Theobald.
 
 Defrauding the 
 Government 
 
 True Tales of Smuggling, from the Note-book 
 
 of a Confidential Agent of the 
 
 United States Treasury 
 
 BY 
 
 WILLIAM H. THEOBALD 
 
 MYRTLE PUBLISHING CO. 
 
 1 West 34.th St., New York 
 1908
 
 Copyright, 1908, by 
 MYRTLE PUBLISHING CO. 
 
 New York
 
 -frj 
 
 T34 ^ 
 
 to the memory of one op 
 god's noblemen 
 
 STsaac ^aacnberj 
 
 STAUNCH, HONEST AND TRUE 
 
 THIS BOOK IS 
 
 DEDICATED 
 
 
 "none but himself can be HIS parallel' 

 
 TABLE OF CONTENTS 
 
 PAGE 
 
 Preface ' v 
 
 The Lasar Diamond Case 1 
 
 Mrs. Miles' Pearl Necklace 229 
 
 Why Might Is Right, and When 264 
 
 The Lejeune Jewels 302 
 
 Professional Smuggler 322 
 
 The Cassie Chad wick Case 324 
 
 Smuggling a Wedding Present 343 
 
 Mrs. Rubins and Her Linens 347 
 
 Undervaluation of Merchandise 352 
 
 What the Government Demands 356 
 
 Robbing the Mail on the High Seas 364 
 
 The Leinkram Diamonds 369 
 
 Smuggling of Drugs 416 
 
 How Rich Men Smuggle 420 
 
 Necklace Smuggled in Her Muff 426 
 
 The Maximilian Jewels 429 
 
 How Smugglers Smuggle 435 
 
 The Dressmaker's Way 452 
 
 Mrs. Root's Laces 464 
 
 The Frank Diamonds 470 
 
 He Used His Friend 475 
 
 The Bock Pearls 483 
 
 Why Informers Are Dangerous 487 
 
 The Anonymous Letter- Writer 495
 
 PREFACE 
 
 "Happy were men if they but understood 
 There is no safety but in doing good." 
 
 It is no easy matter to hazard a guess why so 
 many wealthy people smuggle. That it is a love of 
 gain is no more certain than is the belief that these 
 same daughters or sons of wealth defraud the 
 Government because they just cannot help steal- 
 ing. And smuggling, to my mind, is a low form of 
 theft. Deprived of their riches, some of these 
 cheats of a great Government would be classed as 
 common culprits, and doubtless many of them 
 would end their days in some State's prison for 
 pocket-picking, sneak thievery or some equally 
 low-blooded crime. Money alone keeps many of 
 them from committing these inferior offenses. 
 
 I always feel "a blush of shame" when I see 
 a customs inspector rummaging among the con- 
 tents of a clergyman's luggage. It does not seem 
 right that the cloth should be thus questioned, that 
 the personal effects of the returning minister, 
 priest or rabbi, as the case may be, should be sub- 
 jected to the ordeal of a triple extract of investi- 
 gation by those who are paid to collect Uncle 
 Sam's revenues; but society is responsible for this
 
 vi PREFACE 
 
 condition of affairs. From such specimen bricks 
 one is, unliappilj^ too prone to judge the quality 
 of building material. 
 
 Smuggling has been a thorn in official sides for 
 centuries. If one were to delve into the ancestry 
 of some of the richest men of England and France, 
 it would be discovered that the foundations of 
 their wealth were laid through the unlawful traffic 
 of dutiable goods across the English Channel. 
 Yet it is an uncommon thing for the latter-day 
 smuggler to accumulate riches in his nefarious 
 pursuit. I know of at least a dozen men who, al- 
 though for years identified with the illicit intro- 
 duction of precious stones, are now dependent up- 
 on others for tlieir livelihood. 
 
 Take the case of Max J. Lasar, for instance. He 
 made money fast enough for a time through his 
 regularity in defrauding the United States. He 
 was long suspected, and finally caught. To-day 
 he is a beggar, or practically so. Every penny of 
 his ill-gotten gains was spent by him and his rela- 
 tives in an attempt to keep him outside prison 
 bars. His arrest and trial attracted worldwide 
 attention. 
 
 General Wellington, the prosecuting attorney, 
 says that Lasar 's was the greatest case the Govern- 
 ment ever had to deal with. It certainly was inter- 
 esting as showing the impossibility of continued 
 success in the trade of siuuggling. Smuggling was 
 nothing more or less than a trade with Lasar. He
 
 PREFACE vii 
 
 died in poverty in Bohemia a few years ago^ and 
 for years before his death he was among the 
 ''down and out," as the expression prevails, and 
 so are many others who robbed the revenue for 
 years. Still I believe that smuggling will always 
 remain with us so long as we have a revenue,, a so- 
 ciety woman and a man of easy virtue. Men do 
 not usually smuggle for their wives. I have 
 learned they frequently "honor" their mistresses 
 by doing so. 
 
 In the pages that follow I have given the stories 
 of big smuggling by big smugglers as I have found 
 them. I have made no attempt at elegance in re- 
 lating the various events, incidents and episodes. 
 Neither have I taken the fire of other smuggler 
 catchers, but have adhered strictly to a relation 
 of those cases in which I was directly concerned. 
 I have not detailed any of the smaller attempts at 
 fraud. Space would not permit my handling of 
 their great number. 
 
 I have recorded each case as faithfully as pos- 
 sible, taking no sides, and presenting the whole 
 without any desire to veneer or blacken this cul- 
 prit or that. My operations were frequently as- 
 sailed, particularly by influential and wealthy men 
 whom I brought to judgment. One of these made 
 an attempt on my life. But I have treated him 
 none the worse for that. 
 
 Another who swore he would have me removed 
 from my position in the Government, because I
 
 Vlll 
 
 PREFACE 
 
 caught him as a common smuggler, used his mflu- 
 ence to have me officially decapitated, but did not 
 succeed Yet I have treated him kindly m the 
 record of his attempt to rob Uncle Sam. 
 
 I have seen so many dishonest men m my day 
 that I cannot refrain from saying, with Pope: 
 "A wit's a feather, and a chiefs a rod; 
 An honest man's the noblest work of God." 
 
 W. H. T. 
 New Yobk, July, 1908.
 
 THE LASAR DIAMOND CASE 
 
 CHAPTER I 
 
 If Max J. Lasar had remained faithful to his 
 spouse, he might have continued with the dishon- 
 orable honor of being the champion professional 
 smuggler of the world. But he had a deluding 
 sophistry that he tried to believe, and it was in a 
 great measure his undoing. He thought, like 
 many another man, that his wife's love could 
 thrive as well in the shade as in the sunshine, but 
 he forgot, among other things, the important fact 
 that, while a woman in love is sometimes the blind- 
 est of human beings, she is always the sharpest of 
 clairvoyants. He had quite a few love affairs, 
 had this great smuggler, but his wife, who wanted 
 for nothing except love and a little attention, knew 
 nothing of these, bless her soul ! 
 
 Every time that he went to his legal home it 
 was with the supreme knowledge that he had done 
 nothing that his wife knew, and when her love be- 
 gan to cool and her eyes welled up with tears he 
 wondered what was the matter. Of course, he had 
 secrets. Mrs. Lasar did not know of this folly or 
 
 1
 
 2 DEFRAUDING THE GOVERNMENT 
 
 that escapade, or where he was the last night he 
 remained away from home. What, then, could be 
 the matter with her? He asked the question of 
 himself many times, 
 
 Lasar was not a bright man, save as a smuggler, 
 and he never had heard of a system of telegraphy 
 between souls. Some may dispute that there is 
 any such system of wireless telegraj^hy, but that 
 is a matter of little concern just here. ]\[rs. Lasar 
 did not know absolutely, but she felt in her bones, 
 maybe, or perhaps it was mere everyday demo- 
 cratic intuition that made her believe that her 
 husband was doing wrong. At all events, she was 
 right, and, following the advice of several of her 
 friends, she applied for a divorce. 
 
 It was the knowledge of the institution of this 
 divorce, and another happening, that caused me 
 to ''form" the acquaintance of Lasar. I was 
 lunching in the cafe of the Savarin one day, when, 
 without any desire on my part, I heard a heated 
 discussion as to the smuggling of diamonds. Nat- 
 urally, I was interested, and could not resist the 
 impulse to turn around to see who were the prin- 
 cipals in the argument. I recognized one as an old 
 acquaintance, who was in the diamond business. 
 His remarks about smuggling were so pungent 
 and clear-headed that I determined to call upon 
 him at the earliest opportunity. This I did that 
 same afternoon. 
 
 I told him that I had been detailed by the Secre-
 
 THE LASAR DIAMOND CASE 3 
 
 tary of the Treasury to look after tlie unlawful im- 
 portation of precious stones. He had not seen me 
 at the Savarin that day, but he remarked that it 
 was odd that I should visit him just then, for the 
 reason that he had had that day an animated dis- 
 cussion with an intimate friend who was inclined 
 to shield several of his friends who were supposed 
 to be smugglers. 
 
 This diamond merchant asked me if I desired to 
 meet some of the members of the trade. I told him 
 it would be of incalculable benefit to the Govern- 
 ment and myself. He then took me to the offices of 
 several firms. It was at one of these interviews 
 that the name of Lasar came up. 
 
 ''I knew that man for years as a smuggler of 
 diamonds," said a merchant at one of the con- 
 ferences. "He is as bold as a sewer rat. There 
 is not a question but that he imports surrepti- 
 tiously each year many thousands' worth of pre- 
 cious gems." 
 
 I volunteered to try to catch Lasar. My plan 
 was to land the fish through the agency of one or 
 more of his supposed friends, and the first thing 
 that I did was to inquire into his wife's divorce 
 proceedings, and also into the characters of his 
 relatives. 
 
 I learned within a few hours that Mrs. Lasar 
 was a daughter of Frederick Buckner, of the firm 
 of F. Buckner & Son, the Fifth Avenue jewelers, 
 and that, while her faithless spouse did not at-
 
 4 DEFRAUDING THE GOVERNMENT 
 
 tempt to deceive her in some things, he never kept 
 her posted on matters concerning his illicit rela- 
 tions with the Government. 
 
 Lasar was as big a coward as he was a knave. 
 He was afraid to bring in on his own person the 
 valuable stones that he purchased abroad, so he 
 used his brother's wife as a cloak. This I learned 
 inside of twenty-four hours after I volunteered 
 to run him down. It has been said of the man 
 that he had personally brought in jewels on whicli 
 he failed to pay duty ; but, try as I might, I failed 
 to get accurate information that would lead to any 
 conclusive proof of his having done so. He gen- 
 erally trusted to a second party to hold the centre 
 of the stage in this proceeding, and the method 
 helped to make his downfall the more comj^lete. 
 
 I will say of Mrs. Lasar that, while she was per- 
 fectly willing at times to discuss the marital infe- 
 licities of her husband, she would at no time enter 
 into any conversation as to his business. This 
 seems strange, too, considering the intense feeling 
 of disgust with which she received his name once 
 she absolutely realized that her fears as to his im- 
 proprieties were only too true. Yet it was not 
 strange that she should remain silent. 
 
 The sister-in-law of Lasar was frequently seen 
 at the Windsor and St. George hotels in Montreal, 
 and usually about the time of the arrival of steam- 
 ers from Liverpool. She was the real go-between
 
 THE LASAR DIAMOND CASE 5 
 
 in the illicit game. She was clever to a degree, but 
 she unwittingly helped a good deal in bringing the 
 man to justice. I had received carte blanche from 
 Collector of the Port Bidwell to proceed with my 
 investigation, and making the sister-in-law of La- 
 sar believe that I had dropped the case, I went off 
 on another tack, in search of information. 
 
 I learned that because of his wife's divorce pro- 
 ceedings, and for other private reasons, Lasar 
 made a business of living at two hotels at the one 
 time in any town in which he stopped. He imag- 
 ined that it would be impossible for anybody to ex- 
 pose him so long as he played Dr. Jekyll at one 
 hotel and Mr. Hyde at another, in a different part 
 of the town. 
 
 Mrs. Lasar lived in a palatial house in the up- 
 per part of Manhattan, while her husband, when 
 in the vicinity of the metropolis, usually stopped 
 at the Washington and Taylor's hotels in Jersey 
 City, just across the river. Being in New Jersey, 
 he was practically out of the jurisdiction of a New 
 York legal process. It transpired during the 
 course of the preliminary investigation that La- 
 sar, who had offices at No. — Maiden Lane, in New 
 York, visited them but once during six weeks that 
 he spent in Jersey City, a young man in his employ 
 bringing him his mail and taking back smuggled 
 gems, it is supposed. 
 
 It is a strange thing, but nevertheless true, that 
 a number of the best known, but not highly re-
 
 6 DEFRAUDING THE GOVERNMENT 
 
 puted, firms in the diamond district were the me- 
 diums through which the man disposed of his 
 wares; and it is also strange, though not as re- 
 markable, that these same people were the loudest 
 in their protestations against the illegal introduc- 
 tion into the country of dutiable goods. Lasar 
 made tools of many, big and little, but these "hon- 
 est merchants and churchgoers" made a willing 
 tool of him. 
 
 His chief middleman, however, was his own 
 brother, Morris, who, with the latter 's wife, Sarah, 
 played a star part in the sensational develop- 
 ments of the case. Morris Lasar posed as a 
 genial boniface. He pointed with pride to his pro- 
 prietary interest in the Pavonia Hotel, at the cor- 
 ner of Chambers and Washington streets, in Man- 
 hattan, though in reality it was nothing more than 
 a saloon-intended to get around the objectionable 
 Raines Law during certain restricted hours and 
 on the Sabbath. Smuggler Lasar usually arrived 
 in Montreal from Europe about the time that his 
 interesting sister-in-law came up from New York. 
 
 I had been steadily at work on the case for more 
 than a month, without learning anything of a 
 really incriminating nature against the man, when 
 I determined to make a ten-strike or go a cropper. 
 There were two individuals, John Alaxwell and 
 James Anustrong, who claimed to be partners, 
 but who wore really representatives, of Max J. 
 Lasar. All merchandise that was owmed by him
 
 THE LASAR DIAMOND CASE 7 
 
 was sold under the name of Maxwell & Arm- 
 strong, and I learned that one was his salesman 
 and the other his bookkeeper. 
 
 I considered Maxwell the weaker of the two, 
 and as I was looking for vulnerable parts in this 
 dangerous fleet, I went sailing after this particular 
 craft in the squadron. Maxwell knew me by sight, 
 and for that reason I realized that I would be un- 
 able to sail under false colors. I drew his fire by 
 appearing at his home on 100th Street, in New 
 York, before he arose one morning. I met the 
 elder Mr. Maxwell at the door, and he asked me to 
 wait in the dining-room while his son was prepar- 
 ing his toilet. The son turned as white as a piece 
 of chalk when he saw me, and I then felt satisfied 
 that I had planted my first shot in a vital part. 
 
 The fact that the elder Maxwell was in the 
 doorway behind him calmed the young man some- 
 what, but he was not prepared for the galling fire 
 that I put into him in the form of personal ques- 
 tions the next few minutes that followed. I did 
 not spare him a particle. This is what I said : 
 
 ''I have positive proof that you have been sell- 
 ing smuggled goods for a number of years. I have 
 been sent to you by the Collector of the Port to say 
 that, according to the customs laws, you are 
 equally as guilty of committing a crime against 
 the Government as is Max J. Lasar. The man 
 who sells goods fraudulently imported is every bit 
 as guilty as the man who purchases them and
 
 8 DEFEAUDING THE GOVERNMENT 
 
 brings them in free of duty. I want to warn you 
 that you must stojD the business. ' ' 
 
 "For God's sake, John, do not tell that man any- 
 thing," said the elder Maxwell, coming forward 
 and touching his son on the arm. 
 
 "I know who this man is, father," replied the 
 young man, ' ' and I am going to tell him the whole 
 story." 
 
 The breath was nearly knocked out of my body 
 when I heard this. I could scarcely believe my 
 ears. I know that my face must have turned color, 
 but it was not noticed by either of the men, and 
 it is lucky for me that it was not. I thought that 
 I noticed the older man reach back to his hip 
 pocket, and I stepped forward to be on my guard. 
 I must have been mistaken, however. 
 
 "The young man is right," I said, addressing 
 his father. "He will do the proper thing in tell- 
 ing me all that he knows in this matter. ' ' 
 . Even as I spoke I doubted that the man would 
 'fulfil his promise. It seemed altogether too good 
 to be true. It should be borne in mind that I had, 
 up to that time, been working for several months 
 on the case, and that I had not an atom of evidence 
 against any of the Lasars. The Government up 
 to that time was completely at his mercy. 
 
 A little woman, with a tiny rosebud in her hair 
 and a big rolling-pin in her doll-like hand, came 
 upon the scene at this moment, and I immediately 
 divined that there were rocks ahead. She was the
 
 THE LASAR DIAMOND CASE 9 
 
 wife of John Maxwell, and it was evident that she 
 was the master of the craft, and that she did not 
 place much dependence in theories or hypotheses. 
 
 She held her other baby-sized hand behind her, 
 but as I failed to observe any steam arising from 
 that direction, I breathed easier. I am not fond 
 of hot water when it is in a steaming kettle. I 
 was trying to get her range, in anticipation of a 
 broadside of abuse, when I found in the next in- 
 stant that my apprehensions were as uncalled for 
 as were my first impressions of the woman unjust. 
 Amid a broadside of joy I heard her say: 
 
 ' ' Take the gentleman into the parlor, dear. The 
 dining-room is no place to receive guests at seven 
 in the morning." 
 
 She said it as sweetly as an angel would smile, 
 and I knew that I would not have to go into dock 
 and refit on this particular voyage. Mrs. Max- 
 well followed in our wake as we entered the par- 
 lor, and as we cast anchor in a chair where she 
 could watch me closely through a mirror without 
 the necessity of staring at me directly, I saw that 
 she had thrown the rolling-pin "overboard," and 
 was unarmed. The sea thus becoming calmer and 
 land in sight, the woman's husband told the follow- 
 ing story: 
 
 ' ' The real emissary of Max J. Lasar is the wife 
 of his brother, Morris Lasar. She has been the go- 
 between for some time. I have been acting as sole 
 agent of the man, though I am nothing of the
 
 10 DEFRAUDING THE GOVERNMENT 
 
 kind. Several weeks ago Max Lasar cabled me 
 from Liverpool that he was about to embark in 
 the Dominion Line steamer Labrador, en route to 
 Montreal. He instrncted me to infonn his brother 
 of tliat fact, that the latter might send his wife to 
 Canada to meet him. I don't know how the infor- 
 mation reached Lasar 's brother. I never sent him 
 word that he was to arrive in Montreal. 
 
 ''Mrs. Lasar went to the Windsor Hotel in 
 Montreal and registered as Mrs. E. Smith of 
 Brooklyn. She remained at this hotel one day 
 only, and to throw off detectives, should there be 
 rhj on her track, she took a long trip out in the 
 country, returning to Montreal during the night. 
 She went to the St. George Hotel, and registered 
 under the name of jMrs, S. Lasar. She returned 
 to New York three days following, and the next 
 morning I visited the woman's husband, who said 
 that his wife had a valuable package belonging to 
 Max Lasar. 
 
 "I asked him what he had done with the pack- 
 age, and he said that it was so valuable that he had 
 dug a hole in the cellar of his saloon and buried it. 
 He told me at the same time that Max had re- 
 turned to the States, and was then stopping at the 
 Washington Hotel in Jersey City. However,Lasar 
 came to the Maiden Lane office and said the con- 
 tents of the package his sister-in-law brought com- 
 prised $250,000 worth of diamonds and other 
 precious stones, and added that Armstrong was
 
 THE LASAR DIAMOND CASE 11 
 
 to get them next day from his brother and dispose 
 of them in the open market as rapidly as possible, 
 because he wanted to return to Europe within ten 
 days to procure another load." 
 
 Promptly the next morning Maxwell or Arm- 
 strong called at the saloon of Morris Lasar, and 
 presented a written order for the property buried 
 in the cellar. In an understanding between men 
 of this kind it is only natural to assmne that there 
 is some degree of honesty. There never was a 
 truer ancient law than *4ionor among thieves." 
 Those who doubt it have only to make a study, no 
 matter how cursory, of the inmates of the various 
 States' prisons. Some of them stop at noth- 
 ing to buy flowers for a degraded woman, 
 but only the low order of thieves play sharp 
 tricks upon one another. Brother Lasar looked 
 the order over in an indolent sort of way, and 
 handed it back to Armstrong, with these words : 
 
 "You get a big fat slice of the pie. So does my 
 brother. I am very fond of Max. He is the clev- 
 erest of the family. My wife asked me the other 
 night why I couldn't be as smart as he is. Well, 
 I am ! You just trot back to Max and tell him that 
 his diamonds are in pawn, and that I am the pawn- 
 broker, banker and the whole shooting outfit. You 
 might just as well remark to him that if he wants 
 the stuff that I have planted in my cellar he has to 
 pay me $10,000 for the crop. This is hay-time,
 
 12 DEFRAUDING THE GOVERNMENT 
 
 jjlease say to my dear brother, and I may raise my 
 price to-morrow." 
 
 However, Maxwell says you could have sold him 
 for a ha'penny when this astounding proposition 
 was made to him. He could scarcely contain him- 
 self with anger, and he exploded with a remark 
 more forcible than original. He told the gin-mill 
 keeper that in his opinion he had not a shred of 
 conscience left, to which Brother Lasar bowed in 
 genuine Alphonse-Gaston humor. "Then," said 
 Maxwell in relating the event to me, "he had the 
 cheek to invite me to have a drink, and made me 
 pay for it. I never went into his place again unless 
 urgent business demanded my presence there." 
 
 Max Lasar knew his brother well, by which I 
 mean he knew him better than any living man. 
 He was amazed, of course, when the news of the 
 demand of his brother was conveyed to him, and, 
 although he had a most elastic conscience and an 
 india-rubber heart, either of which would be 
 stretched without being strained or broken, he did 
 not relish anybody being more dishonest than him- 
 self. It did not take him long to decide, however. 
 
 "Don't lose a moment," he said to his clerk. 
 "Get back as fast as you know how, and give him 
 these. I know what he will do. He will want 
 $20,000 to-morrow." 
 
 The diamond smuggler pulled a wallet from an 
 inside pocket and counted out nine $1,000 and two 
 $500 greenbacks.
 
 THE LASAR DIAMOND CASE 13 
 
 ' ' Damn him ! ' ' Maxwell heard his employer say 
 as he took his departure. ''And I know enough 
 to hang him ! ' ' 
 
 The following morning the package of diamonds 
 was delivered to the smuggler. "I'll keep them 
 for a few days," said Lasar, "and then give them 
 to you to dispose of." 
 
 Lasar trusted Maxwell implicitly, and frequent- 
 ly told him much of his family affairs. 
 
 Maxwell was blind to many things, and his em- 
 ployer was so blind to his own folly that he never 
 supposed for a moment that anybody could see the 
 skeleton in his closet. But "in the kingdom of the 
 blind the one-eyed are kings," and in the natural 
 order of events, Lasar sometimes failed to recol- 
 lect that he had a wronged wife and that detectives 
 were cheap. These divorce-procuring sleuths 
 never lost sight of their man after he was five 
 hours in Jersey City. 
 
 They had rather anticipated his coming in a way 
 secret to themselves, and they readily learned 
 that a petite English miss had followed his ar- 
 rival in the former celebrated town of bunco-men 
 and trusts by scarcely one hour. 
 
 And while the dodger of duties was ruminating 
 on how he could hang his erratic brother, but 
 would not, the Holmes and the'.Vidocqs were weav- 
 ing a noose to hang the erotic brother, and would
 
 14 DEFRAUDING THE GOVERNMENT 
 
 do so. Time opens many graves, and how that of 
 Max J. Lasar, smuggler and free-lover, was dug is 
 to be told in another chapter.
 
 CHAPTER n 
 
 In books of fiction, tales of love and reviews of 
 the stage, all women are documented as being 
 pretty, often when they are not. Some of the 
 most successful women of the world have been 
 homely, and they were doubtless successful be- 
 cause they were plain, and not vain. Bayard Tay- 
 lor said : 
 
 "A spirit clothed with grace, 
 And pure, almost as angels are, may have a homely face." 
 
 Ivy Cruede was not homely, neither was she 
 an angel. She was just a poor devil of a girl who 
 always got the wrong end of everything. She 
 might have been a good girl if some of the high- 
 minded millionaires and freely scented rich dames 
 who spend money on questionable institutions had 
 laid the corner-stone for her and other unfortu- 
 nates of her kind to step across the muddy, slimy 
 stream. 
 
 Ivy Cruede was a pretty girl, and in a matter- 
 of-fact narrative like this, where looks do not 
 count, the statement is made only because it is 
 true. Her face was her misfortune, and she was 
 a simple automaton of impulse. Her grace and 
 
 15
 
 16 DEFEAUDING THE GOVERNMENT 
 
 looks made her much sought after, and she was 
 lost in the maelstrom of flattery and admiration. 
 She had been given a splendid education, however, 
 and this should have saved her. She had never 
 been loved for her real worth, although she was 
 just dying for an honest man's affection. 
 
 She was unable to distinguish between the real 
 and unreal, and when Max J. Lasar met her on the 
 Labrador, posed as a single man, and told her that 
 he loved her, she, poor moth, danced around the 
 bright-flamed candle and got her wings singed. 
 This, then, was the sort of woman that the dia- 
 mond smuggler brought with him to Jersey City 
 when the divorce detectives were hot on his trail, 
 and it was this woman who afterwards proved the 
 star witness for the Government. 
 
 Ivy Cruede lived at Taylor's Hotel in Jersey 
 City, and Lasar spent his nights there in company 
 with her, and his days at the Washington Hotel, 
 near by, in the company of his diamonds. Messrs. 
 Munroe, Harold & Evelyn had been retained by 
 the father of Mrs. Lasar to secure evidence for a 
 divorce. Some of the best detectives in that line 
 of business were secured to help Mrs. Lasar get 
 her marital freedom. They were lavish in their 
 expenditures, and made rapid headway. 
 
 The clerk of the Washington Hotel was a most 
 obliging young man, and he saw no objection, one 
 afternoon, to lending the sleuths a ladder and 
 showing them the transom that was over the
 
 THE LASAR DIAMOND CASE 17 
 
 smuggler's door. He had gone to Ms room a half- 
 hour before, and they knew it as well as the hall- 
 boy, who gave them a sly wink when he came 
 bounding downstairs a few minutes after the man 
 entered. 
 
 It is a matter of official record what the detec- 
 tives saw from the ladder while peering through 
 the transom, but for the sake of completeness it 
 may be repeated in part here. Lasar was in his 
 shirt-sleeves, seated at a table in the centre of the 
 room, with his back to the spies. Their elevation 
 permitted them to see over his head. In the cen- 
 tre of the table was a wooden box, 12 to 15 inches 
 in length, about 3 inches wide and 2 inches deep. 
 Lasar was busy examining the contents of the box, 
 which consisted of a great number of smaller 
 packages, done up in thin white papers, about 
 three inches long. He had a number of the 
 paper packages open, and their former contents, 
 which the detectives saw to be brilliants, were 
 here and there on the table. 
 
 At intervals of every few minutes the smug- 
 gler would mark something in an open book that 
 lay at his side on a convenient chair, and it is as- 
 sumed that he was checking off the gems. Fear- 
 ful of spoiling through discovery some future evi- 
 dence, the sleuths dropped down the ladder at this 
 point, and the Qbliging hall-boy took it away. 
 
 The big box and its contents disappeared from 
 the hotel that same night, and the following day
 
 18 DEFRAUDING THE GOVERNMENT 
 
 they were placed on sale in New York by Lasar's 
 representatives. Ivy Crnede had Suite 9 at 
 Taylor's Hotel, and it was in trap 9 that 
 the human wolf, Lasar, was caught. He went 
 to the Cruede hostelry from his "immaculate" 
 apartments in the Washington Hotel one night, 
 as usual, and he had hardly entered before 
 the detectives had telephone connection with 
 New York and Brother-in-law Sam Buckner on 
 the other end. It was little or no time before the 
 man at the other end of the 'phone was holding a 
 pow-wow with the detectives in the cafe of the 
 Taylor Hotel, and again the puissant ladder was 
 brought into requisition. 
 
 Lasar was caught red-handed, or anything else 
 that it might be called, and the chariot of air bub- 
 bles that the misguided Cruede girl had been rid- 
 ing in was dashed to pieces on the road of wrong 
 endeavors. I was not present at this interesting 
 scene, but from court records I learn that the de- 
 tectives forced the transom and saw Lasar in a 
 compromising position with the English girl. 
 Sam Buckner afterwards told me that he laughed 
 at Lasar through the transom and asked him if he 
 felt as good as he looked. Wliich, in my opinion, 
 was like adding insult to injury, 
 
 Lasar did not leave Taylor's Hotel that night, 
 but the Cruede girl did, and with the money which 
 the shameless man had given her bought a ticket 
 and started for Europe the following day in the
 
 THE LASAR DIAMOND CASE 19 
 
 steamer Germanic. I missed her at the ship by 
 ten minutes. I did not know the woman's name 
 at that time, but I succeeded in getting what I 
 supposed it was from the hotel register in Jersey 
 City. I wanted to go abroad immediately to 
 search for her, but considered, after some hours of 
 quiet thought, that my man was not cooked brown 
 enough, and that it might be a good idea to stand 
 by and watch him frizzle. 
 
 So I "invited" him out for a ride on the ele- 
 vated railroad. While we were humming along 
 in midair he got the impression in some mysterious 
 way that I had him under arrest, and for obvious 
 reasons I did not intimate to him that he was or 
 was not. He was surprisingly communicative, and 
 he went on from one phase of the Lasar matter to 
 another without the least bit of prompting or coax- 
 ing on my part. It was not until the "L" train 
 arrived well downtown that I had any intimation 
 that the man considered himself my prisoner. We 
 were approaching the Cortlandt Street station, 
 when he turned to me and said : 
 
 **It may seem improbable, but my word once 
 given is sacred with me." I waited to see what 
 he was driving at, and he added: "I want to go 
 to my office on an important matter, and if you 
 give me permission to do so, I pledge on my honor 
 to meet you at the Custom House inside fifteen 
 minutes. I will bring with me a wallet which has 
 $50,000 worth of smuggled diamonds in it."
 
 20 DEFRAUDING THE GOVERNMENT 
 
 At first, I did not believe that the man would do 
 anything of the kind if I let him get out of my 
 sight, and I was about to say that I would accom- 
 pany him to his office in Maiden Lane, when he 
 said: 
 
 * ' Do not be afraid of my running away. I would 
 not leave my family for all the prisons in the 
 world. I will be in Collector Bidwell's office in- 
 side of fifteen minutes. I swear it." 
 
 Since Adam cut his eye-teeth, man has been de- 
 ceived in man, and I was in Maxwell. Although 
 I acquiesced in his going, I never expected that he 
 would return. Asa matter of fact, I was but a few 
 moments in the Custom House when in he came 
 and deposited the promised wallet on the Collect- 
 or's desk. The latter was as greatly astonished 
 as I was. 
 
 That there might be no misunderstanding as to 
 what the man said or did, the Collector had his pri- 
 vate secretary, and also his chief clerk, appear as 
 witnesses. This chief clerk that particular time 
 was in charge of the division, its regiilar head 
 being absent. Mr. Small took down in shorthand 
 everything that the employee of Lasar said. 
 
 Maxwell repeated in every detail all he had 
 told me as to his relations with Lasar, the $10,000 
 blackmailing proposition of his brother, the his- 
 tory of the divorce proceedings, and, in fact, every 
 minute circumstance of Lasar 's methods, socially.
 
 THE LASAR DIAMOND CASE 21 
 
 Small did not lose a word that the man said. When 
 he had competed the main portion of his story, he 
 addressed the Collector. 
 
 ''If you were me, sir, what would you do in this 
 matter?" he inquired. 
 
 "Why," responded the head of the Custom 
 House, without a second's hesitation, "if I were 
 you I'd stand by my flag. I would make an affi- 
 davit." 
 
 "I will do so if you promise me one thing. Un- 
 der no circumstances must my name appear in the 
 court or elsewhere in this matter. I want a prom- 
 ise in writing to that effect. ' ' 
 
 It was explained to Maxwell at some length by 
 those present that it was out of the question for a 
 sworn officer of the Government to make any such 
 promise or enter into any kind of a compact of 
 that sort to condone an offense committed against 
 the Government. 
 
 "If that's the case, then," Maxwell made re- 
 ply, "I will not make an affidavit. I will show you 
 the^e $50,000 worth of diamonds, which I think 
 were smuggled by Lasar, but they must not be 
 seized. I do not care what you do after I return 
 them to the safe of Mr. Lasar." 
 
 While he was displaying the gems, Secretary 
 Small had the statement of the man typewritten, 
 in the hope that he might sign it. When the state- 
 ment was brought in and read to Maxwell he
 
 22 DEFEAUDING THE GOVERNMENT 
 
 was asked by the Collector if he was correctly 
 quoted. 
 
 ''Every word in that document is true," said 
 the man in a most dramatic way. 
 
 The Collector affixed his name to it first, Mr. 
 Small, the chief clerk and myself following in 
 the order named. It was then turned over to 
 Maxwell for his signature. He was seated at a 
 desk, facing the Collector, at the time. He looked 
 impressively at the signatures, picked up a pen, 
 calmly dipped it in the ink, and laid it down again. 
 
 **No," said he, rising and reaching for his hat, 
 "I won't sign that paper. I have no guarantee 
 that I will be taken care of. ' ' 
 
 "With that he went out, wallet, diamonds and all. 
 I made no attempt to follow him. Instead, I has- 
 tened to the United States District Attorney, and 
 presented the statement to him. Although we had 
 this strong piece of evidence, signed in the pres- 
 ence of Maxwell, witnessed hy four reputable men, 
 and admitted to be true by the informer, the Dis- 
 trict Attorney absolutely refused to give i^e a 
 search warrant to make the seizure of the Lasar 
 diamonds. 
 
 I even went so far as to seek Maxwell again 
 that morning and bring him before the District 
 Attorney, to whom he admitted that all that was 
 contained in the declaration was true; but the Dis- 
 trict Attorney said that unless Maxwell made a
 
 THE LASAR DIAMOND CASE 23 
 
 deposition to that effect it would be illegal for him 
 to issue a search warrant. Maxwell again left, 
 but I remained behind and pleaded all that day 
 with the District Attorney to grant me the neces- 
 sary paper. It was 5.45 that evening when he 
 finally did so. 
 
 Lasar's fear of divorce proceedings now being 
 relieved by the absolute institution of the same, 
 he no longer was afraid to visit the metropolis. 
 He had lots of backbone in this instance, and was 
 determined to brazen it out. It was within a few 
 minutes of six when I reached the doorway of 
 Lasar's business place. I had previously tele- 
 phoned to the Collector that I was likel}^ to make 
 the seizure that evening, and asked him to wait at 
 the Custom House until I had brought the stuff in. 
 
 As I was entering Lasar's door I ran up against 
 Maxwell, who was coming out. I thought that he 
 was treating the department honestly enough, but 
 to make sure that he was not taking away any un- 
 necessary wallets, or the like, I touched his person 
 in a convincing way. He seemed to be over-solici- 
 tous about what I was doing there at that hour, 
 and he suddenly said : 
 
 ''My! I left an important letter on my desk. 
 I must go back and get it. ' ' 
 
 ''You can come back here to-morrow morning," 
 I said, blocking his way. " I do not intend to let 
 you return upstairs until I have come down." 
 
 I expected he would resent a censorship of this
 
 24 DEFRAUDING THE GOVERNMENT 
 
 kind, but to my surprise he said, rather meekly, I 
 thought : 
 
 ''Very well, then. The letter can be posted to- 
 morrow just as well. Good-night." 
 
 I followed him to the corner without being ob- 
 served, and saw him board an uptown car. I 
 wanted to make sure that he did not attempt to use 
 a nearby telephone to warn whomever was in his 
 office that I was coming. I had but one stairs to 
 climb when I returned to the entrance. I did not 
 expect to find Lasar there, but there he was, sure 
 enough, and between him and me there stood a 
 tall, iron-barred fence that reached nearly to the 
 ceiling and which, as I subsequently discovered, 
 had a spring-lock door for admittance to the sa- 
 cred chamber of brilliants, duty unpaid. 
 
 I took in the whole room at a glance. There was 
 a safe ten feet high and some six feet wide in one 
 corner, and in front of this, which was open, 
 sat Lasar, with a pile of drawers on the floor and 
 on chairs about him. He had his back to me as I 
 entered, and did not turn around to see who it 
 was that had come in. Pie either had the con- 
 fidence that successful criminal operations give a 
 man, or he imagined that it was Maxwell who 
 had returned. 
 
 I took in the strong, burly figure of the smug- 
 gler, and in the same instant observed that there 
 were two other occupants of the office, a boy and 
 a thin young man, who I afterwards learned was
 
 THE LASAR DIAMOND CASE 25 
 
 Armstrong. The furnishings of the place showed 
 taste and means, but with that prison-like barrier 
 between lis I realized that it would be impossible 
 to get at Lasar unless I had the open sesame of 
 that modernly applied door, and I said on the 
 impulse of the moment : 
 
 ''How do you do, Mr. Lasar?" 
 
 He turned around quickly, but not in time to 
 prevent the little office boy, who believed I was a 
 friend, from pressing a spring that released the 
 door. The next instant I was within the charmed 
 circle and closed the door behind me. Armstrong, 
 who knew his master better than I did, must have 
 seen an odd expression as he arose to greet me, 
 friend or foe he then knew not. 
 
 ''What can I do for you!" queried Armstrong, 
 advancing before his employer could speak. 
 
 "You can do nothing for me," I said to him, 
 quietly. "My business is with Mr. Lasar." 
 
 I still think that Armstrong believed my inten- 
 tions were to rob the place, but, after looking me 
 over carefully, he glanced hurriedly at the draw- 
 ers scattered about the floor and chairs in front 
 of the big safe, and walked a few feet away. I 
 did not waste any words upon Lasar, I did not 
 have to, because I knew him well from sole to 
 crown top, but as he had never seen me before, so 
 far as he knew, he said : 
 
 "T do not exactly place you.** 
 
 "You are Max J. Lasar I"
 
 26 DEFRAUDING THE GOVERNMENT 
 
 ' ' Yes ; what is it you want ? ' ' 
 
 I told him who I was, produced my search war- 
 rant, and read it to him. 
 
 Lasar had a complexion like that of an Indian. 
 Notwithstanding this, his face turned the picture 
 of death as I read the legal document to him. I 
 kept edging my way over to the open safe as I 
 read. He dropped into a convenient chair and 
 hung his head in his hands. I never saw a man 
 go to pieces as quickly and completely as did he. 
 
 Armstrong, though small, was as gamey as any 
 man I had ever seen, and in his loyaltj'" to his 
 employer, I think that he might have sailed 
 in for me if given the word. I waited for 
 Lasar to recover his nerve, and the silence that en- 
 sued while he was pulling himself together was 
 painful in the extreme. He was a man of about 
 forty-three years of age, as strong as an ox, and 
 as good-looking as a perpetual frown would let 
 him be. He must have buried his face in his hands 
 for fully five minutes, but he finally looked up and 
 said: 
 
 "I will show you everything I have here." 
 
 "No," I made reply. "I do not require your 
 aid. I want to be left entirely free in my search." 
 
 This I proceeded to do. I dived into the draw- 
 ers and into the compartments of that safe, and 
 succeeded in co Meeting four wallets of diamonds 
 that were afterwards appraised at $57,000. I also 
 came across a wallet that contained a lot of tissue
 
 THE LASAR DIAMOND CASE 27 
 
 or diamond papers. The latter had innumerable 
 marks on the left-hand corner and upon the top, 
 and also on the inside of the wrapper. I knew 
 that these papers had contained diamonds, and 1 
 took possession of this wallet and its contents. 
 
 I made a package of the whole lot, sealed it in 
 the presence of the smuggler, and told him that 
 its contents were in the possession of the United 
 States Government, which I represented. He 
 asked me what I intended to do with them, and 
 I said that the Collector was waiting for me to re- 
 turn, and that I would turn over the property to 
 that official. Then he asked if he might accom- 
 pany me to the Custom House, and I said that it 
 was exactly what he should do. 
 
 We arrived at the Custom House five minutes 
 after leaving the smuggler's den. The Collector 
 had detained his private secretary at the of- 
 fice in the event of my mission being successful. 
 I said to the Collector as I entered: 
 
 "This is Max J. Lasar. He says these are his 
 diamonds. They were smuggled into this country, 
 and I have seized them. ' ' 
 
 Lasar, who had entirely recovered from Ms sur- 
 prise, said: 
 
 ''What building is this?" 
 
 "This," responded the Collector, "is the Cus- 
 tom House, where all honest merchants pay their 
 duties. If you do not know what building it is, it 
 is high time you did. These goods are now in the
 
 28 DEFRAUDING THE GOVERNMENT 
 
 hands of the Government. Mr. Small, give this 
 man a receipt for what we have here." This was 
 done, and Lasar left. 
 
 To cultivate the distinguished acquaintance of 
 Morris Lasar, the brother of the smuggler, it was 
 necessary to drink a good deal of his bad rum. 
 It did not leave any permanent injuries, which has 
 puzzled me to this very day. Accompanied by a 
 Government employee, I made many excursions to 
 the Pavonia Hotel, and we got on terms of dear 
 companionship with the man who had blackmailed 
 his own brother. He never suspected who we 
 were. 
 
 We learned a great deal that was valuable at his 
 place, and what we did not find out there was sup- 
 plied elsewhere. When sufficient evidence was 
 garnered, it was decided to arrest Max J. Lasar, 
 his brother, and the latter 's wife simultaneously. 
 I insisted upon accompanying the Deputy L^nited 
 States Marshal when he corraled the saloon 
 Ikeeper. I wanted to be present when he was 
 brought into Ludlow Street Jail, that I might 
 search him personally. 
 
 I was convinced that, knowing the mystic signs 
 on diamond papers and the like, I would be able 
 to get incriminating evidence that might other- 
 wise escape the ordinary searcher. The District 
 Attorney was surprised at my request, and said 
 something about the irregularity of the thing, but 
 I pleaded with him, and he finally said that I
 
 THE LASAR DIAMOND CASE 29 
 
 might go with the marshal. Another object in my 
 being on the scene was that I did not want Brother 
 Lasar to meet his wife when she was brought in 
 from her 79th Street house. 
 
 When we appeared in the saloon, the saloon 
 keeper started to go behind the bar the moment 
 I stepped in. I called upon the marshal to 
 prevent him doing so. This official showed his au- 
 thority and commanded the man to come from be- 
 hind the bar, which he did. He then placed him 
 under arrest. Lasar was fighting mad over it, 
 particularly as the saloon was crowded, but he 
 cooled down when he had taken several long drinks 
 of whisky, and asked the marshal if he might not 
 go behind the bar to get money and cigars. The 
 officer would not let him do as he requested, how- 
 ever, but said that anything that was wanted he 
 would personally have passed out. Brother Lasar 
 then inquired : 
 
 "Well, may I go to the safe and get something 
 there?" 
 
 This safe rested outside the bar, and was about 
 four feet high and several feet wide. The mar- 
 shal turned to me, and I said that there was no 
 objection to his doing that. The man then walked 
 over to the security holder, and after fiddling 
 away at the combination for what seemed to us to 
 be an interminably long time, he swung its door 
 back, opened another door inside and pulled out, 
 shades of Marvin! a heavy overcoat. The mar-
 
 30 DEFRAUDING THE GOVERNMENT 
 
 sbal whistled. So did several of the customers, 
 who by tliis time had become aware that the man 
 was in the custody of a Treasury official. I helped 
 Lasar on with his coat, and he cursed me under 
 his breath. 
 
 ''Better leave your private papers here," said 
 one of the bartenders in a solicitous tone. "Take 
 another good hooker before you go." 
 
 The pseudo boniface ignored the requests of 
 his understudy and, buttoning up his coat, said : 
 
 "Now, gentlemen," with an unmistakable inflec- 
 tion on the noun, "I am ready to see this game 
 of yours through. And I want to say, before we 
 start, before you squeeze any information out of 
 me I'll see you in hell, with your tongue hanging 
 out." 
 
 It was not refined talk, but we were in a bar- 
 room, where that kind of language was popular. 
 As soon as we reached the street Lasar, with a 
 sarcastic curl to his lip, said : 
 
 "They tell me that this chap. Uncle Sam, has 
 barrels of money. If I am going to the Hotel de 
 Ludlow, as I suppose I am, I want to go in style. 
 Please order a cab, and one of you chaps may sit 
 up with the driver. It is either a cab or a 
 stretcher. AVhich shall it be, my bold custo- 
 dians?" 
 
 The last sentence was with a mock bow that 
 caused some of the liangers-on, who had emerged 
 from the saloon to see us off, to roar aloud. The
 
 THE LASAR DIAMOND CASE 31 
 
 brother of the smuggler was certainly enjoying 
 himself at the expense of his captors, and it cost 
 Uncle Sam something, too, for we hailed a cab. 
 Lasar was as garrulous as a magpie en route to 
 the jail, but I considered his loquaciousness due 
 to bad whisky and a desire to annoy the marshal 
 and myself. 
 
 We arrived at the jail while he was berating the 
 Government at a great rate. Captain Prankard, 
 the warden of the prison, met us as we came in. 
 I gave him the particulars of the arrest, and 
 when Lasar was asked several stereotyped ques- 
 tions he answered them in a way that left the 
 impression that he had been drinking. At least, 
 that is what Captain Prankard thought. I knew 
 that he was acting. He woke up as fresh as a 
 June rose, however, when I said to the warden : 
 
 ''Captain Prankard, I want to search this man. 
 He may object to my doing so, but I think he has 
 something on his person that is of value to the 
 Government." 
 
 Lasar turned color and, quickly recovering him- 
 self, said: 
 
 "Search me as much as you damn jDlease. I'll 
 even help you to search. I'll remove my overcoat 
 to make things easier for you." 
 
 He took off his topcoat and laid it on a chair 
 at the end of the captain's desk. Feeling satis- 
 fied that the removal of the coat was a ruse, and 
 that it was a strange custom for a man to make
 
 32 DEFRAUDING THE GOVERNMENT 
 
 a wardrobe of his business safe, I made no at- 
 tempt to touch the topcoat until I had carefully 
 examined the remainder of the clothes that he 
 wore. When I had presumably finished, he said : 
 
 ''Well, I trust you are satisfied," and he moved 
 one side to pick up his overcoat. 
 
 "Far from it," I made reply. "I want to ex- 
 amine this coat, that is considered valuable enough 
 to lock up in a combination safe." 
 
 "There's nothing in it. I swear there isn't," 
 the man shouted, trying to get between me and 
 the garment. 
 
 "That's a question for us to decide," said Cap- 
 tain Prankard, restraining him. 
 
 One of the inside pockets of the overcoat re- 
 vealed the existence of a paper that was of illim- 
 itable value to the Government. It was of the 
 double foolscap variety, and was nothing more or 
 less than the original stock sheet of every package 
 of diamonds imported by Smuggler Lasar through 
 the intervention of Sarah Lasar. 
 
 The paper was turned over to me for safe keep- 
 ing, although the prisoner insisted that it belonged 
 to a friend who had talked of opening a jewelry 
 store, and for whom he had prepared a list of dia- 
 monds that would be necessary to put on sale. 
 It was purely an imaginary list, he added, when 
 Captain Prnnkard smiled. I paid no attention to 
 his protestations, being too busily employed in 
 going over a collection of papers taken from other
 
 THE LASAR DIAMOND CASE 33 
 
 pockets of the topcoat. From the mass of riff-raff 
 I selected two letters written, respectively, from 
 the Windsor and St. George hotels, Montreal, and 
 signed by his wife. 
 
 Saloonkeeper Lasar was cutting up at a great 
 rate about the irregularity of the whole proceed- 
 ing, when an official walked in and whispered 
 something to Captain Prankard. 
 
 "Fine," I heard him say in an undertone, that 
 Lasar might not hear him, adding, "Bring her in 
 when we have got rid of this prisoner. Lasar was 
 then locked up, and he had hardly disappeared 
 through one door when his wife, in the custody of 
 another marshal, was escorted into the warden's 
 room through another. She demanded to know 
 why she was brought there, and I explained in 
 detail. She certainly seemed surprised, and 
 though I may be wrong, I cannot help thinking 
 to this day that she was under the impression that 
 she had been arrested for another offense, of 
 which we knew nothing. She smiled when I told 
 her of her connection with Max Lasar. 
 
 "It is too silly even to discuss," she said in a 
 supercilious way that was entirely at variance 
 with her station in life. ' ' I demand to be released 
 immediately. My husband will make it pretty 
 warm for you all when he learns of your shame- 
 ful treatment of me." 
 
 A burst of tears followed, and a silence that 
 was interrupted only by her sobs and wails of
 
 34 DEFRAUDING THE GOVERNMENT 
 
 indignation came next. At last she was beside 
 herself, and asked if she might write to her hus- 
 band to come and give bail for her. Captain 
 Prankard i^rodnced a sheet of paper and an enve- 
 lope. Both had the official heading. Mrs. Lasar 
 then took a seat at Captain Prankard 's desk and 
 wi'ote a note to her husband, addressing the same 
 to his downtown saloon. She was then locked up 
 for the night. 
 
 It did not require the eye of an expert in hand- 
 writing to decide that the two letters found upon 
 the person of Brother Lasar and the one written 
 by Mrs. Lasar at Captain Prankard 's desk were 
 the production of one and the same person. This 
 fact was established at the trial. Neither wife nor 
 husband was aware that the other had been ar- 
 rested until the next morning, when both were ar- 
 raigned in the Federal Building before the U. S. 
 Commissioner. They were held for the action of 
 the grand jury, and bail was furnished by their 
 friends. 
 
 The conviction of any of the three meant the 
 downfall of all, and none recognized this quicker 
 than the smuggler himself. lie likewise had a 
 keen realization of the importance of obtaining the 
 best legal talent; so he lost no time in retaining 
 as counsel Judge Daniels and Frank Livingston. 
 
 As it was the custom from time immemorial for 
 an individual to bond merchandise under seizure, 
 the Government gave the smuggler the privilege
 
 THE LASAR DIAMOND CASE 35 
 
 to file a bond for the value of the goods in ques- 
 tion, the only stipulation being that the Federal 
 authorities retain about $6,000 worth of diamonds 
 contained in three parcels which, it was absolutely 
 known, had been illegally brought in. 
 
 Lasar furnished a bond of $115,000 that he 
 would return, on demand by the Government, the 
 remainder of the property affected by the legal 
 proceeding. It was plain from the very start that 
 he intended to badger the authorities, and make 
 them assume the burden of proving that the goods 
 were smuggled. 
 
 It should not be assumed from the last sentence 
 that the smuggler intended to rest on his oars 
 and permit the Government to search with scien- 
 tific curiosity undisturbed. He was never an idle 
 man, not even in love-making, and he believed in 
 the old maxim, ''For dogs that bite short chains 
 are right." He thought it was possible to place 
 barriers in the way of his prosecutors by employ- 
 ing sleuths to follow the enemy's sleuths, and to 
 his credit let it be recorded that he did his "duty" 
 well. 
 
 Always ready to give away a dollar, a member 
 of countless secret organizations, a good story- 
 teller, when his company did not mind the quality 
 of the tales, Lasar had made many friends here 
 and abroad, and when he scattered the news broad- 
 cast that the big Government of America was try- 
 ing to persecute him for an imaginary wrong,
 
 36 DEFRAUDING THE GOVERNMENT 
 
 there were scores to jump into the breach in his 
 behalf. 
 
 With the bonding of the seized goods, the Dis- 
 trict Attorney suggested to the Treasury De- 
 partment that I be sent to Europe to secure 
 evidence to be presented to the grand jury. I 
 went over in the steamer St. Paul, and although I 
 knew it not, there was a detective at my heels. 
 I had gleaned the information before Lasar's 
 rounding up that considerable of the seized goods 
 had been purchased of a well-known exporter of 
 Amsterdam. I had no sooner reached the countr\^ 
 of dikes and dams when I became aware that I 
 was being shadowed, and furthermore, that the 
 sleuth was invoking the aid of the friends of 
 Lasar in that country to stay my progress. 
 
 Isidor Soloman, of Amsterdam, was the mer- 
 chant who sold Lasar a great many of his 
 gems. Soloman was as honest as Lasar was a 
 rogue. I made no pretense of interviewing him 
 for some few days following my arrival in Am- 
 sterdam, for I was afraid that the other "fellow" 
 might also find him interesting. But I reached his 
 place by a circuitous route one afternoon, without 
 being observed, and showed the merchant three 
 diamond papers which were empty when the seiz- 
 ure was made in Lasar's place. Soloman recog- 
 nized them at once as being diamond papers pre- 
 pared by him, but said that it would be necessary 
 for him to consult his books to decide to whom he
 
 THE LASAR DIAMOND CASE 37 
 
 had sold their original contents. I had simply 
 told the merchant that I was a Treasury agent 
 from the United States, and that I was authorized 
 to ask questions affecting the sale of the diamonds 
 that the papers had contained, but that he was not 
 bound to answer them. The name of Lasar had 
 not been mentioned by me. He went to his safe 
 and brought out a giant ledger, over which he 
 pored for some minutes. He returned presently 
 to where I was seated, and said- "These papers 
 were wrapped on diamonds that I personally sold 
 to a Max J. Lasar, of New York City." 
 
 It was then four o'clock in the afternoon of 
 Friday, January 15. I told Soloman that the 
 goods had been smuggled, and that they were 
 seized. Would he come to America as a witness? 
 Well, it would give him great pleasure to go, par- 
 ticularly as he had heard so much of that great 
 country; but that he was under big expense at 
 i home, and could not afford to make the trip. Go 
 at the expense of the American Government? 
 With the greatest of pleasure. All he had to do 
 was to pack a grip, kiss his wife and family 
 "adieu," and turn his business over temporarily 
 to a near relative. 
 
 I felt some misgiving that the man would flunk 
 at the last minute, or that the opposition might 
 turn up at the most critical moment and throw 
 him a significant wink; but the unexpected hap- 
 pened, and at nine o'clock that night, or five hours
 
 .38 DEFRAUDING THE GOVERNMENT 
 
 after I entered liis estabLisbment. Soloman was on 
 the train with me to take the boat to cross the 
 English Channel for London. I had caught the 
 sleuths napping, and for the time they were wide 
 of the trail. 
 
 It was five o'clock on the morning of Saturday, 
 when we reached London and embarked on a train 
 that took us to Liverpool. At five the same aft- 
 ernoon we were on the Cunarder Lucania, pass- 
 ing down the Mersey, with good old Sandy Hook 
 as our destination. Soloman did not fully realize 
 what he had done until Crosby Lightship, out- 
 side Liverpool, began to fade in the distance. 
 
 I really believe that he would have taken French 
 leave of me and the ship at Queenstown, where 
 we called, had I not kept his mind away from his 
 family and buoyed him up with cheap talk as to 
 all there was in store for him when he reached 
 New York. He was a brave man, as well as an 
 honest one, as I have already said, and though he 
 afterwards admitted that he was more than half 
 inclined to show the white feather, he had given 
 me his promise and meant to stand by it, como 
 what might. 
 
 *'It was well, however, that you did not leave me 
 out of your sight about the time we called at 
 Queenstown, ' ' he afterward remarked. 
 
 Soloman proved to be a most important witness 
 for the Government. That he was coming in my 
 company was ascertained by Lasar and his coun-
 
 THE LASAR DIAMOND CASE 39 
 
 sel several daj^s before the Lucania reached the 
 North River. The sleuths, who had lost the scent 
 and rediscovered it too late to interfere with our 
 sailing from the other side, had brought the sub- 
 marine cable and a code book into requisition, and 
 our coming was heralded in that way. 
 
 The Dutch exporter of precious stones was too 
 dangerous a man to have knocking at their door, 
 and he was not twenty-four hours in Manhattan 
 before it was evident that the private detectives, 
 employed by somebody or another, not hard to 
 guess, were trying to approach hmi. It was just 
 this way. There were many other smugglers in 
 the metropolis in addition to Lasar, and if the lat- 
 ter was to go down as a result of any expose on 
 the part of the Holland merchant, there was no 
 limit to what else he would tell or whom else he 
 would drag down. 
 
 So, figuratively speaking, they set private sig- 
 nals saying, "Let us stand together for mutual 
 protection," the same as a fleet of pirates of the 
 Spanish Main used to do years ago, when they 
 were liable to attack by some busybody warship. 
 
 That there might not be any leak or miscarriage 
 of justice, the Collector, acting upon the ad- 
 vice of the District Attorney, employed a de- 
 tective who could be absolutely trusted with the 
 welfare of an important witness like Soloman. 
 The new Government sleuth had a pretty time 
 beating off the wolves and black sheep of the Lasar
 
 40 DEFRAUDING THE GOVERNxMENT 
 
 fold ; but, as they could not buy tlie man, he never 
 permitted them to get within hailing distance of 
 the Holland lamb. 
 
 While the private detective was protecting the 
 Dutch merchant, I was busy in Montreal getting 
 additional evidence against the gang of smugglers. 
 It was an easy matter to obtain this. Smuggler 
 Lasar and his helpful sister-in-law were daring 
 to a degree, but, like the majority of swindlers 
 since the Dark Ages, they were perfectly satisfied 
 that they were too clever ever to get their pretty 
 fingers burned by the Governmental fire, and they 
 failed to cover certain tracks that led right up to 
 their front door, so to speak. 
 
 The hotel clerks at both the Windsor and St. 
 George hotels in Montreal did not hesitate a mo- 
 ment when I asked them all about the movements 
 of the couple while they were guests at their re- 
 spective establishments, and, in addition to getting 
 valuable depositions from these connoisseurs of 
 good stories and diamond-bedecked shirt-fronts, I 
 took i^ossession of the registers of both Canadian 
 caravansaries which showed the signatures of the 
 two Americans in question, the time of arrival of 
 each, and the length of stay of both. 
 
 The Dominion Telegraph Company was not will- 
 ing at first to give me any information as to the 
 telegrams that passed between the Lasars and 
 others, but a secret diplomatic appeal caused the 
 company to turn over to me copies of all telegrams
 
 THE LASAR DIAMOND CASE 43 
 
 sent or received by Max Lasar. These telegrams 
 helped materially in completing the Government's 
 case when the proper time came around. 
 
 Evidence against the entire crowd was, for that 
 matter, coming in so fast at that time as to make it 
 most difficult to keep up with the entire collection 
 of proof, but the two star witnesses were then in 
 the wings waiting for their cue to take the centre 
 of the stage, and how they did it and captured the 
 good graces of the house are to be told in the next 
 chapter. One of the players, Ivy Cruede, has al- 
 ready been presented to the audience, but the 
 other, Thomas Nuttall, being a stranger, will re- 
 quire a little introduction.
 
 40 
 
 CHAPTER III 
 
 NuTTALLwas a little Englishman with a big mem- 
 ory, a ready ear and a penetrating eye. He should 
 have been a lawyer or a doctor, but he was simply 
 a steward who made twelve round-trips across the 
 billowy Atlantic each year, and he saw precious 
 little of his cosy home at Birmingham or of his 
 bonnie family there. Nuttall might have been un- 
 discovered by the United States Government and 
 might never have taken a leading part in the cast 
 of a great international play had he not happened 
 to be the steward for Max Lasar during the trip 
 of the Dominion Line steamer Labrador between 
 Liverpool and Montreal. 
 
 Being cognizant of the fact that it might be well 
 to interview the bedroom steward that Lasar had 
 on his last and famous trip with smuggled dia- 
 monds, Collector Bidwell sent me to Montreal to 
 meet the Labrador, which, about that time, was 
 supposed to be due there. It was in mid-winter, 
 and at Montreal I was told that during the cold 
 term the Dominion Line was obliged, because of 
 ice in the St. Lawrence River, to make Portland, 
 Maine, its last port of call. 
 
 43
 
 THE LASAR DIAMOND CASE 43 
 
 I found the Labrador at Portland and had an 
 interview with her commander, who immediately 
 sent for Nuttall. In the presence of the captain 
 I told the man what was wanted. He said that he 
 knew Lasar very well. The master of the ship 
 asked what was desired of the steward, and I re- 
 plied that the Government required his services 
 as a witness. 
 
 Being an English ship, and realizing that Nuttall 
 was not obliged to say a word unless perfectly 
 willing to do so, or after intricate diplomatic ar- 
 rangement between the two countries, the master 
 of the Labrador called the steward's attention to 
 that fact, and inquired if he was willing to go with 
 me as a witness. "Without a second's hesitation 
 Nuttall replied that he was. His discharge papers 
 were at once made out, he received his pay, and the 
 next train out of Portland was carrying us both 
 to New York. This was Nuttall 's debut to a metro- 
 politan audience, and he proved to be a star actor 
 from the drop of the hat. 
 
 Changes in the administration of the United 
 States District Attorney's office for the Southern 
 District of New York occurred at this time, and 
 General Wellington was appointed to the position 
 by the late President McKinley. It took some lit- 
 tle time to make the new incumbent acquainted 
 with the details of the case, but he fell into it with 
 great vim when I suggested that it might be wise 
 to seek the woman Avho was a fellow-passenger
 
 44 DEFEAUDING THE GOVERNMENT 
 
 with the smuggler wlieri he brought the h\rge ship- 
 ment of diamonds with him. I gave him her name 
 and furnished an address at which I supposed she 
 could be found. 
 
 A special agent of the Treasury Department 
 was about to go abroad on other matters, and he 
 was instructed to locate Ivy Cruede in the out- 
 skirts of Liverpool. This agent had too many re- 
 sponsibilities on his shoulders when he reached 
 England and was unable to devote the necessary 
 time to finding the former ocean companion of 
 Brother Lasar. He cabled that fact to this side, and 
 Special Employee William H. McCormack was 
 told to buckle on his armor and go in search of the 
 little, misguided English girl, who could tell much 
 if she would. 
 
 McCormack, who is since dead, was the best of 
 good fellows, and as keen in some things as the 
 tongue of a costermonger in Whitechapel. He 
 lacked one essential, however. He was not cau- 
 tious, and he was always as secure as a harbor 
 buoy in the belief that a business rival would have 
 to arise mighty early to get the better of him. This 
 over-confidence, pardonable in this particular in- 
 stance because he had been eminently successful, 
 made him trust some people more than he really 
 should have. The man was a glutton for work. 
 He was never in the way when not wanted, and 
 never out of the way when wanted. 
 
 The Government, so far as the Treasury De-
 
 THE LASAR DIAMOND CASE 45 
 
 partment was concerned, rested serene in tlie 
 knowledge that it could lay down its very life in 
 depending upon ' ' Billy ' ' McCormack. 
 
 McCormack had been specially warned to be on 
 his guard against the hired staff of Max Lasar. 
 He simply curled his lip in derision, and said that 
 some in this world were given to the luxury of 
 fretting. 
 
 *'I should like to get the measure of the man 
 who could dog me around without my getting his 
 bearings," said McCormack in a flippant rather 
 than a boastful way. " I 'd give him the finest suit 
 of clothes to be found in Paris." 
 
 This was said the day before the departure of 
 the ship that was to take him to Liverpool in 
 search of Miss Cruede. Eight at McCormack 's 
 heels as he ascended the gangplank was a man who 
 was destined to spoil the programme of the Treas- 
 ury Department agent. McCormack did not know 
 that he was being followed and that his shadower 
 was one who had several times before come under 
 the watchful eye of the customs officials. 
 
 This individual was David Gold, as crooked as 
 a flash of forked lightning. I had drummed up an 
 acc|[uaintance with Gold in March of 1897, when, as 
 a passenger in the steamer St. Paul, he was de- 
 tained on suspicion and a parcel of diamonds 
 found in his old clothing. Reviewing his relations 
 with Lasar at this late day, I am inclined to be- 
 lieve that he had as much reason to keep Ivy
 
 46 DEFRAUDING THE GOVERNMENT 
 
 Cruede in the background as did the arch-smug- 
 gler of the lot. Right or wrong in this belief about 
 Gold, he certainly burned midnight oil scheming 
 to keep McCormack from Ivy Cruede. 
 
 The moment that McCormack reached Liverpool 
 he placed himself in communication with the chief 
 of detectives in that city, and never for a mo- 
 ment, as has since transpired, did Gold lose track 
 of his man. It took McCormack and the English 
 police forty-eight hours to find the English girl, 
 and when they did, Gold was as wise as were they. 
 It was midnight when McCormack located his 
 quarry, and he found that she had been making 
 her living for some months painting pictures. It 
 was not a very profitable business, judg:ing from 
 what she told her visitors, and she readily agreed 
 to go to America, starting, as she planned, the first 
 thing in the morning, which was Saturday. 
 
 McCormack was to engage passage for her in 
 an outgoing Cunarder and to deliver the ticket to 
 her at her apartments the following morning. Mc- 
 Cormack, having some other business to perform 
 abroad, told the woman that she could go over 
 unaccompanied. To this she readily acquiesced, 
 and to all outward appearances the programme 
 was as cut and dried when McCormack left her 
 that night as plans of man could ever be. 
 
 Had McCormack watched that house all night, 
 as he should have done, he would have seen a 
 Maiden Lane diamond merchant by the name of
 
 THE LASAR DIAMOND CASE 47 
 
 Gold steal slyly into the house of Ivy Cruedei; 
 would have seen the misguided woman leave heij 
 apartment in the company of the man, who thenl^ 
 carried a valise that he did not have when he en-^ 
 tered there ; and he would have observed that the 
 first London-bound train that left the station in 
 the small hours of that Saturday morning took/ 
 the couple away. 
 
 But "Billy" McCormack was honest, and he be- 
 lieved that the English girl would keep her word 
 with him, and in this he was deceived. When he 
 went to the apartment at the appointed hour that 
 Saturday morning, the bird had escaped from its 
 cage. He cabled to this side that the woman ha^ 
 disappeared and that other business prevented his/ 
 making an extended search for her. 
 
 Miss Cruede certainly had ample reason to re- 
 gret her flight with Gold. The full-fledged scoun- 
 drel, who still holds his head high in New York 
 business circles, engaged a suite of rooms for the 
 girl upon their arrival in London, abused her in 
 the most shameful and cowardly way possible, and 
 finally, learning that McCormack had abandoned 
 the search, threw the unfortunate girl upon the 
 mercy of the town. Such, then, was the character 
 of the friend and confrere of Smuggler Lasar. 
 But we will hear more of Gold later. Sufficient 
 unto the day is the evil thereof. 
 
 During McCormack 's absence in Europe IJiad 
 busied myself in an endeavor to get possession of
 
 48 DEFRAUDING THE GOVERNMENT 
 
 a dress that Mi^s^Morris Lasar used to wear dur- 
 ing her visits to Montreal. It was made like an 
 ordinary costume, except that the skirt at its lower 
 part, towards the middle, had a row of little pock- 
 ets sewed in on the inside. Into these pockets she 
 always placed the packages of diamonds that 
 Brother-in-law Lasar gave her. The contents of 
 the pockets were protected and held firmly in place 
 by a stout lapel secured with a button. 
 
 Mrs. Lasar may be surprised to learn that I ex- 
 amined this skirt at will during her absence from 
 home one day, and that I subsequently had it, con- 
 tained in a stout paper, under my arm ready to 
 carry away; but — well, somebody weakened, and 
 I do not think it was me. That was the last I ever 
 saw of it, try as I did to get it from the house, and 
 I am led to believe, in view of previous efforts on 
 his part, that perhaps Hotel-keeper Lasar buried 
 it in one of his several cellars. The knowledge of 
 the loss to the Government of this skirt, and the 
 news from London that McCormack had tripped 
 up in his exploit with Ivy Cruede, coming as they 
 did almost simultaneously, were very depressing, 
 to say the least. 
 
 / It was at this critical point that the Treasury 
 ^Department, through General Wellington, decided 
 ho send me abroad to hunt up the missing English 
 girl. At that time Assistant District Attorney 
 Denby was in Europe on some government mat- 
 ters, and I was instructed to consult with him on
 
 THE LASAK DIAMOND CASE 49 
 
 my arrival abroad. I went over in the steamer St. j 
 Louis, arriving August 14, and from Plymouth / 
 cabled to Major Williams in Paris to place me in / 
 communication with Mr. Denby. 
 
 After many apparently insurmountable difficul- 
 ties, I at length succeeded in locating Ivy Cruede, 
 living"~in London in a furnisted'foom house on 
 Great Ru"s"SelT~Street, in rather a good neighbor- 
 hood. I called there one evening and was told that 
 Miss Cruede was out. I held a council of war with 
 a street lamp at the nearest corner and decided 
 that Miss Cruede was not out and that I must see 
 her. In response to my second call a little maid, 
 who dropped her h's all over the floor, smiled 
 sweetly when I slipped a half-crown into her hand 
 and said that she would do her best to deliver a 
 message to Miss Cruede. ' ' Say that a friend from 
 Liverpool wishes to see her," I bade the maid, as 
 I was ushered into a cosy reception-room. I do 
 not know what merit there was in "that friend 
 from Liverpool," but the message acted like a 
 charm, and soon there was a pitter-patter of small 
 feet, and the tiny maid returned with beaming 
 face to tell me that Miss Cruede was at home and 
 would be down presently to see me. 
 
 I was taken somewhat aback as she entered the 
 room. I had expected to find a pretty girl, such 
 as was described to me, and in that respect I was i 
 not mistaken ; but the slim, good-looking girl that ] 
 entered the room was clearly in great financial dis-
 
 50 DEFRAUDING THE GOVERNMENT 
 
 tress. She wore a little white duck skirt that was 
 torn in several jolaces; over this was a calico shirt- 
 waist, spotlessly clean, but much the worse for 
 wear, and her tiny feet were encased in a pair of 
 shoes that were broken in every part. My heart 
 bled for her the moment I took in her miserable 
 appearance. She had evidently just been sewing, 
 for several remnants of cotton thread hung to her 
 skirt. 
 
 The unfortunate girl made a move to back from 
 the room when she saw that I was a stranger, and 
 doubtless imagined the worst — that I was another 
 of the breed of contemptible human dogs that she 
 had met at various times within a few years, and 
 that, like these passion-driven band of free-lovers, 
 I had suggestions to make that would never be ful- 
 filled. So I said to her before she managed to get,,^^ 
 back as far as the door: "Miss Cruede, I have\ 
 /come to you from America to get some informa- / 
 tion about Max J. Lasar. Will you give it ? " 
 
 Her face turned red immediately, and her eyes, 
 usually large, grew so big that I thought they 
 would pop out of her liead. She seemed unable to 
 talk for the moment, but presently she said : 
 
 "Did you say Max J. Lasar? What information 
 do you want? Is it for or against the man?" 
 
 "It is decidedly against him," I made reply. 
 "You can tell me a great deal if you will." 
 
 A strange look came over her face. It was not 
 a vindictive look, but it meant much, whatever it
 
 THE LASAR DIAMOND CASE 51 
 
 portrayed. There was a pause of some seconds, 
 and I could see that the woman was going through 
 the fire of an internal disturbance. Presently she 
 said, half to me, but chiefly as if communing with 
 her own soul : 
 
 "He treated me like a dog. Why should I stand 
 by him? What is it you want to know!" 
 
 In a few words I told her what the American 
 Government had done and what it knew. At the 
 conclusion of the recital of the arrest of Lasar and 
 the divorce of his wife, the woman said that if she 
 were compensated and taken care of she would be / 
 willing to go to America and tell all she knew/ 
 "But," said she at this point, "how do I know that 
 you are unlike some men that it has been my mis- 
 fortune to meet ? ' ' 
 
 "Simply enough," I rejoined. "I wjlL engage 
 a woman to act as^diaperon to you." 
 
 "That will be entirely satisfactory," said Miss 
 Cruede. "I will take the first steamer that you 
 select." 
 
 There was something about the woman that con- 
 vinced me that she could be trusted. I had every 
 reason to believe, without letting her know, that 
 she had been accustomed to receiving the wrong 
 bite of the apple, and, although I then knew her 
 not except by reputation, I felt convinced, after 
 looking her over at length, that if she pledged her 
 word she would stand by it. 
 
 To make sure that Miss Cruede would not be
 
 52 DEFRAUDING THE GOVERNMENT 
 
 spirited away by the emissaries of Lasar, I se- 
 cured the services of two of the best men that 
 .--Scotland Yard could afford. I shall never forget 
 these two men. One was a strapping, big Irish- 
 man, six feet two inches tall, who was formerly 
 of the Queen's Guards. He had a wealth of 
 brogue and the wit of Sam Weller. His associate 
 was a stumpy, red-faced Englishman, who learned 
 his knowing ways as a youth on top of an omnibus 
 that he drove. He was of the Cockney type, 
 and was forever disagreeing with his companion 
 as to the proper way for conducting the business 
 of a modern sleuth. I cannot furnish the name of 
 either man, but we will call the Irishman Barney 
 O'Day and his partner Albert Palmer, which is 
 not far from the real thing. O'Day had the bar- 
 rack-room fluency of the great Mulvaney, and, like 
 that distinguished soldier, was forever finding 
 fault with himself, his business and his surround- 
 ings. He didn't relish the detective business, he 
 frequently said, and, copying Mulvaney, added in 
 an apologetic way that ''it is mate an' dhrink to 
 me, bekaze I'm wan av the few that can't quit ut." 
 
 These remarks used to anger Palmer, who con- 
 sidered that Scotland Yard was the hub of the uni- 
 verse and that thief-catching was the special 
 license of the brainy man. 
 
 I had recounted the "peculiarities" of Miss 
 ^Cruede to the men several times before O'Day
 
 THE LASAR DIAMOND CASE 53 
 
 broke forth with an opinion. He said, after he 
 eyed me over most carefully : 
 
 "Av course, the 'uman's onprincipled. I niver 
 saw wan that wasn't. 'Tis blayguards they all 
 are. Aven me pore ould mutlier had her wake- 
 nesses. 'Tis none av me business an' not impert'- 
 nint, but yere in luv wid the 'uman, I take ut," 
 
 I did not satisfy his curiosity on that score, al- 
 though I repeated that my only ambition was to 
 get Miss Cruede across the ocean to serve as a 
 witness. Seeing that I was not likely to make my 
 story dovetail with his belief, he finally said : 
 
 "Ye 're honust, I dare say. Ut's meself that's 
 tinder-hearted 'nuff to say that. Ut's nothin' to 
 me, though. Phat's the use av digresshin'?" 
 
 O'Day and Palmer ranged themselves in a con- 
 venient berth a short distance from Miss Cruede 's 
 lodgings, and were soon observed by everybody in 
 the neighborhood. They presently agreed that it 
 might be better for them to try another system of 
 watching their quarry, and Palmer went away. He 
 was gone about a half hour, when up from the 
 nearest corner came one of the grimiest-looking 
 bootblacks that ever walked English streets. The 
 tall Irishman no sooner saw the ragged knight of 
 tlje brush than he walked hastily off in another 
 iiirection. 
 
 "Boots" settled down to a comfortable anchor- 
 age on a brownstone stoop almost diagonally 
 across from the dwelling of Miss Cruede. He was
 
 54 DEFRAUDING THE GOVEENMENT 
 
 a fat, greasy-looking bootblack, but seemingly 
 happy, for he whistled and hummed as he picked 
 at his black fingers or overhauled the parapher- 
 nalia of his box. He was there a full hour, when 
 he was joined by a "boy" who had a bundle of 
 newspapers stuck under his arms and a dilapi- 
 dated cap clinging to the back of his head. The 
 /'boy" was clearly overgrown, and cut quite an 
 odd figure as compared with the diminutive, 
 though stout, bootblack alongside him. 
 
 "I must be a laughin' shtock," ventured newsy, 
 with a great roll of the Emerald brogue. 
 
 ''More like a bally hidiot," said Boots. "A reg- 
 ular, bloomin' scarecrow, Hi'm thinkin'." 
 
 "Ye dhirty son av a clodhopper!" said the 
 other. "Go wash yer homely mug. Ye 're a dish- 
 grace to the prof esshion. ' ' 
 
 At that moment the figure of Miss Cruede was 
 seen emerging from the door opposite, and with a 
 cautious "phist!" the newsboy hurried from his 
 companion, and before the young woman had 
 reached the foot of the stoop the bundle of rags 
 and newspapers was at her side. The next instant 
 Boots, on the opposite side, saw that the newsboy 
 was in conversation with Miss Cruede and that he 
 was pointing significantly in his direction. 
 
 " 'E's lioff 'is 'ead," soliloquized the bootblack, 
 his face absolutely turning pale through its cover 
 of grime and black. "Poor Barney!" he con- 
 tinued half aloud, "it's bally mad he is."
 
 THE LASAR DIA:\[0ND CASE 55 
 
 ''Shure, miss, 'tis a bad, dapraved gossoon is 
 he," the tattered newsboy was saying to the young 
 woman, as with closed hand he indexed with his 
 thumb over his shoulder in the direction of the 
 bootblack. ''He's a hired murderher. A fri'nd 
 of his i^hat knows yere swate colleen face has 
 waxed his dhirty fist to kape an eye on yer. 'Tis 
 yer loife they're after. Go back beyant that dure 
 an' don't stir out fer the rest o' the night." 
 
 "Do you mean to say that I am watched?" in- 
 quired Miss Cruede, backing away from the giant 
 ''newsboy" and making no attempt to disguise her 
 surprise. 
 
 "Watched, is it?" rejoined the human rag-shop. 
 ' ' Yerra ! Bad luck to me pore ould blind aunt if 
 ut's not blud they want. Acushla, 'tis the thrutli 
 I'm tellin' yer. I'm yer fri'nd, be all that's howly, 
 'pon the vartue o' me oath. Yer raly nade a fri'nd. 
 Bechune me an' you, 'twill be a sorry day fer yer 
 if yer don't stay indures this blessed night of our 
 Lord. Begor, that whippersnapper beyant will 
 trate yer loike a pore, homeless hound while you'd 
 be saying thropsticks. He's wurst thin a furriner. 
 Don't ax me no questions. I don't know phat new 
 divilment he'll be up to nixt. I'd rather thrust a 
 prefumed jook thin him. Don't raison it out. Go 
 back to yer bed, alanna. God be wid yer, a hun- 
 dred times. And may His Blissed Mother pur- 
 tect yer from that shupporior company beyant. 
 The Dublin jackeen! Some day he'll be dancin'
 
 56 DEFRAUDING THE GOVERNMENT 
 
 'pon nothin'. Pleasant dhreams to ye, me sweet 
 colleen. Don't sbpake a word, 'uman. Go back. 
 Lave him ter me. Be hivens ! I'll give him a clout 
 phat'll hould his breath fer the nixt tin years." 
 
 The next moment Miss Cruedewas ascending the 
 steps to her lodgings and the "newsboy" was rub- 
 bing his palm against a half-crown that the young 
 woman had given him. 
 
 " 'Tis tuppence of Scotch fer me," said the 
 newsboy, as he joined the bootblack on the other 
 side of the way, first seeing, however, that Miss 
 Cruede had disappeared from view. 
 
 "Is hit mad you are I" inquired Boots. "What 
 did you say to 'er ? ' ' 
 
 "Aisy, aisy, me laddie buck," said the newsboy. 
 "Kem down ter the Rid Lion wid me, yer dirty 
 whipster. 'Tis a bad character yer have wid that 
 gurl. Whisha, but ye 're a d — n black schoundrel ! 
 How the byes will laugh when I tells thim. Och, 
 wirra, wirra ! 'tis sublime. A grate sacret I've, 
 ter tell yer. I wondher who tould her phat an 
 ould villant yer are f Kape yer timper whin I talk 
 ter yer! 'Tisn't by book I'arnin', but by honest 
 labor that I won me fame. Gibberish, yer say? 
 Scotch, say I. Aisy got, aisy gone. Shure, the 
 stuff's chape." 
 
 The Irish detective kissed his hand to the mute 
 front door of Miss Cruede as he continued: 
 
 "The onprincipled brazen-face! It's addiyou.
 
 THE LASAR DIAMOND CASE 57 
 
 not revwar, me gurl. Quare how silent yer are, 
 Palmer!" 
 
 The English sleuth was indeed disinclined to 
 conversation. He was accustomed to the oddities 
 of his associate, but he questioned his judgment in 
 this matter. At length he said : 
 
 ''You spoiled the whole bloomin' iioutfit this 
 time. AAliat in the name of 'Arry did you do hit 
 for? She'll tumble now, sure, with your bally 
 blarney." 
 
 "Me pore, misguided omadhaun," rejoined the 
 Irishman, ''don't preshume to know anythin'. 
 Thumble, is it ? Nabochlish ! I hev her frightened 
 out o' her loife. Ye 're a blud-dyed cutthroat — 
 that 's phat yer are. She 'd sooner thry ter shtand 
 on her head thin mate yer this night. Ye 're per- 
 fectly incorrigible, that's phat yer are. Yerra, but 
 ye 're a decomposed egg. Yer bad reputathion 
 saves that good 'uman. I'll kape an eye on her 
 fri'nds, though. Let's furst get a dhrink." 
 
 And the Irish detective and his pal went down 
 the street towards the Eed Lion, the big son of the 
 Emerald Isle humming as he went : 
 
 "A thrate, a thrate, if of the best, 
 We hope in heaven your sowl will rest; 
 But if you give it of the small. 
 It won't agree with our boys at all." 
 
 Barney O'Day was not half as insane as Albert 
 Palmer thought. Several times that night, while
 
 58 DEFRAUDING THE GOVERNMENT 
 
 both were watching from ''across the way," a dap- 
 per-looking "furriner," as O'Day described him, 
 rang the bell to Miss Cruede's lodgings and, as he 
 subsequently learned, asked for her. She pictured 
 the bloodthirsty wretch whom the good-hearted 
 newsboy had pointed out to her, and, not being 
 particularly anxious to cultivate the acquaintance 
 of an undertaker, as she supposed, remained in- 
 doors until I came and took her away from those 
 who wanted to make a plaything of her. Barney 
 O'Day may be considered crude in his work, but 
 a better "poluss" never drank liquor in the Caws- 
 tle cellars. Goodness only knows from what he 
 saved Ivy Cruede that night. Like Ortheris, I fre- 
 quently ''sigh for London and her rotten smells" 
 that I might again see Barney 'Day. 
 
 I take pleasure in stating that my original im- 
 pression of Miss Cruede's sense of honesty was in 
 no way lessened by time. If anything it was im- 
 proved. She was loyal to her word right to the 
 very last. Before I left the woman the night of 
 , our first meeting I gave her a sufficient sum of 
 / money to purchase clothing necessary for the trip. 
 While she was doing this I went about in search 
 of a chaperon. Of the latter I cannot say too much 
 in praise. 
 
 I am under a solemn obligation to the woman, 
 and to the Government as well, not to reveal her 
 name. Let her, for the sake of convenience, be
 
 THE LA8AK DIA^^LOND CASE 59 
 
 known as Mrs. Castleton. It is in the hope of re- 
 paying in a small way the many acts of kindness 
 of the woman that I here say of her : There never 
 lived a more faithful woman, a purer-minded 
 woman or a more loyal friend. Stacks of money 
 were used by the enemy to bribe the English chap- 
 eroiTTTito ''losing" her charge. Her life was even 
 threatened by the friends of Lasar, and spies and 
 detectives hounded her every step, until her very 
 existence became almost unbearable. 
 
 Mrs. Castleton had the patience of a lamb, but 
 she likewise had the tenacity of a bull pup when 
 she made up her mind to protect the motherless 
 English girl, and she did her duty willingly and 
 well. It is not necessary to detail the many sacri- 
 fices that she made, nor is it essential to tell how 
 Miss Cruede was Quick to recognize that shejxad 
 at least found a true^ friend in this noble woman. 
 Much may be skipped in the recital, including sev- 
 eral unpleasant incidents during the trip to New 
 York in the steamer Cymric. 
 
 Our coming threw a thunderbolt into the camp 
 of the opposition, but we were not ten hours in the 
 metropolis before there were half a dozen Hawk- 
 shaws hot after our trail. Their presence became 
 so marked and objectionable that it became neces- 
 sary to steal the English witness and her com- 
 panion out of the, city in the middle of the night. 
 i had the advice of Collector Bidwell and the Dis- 
 trict Attorney to leave the metropolis with the two
 
 60 DEFRAUDING THE GOVERNMENT 
 
 women and not to return until the day set for the^ 
 ^■rial. 
 
 AVe got away in splendid shape, as we then 
 thought, and were chatting and congratulating 
 ourselves on the train that was destined to take us 
 to Lenox, Massachusetts, when we made the dis- 
 j.^'^covery that at the rear end of our car sat one of 
 the private detectives who had shadowed us since 
 we landed from the Cymric. I thought perhaps 
 we might be able to throw him off our scent, but 
 concluded that I was over-confident when, as I 
 happened to pass him a few moments later, I heard 
 him say to the porter of the car : 
 
 'M am going to Lenox. You need not make up 
 my berth just yet. I am in no hurry to turn in. ' ' 
 
 It being quite apparent that he knew where we 
 were going, it was decided to brazen it out for 
 the time being, and we went straight to Lenox. I 
 had Mrs. Castleton keep her eye on the modern 
 Holmes for an hour after luncheon at the hotel, 
 while I got on the long-distance telephone and 
 called up General Wellington, to whom I detailed 
 the situation. He asked what could bo done, and 
 I advised that a capable Secret Service man be 
 sent on to Lenox to assist me. I told the General 
 that I did not want the Secret Service man to be 
 in my party, but to watch the private detective 
 and report to me what that individual was doing 
 from time to time. 
 
 Secret Service Detective Roan arrived on the
 
 THE LASAR DIAMOND CASE 61 
 
 scene the next morning, but, of course, did not 
 recognize me. I dropped him a note in the mail, 
 saying that I intended to start the next day for 
 Great Barrington. This we all did. But the vil- 
 lain still pursued her. He was as chic as a queen 
 of May, as bold as a turkey buzzard, and withal 
 as ubiquitous as the wants of the poor. He had 
 all the confidence of youth, too, and he never for 
 a moment imagined, so far as we could ascertain, 
 that we knew a blessed thing about his existence, 
 his energy or his inexperience. Yet with all this 
 inexperience he never lost track of us for a mo- 
 ment. He was young and green, but he was reso- 
 lute and courageous. One of these days he will 
 make a great detective, if somebody does not sever 
 his windpipe. 
 
 That I might finish some business in New York, 
 and at the same time possibly mix up the ambi- 
 tions of our young friend, it was decided that I 
 leave Great Barrington and return to the metrop- 
 olis. Roan remained behind. I had been in New 
 York but five days when I received a telephone 
 message from Mrs. Castleton. 
 
 "Come here as soon as you possibly can," the 
 chaperon said to me over the wire. ''A woman 
 has been here to see me. She suggested that if I 
 were to leave Great Barrington at once and leave 
 Ivy Cruede alone I would receive five thousand 
 dollars in cash. She is here now. I have told her
 
 62 DEFRAUDING THE GOVERNMENT 
 
 that she will have my answer this evening. Don't 
 lose a moment, but come." 
 
 The woman was gone when I arrived there. Mrs. 
 Castleton says that we crossed each other en route. 
 I asked for details, and the companion of the Eng- 
 lish witness told me the following story : 
 
 "Roan was busy watching the private detective 
 and was absent from the hotel. The woman ar- 
 rived unattended and sent up word to Miss 
 Cruede's room that an agent of the Government 
 wished to see her. I saw the woman instead. She 
 gave me a card bearing the name of Mrs. Tiffany, 
 and said that she resided at the Fifth Avenue Ho- 
 tel in New York. She made the proposition to me 
 in the most cold-blooded fashion. She said that 
 I was a fool to stand by and earn my living piece- 
 meal when I might walk away on the next train 
 out of town and be richer by five thousand dollars. 
 
 "I am afraid that I showed my indignation. At 
 all events I tried not to, and said as calmly as I 
 could that I would consider the proposition and let 
 her know. She went away and in a few hours sent 
 me a note saying that if I decided to avail myself 
 of the chance to please telegraph her at the Fifth 
 Avenue Hotel in New York making an appoint- 
 ment. Here is the note. I will give you an accu- 
 rate description of the woman. I hope you will 
 catch her. She ought to be punished. She looked 
 respectable, but, my! she cannot be." 
 
 I was whirling back to New York in the mid-
 
 THE LASAR DIAMOND CASE 63 
 
 night train. Mrs. Castleton was for going with 
 me, that she might pick out the woman at the Fifth 
 Avenue Hotel. Her judgment was poor in this 
 instance, and I told her so. Better to lose the fair 
 briber than to lose Ivy Cruede. The chaperon 
 agreed with me after we had thrashed the matter 
 over several times, and before I left she sent a tel- 
 egram to Mrs. Tiffany, saying that she would be 
 at the hotel in New York at three next day. 
 
 As the result of a conference with the District 
 Attorney and Collector Bidwell the following 
 morning the latter sent for the Surveyor of the 
 Port, since deceased, who was let into the situa- 
 tion. It was suggested to the Surveyor that the 
 use of two inspectresses might be of considerable 
 value to me in running down Mrs. Tiffany, and 
 two women whose regular business it is to meet 
 incoming steamers upon their arrival at the city's 
 piers were assigned to the mission of meeting me 
 at the Fifth Avenue Hotel that afternoon. 
 
 We waited about the parlors of the hotel for 
 over an hour, and we learned, as many others have 
 done, that it takes two to make an engagement. I 
 had Mi-s. Tiffany's genuine New York address, but 
 I never expected to find her after she failed to put 
 in an appearance at the Fifth Avenue Hotel. Our 
 least expectations are sometimes realized, how- 
 ever, and I struck up an acquaintance with the 
 would-be briber when I was not looking for the 
 immediate honor.
 
 y 
 
 CHAPTEE IV 
 
 Mrs. Tiffany hac" given Mrs. Castleton an ad- 
 dress on West 104th Street, near Amsterdam Ave- 
 nue, as her permanent abode. It was but a step or 
 two out of my way on my journey homeward, and 
 after leaving the inspectresses I determined to 
 call there. At Sixty-sixth Street there is a junc- 
 tion of the Boulevard and Amsterdam Avenue, 
 and I left the car there to connect with the Am- 
 sterdam Avenue route. While waiting for the 
 electric conveyance to come along it suddenly 
 dawned upon me that I was within a stone's throw 
 of a cigar store that made a specialty of maintain- 
 ing private letter-boxes. I recalled that Mrs. Tif- 
 fany had told the chaperon that she received all 
 her mail at this establishment, and also recollected 
 that it was to this hotbed of crookedness that the 
 baiting telegram was sent by Mrs. Castleton. 
 
 I changed my mind about going immediately up- 
 town and sauntered off in the direction of the cigar 
 store. As I approached it my attention was at- 
 tracted in some unexplainable way to a woman 
 who was standing in front of a florist's window 
 admiring a basket of flowers. She was short and 
 
 64
 
 THE LASAR DIAMOND CASE 65 
 
 rather gaudily dressed, I thought, and I might 
 have been content with one passing glance had she 
 not turned her face so that I could get an excellent 
 look at her. I do not know why, but it struck me 
 on the instant that if this was not Mrs. Tiffany it 
 was surely her twin sister. 
 
 First impulse suggested that I step up and ad- 
 dress her, but I passed on when the more mature 
 second thought dictated that I go to the back- 
 ground and watch her. I had not long to wait be- 
 fore she left the florist's window and went straight 
 to the cigar store, which she entered. I was almost 
 at her heels as she went in, and while the shop- 
 keeper's assistant was engaged in serving me with 
 some of the weed I noticed that the proprietor 
 came forward, bowed knowingly to the woman, 
 went to a nest of pigeon-holes, and withdrawing a 
 letter, gave it to her. I did not give the woman a 
 chance to leave the place before I accosted her. 
 
 "This is Mrs. Tiffany?" I inquired. 
 
 ''Yes. How do you do?" was her response, 
 wishing to convey the erroneous impression to her 
 eager listeners that we had met at some distant 
 time. Not preferring to run the chances of a scene 
 on the street, and realizing the importance of let- 
 ting the attaches of the shop hear what I had to 
 say, I ignored the solicitous inquiry as to my 
 health and said : 
 
 * ' The United States District Attorney wants to
 
 G() DEFRAUDING THE GOVERNMENT 
 
 see you, madam. I am an officer of the Govern- 
 ment. Here is my authority, and if you offer any 
 resistance I shall be obliged to perform the unde- 
 sired duty of calling a police officer to take you to 
 the Federal Building." 
 
 She never so much as arched her well-groomed 
 eyebrows, if she felt any touch of surprise, and 
 without a moment's hesitation she announced that 
 she would recompany me. I took her downtown 
 in an elevated railroad train, and, without any 
 prompt' ig on my part, she said as we neared our 
 destine . :ion : 
 
 ''I have been reflecting quite energetically since 
 we met, and I suppose that I may just as well make 
 a clean breast of the whole affair. I confess that 
 it was I who had an interview at Great Barrington 
 with Mrs. Castleton. I offered her five thousand 
 dollars because I was sent to do so. I haven't that 
 much money, and I am inclined to believe that I 
 would not spend it in buying up middle-aged chap- 
 erons if I had. I did it for a friend, as you doubt- 
 less imagine. I will not tell that friend's name. 
 All I will say is that he does not know this Cruede 
 girl and that he in turn is acting for another 
 friend. Well, I do not mind giving you the name 
 of the latter. It is David Gold. He is " 
 
 The woman must have noticed that my counte- 
 nance changed with the mention of the name, for 
 she stopped short, looked at me closely and in- 
 quired :
 
 THE LASAR DIAMOND CASE 67 
 
 "Do you know Mr. Gold? I assure you that I 
 do not." 
 
 ''Yes," I made reply, ''I know the man, and a 
 bigger rascal never lived, unless it is the devil 
 himself. 1 half suspected that he had a finger in 
 this thing." 
 
 *'He was in it hand and glove, rather than a 
 mere finger," said the woman, as the ghost of a 
 smile flitted over her hand-painted face. I took 
 a more serious view of Gold, and told the woman 
 how shamefully he had treated the Cruede girl 
 while they were in London. Mrs. Tiffany was a 
 woman of the world, and she had that deep feeling 
 of sympathy which her kind usually evinces for 
 one of her abused sex. So she said impetuously : 
 
 "The wretch! But my friend Goldsmith did 
 not know this, or he never would have " 
 
 She brought up quickly, realizing that she had 
 inadvertently dropped the very name I wanted 
 to get. Seeing that I understood, she stammered 
 out something that was anintelligible, and finally 
 commanding herself, said: 
 
 "Yes, Mr. Goldsmith is interested in me. He is 
 my friend. To oblige him I did this nasty thing for 
 that man Gold." 
 
 I did not have to ask her who Goldsmith was. 
 I knew, lie, too, was a bad egg, and the Govern- 
 ment had evidence that he was in the same disrep- 
 utable business that Lasar had carried on for 
 years. It was like drinking poison from a gold
 
 6S DEFRAUDING THE GOVERNMENT 
 
 cup for this woman to tell anything about Gold- 
 smith, but she was not of the backing-out kind, 
 and, realizing that it was better to fall from a 
 window than from a roof, she unhesitatingly told 
 me the remainder of the story. 
 
 The moment I delivered Mrs. Tiffany to the Dis- 
 trict Attorney I went after Goldsmith and had 
 him in the same room with Mrs. Tiffany inside two 
 hours. He did not know that she had been ar- 
 rested, but when he saw her he advised her to 
 make a sworn statement to the whole affair, which 
 she accordingly did. Tighter every hour was the 
 noose drawing around Lasar's neck. 
 
 We had half a dozen men scattered broadcast 
 within the next few days trying to get Gold, but 
 he was a wary dog and managed to keep under 
 cover. He was seemingly never idle, for all 
 that. Reports from Great Barrington were none 
 too good, and it was decided to take the two women 
 away from there and keep them on the move. A 
 month of wandering about followed my convoy of 
 them from the Massachusetts town. From Wash- 
 ington we went to Baltimore, Atlantic City and 
 Philadelphia. Tlie enemy was ever active and des- 
 tiny was against us. 
 
 Instead of there being one or two detectives to 
 watch our movements, they kept cropping up in 
 singles and pairs until the very atmosphere about 
 us reeked with their presence. At times we grew 
 light-hearted in the belief that we had succeeded
 
 THE LASAR DIAMOND CASE 69 
 
 in ridding ourselves of the objectionable pseudo- 
 companions, but the elation was only transitory. 
 The shadow of misgivings usually remained be- 
 hind and would darken into the grim reality that 
 the guest at this or that hotel, whom we never sus- 
 pected, was a new agent of the gang of smugglers. 
 
 The result was that the little English girl found 
 herself at times on the verge of nervous prostra- 
 tion, and her suffering was more than medical aid 
 could control or assuage. The chaperon also was 
 under great mental pressure. The operations of 
 the detectives possessed a character of uncertainty 
 that was very stimulating to her at first. She soon 
 became weary of the ceaseless hounding, however. 
 
 From Philadelphia we returned to New York, 
 and for the first time in months we lost track of 
 the sleuths for days. Perhaps they had not lost 
 our trail, but they were not to be seen on the sur- 
 face for a whole week, and we noticed a marked 
 relief in the perturbation of Miss Cruede's spirits. 
 She was jolly and chatted like her old self. She 
 even consented to go out walking with her chap- 
 eron, and was enjoying a constitutional one after- 
 noon, humming a sweet little bar of music, like one 
 sailing through the air of thorough happiness, 
 when she happened to turn around and observe 
 something that made her heart droop to the depths 
 of despair. On the opposite side of the street, half 
 a block behind them, was a woman of fifty-odd 
 years. Miss Cruede recognized her immediately,
 
 70 DEFRAUDING THE GOVERNMENT 
 
 and, trembling like a leaf, drew up closer to her 
 companion. 
 
 ''Do not turn around," she said in a hoarse 
 whisper. "We are again discovered. This time 
 there is a woman in the case. It is that woman 
 who was at the hotel in Atlantic City, and who 
 left the same day that we did. I never suspected 
 that she could be up to such a mean trick. ' ' 
 
 The English girl had made no mistake. The 
 female detective had replaced the female briber, 
 and one was about as clumsy as the other. "We 
 had to take to the wing again, and that evening 
 found us chewing the cud of doubt and misery at 
 Saratoga. We had gone to the famous watering- 
 place as the last stand in a nerve-destroying fight, 
 and in the Whittingtonian hope of leaving the en- 
 emy's scouts hull down we had purposely left all 
 personal baggage behind. 
 
 Express men are like cab-drivers and waiters. 
 I never saw one of either branch of this Pry fam- 
 ily who could not be bought, and the member of it 
 who sold himself to the pursued for five dollars 
 was invariably willing to tell the pursuer for less 
 money what he knew of the whole affair. They 
 say that women have long tongues, but they are 
 in an inferior class to the jehu and flunkey, espe- 
 cially if the palm is held downward, with some- 
 thing inviting in it. One does not have to be a 
 world-beater in the detecting line, but it is a sim- 
 ple task to become one if the ambitious applicant
 
 THE LASAR DIAMOND CASE 71 
 
 for that honor has a great, fat wallet and knows 
 when, how and where to apply the greasing lubri- 
 cant. 
 
 Josli Billings' rule that silence was a hard argu- 
 ment to beat was not intended for the realm of the 
 royal houses of Greenbacks and Curious. One 
 buys silence ; the other breaks it. We were scarce- 
 ly arrived in Saratoga when Greenback bought all 
 that Curious knew, and once more we had the un- 
 invited guest at our elbows. But a day of reckon- 
 ing was near at hand, though the faithful spies 
 knew it not. 
 
 It was the middle of October in 1898 when we 
 reached Saratoga. We might have undertaken a 
 much longer trip, but the time for the trial of Max 
 Lasar was rapidly coming around, and we did not 
 dare to go outside of a distance of five or six hours 
 from the metropolis. We were at the Springs 
 about a week, when a telegram was received an- 
 nouncing that the trial was to begin October 28. 
 We started back two days ahead of this date, and 
 when our train reached Albany it became neces- 
 sary to transfer our luggage from the Delaware 
 and Hudson depot to that of the New York Cen- 
 tral. It was while doing this that I noticed the 
 peculiar actions of a young man whose face 
 seemed familiar to me, but whose identity I could 
 not fully establish. He hung around the baggage- 
 room, though he made no apiilication for transfer 
 or other checks, and I left him standing there, as
 
 72 DEFRAUDING THE GOVERNMENT 
 
 I supposed ; but he walked into the railroad dining- 
 room the moment that we took our seats for lunch- 
 eon. I asked Roan if he had seen the man before, 
 and he replied that he had not. He was quite sure 
 of it, he added. 
 
 "Well, I think I have seen him somewhere be- 
 fore, and I will take a flyer at him at Poughkeep- 
 sie," said I. 
 
 We were not twenty miles south of Albany when 
 the four of us agreed that even the train crew were 
 looking upon us with suspicion. The only infer- 
 ence that could be made was that our pursuers had 
 suggested that they be told when we alighted, 
 doubtless hoodwinking the conductor and his as- 
 sistants into the belief that we were of the dan- 
 gerous class and needed looking after. I went 
 through the train to ascertain if the young man 
 I had noticed at Albany was on board. I found 
 him in the smoking-car, but he left this and took 
 a seat in the car ahead of the one in which Ivy 
 Cruede rode. 
 
 I asked Roan to go into the car and take a good 
 look at the object of my suspicion, but for some 
 reason or another he was unable to find him. 
 though I furnished an excellent description. This 
 seemed strange to me, in view of the fact that each 
 time I went into the car I had no trouble in loca- 
 ting the man. As our train approached Pough- 
 keepsie I said to Roan : 
 
 "Take care of the ladies when we stop and see
 
 T^E LASAR DIAMOND CASE 73 
 
 that they get ashore all right. I want to leave this 
 train before it stops, and I will wager any sum 
 you like that the next man who follows me off will 
 be that chap in the car ahead." 
 
 I was a trifle wrong in my prediction. The first 
 man to jump off the train as she pulled into the 
 depot was our friend the enemy. He rushed into 
 the baggage-room, left his valise there and hurried 
 into the street. As he did so I confronted him. The 
 following dialogue then took place, he being two- 
 thirds angry and I all parts determined: 
 
 "What do you mean by following me?" 
 
 "I am not following you or anybody else. If 
 my i^resence in Poughkeepsie be obnoxious to you 
 I shall return to New York." 
 
 "You are a private detective, and a pretty poor 
 specimen of one, at that. If you persist in follow- 
 ing me I shall see that you are locked up." 
 
 * ' You cannot have me arrested. I know what I 
 am doing." 
 
 "We shall see about that," was my rejoinder, 
 and calling to Eoan, who was but a few steps 
 away, I said: "Roan, take this fellow to Police 
 Headquarters, and I will take the ladies to a hotel 
 and register. I'll be with you in a jiffy to make a 
 charge against him." 
 
 "AVhat is your authority for locking me up?" 
 demanded the man, as Roan took him by the arm. 
 
 "I do not know anybody who has more," was 
 wliat Roan said, in such a quiet way as to make
 
 74 DEFRAUDING THE GOVERNM.^NT 
 
 the thrust the deeper, and the man seemed with- 
 ered by the look of disgust which the Secret Ser- 
 vice man bestowed upon him. But he revived and 
 demanded the protection of a passing policeman. 
 The latter tried first to propitiate all parties, but he 
 saw that Eoan was obdurate and he advised the 
 young man to go to Police Headquarters. 
 
 "All right, then," he made reply. "I will go 
 if you take me, but I will not go with anybody 
 else." 
 
 "He must be in love with me," said the police- 
 man in an undertone, and then in an impressive 
 way he said to the young man : ' ' Come along, me 
 laddibuck." 
 
 While Eoan was arraigning his prisoner at Po- 
 lice Headquarters the latter took from an inside 
 pocket several memorandum books and, unob- 
 served, as he thought, slipped them behind the 
 chief of police's desk and the wall. Neither Roan 
 nor myself saw him do it, but there were a pair 
 of eyes on the man in his sleight-of-hand work, 
 and the eyes belonged to a detective-sergeant of 
 Poughkeepsie, who was off one side and supposed- 
 ly a disinterested spectator. 
 
 The moment the prisoner stepped into the Re- 
 corder's room, which was close by, this detective- 
 sergeant took the books and turned them over to 
 the Recorder, who afterwards handed them over 
 to me for inspection. I had not time to examine 
 them closely, but one or two glances were sufficient
 
 THE LASAR DIAMOND CASE 75 
 
 to establish the fact that the man was employed by 
 a well-known detective agency of New York and 
 that he had been shadowing us for some time. Tho 
 memoranda told of the money that he had spent, 
 and otherwise consisted of a complete diary of 
 what he had been doing for more than four weeks. 
 Being told by the Recorder that the books showed 
 him to be a private detective, he acknowledged the 
 soft impeachment, said that his name was Myers, 
 and furnished the name of his employer, to whom 
 he subsequently telegraphed. 
 
 The Recorder held Myers for disorderly con- 
 duct and adjourned the case until the following 
 morning. The employer of the prisoner arrived 
 in Poughkeepsie that night and engaged the best 
 local lawyer available. When the case was called 
 I was unsupported by legal talent, and, as a result, 
 was handled unsparingly by the lawyer for Myers. 
 
 The Recorder asked me why, in my opinion, the 
 man should be held, and I made reply : 
 
 "This man was detained by us for interfering 
 with a Government witness. In a conversation 
 over the telephone I explained to General Welling- 
 ton, the United States District Attorney, the de- 
 tails of the arrest, and he has instructed me to re- 
 quest you to surrender the prisoner to Secret Ser- 
 vice Agent Roan for the purpose of taking him to 
 New York for arraignment. ' ' 
 
 The Recorder was about to speak, when the local 
 attorney arose and addressed the court as follows :
 
 76 DEFRAUDING THE GOVERNMENT 
 
 "Your Honor lias no right to surrender the de- 
 fendant to anybody. He must either be held or 
 discharged. ' ' 
 
 Secret Service Agent Roan thereupon moved 
 over to the private detective, who sat beside his 
 employer and his counsel, and said to him : 
 
 "I will take you to New York on the twelve 
 o'clock train." 
 
 The lawyer sprang to his feet and thundered: 
 "Have you a warrant for his arrest!" 
 
 I stepped into the breach and said no warrant 
 was required; that the city of Poughkeepsie was 
 in the Southern District of New York, according 
 to the Government's legal idea; that we had full 
 and absolute jurisdiction in that territory; and 
 that it was our right to arrest an offender against 
 the laws of the Government without a warrant, 
 particularly if the offense charged was committed 
 in our district. 
 
 "That may be your conception of the law, but 
 it is not mine," rejoined the attorney, as he ranged 
 himself alongside his client. "Now, sir, listen to 
 me. I advise this young man to resist arrest if 
 anybody lays hand upon him without a warrant, 
 and I warn you to touch him at your peril." 
 
 The latter remark was made to the Secret Ser- 
 vice Agent, who merely smiled in derision. Find- 
 ing that he had made no marked impression upon 
 Roan, the lawyer said with a vociferous voice: 
 
 ' ' If this young man had shot you while forcibly
 
 THE LASAR DIAMOND CASE 77 
 
 arresting him, or for taking his private papers 
 from his person, he could not have been held amen- 
 able to the law. Take my advice and leave him 
 alone in future." 
 
 Roan winked at me, as much as to say, "This 
 chap is wasting his time in Poughkeepsie." Not- 
 withstanding the flow of oratory on the part of the 
 lawyer, the Recorder discharged the man, and 
 Roan immediately stepped up and placed him 
 under arrest. He left for New York with him, and 
 as he graciously escorted the now thoroughly cha- 
 grined detective to a choice seat in the smoking- 
 car he said to him: 
 
 ''Now be a good boy and do not annoy your 
 papa, who wants to smoke in peace. I'll see that 
 you are not starved, as you deserve, and, faith, 
 the same thing applies to hanging. That's the 
 Hudson River. Watch the big boats go by. ' ' 
 
 Myers made no reply. There was a remorseful 
 air about him and for the first time since his de- 
 tention he looked frightened. He was a good fin- 
 isher, though, and he looked sang froid enough 
 when, later in the day, he was brought before the 
 United States District Attorney in the Federal 
 Building, New York. He never told any state 
 secrets, and, in fact, we never asked him who had 
 engaged him. Some questions are unnecessary, 
 and some men are born untruthful. They were 
 the two chief reasons why we failed to ask. 
 
 The Lasar case was finally called for trial, and
 
 78 DEFRAUDING THE GOVERNMENT 
 
 after some unimportant testimony was given by 
 several witnesses, Miss Ivy Cruede was called to 
 the witness stand to give her testimony in the 
 greatest diamond smuggling case ever tried in 
 the Federal courts in New York, or anywhere 
 else, for that matter.
 
 CHAPTER V 
 
 Prior to the opening of the direct examination 
 of Miss Cruede there was a lively though lengthy 
 tilt between counsel as to the admissibility of a 
 certain deposition made by one Neresheimer, of 
 London. The opposing faction contended tliat as 
 Special Employee of the Government McCormack 
 was present during the taking of the deposition 
 and took an active part in its composition, it 
 should be sidetracked. It was a small affair, at 
 best, and, no matter how decided, could not have 
 changed the final result. 
 
 There was no attempt upon the part of Miss. 
 Cruede to ''fix and fuss" in anticipation of her oc- 
 cupying the center of the arena. She walked to 
 the witness chair as simply and plainly dressed as 
 if the idea of her meeting so many people in one 
 place had never entered her head. 
 
 She knew what was coming, or at least had some 
 sort of a warning that the counsel on the side of 
 Lasar would do everything in their power to take 
 advantage of her physical helplessness and igno- 
 rance of court methods. Yet, realizing that there 
 was to be an awful test of nerves against legal 
 
 79
 
 80 DEFRAUDING THE GOVERNMENT 
 
 strength, and that in all probability she would have 
 to stand several days of the ordeal on the stand, 
 she went to the chair with the humility and mod- 
 esty befitting an English girl. 
 
 That there may be no misunderstanding as to 
 the refinement of the young woman, it may be said, 
 that she came of one of the oldest English-French 
 families, had traveled much when young through 
 India, Spain, France, Italy, America and Mexico, 
 where she was born, and had never known the want 
 of anything until her father died. Thanks to the 
 cruel line of questioning by Judge Daniels, for the 
 defense, the witness was finally placed at bay, and 
 refused to answer some of the questions, even 
 when ordered to do so by the court, to whom she 
 appealed. 
 
 The purpose of Lawy^er Daniels was plain from 
 the very outset. He wanted by wicked innuendo 
 and subtle inference to make it appear that the 
 girl had lived a peculiar life before she met Lasar, 
 She was perfectly willing to tell everything about 
 herself, but declined to drag the dead members 
 of her family into the case. 
 
 Miss Cruede was the daughter of Major Orphley 
 Cruede, an English army officer, who unfortunate- 
 ly committed suicide. Much as the girl desired tc 
 withhold that information from the lawyers, yet 
 those who saw the girl defy Daniels and protest 
 against his unnecessary attempt to parade the
 
 THE LASAR DIAMOND CASE 81 
 
 memory of her family before the minds of some of 
 those who reveled in the affair, needed no endorse- 
 ment of the conviction that she had the spirit of 
 the soldier and the patience of a gentlewoman. 
 
 The young woman had many aristocratic and 
 influential friends, even after the death of her 
 father, and had a small income besides ; but, that 
 she might not be deprived of many things, she did 
 some painting for a living. Correa, a noted Chil- 
 ean painter, had taken the orphan into his family 
 and taught her much in the line of the arts and 
 helped her to paint a famous picture, the name of 
 which I withhold, for several reasons. A copy of 
 * ' Ruth and Naomi ' ' from her brush won first prize 
 at one of the Academy salons. 
 
 The English girl was not quite eighteen years 
 old when she met Lasar for the first time, and the 
 fact that she began such intimate relations with a 
 man on so short an acquaintance was rehashed, 
 gloated over, scooped up and enlarged with fiend- 
 ish magnitude by the defense. 
 
 It is a pity that the young girl ever fell afoul 
 of such a decayed, festered whelp as Lasar, but I 
 excuse her weakness in the fact that she was still 
 in her teens, that the black-hearted smuggler 
 raised his hand to his Maker and swore that he 
 would treat her as his daughter if she were to 
 change her room on the steamer Labrador, in 
 which they both crossed the ocean, and that having 
 accomplished his hellish purpose, he promised to
 
 82 DEFRAUDING THE GOVERNMENT 
 
 make her his wife when he had obtained a divorce. 
 This was the first time he had stated he was a mar- 
 ried man. She believed him to be unattached, but, 
 learning that he was really married, it was then 
 too late for her to turn back. No matter what the 
 world may think of Ivy Cruede, I say that Lasar 
 has a lot to answer for as concerns her. 
 
 The moment the English girl took the stand it 
 was apparent that the jury was much interested 
 in her. In replying to the opening questions of 
 Mr. Wellington she said that her full name was 
 Ivril Yvonne Carlos Cruede, and that for short 
 many of her friends called her Miss Ivy. She ex- 
 plained that she had come to America nine weeks 
 before on the request of an agent of the Govern- 
 ment, and that for her services she was to receive 
 fifteen hundred dollars. 
 
 The defense had been laboring under the bliss- 
 ful belief that the matter of compensation would 
 not be broached until its inquisitive counsel 
 compelled the witness to explain the financial 
 transaction by means of legal thumbscrews, and 
 the propounding and solution of the question by 
 the Government and its witness at the very outset 
 had a sort of dampening effect upon the hopes of 
 Lasar and his following. 
 
 Asked as to how she made the acquaintance of 
 the smuggler, the English girl said that it was on 
 towards the end of October of 1897. She had taken 
 a ticket for transportation across the Atlantic in
 
 THE LASAK DIAMOND CA8E 83 
 
 the steamer Labrador, bound for Montreal. While 
 crossing in the tender that took her from the Liv- 
 erpool quays to the Labrador, which was anchored 
 in mid-stream, she sat on the top of her trunk, 
 which was on top of another trunk. She noticed 
 a man standing near the tender funnel. This man 
 was Lasar. She had never seen him before. Her 
 attention was attracted to him in this instance by 
 somebody remarking that the ''gentleman over 
 there is laughing at you. ' ' 
 
 The witness explained that she wondered why 
 he had laughed, but thinking a moment later that 
 it must be his trunk that rested under hers, and 
 that he had laughed because she had stepped upon 
 his trunk to sit upon her own, she got down and 
 went away. She did not see Mr. Lasar again until 
 the Labrador had hoisted her anchor and steamed 
 from the Mersey. 
 
 It was during the late forenoon that she saw, 
 Lasar again. There was an old gentleman, a pas- 
 senger, who was traveling with his niece, a little 
 girl. The child had a doll which had no face, and 
 Lasar was playing with the little tot. Her atten- 
 tion was attracted to the doll by Lasar, who re- 
 marked : 
 
 * ' Somebody ought to paint a face on this make- 
 believe doll." 
 
 Lasar handed the plaything to the witness, and 
 she noticed that the doll was made of rags and 
 quite dilapidated. She returned the doll to Lasar
 
 84 DEFRAUDING THE GOVERNMENT 
 
 without making any comment. She was in the 
 company of a young woman who was to share her 
 stateroom with her. This young woman heard 
 what Lasar said to her for the first time, and also 
 her subsequent reply that she would j^aint two 
 eyes and a nose on the rag baby. This was their 
 first conversation, and a trip she was making about 
 deck with her girl acquaintance had been inter- 
 rupted by it. 
 
 Later in the afternoon Miss Cruede painted a 
 face upon the doll, and when Lasar met her again 
 about deck he thanked her for what she had done, 
 
 This was the beginning of their unholy alliance, 
 he a married man and she a slip of a girl wlio knew 
 not the ways of the world, or of the snares and pit- 
 falls that men like Lasar dig for the unsophisti- 
 cated maidens like herself. The girl told the whole 
 story with such frankness as to make a lasting 
 impression upon the minds of those who heard her 
 sad tale. It was an open picture of deception and 
 intrigue on the part of the smuggler, and he was 
 a gone cock in the pit from the moment that the 
 girl gave her narrative to the twelve honest and 
 good men. 
 
 It appears that shortly after luncheon on the 
 first day of the Labrador at sea, and about one 
 hour after she had returned the regenerated doll 
 to the little child, Lasar walked uj) to whei'e Miss 
 Cruede was standing with a girl friend and asked 
 her how she liked sea traveling. She replied that
 
 THE LASAR DIAMOND CASE 85 
 
 as a usual thing she was quite fond of the ocean, 
 but that she felt as if she was not to like that trip. 
 Lasar then asked her where she was bound, and 
 she replied that she was eAi route to MoutreaL 
 
 "Oh, you do not want to go direct to Montreal 
 in the ship," Lasar said. "It is much more pleas- 
 ant to disembark at Quebec and go to Montreal 
 by rail. The scenery is better." 
 
 The witness testified that she replied that she 
 had purchased a ticket by boat direct to Montreal 
 and that she would have to go that way. 
 
 To this Lasar replied: "Oh, you get off at Que- 
 bec. It will be more interesting. ' ' 
 
 The young woman, who was standing alongside 
 of Miss Cruede while this conversation was going 
 on, then remarked that it would be too bad to 
 waste the steamer end of the ticket by traveling 
 by rail, to which Lasar made answer that the cost 
 was very little. This exchange of opinions occurred 
 about two in the afternoon, and Miss Cruede and 
 her companion then walked forward to see another 
 portion of the ship. 
 
 It was two hours later when she met Lasar 
 again. This time she was alone, and he said to 
 her: 
 
 "It looks as if we were to have a pleasant trip." 
 
 "Perhaps," Miss Cruede replied, adding: "I 
 am afraid that I am going to be ill." 
 
 Lasar appeared to be solicitous, and expressed 
 the hope that the voyage might be finished without
 
 86 DEFRAUDING THE GOVERNMENT 
 
 any inconvenience to her. Miss Cruede tlien said : 
 "I am quite sure I am going to become ill. I do 
 not like the food in the second cabin. I have never 
 been in the second cabin before and do not like it." 
 In her explanation to the court of her taking an 
 almost utter stranger like Lasar into her confi- 
 dence sufficiently to criticise the food of the ship 
 Miss Cruede said that it was a most ordinary thing 
 aboard all ships to discuss the ship's table even 
 with strangers. Fellow-passengers were never 
 considered to be strangers. There was a strong 
 bond between fellow-passengers which was usually 
 severed at the completion of the trip, but that it 
 was quite thorough while the passage lasted. 
 
 Continuing, Miss Cruede said to the court that 
 the food in the second cabin was good enough for 
 those who were accustomed to traveling in that 
 class, but that she was not used to it. She had not 
 intended to go intermediate, and need not have 
 done so had not she spent (entertaining girl 
 friends in England) some funds that had been sent 
 to her. She was unable to get away from these 
 friends, she explained to the jury, and when she 
 finally arrived in Liverpool and counted her money 
 she found that she had only a little above the cost 
 of a second-class ticket. 
 Lasar, according to the witness, then said: 
 "How would you like to go first class?" 
 ''That is out of the question. I have not the 
 means," is what Miss Cruede swore to as a reply.
 
 THE LASAR DIAjVfOND CASE 87 
 
 Nothing else was said on that subject at that 
 time, the resourceful Lasar asking the eighteen- 
 year-old girl where her friends resided in Canada, 
 who her people were, and as to her previous voy- 
 ages. In the course of events, being young, un- 
 diplomatic and unsuspecting, the English girl told 
 Lasar in a modest way that she painted, and he 
 laughingly said: 
 
 "Why, I must be a mind-reader without know- 
 ing it. Just imagine me asking you to paint a 
 doll's face, and you a great painter and my not 
 knowing it. ' ' 
 
 He lavished flattery upon her in this way from 
 the very first, and Lasar, let it be known, was a 
 grand master at the art. The eighteen-year-old 
 English girl was ignorant of 
 
 "This barren verbiage current among men. 
 Like coin, the tinsel clink of compliment." 
 
 So, believing that he was interested, .she told him 
 about her people and some other confidences of 
 that nature. Then she went away to see her girl 
 companion and met Lasar again just about the 
 time that the gong was sounded for dinner. He 
 said to her: 
 
 "May I see you after dinner? I want to say 
 something." 
 
 Being in different classes, he went to one part 
 of the ship to dine, while she went to another.
 
 88 DEFRAUDING THE GOVERNMENT 
 
 Shortly before dusk they met again, and Lasar 
 said to her : 
 
 "Would you like to go into the first class?" 
 
 ' ' Oh, I should like to have gone first cabin, ' ' the 
 witness said. "I might have done so had I been 
 more careful of my money," 
 
 "Well, you are going into the first cabin," said 
 Lasar. "I have fixed it. I have given the chief 
 steward five pounds to have you transferred. Your 
 luggage has gone from your room into the first 
 cabin. ' ' 
 
 Miss Cruede said she did not believe Lasar when 
 he made this statement because when she was in 
 her own room a short time before her baggage 
 was there. But he insisted that the transfer had 
 been made, and she finally said : 
 
 "Well, under no circumstances could I permit a 
 transfer of this kind. Why should you do any 
 such thing as that! I am a stranger to you. I 
 could not think of doing such a thing. ' ' 
 
 "Well," answered Lasar, according to the wit- 
 ness, "your baggage has gone from your cabin 
 into mine. Oh, come, come, it is all right. It does 
 not matter. I have given the steward the money 
 and you must come to save further trouble." 
 
 "You had no business to meddle with my bag- 
 gage," the witness then said to Lasar. "How 
 could I do such a thing as to go into your room? 
 The people on the ship are sure to talk as it is, and 
 my friends at home may hear of it."
 
 THE LASAR DIAMOND CASE 89 
 
 ' 'Nonsense," was the retort of Lasar. "I will 
 tell everybody that you are my daughter. I am 
 not married, but God knows I need a daughter. I 
 have no children or anybody who cares a snap for 
 me. I am lonely. jMay God cut off my life from 
 me forever if I do not treat you as my daughter. 
 I have a nice, large room. As a matter of fact, it 
 will look worse for you if you do not go now that 
 your baggage has been transferred." 
 
 This and a good deal more did the oily-tongued 
 tempter say to the light-headed butterfly whose 
 wings his venomous fire was trying to singe. The 
 witness, if she is to be believed, and it seems that 
 the jury did believe her, then went down into her 
 own cabin to ascertain for a certainty whether or 
 not her luggage was there. Sure enough, every- 
 thing that she owned was gone. In this connec- 
 tion she describes the immediate happenings as 
 follows : 
 
 "When I found my personal effects gone I was 
 full of resolutions not to go. But the people in 
 the second cabin looked so hard at me that the 
 full import of his words, that even if I did not 
 go it would be unbearable for me in the second 
 cabin during the remainder of the trip, came to 
 me. I hurried to the upper deck and hastened to 
 where Mr. Lasar was standing against one of the 
 boat davits. I told him that he had taken my bag- 
 gage and that everybody would talk. He repeated 
 the statement that it would appear a great deal
 
 90 DEFRAUDING THE GOVERNMENT 
 
 worse if I returned the baggage, and like a fool 
 I believed him. ' ' 
 
 It was at this critical moment, it would seem, 
 that she promised to go to his cabin, and one of 
 these da^'s I honestly believe she will be forgiven 
 for her weakness, if the recording angel has not 
 already done so. Even while still wavering be- 
 tween right and wrong, the libertine said to her : 
 
 "My little girl, you can trust me implicitly. I 
 will be as a father to you. I swear it." 
 
 The innocent English butterfly finally went into 
 the web of the licentious spider, and when she 
 finally emerged she was polluted and disgraced. 
 Her own words on the stand as to her downfall 
 were these: 
 
 "However, I went down to his stateroom. In 
 the evening I went to bed. Mr. Lasar was not in 
 the room at that time. He came in later. I stayed 
 in his stateroom dui-ing the rest of the voyage. 
 I did not go out very much. I went out occasion- 
 ally during the evening. I was ashamed to go out 
 in the daytime. I had thought of appealing to the 
 purser or the steward or the stewardess, but Mr. 
 Lasar told me what would be the end of such an 
 action on my part." 
 
 So on and so forth, but, that both sides may be 
 placed on an even basis in this matter, I will give 
 a few questions and answers that were exchanged 
 in relation to this unwholesome subject. 
 
 "And these were the circumstances under which
 
 THE LASAR DIAMOND CASE 91 
 
 YOU met Mr. Lasar for the first timef" was tlie 
 question of United States Attorney Wellington. 
 
 "Yes, sir," answered Miss Cruede. 
 
 "How old were you at that time I" 
 
 "A little over eighteen. We landed in Quebec 
 about the 5th or 6th of November. ' ' 
 
 ' ' Before you met Mr. Lasar you had been doing 
 nothing but painting for a living?" inquired Mr. 
 Daniels. 
 
 "No," was the response of Miss Cruede. "I 
 had no need to do anything for a living. I bad 
 money. My people kept me. ' ' 
 
 ' ' Your relations with Mr. Lasar then became in^ 
 timate, did they not?" was Mr. Daniels' next 
 query. 
 
 "I have no answer to such a vulgar taunt," Miss 
 Cruede said, with flashing eyes. Mr. Wellington 
 jumped to his feet and exclaimed : 
 
 "I object. I think that is going beyond the rule. 
 I think they have shown the situation of the par- 
 ties, and to ask a direct question that involves 
 chastity has nothing to do with the question of 
 veracity. ' ' 
 
 At this point Judge Brown interposed with this 
 opinion: "As a part of her testimony in chief in 
 that regard, I consider her testimony to be open 
 and frank, leaving nothing to be desired so far as 
 is necessary for all to understand what her rela- 
 tions were. I do not think tliere is any occasion to
 
 92 DEFRAUDING THE GOVERNMENT 
 
 go beyond to repeat what she has said in that re- 
 spect." 
 
 An exception was taken to this opinion by the 
 counsel for Lasar, who then asked the witness : 
 i "Did you give Lasar your ticket to change!" 
 
 ''Yes, sir," was what the witness said. 
 
 "At the time that he gave the five pounds to the 
 steward, did you!" 
 
 "No, sir; it was afterwards." 
 
 "Did you give him your Montreal ticket to 
 change before you occupied the cabin with him?" 
 
 "I have answered no, sir." 
 
 ' ' When did you give him the ticket to change I ' ' 
 
 "Afterwards — the same evening." 
 
 "The first evening?" 
 
 "Yes, sir. I do not know the exact time." 
 
 "Was it before you retired to bed!" 
 
 "Mr. Lasar was out when I retired." 
 
 "Before you retired you had given him your 
 ticket to change?" 
 
 "Yes, sir." 
 
 Following this delectable resume of what hap- 
 pened to the unfortunate girl on the first night at 
 sea in the Labrador, Mr. Wellington went in for 
 a spell of intelligence regarding what the pair did 
 and said after their arrival in Quebec. Miss 
 Cruede was evidently an observant girl, and, what 
 is still better, had a keen memory, even months 
 afterward, of the exact happenings of this trip 
 ashore and afloat.
 
 THE LASAR DIAMOND CASE 93 
 
 It should be borne in mind that at the time of 
 these occurrences she had no idea that she would 
 ever become a witness against Lasar. She un- 
 doubtedly grew very fond of him, and had ho 
 treated her half decently, and not inspired his 
 nasty hired man. Gold, to make a chopioing-block 
 of her poor soul, it is certain that the Government 
 would have been without the services of this im- 
 portant witness when Lasar was finally brought 
 to bay. Mr. Wellington's first question as to her 
 knowledge of the valuables that Lasar was bring- 
 ing to North America on this celebrated trip was 
 as follows: 
 
 "During the voyage was anything said by Lasar 
 about any valuables that he was bringing to this 
 country ? ' ' 
 
 "He told me that he was a diamond merchant, 
 and showed me papers to make me believe that 
 this was his business," was the reply of Miss 
 Cruede. 
 
 "Did you take a sleeping-car from Quebec to 
 Montreal?" 
 
 "Yes, sir." 
 
 "Did you occupy the same berth with Lasar?" 
 
 "Yes, sir." 
 
 "Was anything said or was anything shown of 
 valuables during the time you occuijied that berth 
 on the way to Montreal?" 
 
 "Nothing was shown, no. I was laughing and 
 talking, and he told me that I must be quiet. I
 
 94 DEFRAUDING THE GOVERNMENT 
 
 asked liim wliy. He said: 'I have valuables, and 
 if you don't be quiet we might be murdered in our 
 bed.' He did not state what the valuables were." 
 
 "Did you discover anything that he was taking 
 care of?" 
 
 "Yes, sir. I accidentally put my hand under 
 the pillow and found a belt — a simple canvas belt 
 I think it was. I did not take it from under the 
 pillow, I was surprised to find something under 
 there and just felt of it. I did not say anything to 
 Mr. Lasar about finding the belt." 
 
 All of the questioning along this line was to es- 
 tablish the fact that Lasar had the diamonds and 
 other precious stones which he subsequently smug- 
 gled in his possession while he was in the company 
 of the English witness. 
 
 * ' I understood you to say that during the voyage 
 across the Atlantic Mr. Lasar had some packages 
 in his cabin?" was the way Mr. Danie's put it dur- 
 ing the cross-examination. 
 
 "I said that he showed me some papers," was 
 Miss Cruede's answer, adding, in reply to the ques- 
 tion of what papers, that he had shown her such 
 things as old invoices and bills of lading of old 
 diamonds that had been sent possibly two or three 
 years before. He did this, the witness said, to 
 show her that he was what he represented himself 
 to be, a diamond merchant. 
 
 The two arrived in Montreal early in the morn- 
 ing, Miss Cruede said. She was not certain of the
 
 THE LASAR DIAMOND CASE 95 
 
 date, but she knew it was on a Sunday morning. 
 They went straight to the Hotel Windsor and she 
 saw Mr. Lasar register. She was directly along- 
 side him at the time, and witnessed him write the 
 name M. J. Lasar in the register, and Miss, with 
 two ditto marks meaning Miss Lasar, underneath. 
 She was to pass for the merchant's daughter. She 
 also saw him place the word Jersey after each 
 name to indicate that they came from the bonnie 
 home of trusts and mosquitoes. They were as- 
 signed to two adjoining rooms which had a con- 
 necting door between. 
 
 After breakfast the morning of their arrival at 
 the Hotel Windsor the witness said that she went 
 upstairs to her room, while Lasar remained in 
 the corridor, with the remark that he wanted to 
 find the clerk of the hotel to put his valuables in 
 the safe. He was absent about ten minutes, and 
 then came upstairs to where she was and an- 
 nounced that he could not find the right clerk and 
 that he would have to stay around until he did. 
 Then the witness continued : 
 
 "I went into my room to dress to go driving, as 
 he suggested, and when finished returned to his 
 room to find him seated at a table with two pack- 
 ages before him. I do not know where he took the 
 parcels from. As I entered he put one package 
 in each side of his coat pockets in the back and, 
 standing up, asked me if they looked too large or 
 bulky. I examined his back and told him they
 
 96 DEFRAUDING THE GOVERNMENT 
 
 stuck out quite a bit. He said that they would 
 have to stay there." The witness was quite sure 
 that this occurred on Sunday, but she was unable 
 to recall, although she had tried very, very hard, 
 what day it was that Sister-in-Law Lasar arrived 
 on the scene to bring the packages to the metrop- 
 olis. 
 
 Both the court and Mr. "Wellington impressed 
 the witness with the importance of her recollecting 
 what day of the week it was that she saw Mrs. 
 Lasar, but she finally replied : 
 
 ' ' I cannot recollect. I have tried and tried, but 
 cannot remember." 
 
 The witness was positive, however, that she saw 
 the same packages on the following Monday. They 
 were on the person of Lasar, and he still seemed 
 to be looking for the "clerk" of the hotel, so he 
 had to carrj^ them around with him to find the ab- 
 sent knight of the immaculate white shirt-front, 
 The packages were not always in the man's pock- 
 ets, the witness affirmed. Sometimes he had them 
 in his hands, sometimes he placed them on the 
 table in his room, sometimes in his trunk, but gen- 
 erally he carried them in his pockets. 
 
 The two packages were covered with brown 
 paper and each was from four to six inches in 
 length. They were not square in shape, but the 
 witness failed to remember how they were tied. 
 The smuggler and his latest victim remained at 
 the Hotel Windsor for four days, or until the fol-
 
 THE LASAR DIAMOND CASE 97 
 
 lowing Thursday. As to what happened after the 
 Sunday evening in which Lasar was unable to lo- 
 cate the supposedly mythical clerk who was to care 
 for his packages, I will let the witness' testimony 
 stand. This is what she said: 
 
 "It was either Monday or Tuesday. I am in- 
 clined to believe it was the former. The weather 
 had turned out extremely cold for November since 
 our arrival, and I had no coat — that is, a heavy 
 coat. Mr. Lasar told me that I was to go down to 
 a shop and there get a coat, or, rather, I was to 
 go and see what I would like. He said that I was 
 to go away and stay for a considerable time. He 
 impressed this fact upon me several times that 
 I was not to return in a hurry, but to go about all 
 the stores and see what I would like to get. 
 
 "I went away, and, sooner than I expected, 
 found the coat that I wanted and hurried back to 
 the hotel to tell him the news. Much to my sur- 
 prise I found not only Mr. Lasar 's door locked, but 
 also the door leading to my room. I knocked at 
 both, but received no answer. I walked away up 
 the corridor, wondering what the matter could be. 
 As I turned back I saw a woman coming out from 
 the door leading to Mr. Lasar 's room. Although 
 the woman did not know me, she hurried back into 
 Mr. Lasar 's room the moment she realized she was 
 obsei-ved. 
 
 "I was determined to find out who the woman 
 was and went back up the corridor again. At the
 
 98 DEFRAUDING THE GOVERNMENT 
 
 end of this corridor there was a shorter corridor, 
 with a window at its terminal. I waited there for 
 some time, and as I turned around to come back 
 I saw the woman for the second time. As when I 
 saw her first, she was emerging from Mr. Lasar's 
 room." 
 
 "Would you recognize the woman if you saw 
 her again?" was the question of Mr. Wellington. 
 
 "Yes, sir," responded Miss Cruede. "That is 
 the woman over there." As she said this she 
 pointed towards Sarah Lasar, the sister-in-law of 
 the claimant for the diamonds. 
 
 "Will the counsel for Mrs. Lasar do us the cour- 
 tesy to have this lady stand up for a moment, that 
 there will be no mistake?" inquired Mr. Wel- 
 lington. 
 
 Mrs. Lasar stood up and lifted her veil, and the 
 representative of the Government then asked : 
 
 "Is or is not that the person you saw come out 
 of Lasar's room?" 
 
 "That is the lady, sir," Miss Cruede said. 
 
 "This is Mrs. Morris Lasar?" Judge Brown 
 interjected. 
 
 "Yes," said Mr. Wellington; "called Sarah 
 Lasar in the information." 
 
 "This lady is Sarah Lasar, the sister-in-law of 
 the claimant," acknowledged Mr. Daniels, Mr. 
 Lasar's lawyer. 
 
 "Does she say that she saw Mrs. Lasar come
 
 THE LASAR DIAMOND CASE 99 
 
 out of one of the two rooms?" inquired Judge 
 Brown. 
 
 "Yes, sir," responded the witness. 
 
 At this point Mr. Daniels interposed with his 
 opinion of what the witness had said. This is how 
 he put it : 
 
 "She said that she saw a lady come out into the 
 hall. She did not see the lady at that time to rec- 
 ognize her. She afterwards recognized her. ' ' 
 
 "The lady came out of the room and I saw her 
 and she went back into the room," said the wit- 
 ness, continuing: "I saw her face the first time. 
 When she saw me she went in again. I waited 
 purposely to see her again and saw her face when 
 she came out the second time. I am sure about 
 my identification. When she went away I returned 
 to the room. I had no trouble getting in this time, 
 because the door was not fastened." 
 
 "Did any conversation take place between you 
 and Lasar after you went in?" was the next ques- 
 tion of Mr. Wellington. 
 
 "Yes. He seemed very nervous after I went in, 
 and he asked me if I knocked at the door. I said 
 I had." 
 
 "I desire to strike out the expression that he 
 seemed very nervous," exclaimed Mr. Daniels at 
 this juncture. 
 
 "But he was very nervous," insisted the wit- 
 ness before anybod\^ could stop her. 
 
 "I will allow the answer," was the decision of
 
 TOO DEFRAUDING THE GOVERNMENT 
 
 Judge Brown. "I think it was a sufficiently fa- 
 miliar expression." 
 
 ''Miss Cruede," remarked Mr. Wellington, 
 ''when the counsel on the other side objects, stop 
 and do not say a word until the gentlemen have 
 had an opportunity to state their objections. It is 
 only fair to them." 
 
 The witness promised to be good in future, and 
 then Mr. Wellington demanded to know of the wit- 
 ness what occurred after she passed into the room. 
 Miss Cruede made reply : 
 
 "I asked him who the lady was, and iie said that 
 it was his sister. He did not say anything further. 
 When I saw that he was inclined to be secretive 
 about the visit of the woman I did not continue the 
 subject, but told him that I had succeeded in find- 
 ing the coat that would suit me. He then said 
 that I must go back again to the store, and that 
 under no circumstances must I return quickly. I 
 was to send the coat, cash on delivery. He also 
 told me to purchase a cape and a mufT, but not to 
 hurry back. I did as he told me, choosing a fur 
 cape, coat and muff." 
 
 "AVhat occurred next with reference to these 
 two packages that you have referred to?" asked 
 Mr. Wellington. 
 
 ''After dinner on the evening of the day on 
 which I made the purchases Mr. Lasar told me 
 that I was to go upstairs to my room, which I did. 
 When he came up he said that I must remain in
 
 THE LASAR DIAMOND CASE 101 
 
 for the rest of the night ; that when I retired I was 
 to go into his bed and stay there. He also cau- 
 tioned me about locking my room door and also 
 the communicating door between." 
 
 **I went to bed as he told me to do, and while 
 ther^ he gave me two packages which I immedi- 
 ately recognized as the ones that I had seen in his 
 hand on the day we arrived. He told me to hide 
 them under the bed covering, that he was going 
 to be out quite late, and if anybody knocked during 
 his absence not to answer. He must have changed 
 his mind about my locking myself in, because he 
 locked all the doors himself and took the keys with 
 him. 
 
 ''It was two in the morning when he returned, 
 and meantime I was very much frightened. When 
 Mr. Lasar came back he told me that he had met 
 some friends who had crossed in the Labrador and 
 that they had scolded him about me. He said that 
 he had assured them that he would do the right 
 thing with me. He repeated what he had said, 
 word for word, that as soon as he had obtained 
 his divorce he would marry me. 'I promised them 
 I would do so and I shall,' is the way he put it. 
 He seemed to be quite happy. There was no more 
 conversation that evening, except that he asked me 
 if the packages were all right. ' ' 
 
 "Had Mr. Lasar previous to this made any such 
 promises to you?" inquired Mr. Wellington. 
 
 "Yes," answered Miss Cruede. "He told me
 
 102 DEFRAUDING THE GOVERNMENT 
 
 several times on the ship that after getting his 
 divorce he would marry me. First of all he said 
 he was not married. Then he told me that he was 
 divorced. Finally he said that he was suing for 
 a divorce." 
 
 "Now, returning to the question of the pack- 
 ages," said Mr. Wellington, "where did you place 
 them?" 
 
 "In bed," answered the witness. 
 
 * ' Whereabouts in bed ! ' ' 
 
 "With me." 
 
 "Was it under the pillow that you placed 
 them?" 
 
 "No." 
 
 "Or under the mattress!" 
 
 ' ' Oh, I just kept them in bed. I did not put them 
 under the pillow." 
 
 ' ' Did you keep them in your hands ? " 
 
 "Yes, sir." 
 
 "Right next to your person?" 
 
 "Yes, sir." 
 
 "Did Mr. Lasar remove the packages when he 
 came in?" 
 
 "No; he just left them there until the morning, 
 when, before breakfast, he put them around his 
 waist." 
 
 "What happened the next morning?" 
 
 "After breakfast Mr. Lasar asked me if I would 
 like to see what I had kept for him. I said that I 
 did not mind, so he said: 'All right. You shall
 
 THE LASAR DIAMOND CA8E 103 
 
 see, if you are good.' So he went and closed all 
 the doors, as he had done the evening before, and 
 cautioned me about being very, very quiet, and 
 that he would show me. He took a small table to 
 the window, took off his coat, his vest, and he un- 
 buttoned two or three other buttons and took off 
 a belt from one of the packages. There were two 
 belts, I noticed. He placed the belt he had taken 
 off on the table. In this belt there were many 
 small packages. He opened these packages and 
 laid them on the table one after the other." 
 
 The witness was shown some exhibits that had 
 been marked for identification and was asked if 
 the smaller packages had that appearance. She 
 replied that they were similar. 
 
 "How many belts did you see, all told?" asked 
 Judge Brown. 
 
 "Only two," said the witness. 
 
 "Not the belts!" exclaimed Mr. Daniels. 
 
 "There was a belt in each package," answered 
 the witness. "In the morning when he took the 
 packages from me he opened one package and put 
 one belt on, and opened the other package and put 
 the other belt on." 
 
 "Opened what?" asked Judge Brown^ — "his 
 vest!" 
 
 ' ' Yes, sir, ' ' Miss Cruede said, and she proceeded 
 to tell of the rest of the occurrences of that morn- 
 ing. "After spreading the smaller packages out 
 on the table," continued the witness, "Mr. Lasar
 
 104 DEFRAUDING THE GOVERNMENT 
 
 said: 'Now I want to show you what I have. I 
 have lots of diamonds — quite a fortune.' He 
 said that they were worth about fifty thou- 
 sand pounds. He opened each package sepa- 
 rately and showed me the diamonds. He laid 
 them all out in rows on the table before 
 the window. Certain packages had small dia- 
 monds — very small; some had diamonds that 
 were very much larger. Some looked brown, some 
 just yellow, others had beautiful blue tints, and 
 some were pure white. They all looked so differ- 
 ent. Then he took a paper from his pocket. The 
 paper was folded, and he looked at it, and as he 
 examined each diamond he checked off something 
 on the paper. I saw the paper. There were lots 
 of little figures on it." 
 
 Miss Cruede then identified a paper shown her, 
 resembling the one which Lasar had taken from 
 his pocket. 
 
 "What did Mr. Lasar say when he had finished 
 his checking and examination?" inquired Mr. 
 "Wellington. 
 
 * ' He said to me : ' I will not show you the other 
 belt. They are the same, exactly the same.' He 
 wrapped them all up again and put them back into 
 each little package and put them around his waist. 
 I did not see the diamonds again while i was at the 
 hotel in Montreal." 
 
 "Were these belts of leather or canvas, and 
 about what size ? "
 
 THE LASAR DIAMOND CASE 105 
 
 *'Tbey were not of leather. They were about 
 four inches broad. Each belt had a number of 
 pockets, and in each pocket there were a number 
 of the small papers containing the diamonds." 
 
 "You are asked to describe the belts. Please 
 do not answer any more than you are asked," 
 thundered Mr. Daniels. 
 
 "Did you see these belts on his person after 
 they were put on I" inquired Mr. Wellington. 
 
 The witness said that she had, and that one belt 
 was above the other, the one uppermost being 
 quite high on the body. She did not see the belts 
 again after Lasar put the packages into them and 
 placed the belts about his person. 
 
 "Did you make any inquiry about the belts after 
 that?" was the next interrogation of the Govern- 
 ment lawyer. 
 
 "Yes, sir," was the answer. 
 
 "State what occurred." 
 
 ' ' On Wednesday evening Mr. Lasar told me that 
 we were to leave early the next morning for New 
 York, and he asked me if I would pack his trunk 
 and give him some clean linen to make an ex- 
 change. He made an exchange. He had no belts 
 on when he made the change of underwear. ' ' 
 
 "He didn't ask you that," shouted Mr. Daniels, 
 jumping to his feet. 
 
 "I asked her to describe what occurred." 
 
 ' ' He had no belts on at that time, ' ' was the re- 
 joinder of the witness. 
 
 
 
 ^
 
 lOG DEFRAUDING THE GOVERNMENT 
 
 "Did you see him undress when he was making 
 the change of linen?" 
 
 "Yes, sir. I saw that he had no belts on." 
 
 This constant allusion to the belts, conveying 
 as it did the imjDression that the sister-in-law of 
 Lasar had taken the belts away between the time 
 that Lasar exposed tliem to view and the night he 
 changed his linen, was too much for the lawyers 
 of the smuggler, and Mr. Daniels exclaimed: 
 
 **She was simply asked what she did. Now 
 saying that she saw no belts on him, her attention 
 was not called to that at all. It is most singular 
 that she should bring that out." 
 
 Mr. Wellington brought the testimony out an- 
 other way by asking: "When he was making this 
 change of underclothing did you observe his per- 
 son?" 
 
 "Yes, sir." 
 
 "Did he have any belts on?" 
 
 "No, sir, he had none." 
 
 "Did any conversation occur about the belts at 
 that time?" 
 
 "I turned around to i)ack his trunk and found 
 the wrappers that had been around the parcels. 
 He had no belts, and I thought these would be in 
 his trunk. I asked him where the diamonds had 
 gone, and he replied, 'Oh, my sister has taken 
 them to New York.' I said nothing else to him 
 about thorn." 
 
 During the cross-examination of the witness Mr.
 
 THE LASAR DIAMOND CASE 107 
 
 Daniels was most anxious to clear up Miss 
 Cruede's mind on the question of when she saw 
 Sarah Lasar in the liotel hall. The counsel wanted 
 to make it ai:>pear that the witness saw the woman 
 the day of the evening on which Lasar gave her 
 the two packages to mind. 
 
 The purpose was evident. They desired to make 
 it appear that if the witness had the packages, 
 presumably containing diamonds, at any time 
 after she had seen the supposedly hired carrier, 
 Sarah Lasar, why, it would be most difficult to 
 prove that this woman carried them across the 
 border and into the States. 
 
 The opposing counsel reckoned without their 
 host, however, for even if the witness knew noth- 
 ing of the subsequent movements of Mrs. Lasar, 
 the Government officials at a future time had no 
 great difficulty in tracing her every movement and 
 in establishing the fact tliat it was she who car- 
 ried the smuggled gems into the metropolis. So 
 Mr. Daniels was merely wasting valuable time, 
 though he knew it not ; but, then, neither time nor 
 money has ever been any consideration to the 
 stout, little lawyer. The witness on this occasion, 
 however, satisfied the opposing counsel with her 
 answers when she said : 
 
 ''The lady appeared the day that he gave me the 
 packages to put away and take to bed. This was 
 the day before he exhibited the diamonds on the 
 table."
 
 108 DEFRAUDING THE GOVERNMENT 
 
 ''And Lasar deliberately went to work in your 
 presence and showed you the diamonds!" Mr. 
 Daniels asked. 
 
 "Yes, sir," was the response. "I examined 
 some of them and admired them all. He asked me 
 if I would like to have some, and I told him if the 
 possessing of them were to make me quite as ner- 
 vous as I had been with them in my care the pre- 
 vious night, I did not want any of them until we 
 got to New York." 
 
 Miss Cruede went into details as to the trip to 
 the metropolis. Lasar did actually enter New 
 York, which was quite courageous of liim, in that 
 he anticipated his lawful wife pouncing upon him 
 at any time with divorce papers. The witness said 
 that they left Montreal early in the morning and 
 reached New York the same evening, crossing the 
 ferry to Jersey City without wasting any time in 
 the larger city. Lasar took her to Taj^lor's Hotel, 
 and after registering her name he saw that she 
 was assigned to a comfortable room, and then left 
 her to go to the AYashington Hotel, near by, where 
 he registered himself. Then he returned to Tay- 
 lor's Hotel to keep her company. 
 
 Launching into a long description of what hap- 
 pened after the couple arrived in Jersey City, Miss 
 Cruede replied to a flood of questions that she saw 
 Lasar write her name in the Taylor's Hotel regis- 
 ter, but that he did not spell it correctly. He made 
 her name read like Crusade. He did not write
 
 THE LASAR DIAMOND CASE 109 
 
 his own name, or any purporting to be his own, in 
 this register, because he intended to make it ap- 
 pear that he was living at the Hotel Washington. 
 This was because of the nearness of his wife and 
 her relatives, all of whom were anxious to catch 
 him in his wrongdoing. Miss Cruede identified 
 Taylor's Hotel register and the entry Lasar had 
 made in it. 
 
 Although Lasar had his headquarters at the 
 Washington, he spent very little time there, ac- 
 cording to the testimony of the witness. He stayed 
 every night with the witness at Taylor's Hotel and 
 left in the morning for the Washington, where he 
 spent a portion of each day. It was her custom 
 while in Jersey City to go to his room in the Wash- 
 ington Hotel each afternoon. It was the recital 
 of the continuation of their illicit relations that 
 caused the counsel for Lasar to ask the following 
 pertinent questions: 
 
 "Did I understand you to say that Mr. Lasar 
 told you that he would marry you after he got his 
 divorce 1 ' ' 
 
 "Yes, sir." 
 
 "And stated that to you repeatedly?" 
 
 "Yes, sir." 
 
 "He made that i^romise to you on the steamer?" 
 
 "Yes, sir." 
 
 "Of course, you are not friendly with him, that 
 he broke his promise!" 
 
 "Yes, I am quite friendly with him."
 
 110 DEFRAUDING THE GOVERNMENT 
 
 * ' Oh, yon have shown it. ' ' 
 
 "That is, I have had no quarrel with Mr. Lasar. 
 I am not angry with him," was all the witness said 
 in answer to the lawyer's unnecessary remark. 
 The latter then said : 
 
 "He has not married you, has he?" 
 
 "No, sir," answered the witness, holding down • 
 her head. 
 
 Miss Cruede explained how she and Lasar re- 
 mained in Jersey City until the following Tues- 
 day, November 16, when Lasar came rushing to 
 her with the information that she must remain in 
 the country no longer, because his people were hot 
 on his trail. He engaged transportation for her 
 in the steamer Britannic, which took her away on 
 Wednesday, November 17, 1897. Of this part of 
 the affair I will let the witness tell in her own lan- 
 guage. 
 
 "Before you left for Europe did you have any 
 further talk with Lasar about meeting again or 
 about your relations to each other ? ' ' was the ques- 
 tion put by General Wellington, which brought 
 out the following response from Miss Cruede: 
 
 "Yes, sir. He came to me one day and said: 
 'Ivy, you must leave at once. You must go by the 
 next steamer to Europe.' I asked him why, and 
 he said, 'You know my divorce suit is on,' and he 
 added: 'If you are in the court it will go against 
 me. I want you to go away. I will be back again 
 in Europe, at the latest, in February. If I cannot
 
 THE LASAE DIAMOND CASE 111 
 
 get out then, you shall come back to me. I will 
 marry you either here, in Liverpool or in Paris, 
 but I will come back to you. ' 
 
 "I asked him if he would see me off. That was 
 the evening before I sailed. He said, 'No,' and 
 added that it would not look well for him to see me 
 off. He stated that he would send one of his men, 
 a young boy who was with him at the time, but 
 who did not hear the conversation he had with 
 me. We were in the metropolis when he told me 
 that I would have to sail the day following, and 
 he did not let me go back to Jersey City that even- 
 ing." 
 
 *'Now, you were not asked that," shouted Mr. 
 Daniels. "She has evidently got the storj" pretty 
 well in mind, but I do not propose to have her de- 
 tail it without questions. That is all." 
 
 "Proceed," said Mr. Wellington. "What oc- 
 curred before you sailed, or any conversation that 
 took place between you?" 
 
 "He told me to be at the Jersey City ferry. 
 Twenty-third Street side, at six-thirty that even- 
 ing, ' ' continued the witness. ' ' He came there with 
 a young boy from the office. He told me he was 
 from the office. He said he had to have him with 
 him to come there; that possibly he would be sub- 
 panaed if he did not have him with him. We went 
 to a restaurant. He said to me: 'I am sorry I 
 have got your ticket to go away. I would rather 
 have you stay. I don 't think I can do without you.
 
 112 DEFRAUDING THE GOVERNMENT 
 
 However, since you have your ticket you shall go. 
 But I will come back to you, or you shall come to 
 New York. We won't go back to Jersey City to- 
 night ; we will stay in New York. ' 
 
 "We did stay that night in New York at a hotel 
 which I am not prepared to say. I don't remem- 
 ber. In the morning he left me. He told me he 
 could not go to the boat; that the young man 
 would come to the hotel for me and see that I got 
 on the steamer all right. He asked me if I wanted 
 any money. He gave me about seven pounds. I 
 told him that I did not think my people, after 
 knowing what I had done, would have anything to 
 do with me, and that when I got to England I 
 would have to do something to earn my living. I 
 did not see him again until I met him in the court 
 here." 
 
 ''Did you ever have any letters or communica- 
 tions from Lasar after you went away!" General 
 Wellington inquired. 
 
 'M had one, which he asked me to destroy, and 
 I destroyed it. I had a cable from him, or, rather, 
 I say it was sent through him. This cable I re- 
 ceived on the day I sailed from Liverpool to come 
 to America to testify against him. It was " 
 
 "Don't say what it was," Mr. Daniels shouted, 
 as he jumped to his feet. 
 
 "Do you know where that cable is?" asked Mr. 
 Wellington. 
 
 "I gave it to the agent, Mr. Theobald."
 
 THE LASAR DIAMOND CASE 113 
 
 **And the letter which you received from him 
 and which you destroyed — what did that con- 
 tain I" 
 
 A great legal battle followed this query, the 
 court finally deciding that the letter had no bear- 
 ing on the diamonds, and the question was ex- 
 cluded. Mr. Wellington finished his direct exami- 
 nation of the witness with the question, and Mr. 
 Daniels began his cross-examination. 
 
 The Judge seemingly tried to irritate the wit- 
 ness from the very outset. Had Miss Cruede 
 known as much about law as did the for- 
 mer Judge, she would in all probability have made 
 it more interesting for him. Because of space, 
 I would like to pass over many passages of arms 
 between the two, but that the case may be fairly 
 dealt with, it is necessary to give many of these 
 exchanges of compliments. 
 
 In reply to the opening questions of Mr. Daniels 
 the witness said that she was born in Pueblo while 
 her parents were making a tour through Mexico. 
 Their home was in England, where her people had 
 been for several hundred years. Her mother died 
 when she was a little girl, but she did not know 
 the year of her birth, although she was at that mo- 
 ment, as told by relatives, in her nineteenth year. 
 She left for college when she was nine years old, 
 afterwards going to the Convent of the Sacred 
 Heart in Moula, in the south of France. She trav- 
 eled considerably after leaving this convent, going
 
 lU DEFRAUDING THE GOVERNMENT 
 
 to Spain, France, Italy and England, but always 
 with relatives. When about fourteen, she lived 
 in Paris with Chilean friends, a great painter 
 named Correa. Then she went to India. 
 
 Lasar's lawj^er, be it understood, was not over- 
 nice in the propounding of these questions. There 
 was always a significant ring to his inflection that 
 left no other inference than that he was trying to 
 make it appear that the girl was of no great moral 
 account, and that her mode of living from the 
 cradle to the moment she took the stand left much 
 that was questionable. Being a spirited girl, she 
 chafed under the ordeal, and those given to mind- 
 reading had no difficulty in predicting a clash be- 
 tween the lawyer and the witness before they had 
 proceeded very far. To remarks of Mr. Daniels 
 like, ''Answer my questions simply, and you and 
 I will get along very well," the witness stifled her 
 wrath as best she could ; but finally the girl could 
 contain herself no longer, and to the question of 
 ''With whom did you go to India, then?" she ex- 
 claimed, with face as white as snow: 
 
 "Sir, I do not want to answer your questions in 
 that way. I do not see that your questions have 
 anything to do with the diamond case. If you ask 
 me any questions as regards the diamond case, 
 if you have anything to say against me, you may 
 say it. I will answer any questions that you may 
 ask as regards the diamond case. Any other an- 
 swers I am not bound to give you or any other
 
 THE LASAR DIAMOND CASE 115 
 
 counsel. I am willing to answer anj^ question you 
 put to me as regards Mr. Lasar or my character, 
 but you must not bring my family affairs into any 
 court of law. They have nothing to do whatever 
 with the diamond case. My family, my father and 
 mother, are dead, both of them. Their memories 
 are sacred to me, and you must not bring them up, 
 either to me or before any one in this court. I 
 think it is against the law — I do not know. I am 
 not bound to answer your questions. I will an- 
 swer you anything that is fair. Anything that is 
 unfair I will not answer." 
 
 **Are you through!" asked Mr. Daniels, with 
 marked mockery. 
 
 "Yes, sir," said the witness, "I am through." 
 
 "I shall see that no improper questions are 
 asked of you," said Judge Brown in a fatherly 
 way. 
 
 "Sir, I do not think my family affairs as a child 
 have anything to do with this case," said Miss 
 Cruede. 
 
 "Possibly you mistake the intent of the ques- 
 tion," remarked the court, hoping to conciliate 
 both sides. 
 
 "I do not know, sir," announced the witness 
 humbly. 
 
 Mr. Wellington, in the hope of patching up the 
 affair, said : ' ' Miss Cruede, what you must answer 
 or not answer comes from His Honor, and when 
 it touches upon things you feel deeply about you
 
 116 DEFRAUDING THE GOVERNMENT 
 
 may appeal to liim, and he will instruct you, but 
 we want you to answer fully anything His Honor 
 thinks competent." 
 
 "I propose to ask any question I deem proper," 
 said Mr. Daniels. 
 
 "I want to know if it is a question of my past 
 life or a question of the diamond case I ' ' demanded 
 the witness. 
 
 ''I am not going to tell you. I am going to ask 
 you such questions as I think proper," said Mr. 
 Daniels, with a pronounced rest upon the personal 
 pronoun. Then he asked: "Will you state your 
 age when your father died ? ' ' 
 
 "About seventeen years," responded the wit- 
 ness. 
 
 "Where did he die?" 
 
 "He died abroad. These are questions that I do 
 not care to answer." 
 
 "Tell His Honor, please," suggested Mr. Wel- 
 lington. 
 
 "Never mind," said Judge Brown. "He died 
 abroad. That is sufficient." 
 
 "She only wants to answer such questions as 
 she pleases," said Mr. Daniels. 
 
 "But," said the witness, "there are some ques-. 
 tions that hurt." 
 
 "Yes," remarked Mr. Daniels, "and there are 
 some answers that you give hurt. You are on the 
 stand. I want to treat you in a perfectly gentle-
 
 THE LASAR DIAMOND CASE 117 
 
 manly way, but you must behave yourself on the 
 stand." 
 
 This brought General Wellington up, who said : 
 "I do not think that is fair. This young lady's 
 father committed suicide and she feels very deeply 
 about it, and I think these things should be fairly 
 treated." 
 
 "You went to India with Mrs. Le Strange and 
 her family. Now, what year did you return to 
 England?" Mr. Daniels then asked. 
 
 The fire of Becky Sharp arose to a conflagration 
 in the witness, and she made answer : 
 
 "I do not care to answer these questions, sir." 
 
 "Oh, yes," interposed Judge Brown. 
 
 "No, sir, I cannot answer all these questions," 
 said the witness, her face filled with determination. 
 
 "You are required to answer," was Judge 
 Brown's comment. 
 
 "Is it a question of my life?" begged the wit- 
 ness, with beseeching eyes. 
 
 "Certainly," said His Honor. 
 
 "Well, I won't. I object. I cannot answer such 
 questions. There is no reason, really, why I should 
 not answer, but I do not care to answer. That is 
 all." 
 
 "Well, as nearly as you can," pleaded Mr. Wel- 
 lington. 
 
 "No, no, no," said the witness. "I will not an- 
 swer the questions." 
 
 There was a long pause, during which the legal
 
 118 DEFRAUDING THE GOVERNMENT 
 
 talent looked at one another in a hopeless sort oi 
 way, and finally Judge Brown asked to have the 
 question repeated to the witness. It was not 
 thought that she would reply to it, but she said 
 at last that she did not know, and everybody 
 heaved a sigh of relief. Mr. Daniels then demanded 
 to know why she had refused to answer the ques- 
 tion if she did not know, and she made reply : 
 
 "Because I object to the questions you put, all 
 along, not one question more than another, not the 
 last question more than the first. I object to the 
 whole. ' ' 
 
 There was no mistaking the temper of the wit- 
 ness by this time, and to the hundreds of questions 
 that followed she either replied " I do not remem- 
 ber" or "I have not the slightest recollection." 
 At that particular time there was no question as 
 to the wisdom of Tuke's lines when he said : 
 
 "He's a fool who thinks by force or skill 
 To turn the current of a woman's will." 
 
 But, then, the questions of Mr. Daniels were un- 
 usually aggravating. The learned Judge was 
 obliged several times to call a halt in the line of 
 questioning, but the chief counsel for the smug- 
 gler would not down, until finally Mr. Wellington 
 had to say : 
 
 "T think the time has come when we ought to 
 circumscribe that sort of thing. While it is proper
 
 THE LASAR DIAMOND CASE 119 
 
 to go far enough in tlie liistoiy of the witness to 
 establish the general history and character, the 
 individual trips, how long they stayed in hotels, 
 the whole history of their lives I believe has never 
 been tolerated by any court. If they want to dis- 
 credit a witness, there are ways of doing it, and 
 it seems to me I have been pretty patient and have 
 allowed about as full latitude as ever has been al- 
 lowed in any case, and I now object to further 
 inquiry- on this line. He should go direct to the 
 testimony in chief and cross-examine about it." 
 
 This brought a bundle of skyrockets from Mr. 
 Daniels, who said: 
 
 ''I am not indebted for my friend's patience, 
 and I do not wonder at his impatience. I am on 
 my rights to find out all about the antecedents of 
 this witness. I have a right to do it. She comes 
 on the stand here voluntarily. She comes over 
 here from London nnder pay, three hundred 
 pounds — fifteen hundred dollars. She has come 
 here to betray a man who she says promised to 
 marry her. Now, I submit I have the right to go 
 into the antecedents of this lady, and I am doing 
 it in as tender and careful a way as I can. If the 
 court stops me, I must stop. Now we have got her 
 here in New York where I can confirm or contra- 
 dict her." 
 
 Miss Cruede's face became ghastly white when 
 Mr. Daniels referred to the sum that the Govern- 
 ment had guaranteed her to come to America. The
 
 120 DEFRAUDING THE GOVERNMENT 
 
 color left her lips, her eyes blazed with a fire that 
 must have been burning her innermost soul, and 
 with the reference to her betraying Lasar she at- 
 tempted to rise in her chair, but fell back when 
 Mr. Wellington waved his hand at her. There was 
 no stopping her, though, when Daniels had ceased, 
 and with trembling lips and shaking limbs she rose 
 from the witness chair. She had worn a sailor hat 
 to court that morning and had taken it from her 
 head and laid it down alongside the witness chair 
 as she took the stand. As she rose, shaking like 
 an aspen, to do nobody knew what, her hair in 
 some mysterious way became unfastened and fell 
 in a great mass upon her shoulders and back. 
 
 Several attendants of the court, fearing that she 
 meant the lawyer bodily harm, sprang forward to 
 grasp her, but she waved them off, and, pointing 
 her finger at Lasar, who sat some twenty feet 
 away, she shouted: 
 
 ''// / am not to he believed, ask Max Lasar to 
 get up and swear before his God, who is higher- 
 than tve are, ivhether I have spoken the truth or 
 not. Will you get up? I am not even angry with 
 him. I have not even betrayed him. I won't go 
 against him, but I must tell the truth." 
 
 Expert minds agree that it was one of the most 
 dramatic scenes ever enacted in a court of law. 
 Lasar blushed to the roots and attempted to brazen 
 it out, but could not withstand the wild stare of 
 the girl he had wronged. She took her eyes from
 
 THE LASAR DIAMOND CASE 121 
 
 him not for a second while she was speaking, and 
 when she returned to her chair everybody seemed 
 to be struck dumb with the sensational scene. At 
 length Judge Brown said : 
 
 ''You have asked the question and you are 
 bound by her answer. I have been very patient 
 with an examination of this kind, in a case all di- 
 rected to one inquiry. It is in the discretion of 
 the court, and I shall exercise it reasonably in your 
 favor, and I have to what I think an unreasonable 
 extent. 
 
 ''A few moments ago I said I would allow you 
 to continue the examination of her where she had 
 been up to the time of this transaction, but that 
 must not be pursued unnecessarily. If you have 
 any specific foundation for the line of inquiry, you 
 have the right to direct the witness' attention to 
 that and ascertain it, but in a general way I must 
 say that very much of what you have asked has 
 been a roving examination. ' ' 
 
 "Necessarily so," said Judge Daniels, seeming 
 not subdued. 
 
 ' ' I overrule the last question, ' ' was the decision 
 of the court. 
 
 "What party did you go to Canada with?" 
 asked Mr. Daniels, as chic as ever. 
 
 "I do not intend to tell you, sir," replied the 
 witness. "I am tired of answering." 
 
 "Have you any special point to prove in regard
 
 122 DEFRAUDING THE GOVERNMENT 
 
 to these inquiries you are making!" put in Judge 
 Brown. 
 
 "Certainly," said Mr. Daniels. 
 
 ''AVell," was the opinion of His Honor, "I do 
 not see in your examination any indication of it 
 beyond the mere examination. I mean, have you 
 anything in mind to which you wish to bring the 
 witness' testimony and found her testimony upon! 
 If it is a mere fishing inquiry, I believe we have 
 had enough of it. If you have any specific thing 
 which your examination is directed to, I shall most 
 likely allow it. She tells you she went with friends 
 to Canada." 
 
 ''I want to know the names of the friends," said 
 Mr. Daniels. 
 
 "I exclude it," said the court. 
 
 Another account was being summed up for the 
 lawyer, howeve)-, though he was not aware 
 of it. This took shape in a reference by the wit- 
 ness to that distinguished blackguard, Gold, the 
 hired friend and intimate of Lasar, whom the lat- 
 ter sent to the girl's boarding-house in Liverpool 
 to spi]-it her away from Agent McCormack. 
 
 Gold, as told in a previous chapter, worked upon 
 the feelings of the girl by saying that enemies of 
 Lasar were trying to get her to tell falsehoods 
 about the smuggler. All Hint Gold wanted was to 
 get the poor fool of a girl out of the hands of the 
 Government agent. He wanted something else, 
 too, but that is another story that he must some
 
 THE LASAR DIAMOND CASE 123 
 
 day answer for personally. At all events lie treated 
 the Cruede girl shamefully, and when he accom- 
 plished his purpose literally threw her into the 
 gutter. Mr. Daniels did not aspire to the relation 
 by the witness of any of Gold's doings. Dear, no ! 
 But he would be insistent in asking questions, and 
 this is how he fell into his own trap. 
 
 *'And did you live in Liverpool and at Mrs. Ben- 
 nett's all the time until you took the other trip on 
 which you met Mr. Lasar?" 
 
 ''No, sir," said the witness. '*I was not living 
 with Mrs. Bennett at the time I left. I lived with 
 Mrs. Bennett up to the time that Mr. Gold took 
 me away — Mr. Lasar's friend," said the witness. 
 
 ''I move to strike that out," demanded Mr. Dan- 
 iels. "It simply shows the animus of the wit- 
 ness." 
 
 But the court unconsciously added fuel to the 
 fire by asking : 
 
 "Was this after the Labrador trip!" 
 
 * * Yes, sir, ' ' said the witness. * ' That is the time 
 I lived with that lady." 
 
 "Did you not live in Montague Street, Russell 
 Square, London I ". asked Mr. Daniels, with an ex- 
 pressive shake of his head. 
 
 "After, sir," declared the witness. "After Mr. 
 Gold came to London and took me there and left 
 me there. It was Mr. Gold who took me from the 
 hotel." 
 
 "I simply asked you whether you lived there."
 
 124 DEFRAUDING THE GOVERNMENT 
 
 *'I am simply telling you how I got there." 
 
 Finding that he could not hide the skeleton of 
 the Gold matter in Lasar's closet, the latter 's law- 
 yer then asked : 
 
 "You went to London with Mr. Gold?" 
 
 "Yes, sir." 
 
 "How many weeks was it that you stayed in 
 Liverpool ? ' ' 
 
 "I have other things to explain before I can 
 say I went to Mr. Gold." 
 
 "Just answer the question. That is what you 
 are here for. I don't know why you want to ex- 
 plain anything. You stayed in Liverpool some 
 four or five weeks ! ' ' 
 
 "Yes, sir." 
 
 "Where did you stop in London when you went 
 with Gold?" 
 
 "At the Holborn Viaduct Hotel." 
 
 "You went first to the Holborn Viaduct!" asked 
 Judge Brown. 
 
 "Yes, sir, with the friend of Mr. Lasar, Mr. 
 Gold, who took me there." 
 
 Then followed a long encounter between counsel 
 as to the right of Lasar's lawyers to have several 
 letters, claimed to be written by Miss Cruede, ad- 
 mitted as evidence. Miss Cruede denied that the 
 letters or envelopes were in her handwriting, but 
 admitted that she wrote a number of letters to 
 Lasar from England after she left him in New 
 York. She likewise admitted that while in Lon-
 
 THE LASAR DIAMOND CASE 125 
 
 don with Gold she signed a paper at his solicita- 
 tion without knowing the contents of the same. 
 
 It transpired, however, that Gold had put up a 
 job on her, as one of the lawj-ers expressed it, the 
 paper she signed being intended as a certificate 
 of his good character from her, and also many- 
 other things that were hardly true. Concerning 
 these letters, the principal evidence educed was as 
 follows.
 
 CHAPTER VI 
 
 "Before spending much more time about these 
 letters, I must ask you whether you claim that 
 they are connected with the diamond easel" was 
 the query put by the learned Judge. 
 
 "Yes, connected with the case," remarked Mr. 
 Daniels. 
 
 "That will not do," said Judge Brown. "Are 
 they connected with the diamonds 1 ' ' 
 
 "I will let Your Honor see them," gravely re- 
 marked the leading lawyer for Lasar. 
 
 "I shall have to rule it out under objection if 
 they are not connected with the diamond busi- 
 ness," was the decision of the court. 
 
 This brought Mr. Crane, the assistant to Mr. 
 Daniels, into action, and his rapid-fire guns gave 
 out the following: 
 
 "Suppose any one of these letters attacks the 
 credibility of this witness for veracity! Suppose 
 it contradicted some of her statements 1 Suppose 
 it showed a different state of facts with regard to 
 her journey?" 
 
 "You have laid no foundation for that as yet," 
 Judge Brown said. ' ' I shall exclude it still unless 
 
 136
 
 THE LASAR DIAMOND CASE 127 
 
 you do. You liave uot asked whether she has said 
 or written so-and-so. Then you may do so. Sim- 
 ply as independent writings they would not be ad- 
 missible unless they are connected. It is for that 
 reason I do not want to spend much time on any- 
 tliing that cannot be used in evidence." 
 
 "Am I not entitled to ask whether she wrote to 
 Lasar, 'I hear you are in trouble, and they are try- 
 ing to get me to tell lies about you ? ' " asked Mr. 
 Daniels. 
 
 "No," said His Honor. "You cannot get a let- 
 ter in that way. ' ' 
 
 In the sparring that followed an expose of how 
 the wicked Gold managed to get the witness to sign 
 a paper to aid Lasar was made. It came about in 
 this way : 
 
 "When you got to London with Gold you have 
 stated where you stopped. Now, please look at 
 this signature and state whether it is your signa- 
 ture." 
 
 "No, sir, it is not my signature," said the wit- 
 ness, adding, after a pause, "May I look at it 
 again?" 
 
 "I have no objection to your reading the whole 
 of it now to refresh your memory." 
 
 Miss Cruede read the paper and then said: "I 
 have never before seen this paper." 
 
 ' * Does it look like the paper you signed in Lon- 
 don!" 
 
 "I did not see the paper in that way. I was
 
 128 DEFRAUDING THE GOVERNMENT 
 
 asked to sign a paper. May I explain how I at- 
 tached my name to the paper ? ' ' 
 
 "I did not ask you that," sliouted Mr. Daniels; 
 and then, seeing that he was rapidly getting into 
 shoal water, he announced that he desired to with- 
 draw the question. 
 
 Mr. Wellington then interfered with : ' ' Now 
 that the question has been asked and partly an- 
 swered I insist upon her answering in full." 
 
 ''Yes," said His Honor, addressing Mr. Daniels, 
 "you stopped her, and I allow her to explain her 
 answer, unless you wish it all stricken out." 
 
 "Strike the question out, 'Does that look like 
 the paper?' " announced Mr. Daniels. Then he 
 asked the witness: "You went to London when 
 Gold took you there 1 ' ' 
 
 ' ' Yes, ' ' said the witness. ' ' I could not go before 
 he had paid my bills to go there, because I had not 
 been doing anything. I had to live there by put- 
 ting away and selling every article of jewelry and 
 every article of clothing I could spare. That is 
 how I lived from the time I left Lasar until I left 
 there." 
 
 It may be said in this connection that Gold had 
 told the girl, among other things, that Lasar had 
 sent him for her; that he was to supply her with 
 money, which he said Lasar had furnished; and, 
 believing that the man was sjieaking the truth and 
 that her old lover had not forgotten her, after all, 
 she decided to go, but was unable to leave until
 
 THE LASAR DIAMOND CASE 129 
 
 her things had been redeemed from pawn. The 
 only purpose that Gold had, beyond a more selfish 
 one, was to spirit the girl away so that McCor- 
 mack or myself could not lay hands upon her. This 
 will explain why Mr. Daniels received the last an- 
 swer with no great favor, and when it had been 
 made he looked savagely at Miss Cruede and 
 asked : 
 
 ''Are you through?" 
 
 The witness said she was, smiling as she said 
 so. This irritated the rotund lawyer the more, 
 but he had to keep his temper at any price upon 
 his comfort. Then this was his next query : 
 
 "Had you any occupation when you met Mr. 
 Theobald for the first time?" 
 
 ''No; I was looking for one," said the witness. 
 
 ' ' Then on the promise of three hundred pounds 
 you came over here?" 
 
 "The money was to me a second consideration," 
 was the answer to Mr. Daniels' question. 
 
 "I move to strike that out," said Mr. Daniels 
 before the full importance of the answer dawned 
 upon him. Suddenly, imagining that he had caught 
 the witness in a bog-hole, he exclaimed condescend- 
 ingly : ' ' Never mind. Leave it in. It doesn 't make 
 any difference. If money was a second considera- 
 tion, Miss Cruede, what was the main considera- 
 tion of your coming over here?" 
 
 Mr. Daniels drooped his left eyelid suggestively 
 to his law partner as he put the last question, as
 
 130 DEFRAUDING THP] GOVERNMENT 
 
 mucli as to say: "Well, I have got her into a nice 
 mess, and just watch how I shall make her dodge 
 the question." Miss Cruede looked the little coun- 
 sel straight in the eye as she made reply : 
 
 "The main consideration was that I was being 
 watched. I did not want any more Golds following 
 me, and T did not want to be under the supervision 
 of any other man, of English police, or of Ameri- 
 can police. T was tired of it. I found it was better 
 for me to tell the truth. I did not ask for compen- 
 sation." 
 
 My ! but it was a scorcher, right into the vitals, 
 as the chap said when he poked his elbow into the 
 business side of the man with the big stomach. It 
 made the lawyer for Lasar think twice before he 
 asked another question. He was in an inquisitive 
 mood, though, even though he was getting the 
 worst of the little engagement. That is why he 
 finally asked : 
 
 "Who offered you compensation?" 
 
 "Mr. Theobald said that the Government would 
 give me so much money," replied the witness. "I 
 did not ask for the money, and he said they did 
 not expect me to come over here for nothing. I 
 said that the sum was altogether too much. He 
 did not tell me what I had to say." 
 
 A long argument as to the admissibility of cer- 
 tain evidence regarding the chaperon of the wit- 
 ness on the trip to this country followed at this 
 stage in the proceedings. The court would not
 
 THE LASAR DIAMOND CASE 131 
 
 permit the counsel for Lasar to question Miss 
 Cruede very much on that score, giving as a rea- 
 son that anything affecting the chaperon occurred 
 after the diamond seizure, and could therefore 
 have no material connection with the case. Mr. 
 Daniels made plea after plea to question along 
 this line, but Judge Brown shook his head in the 
 negative each time. At last Mr. Daniels said : 
 
 ''Now, I propose to show in a general way that 
 this lady, the chaperon, has been in the Govern- 
 ment service, paid regularly by the Government; 
 that she has had charge of this witness ever since 
 she has been here ; that she has occupied the same 
 room with her ; that she has never gone anywhere 
 without her; and that the Government has had 
 complete supervision and control over this wit- 
 ness since she has been here," 
 
 "All of that has already been proved," was the 
 comment of the court. 
 
 Mr. Daniels, about that time, was evidently try- 
 ing to convey the impression that it was a fearful 
 crime for the Government to keep the witness in 
 the hands of such a dangerous thing as a chap- 
 eron ; that the witness and her companion had even 
 occupied the same stateroom on the way over; 
 and that, horror of horrors! they had even 
 slept in the same bed when at various ho- 
 tels. What was the chief outrage upon Lasr.r 
 and his counsel, however, was that the witness 
 was not turned loose into their pasture that she
 
 132 DEFRAUDING THE GOVERNMENT 
 
 might be plucked by the human buzzards. This, 
 at least, would have prevented her appearance at 
 the trial, and undoubtedly the Government would 
 have had a very weak case without Witness 
 Cruede. Counsel for this blackguard did not re- 
 fer, however, to the fact that for months before 
 the trial every human agency that Lasar could em- 
 ploy was flaunted with brazen effrontery before 
 the eyes of the Government officials in the hope 
 of seducing the witness or in spiriting her away. 
 It was therefore no difficult thing to understand 
 why the puissant lawyer for Lasar did not relish 
 the admission that the witness and her chaperon 
 had slept in the same bed. 
 
 Besieged with questions as to her movements 
 with this chaperon, the witness related in detail 
 every moment of her time from the day she ar- 
 rived in the metropolis in the steamer Cymric until 
 she again made her appearance in New York, after 
 having succeeded in keeping the cowardly Lasar 
 at bay. The Government's case lost nothing 
 by the telling of the story, although Mr. Daniels 
 tried hard, if not altogether cleverly, to make it 
 otherwise. At its conclusion the court said to Mr. 
 Daniels: 
 
 ''I assume as a matter of course that the Gov- 
 ernment having brought a witness here at such 
 expense would keep its eye on her. Mr. Welling- 
 ton, have you any objection to admitting that from
 
 THE LASAR DIAMOND CASE 133 
 
 the time she came here until this minute she has 
 been under the supervision of certain people?" 
 
 ' ' That may be spread on the record, ' ' said Mr. 
 Wellington. "I claim, however, that it is totally 
 incompetent, but the fact is undoubted. ' ' 
 
 "Then I shall rule the whole thing out," said 
 the court. 
 
 ''Also the reference to the chaperon?" queried 
 the counsel for Lasar. 
 
 The court did not make any further reply on 
 this point, so Mr. Wellington said as a clincher : 
 
 "I am willing to say in addition that the chap- 
 eron has been with this witness at all times. Per- 
 haps I should add that there has been with them 
 at all times a secret agent of the Treasury Depart- 
 ment, going with the two ladies to protect them 
 from attempted effort to either injure or abduct 
 the witness." 
 
 I knaw that Mr. Daniels did not enjoy hearing 
 this truthful utterance by the Government attor- 
 ney, but he had invited that sort of trouble and 
 had to grin and bear what he got. It looked as if 
 he had had enough of the affair when, a few min- 
 utes later, he stepped back and turned the witness 
 over to Mr. Wellington for the re-direct examina- 
 tion. The United States attorney asked the wit- 
 ness a number of questions about her relatives, 
 which she readily answered. Similar questions 
 had been asked by Mr. Daniels, but she had re- 
 fused to reply. So Mr. Wellington inquired :
 
 134 DEFRAUDING THE GOVERNMENT 
 
 "Are you willing to state to the jury, with the 
 courtesy and permission of my friends, the rea- 
 sons why you were not willing to give the persons 
 and names of your relatives and friends on the 
 occasion when questioned by the other side and 
 you refused to answer?" 
 
 An objection was raised by Mr. Daniels, who 
 said he was not permitted on cross-examination 
 to go into the subject, and that, in addition, the 
 question called for a conclusion and operation of 
 the witness' mind. The objection was overruled, 
 and Mr. Wellington asked : 
 
 "Now give to the jury the reason why you ob- 
 jected and were unwilling to give those names." 
 
 "Because my people already know something of 
 the Lasar affair, and they refused to give me any- 
 thing, telling me that if in future " 
 
 "Never mind that. Simply confine yourself to 
 the reasons why you were unwilling to state 
 them. ' ' 
 
 "I did not care to have their names in this af- 
 fair, as they knew nothing at all about these pro- 
 ceedings. That was my only reason." 
 
 "You have been asked about seeing certain 
 persons in London. Miss Cruede, I understood 
 you to say that you saw Mr. Theobald. You had 
 before that seen Mr. McCormack ? ' ' 
 
 "Yes, sir, before." 
 
 "And Mr. McCormack had tried to induce you 
 to come here as a witness?"
 
 THE LASAR DIAMOND CASE 135 
 
 *'Yes, sir." 
 
 ''And after that Mr. Gold came and saw you? 
 Came the same evening that Mr. McCormack came 
 there?" 
 
 *'Yes, the same evening." 
 
 ''And induced you to go to London?" 
 
 "He told me " 
 
 An objection resulted in the question being with- 
 drawn, and Mr. Wellington then asked : 
 
 "I asked you whether you did go off with him 
 to London the same day you saw Mr, McCor- 
 mack?" 
 
 "I went to see Mr. Lasar in London with Mr. 
 Gold. I was led to believe that Mr. Lasar was 
 there and that he wanted to see me." 
 
 "Then after that, while you were in London, 
 you saw Mr. Theobald and made the arrangements 
 with him to come to this country?" 
 
 "Yes, sir." 
 
 "Did Mr. Theobald or anybody else on behalf 
 of the Government of the United States at any 
 time or anywhere indicate to you what you were 
 to testify in this case ? ' ' 
 
 "Only yourself, when you told me to go into 
 the court and say — you said, 'Miss Cruede, you 
 must go in and must go on the stand and must tell 
 the truth.' " 
 
 Mr. Crane, in behalf of Lasar, arose and in- 
 quired of Mr. Wellington if he wished his conver- 
 sation with the witness to go in.
 
 136 DEFRAUDING THE GOVERNMENT 
 
 * ' No, indeed, ' ' remarked Mr. Wellington, laugh- 
 ing. The question was again read, and the wit- 
 ness replied that nobobdy had told her what she 
 was to testify. 
 
 Mr. Daniels, in his re-cross-examination, asked 
 Miss Cruede if she was aware that her chaperon 
 had at one time lived in Detroit. The witness 
 made answer: 
 
 "I never saw the lady and never heard of her 
 until I saw her the day I sailed and was intro- 
 duced to her." 
 
 The witness then left the stand, and as she did 
 so caught the eye of Lasar staring at her. She 
 went by without even passing him the time of day. 
 
 The last day of the trial she was called again 
 to the witness stand on the request of Mr. Daniels, 
 who desired to put her through the paces again 
 regarding certain letters and on the letters in his 
 possession which he claimed she had written. The 
 Judge asked the witness: 
 ' "Is this envelope in your handwriting?" 
 
 "It looks like it, but I don't think it is. It can- 
 not be mine. All my letters to Lasar were re- 
 turned to me." 
 
 "Now, I ask the court to rule whether I have 
 an opportunity to see these letters and envel- 
 opes," said Mr. Wellington. 
 
 "I think he should show them," said His Honor. 
 
 "Not until I offer them in evidence," replied 
 Mr. Daniels.
 
 THE LASAR DIAMOND CASE 137 
 
 "I think so," ruled the court. 
 
 ''We may not get them in as evidence at all," 
 announced Mr. Daniels. 
 
 "Unless you do it now I shall not permit any- 
 thing further about them — any comparison," was 
 the decision of Judge Brown. 
 
 ''Here is another envelope," said Mr. Daniels, 
 holding one up to the witness and ignoring the de- 
 cision just made. "Will you look at that and see 
 whether it is in your handwriting!" 
 
 The presiding Judge then said: "I shall cut 
 short the examination if you do not obey the direc- 
 tion of the court. I have suffered you to call this 
 witness for cross-examination. If you ask ques- 
 tions on exhibits and do not show them I shall not 
 permit you to ask anything further." 
 
 Mr. Daniels apologized, and then asked the wit- 
 ness: 
 
 "Is that your handwriting?" 
 
 "It is a good copy," said Miss Cruede. 
 
 "Answer the question," directed the court. 
 
 "My letters were returned to me. How can 
 those be my letters ? ' ' 
 
 "Is this in your handwriting or notl" 
 
 "It is not." 
 
 "You say it is a good copy?" 
 
 "Yes, it is a good copy." 
 
 "These are all copies'?" 
 
 "I was told my letters were copied when the
 
 138 DEFRAUDING THE GOVERNMENT 
 
 otliers, wliicli were originals, were returned to me 
 by Mr. Gold." 
 
 ' ' I move to strike that out, ' ' said Mr. Daniels. 
 
 It was stricken out by order of the court as not 
 being evidence. 
 
 By the direction of the Government's attorneys 
 Miss Cruede was recalled to the stand November 
 23, and Mr. Wellington asked her : 
 
 "Miss Cruede, you have stated that you had 
 written letters at various times to Max Lasar. Do 
 you know what became of those letters after- 
 wards ? ' ' 
 
 Mr. Murphy objected, and the court said : "The 
 objection should not be sustained, for the reason 
 that this matter was wholly brought out by your 
 side in showing her letters, which it is perfectly 
 proper should receive some explanation, if she 
 wishes to make any, or if the counsel desires to 
 make any explanation about it. 
 
 ' ' One point of view why I think it is proper that 
 the witness should answer this question is in ex- 
 planation of her previous statement when the en- 
 velopes were shown, and she said the address on 
 some of them was in her handwriting, but that the 
 letters were taken from them, and she said they 
 were not in her handwriting. 
 
 "Anything which might clear up any suspicion 
 about that, or about her testimony upon such a 
 point as that, I think should be offered. It is not 
 so much what became of them, but it is an explana-
 
 THE LASAR DIAMOND CASE 139 
 
 tion of lier statement that the letters taken from 
 her envelopes, which she admitted were her hand- 
 writing, were not hers. Ask her how and when 
 the letters were returned to her." 
 
 Mr. Wellington acted upon the suggestion, and 
 the witness made reply : 
 
 * * By Mr. Gold, on the evening that he arrived in 
 Liverpool to take me to London." 
 
 There was an objection on the part of Mr. Dan- 
 iels to further questioning along this line. Doubt- 
 less the lawyer thought that it was getting very, 
 very hot, as the children say at play, when they 
 approach anything they are in search of. The 
 court gave this opinion as to the rights of both 
 sides : 
 
 ''I am inclined to think she has a right to state 
 what Gold said to her as a part of the act of re- 
 turn. These are letters addressed to the claimant 
 here, and presumably they came from him, en- 
 trusted by him to Gold, and I think what he said 
 in giving them back to this witness is a part of 
 that act. I allow the question, 'Wliere were you 
 when the letters were returned to you ? ' " 
 
 ^*I was on the train going from Liverpool to 
 London," answered Miss Cruede. "But there is 
 an explanation needed. When Mr. Gold came to 
 Liverpool and sought me he said he was a friend 
 of Lasar and had been sent by him. I said to him : 
 'If you are a friend of Lasar, then give me some 
 proof.' He said: 'Oh, come out into the other
 
 UO DEFRAUDING THE GOVERNMENT 
 
 room. I have lots of proof.' We went into the 
 other room, and he opened his coat and removed 
 from an inside pocket a large pile of letters. 
 'These are your letters to Lasar,' he said. I could 
 not see the writing upon the letters very well, and 
 I said to him: 'Come into the light and let me 
 see.* He made reply: 'No; I will show you these 
 upon the train when we go to London. ' 
 
 "On the train he again held the bundle of let- 
 ters up to my view, and I asked him if they were 
 my letters, and he said they were. I asked him to 
 let me see them, and he gave me the bundle. I in- 
 quired of him : 'Did Lasar give you these letters?' 
 He &aid: 'Yes, he gave them to me to show you 
 that I am his friend.' I was quite angry over it 
 all, I admit, and said: 'If Mr. Lasar does not know 
 how to keep my letters, written as a girl, I will 
 keep them.' He laughed and exclaimed: 'Ah, but 
 we have copies. It is all right.' This is all I know 
 about it. I kept the letters and subsequently de- 
 stroyed them all. There were only a few envelopes 
 among them. I asked Mr. Gold for the other 
 envelopes, and he said that they had been de- 
 stroyed." 
 
 Mr. Murphy then asked the witness: "Miss 
 Cruede, did you keep account of all the letters that 
 you wrote to Mr. Lasar?" 
 
 "I had written one letter every week, and on 
 looking over those letters I found that there was a
 
 THE LASAR DIAMOND CASE 141 
 
 letter for every week up to a month before Mr. 
 Gold had come. That was the month I had not 
 written. I was tired of writing and had not writ- 
 ten. So that all my letters sent from Liverpool 
 were returned to me by Gold."
 
 CHAPTER VII 
 
 With an idea of showing that Mr. Armstrong, 
 acting as the agent of Lasar, offered for sale some 
 diamonds at a price below their real value, some 
 of the identical diamonds that Lasar smuggled 
 into this country by waj^ of Canada, the Govern- 
 ment called to the stand a diamond broker doing 
 business in Manhattan, who had known Lasar for 
 some years, but knew him personally up to that 
 time about four years onlj'-. The witness said that 
 he had had a diamond transaction with Maxwell 
 in November of 1895. All reference to the pur- 
 chase of diamonds by the witness from Maxwell 
 was strenuously objected to by Ed Murphy, of 
 counsel for Lasar, and when the matter had been 
 referred to the court for a decision as to its ad- 
 missibility, Mr. Wellington argued as follows : 
 
 "I purpose to show that on this purchase from 
 Maxwell the payment was made directly to Mr. 
 Lasar and the receipt given by Lasar for the pur- 
 chase money of these very diamonds." 
 
 "This is the question that is propounded to the 
 witness: 'Did he have a sale of diamonds between 
 Maxwell & Armstrong!' Now that is clearly in- 
 
 142
 
 THE LASAR DIAMOND CASE 143 
 
 competent. The firm of Maxwell & Armstrong has 
 not been connected with the claimant, ' ' commented 
 Mr. Murphy. 
 
 Judge Brown interrupted at this stage and said : 
 ''It would be alone, undoubtedly. They say they 
 expect to show that the payment for it went di- 
 rectly to Lasar. That is the only ground on which 
 I can receive it. If he states that, was it not a 
 transaction with Lasar!" 
 
 ''Yes," admitted Mr. Murphy, "but that does 
 not connect it with this case. Non constat Max- 
 well «fe Armstrong may have guilty goods of some 
 one else. That does not bind us. It strikes me 
 that they have got to confine their evidence to 
 these alleged smuggled goods. They cannot trav- 
 erse over the market. If you go into evidence it 
 opens quite a wide field." 
 
 Mr. Wellington replied to this by saying: "In 
 the first place we will show that some of the dia- 
 monds seized and now held by these parties were 
 offered for sale by Maxwell and identified as such. 
 We propose to show that immediately after the 
 arrival of these parties and of these stones that 
 we have shown in Canada they were offered by the 
 agent of this man Lasar at prices that honestly 
 imported diamonds could not be introduced into 
 the market; that these very stones thus offered 
 and sold by Maxwell were paid for to Lasar and 
 the payment acknowledged by him at these prices, 
 and that the legal inference and presumption that
 
 14-1: DEFRAUDING THE GOVERNMENT 
 
 arises when stones are offered at such value and 
 the contemporaneous circumstances are such that 
 the jury and Your Honor will have the right to 
 presume that they were thus introduced. Further 
 than that, that this man Maxwell was the man in, 
 possession of the property, or semi-possession of 
 the very property seized, and that some of these 
 diamonds, the same numbers and characters that 
 were seized and that were shipped from the other 
 side, were the stones offered by him to various 
 merchants. We can only do it step by step, and 
 one link in the chain of evidence is this offer for 
 sale and this payment to Lasar." 
 
 Judge Brown said: ^'I must assume that the 
 proof of the relation between parties circum- 
 stanced as the claimant and those who may have 
 been with him is not always the most easy, and that 
 any evidence which has a bearing to show a rela- 
 tion between them is competent for showing the 
 relation, whether of agency or whatever it may 
 be. 
 
 ''I assume that Maxwell & Armstrong would not 
 be very willing witnesses if they were called here. 
 The Government is not bound to put them on the 
 stand as the only way by which the relation be- 
 tween them and Lasnr, if there be any, can be 
 proven. I do not think I can exclude it." 
 
 The witness was called upon to identify a check 
 drawn in payment of the purchase from Maxwell. 
 The check was made out to the order of M. J,
 
 THE LASAR DIAMOND CASE 145 
 
 Lasar. He said that it was the check he had sent 
 to pay for the purchase. He likewise identified 
 a bill or statement of the amount of the purchase 
 which had come back to him receipted with the 
 signature of Lasar. To the question as to why he 
 had made out the check to Mr. Lasar, the witness 
 answered that it was because Lasar was the seller 
 of the goods. Mr. Wellington then asked the fol- 
 lowing pertinent questions, which, with the an- 
 swers, must be given to show that Lasar had en- 
 gaged in this final end of his dishonest transac- 
 tion: 
 
 ''How many brilliants did you buy at the time 
 of this purchase from Mr. Maxwell or through Mr. 
 Maxwell?" 
 
 "Ninety-four brilliants." 
 
 ** What description of diamonds were they! Can 
 you tell the color and size 1 ' ' 
 
 ''They were what are called light two-grainers 
 in the trade. A quantity of diamonds were exhib- 
 ited to me. I should imagine they represented a 
 value anywhere from fifty thousand dollars to one 
 hundred thousand dollars. Generally the stones 
 I saw were very small stones, very large stones, 
 very imperfect stones, slightly imperfect stones, 
 perfect stones or nearly perfect stones, yellow, 
 brown and blue-white. The stones I bought were 
 obtained by me for thirty-seven dollars per carat. ' ' 
 
 Following a long wrangle as to the question of 
 the witness being competent to decide upon the
 
 14G DEFRAUDING THE GOVERNMENT 
 
 value of diamonds, considering the market's fluc- 
 tuations, the court decided that he was qualified 
 to answer. 
 
 "What was the value of these diamonds in this 
 market, duty jjaid, in your judgment, per carat?" 
 
 "My opinion at the time was that with the pay- 
 ment of duties they would cost about that price to 
 lay down here. From information we had at that 
 time I should judge that it would have been about 
 our cost if we had paid duty on the goods." 
 
 This conveyed the inference that the goods, if 
 duty had been jDaid, could not have been sold with 
 profit at thirty-seven dollars the carat. 
 
 * ' Did you ever again see any of the goods which 
 Maxwell showed to you and which you did not pur- 
 chase?" 
 
 "Yes, at the Collector's office in the Custom 
 House. I recognized two small papers which I 
 had examined very carefully when they were 
 shown to me by Mr. Maxwell." 
 
 "When Maxwell offered you these diamonds for 
 sale what did he say to you about these dia- 
 monds?" 
 
 The diamond merchant was about to answer, 
 when counsel for Lasar raised an objection on the 
 ground that no connection had been established 
 between Maxwell and Lasar. The court said : 
 
 "I think there is an association established be- 
 tween the diamonds purchased and the lots seized. 
 It is sufficient, as resi3ects these diamonds, to ad-
 
 THE LASAR DIAMOND CASE 147 
 
 mit the conversation of the witness with the man 
 who had possession of them at the time when they 
 were shown and when the sale was made. The 
 possession and handling of the goods is presmned 
 to be with the consent of anybody that comes in 
 as claimant, and that presumption holds until 
 there is some contrary evidence. 
 
 "You may show that these goods were surrep- 
 titiously obtained by Maxwell — that they were 
 stolen. Until something of the kind is shown the 
 presumption is that the person having possession 
 of the i^roperty has them with the consent of the 
 owner. Such person's conversation and acts are 
 a part of res gestce and are admitted." 
 
 This decision admitted the original question as 
 to what Maxwell had said as to the ownership of 
 the goods at the time of the sale. The witness an- 
 swered as follows : 
 
 "Mr. Maxwell said he was very anxious to sell 
 me some goods, as ]\rr, Lasar had quite some goods 
 on hand. Maxwell said that he intended to leave 
 Lasar about December 1 to go into business for 
 himself, and that Mr. Lasar had asked him to dis- 
 pose of as many of these goods as jDOSsible before 
 he left, as he was a very good salesman and could 
 sell more goods than Mr. Lasar. There was no 
 talk of ownership. He simply said that he was 
 selling these goods for Mr. Lasar. ' ' 
 
 ' ' I renew my offer of these two diamond wrap- 
 per papers as a part of the transaction, as com-
 
 148 DEFRAUDING THE GOVERNMENT 
 
 petent as merging into the sale," announced Mr. 
 Wellington. 
 
 ''We renew our objection," said Mr. Crane. 
 
 The court made the following decision regard- 
 ing the two papers : 
 
 ' ' I will receive them. I will receive all of theso 
 papers except the signature of Mr. Lasar, for 
 nothing more than as showing that these papers 
 passed between the parties in this dealing with 
 reference to these diamonds. Therefore they do 
 not operate as a receipt. The signature of Lasar 
 is not received in evidence. That leaves it open 
 to the jury, if they should act upon them, to say 
 that the signature is not that of Lasar. That is a 
 possibility." 
 
 ' ' I think we ought to interpose the objection to 
 the check, particularly on the ground that the 
 paper is not complete," said Mr. Crane. "It ap- 
 pears something is torn away from it — the signa- 
 ture, I suppose. If it is to go in evidence, that is 
 an objection I want specially noted on the min- 
 utes." 
 
 "Mr. ," said Mr. Wellington, "this paper 
 
 seems to have some marks of cancellation at the 
 bottom. Can you explain that?" 
 
 "When our checks are returned from the bank, 
 after they are looked over we generally cut off the 
 signature. In the ordinary course of business I 
 suppose it was done in that way. The name of our 
 firm was originally on the check, and that was the
 
 THE LASAR DIAMOND CASE 149 
 
 name in which the bill was rendered. The check 
 will show that we got a deduction of four per cent, 
 on that bill of goods." 
 
 Mr. Crane then took the witness in hand for his 
 cross-examination, and these interesting facts 
 came out: 
 
 *'You have had considerable business dealings 
 with Mr. Lasar in years past, haven't you?" 
 
 "I have not." 
 
 ' ' Did you ever sell any of your goods at cost ? ' ' 
 
 ''Possibly." 
 
 ' ' So that there was nothing extraordinary in the 
 fact of your making a purchase from Lasar, know- 
 ing that he was in the trade?" 
 
 ""Well, if we were to sell goods at the cost, it 
 would be goods that were not staple. These goods 
 were staple goods." 
 
 ''That is not the question I asked you. I asked 
 if there was anything extraordinary in your buy- 
 ing a bill of goods from Lasar. I move to strike 
 the answer out as not responsive. ' ' 
 
 "I think it is," said the court. 
 
 "The goods you saw in the Appraiser's office 
 you say you recognized ? ' ' 
 
 "Yes. They were a peculiar class of goods not 
 very often seen in the market, of this color. They 
 were very finely cut." 
 
 "You have seen other goods of the same kind 
 in the market before, haven't you?" 
 
 "I have very seldom seen this class of goods
 
 150 DEFRAUDING THE GOVERNMENT 
 
 the same as the two papers were, as finely cut and 
 as clean and as perfect as these two papers were.'* 
 
 ' ' Have you ever seen goods of the same kind ? ' ' 
 
 '*No, I cannot remember that I have seen any 
 goods just of this description. They were of a 
 very, very light brown and they were cut very 
 fine. They were very shallow and the stones were 
 perfect, and I examined them very closely at my 
 office, especially as Mr. Maxwell had told me that 
 some other firm had made some offers on them, 
 and I liked the goods, and so I examined them 
 very closely." 
 
 ''Will you swear positively that the goods which 
 you saw in the Appraiser's office were the same 
 whicli you were shown at the time of the pur- 
 chase ? ' ' 
 
 "I can correctly and conscientiously swear that 
 these goods were, in my opinion, the same. ' ' 
 
 The witness was then turned over to Mr. Wel- 
 lington for re-direct examination, and he was 
 asked by that lawyer how the goods were exhib- 
 ited to him by Mr, Maxwell. He said that they 
 were contained in two black wallets, and upon 
 being shown the wallets taken from Lasar's safe 
 at the time of the seizure and asked if the wallets 
 shown to him were like the ones then exhibited, he 
 replied that they were similar. They were ordi- 
 nary diamond dealers' wallets, he added, but he 
 was unable to swear that the wallets shown him
 
 THE LASAR DIAMOND CASE 151 
 
 in court were the identical ones he saw when in 
 the company of Maxwell. 
 
 To establish the fact that the diamonds seized 
 from Lasar were worth a certain sum of money, 
 and were the identical stones that he appraised 
 to get this value, the Government produced on the 
 stand the late Gen. George W. Mindil, an ex- 
 aminer of precious stones at the Public Stores. 
 Notwithstanding the fact that Mindil had spent 
 more than twenty-five years in the trade, both as 
 proprietor of a large establishment and as an em- 
 l^loyee of the Government as an expert of dia- 
 monds, the counsel for the claimant dug up all 
 sorts of supposititious eases to try to make it ap- 
 pear that the aged expert did not know any too 
 much about precious stones. In this case Mr. 
 Lasar 's lawyer failed, for the reason that Mindil 
 was a peer in his own line of work and had few 
 equals in the world. Mr. Danby conducted the 
 inquiry for the Government. The witness said 
 that he remembered distinctly making an examina- 
 tion of the diamonds claimed by Mr. Lasar, and 
 that following the examination he made a report 
 to tlie Collector of the Port on December 11, 1897. 
 The examination took place at his office in the 
 Public Stores, and he figured it out that the for- 
 eign value of the diamonds claimed by Lasar was 
 $52,712.18, to which would have to be added ten 
 per cent, for duty, if paid. He examined fifty 
 packages of diamonds, the witness said, and he
 
 152 DEFRAUDING THE GOVERNMENT 
 
 filed papers as to the value of each package and 
 the weight of the same. 
 
 There were other precious stones, consisting of 
 rubies, opals, sapphires and emeralds, in the pack- 
 ages, and he recalled from memory that the opals 
 numbered eighty-two. In his statement of the ap- 
 praisement he devoted the first column to the 
 numbers found upon the papers containing the 
 diamonds. The second column of figures was given 
 over to the weights marked upon the same papers, 
 and these weights were verified by actual weight 
 on the scales. The third and last column in his 
 statement to the Collector contained, the witness 
 said, the figures per carat as he estimated their 
 value and the sum total. All the diamonds were 
 cut, but unset. The whole was a very fair lot of 
 goods, such as are commercially in the market at 
 all times. 
 
 General Wellington then asked the witness : * ' At 
 the time you made the examination and drew up 
 a rough memorandum from which your official 
 statement was made, you carefully noted in your 
 rough memorandum the particulars as appear 
 here, and you afterwards compared them your- 
 self?" 
 
 ''Yes," said General Mindil. "In addition I 
 weighed the stones myself, in the presence of Mr. 
 Lasar and an expert he brought along, so that 
 there would be no trouble as to the agreement of
 
 THE LASAR DIAMOND CASE 153 
 
 prices and weights. I consider the figures as set 
 forth by me to be absolutely correct." 
 
 Mr. Daniels asked the witness : ''Is it not a fact 
 that in a number of instances your scales showed 
 a difference in weight in carats from the weight 
 in carats as stated upon the packages, and that 
 you accounted for it at the time by the fact that 
 the scales were not alike?" 
 
 "If there was such a case, it was a very imma- 
 terial matter and would not affect the whole in- 
 voice five dollars, ' ' responded the witness. 
 
 "Is there not a variance in diamond scales'?" 
 continued Mr. Daniels. 
 
 "I have found in my experience from day to 
 day — we pass through millions of diamonds a 
 month — sometimes there is a trifling variation be- 
 tween diamonds weighed in Paris upon the French 
 scales and those weighed in Amsterdam upon the 
 Dutch scales. Of course, we weigh by our scales 
 here." 
 
 "General, when you examined these diamonds 
 at the Custom House prior to their being bonded 
 did you recognize any of them as having been ap- 
 praised by you as having been duly entered at any 
 time before I" - 
 
 "That is only a presumption on my part," 
 stated the witness. 
 
 "On cross-examination I am entitled to you]- 
 presumption," sententiously remarked Mr. Dan- 
 iels,
 
 154 DEFRAUDING THE GOVERNMENT 
 
 Mr. Danby interposed an objection, but tlie 
 court allowed the question for the time. Mr. Dan- 
 iels, however, twisted the question around to suit 
 his own ideas, and Mr. Wellington objected, the 
 court ruling that the answer could not be allowed 
 unless the counsel for the claimant showed that 
 the witness' presumption made some difference 
 in the performance of his duty. 
 
 Mr. Daniels then said: ''No. I want to show 
 that some of these diamonds were duly and prop- 
 erly entered at the Custom House and that duty 
 was paid upon them. We seek to bring out that 
 the diamonds were not smuggled." 
 
 *'No," said Mr. Wellington, ''you desire to do 
 nothing of the kind. What you seek to show is 
 that there are eleven or twelve numbers here ; that 
 it is conceded on the part of the Government that 
 they, or a portion of them, were properly entered 
 of these seized numbers. Now, there will be no 
 controversy about that. We propose to show that 
 ourselves, and if that is the object, we can shorten 
 this argument." 
 
 ' ' My friend wants me to admit that all but these 
 twelve numbers were smuggled. I won't admit it, 
 because tliat is confessing guilt. If he wants to 
 make that concession, possibly I won't ask any- 
 thing further." 
 
 "We are perfectly willing to concede that a 
 portion of the twelve packages did come in prop- 
 erly and pay duties. Some of them we could not
 
 THE LASAR DIAMOND CASE irjf) 
 
 exactly identify or trace, and we are of the opin- 
 ion, and we have assumed, myself and associates, 
 that these first eleven numbers were properly im- 
 l)orted. It is an entirely distinct body, with distinct 
 numbers separate from the others, and, as far as 
 we could find among those seized, we deemed that 
 they were properly imported and that they had 
 paid duty. The contents of some of them we 
 could not be sure about, because they were not 
 there. They had been sold or disappeared. 
 
 ''Here is the entry of Maxwell & Armstrong, 
 which I herewith hand to the court, and admit that 
 Nos. 1 to 11 were duly entered and duties paid on 
 them. The difficulty that we find in admitting the 
 whole eleven is that in ten and eleven we do not 
 find the corresponding weights, values and pricen 
 among those seized. We assume that those prob- 
 ably had been sold and were not there when we 
 made the seizure. No forfeiture will be claimed 
 as to this portion." 
 
 Mr. Daniels then put this conundrum to General 
 Mindil : 
 
 "Suppose a lot of diamonds of a certain weight 
 passed through your hands as a Government offi- 
 cial, then left your hands and were handed to you 
 again the following day intact — would you be able 
 to swear positively that it was the same lot that 
 you had handled the day before ? ' ' 
 
 * ' If the number of stones were the same, and tho 
 weight tallied exactly, it would be very strongly
 
 156 DEFRAUDING THE GOVERNMENT 
 
 presumiDtive that tliey were the same," was the 
 answer of the witness. 
 
 "But yon would not be able to swear positively, 
 would you, as a fact!" persisted the lawyer for 
 Lasar. 
 
 "No, I don't think anybody would — not where 
 it was a large lot." 
 
 General Wellington interposed and appealed to 
 the court, saying that the lawyer for the claimant 
 was trying to make General Mindil his own wit- 
 ness as a general expert on the question of dia- 
 monds, whereas the Government had simply called 
 the witness to show that stones in certain papers, 
 weighing certain amounts, were of certain values. 
 Mr. Daniels admitted that he was making the Gen- 
 eral his own witness, and that he was perfectly 
 willing to assume the responsibility, inasmuch as 
 he had great faith in his ability as an expert. The 
 court thought that the claimant's counsel should 
 be given some leeway. General Wellington then 
 asked the witness : 
 
 ' ' Now, you say you could not positively identify 
 the same lot, but presumptively if you found 
 twenty, thirty or forty brilliants of a peculiar 
 shade or color associated together, of a certain 
 "size and weight, did you ever figure out mathe- 
 matically how often exactly that color, weight and 
 association would probably be put together in the 
 transaction of business in life?"
 
 THE LASAR DIAMOND CASE 157 
 
 **I don't think ii; ever could be i3ut together," 
 was the reply of the diamond expert. 
 
 ' ' But does not the presumption become a strong 
 one that, if you find exactly the colors and exactly 
 the size," insisted the United States attorney, 
 ''it was the same package? I mean, if you exam- 
 ine to-day, and find an association of diamonds of 
 a certain shade of color — brown, blue or pure 
 white — and of exact weight, carefully weighed by 
 diamond scales, and you run across exactly the 
 same thing to-morrow, exactly the same color, the 
 same number of diamonds and the same weight, 
 did you ever figure out mathematically the proba- 
 bilities that it was exactly the same package?" 
 
 ' ' No, I have never figured it out. ' ' 
 
 ''Is not the presumption so strong that in your 
 mind as an expert you would say you had no doubt 
 that they were the same?" 
 
 When the court had overruled an objection filed 
 by Mr. Daniels, the appraiser of diamonds made 
 reply. 
 
 "I would not have any doubt about it." 
 
 "Still, it would amount to a presumption only?" 
 inquired Mr. Daniels in his most persuasive voice. 
 
 "It would be so strong a presumption that it 
 would amount in my mind to a conviction," was 
 what the witness said. 
 
 "General Mindil," inquired the United States 
 attorney, "during your thirty years' experience 
 in the jewelry business and your three years as
 
 158 DEFRAUDING THE GOVERNMENT 
 
 examiner for the Government did you ever see 
 two separate packages of diamonds, a collection 
 and association of diamonds, say, of thirty or 
 forty in number, that you knew to be a distinct 
 association and collection of purchase, that were 
 of exactly the same number of diamonds, the same 
 weight and same packing?" 
 
 *'No, sir," was the answer of the witness, given 
 without the slightest hesitation. 
 
 Mr. Daniels then asked the expert on gems: 
 "You said that the presumption would be so 
 strong in your mind, if the package contained the 
 same number and each diamond the same weight, 
 each diamond the same shade of color and each 
 diamond the same configuration, that it would 
 amount to a conviction. Is not that simply saying 
 that if the diamonds are the same they are the 
 same ? ' ' 
 
 ''Well," replied General Mindil, ''I mean to 
 say that if I saw a lot of diamonds to-day, com- 
 prising forty stones, weighing forty and one-quar- 
 ter carats, the same size, color, the same config- 
 uration, the same polishing, and I saw that same 
 lot to-morrow, I should say it was the same lot." 
 
 ''But if there was any change in it, even of the 
 fraction of a carat, you could not say they were 
 the same, could you?" 
 
 "Yes; there might be an error in the weight 
 from the preceding day." 
 
 "But assuming there is no special mark or flaw
 
 THE LASAR DIAMOND CASE 159 
 
 on a diamond to call special attention to it, is there 
 any positive way of identifying it except by mak- 
 ing a plaster of paris cast?" 
 
 ''If it is a perfect stone in every respect, there 
 might be another stone very much like it. You 
 could not carry it in your mind for a day or two." 
 
 General Wellington asked the witness : ' ' The 
 Judge has been asking you about the value of 
 stones. How is that value fixed!" 
 
 "By the trade, and that depends upon the sup- 
 ply and demand." 
 
 "Is there any particular locality or any par- 
 ticular guild that fixes from time to time, to your 
 knowledge, the value of cut or polished dia- 
 monds!" 
 
 ' ' There is not, as to the general transactions in 
 them. With the uncut it is different. ' ' 
 
 "Whereis that fixed?" 
 
 "Well, there is a sjmdicate in control of them, 
 practically, on the other side." 
 
 "Now, is it or is it not true that it is about the 
 rarest thing in the world to find a pure and per- 
 fect diamond that lias not some distinguishing 
 mark about it, or defect, if you please!" 
 
 "Yes, they are very rare." 
 
 "These stones that pass for perfect stones, sold 
 as such, upon a critical examination by an expert, 
 can they not always point out some speck, some 
 little jar, if you will, or some trace that identifir^r;
 
 160 DEFRAUDING THE GOVERNMENT 
 
 that from any other stone about the same qual- 
 ity?" 
 
 "Generally, but not always." 
 
 ''How often would you say, in a purchase of 
 ten thousand dollars ' worth of so-called pure bril- 
 liants, you would find among those — how many 
 would be absolutely perfect, in your experience?" 
 
 "I could not tell what proportion of them would 
 be absolutely perfect. I would not like to say the 
 proportion. They might be all perfect. If they 
 were selected by an expert, in the first place, with 
 a view to perfection, they might be all perfect. 
 I can imagine a line of perfect diamonds being 
 put in front of me by many of our Maiden Lane 
 houses, if they set out to do that. They would 
 know how to do it, and would select them on a 
 large enough scale to collect a certain number of 
 perfect stones and then put them in a paper to- 
 gether, and they might be an absolutely perfect 
 set of diamonds." 
 
 ' ' Did you ever see such a collection ? " 
 
 ''I don't think I have." 
 
 ''And among so-called perfect stones being dealt 
 with in the trade, what proportion are absolutely 
 perfect, or what proportion have some marks, de- 
 fects, or what would you call those that you saw 
 in the packages 1 ' ' 
 
 "Flaws or feathers. Taking the general run of 
 the trade, I do not think that more than ten per 
 cent, of the diamonds sold are perfect. ' '
 
 THE LASAR DIAMOND CASE 161 
 
 "You don't mean to swear to this positively?" 
 inquired Mr. Daniels. 
 
 '*I was asked an opinion and I gave it," said the 
 witness. "There are other experts in the room 
 who may differ with me." 
 
 Mr. Wellington asked the witness : " Is it true, 
 true, or is it not true that there are characteristic 
 features about diamonds to experts that are as 
 distinct and informing as the chart characteristic 
 features of a flock of sheep to a farmer; that is, a 
 farmer could go out and pick twenty sheep, look 
 into their faces, their size, weight and fineness of 
 their wool to-day, and, although they be driven 
 ten, twenty or thirty miles, would see that same 
 flock and say, 'I know that is the same flock'; and 
 he is asked, 'Is it by weight?' and say, 'No, not 
 exactly.' 'Is it exactly by the appearance or the 
 way they walk?' and he would say, 'Not exactly, 
 but the general characteristics.' Now, is not the 
 diamond expert just as able to determine and give 
 his opinion with as much positiveness when he 
 finds certain associations of these flaws and colors 
 and numbers, as a farmer in identifying his flock, 
 in your opinion ? ' ' 
 
 General Mindil had replied that such was the 
 case, meaning that, like the farmer, the diamond 
 expert would be able to distinguish precious stones 
 that he had examined before, when a howl of ob- 
 jections filled the air. Judge Brown thought that 
 the witness was unable to answer correctly a hypo-
 
 162 DEFRAUDING THE GOVERNMENT 
 
 thetical case of that kind unless he knew the mind 
 of the farmer and he sustained the objection. The 
 next day, wlien the witness was again on the stand, 
 he surprised the lawyers for Lasar by suddenly 
 announcing : 
 
 *'I have found, since I was here yesterday, the 
 original appraisement, which I thought was de- 
 stroyed, in my own handwriting." 
 
 This was a blessing to the Government's case, 
 and Mr. Danby, quickly taking advantage of the 
 opp6rtunity, said: 
 
 "Then we will offer in evidence the original 
 memorandum made at the time." 
 
 "Wait a moment," said Mr. Daniels, waving his 
 extended hand to Mr. Danby. Then of the witness 
 he inquired : ' ' Didn 't you say yesterday that you 
 thought you had destroyed that paper?" 
 
 "I certainly did," replied General MindLl ; "but 
 I found it, and it is there. I am glad of it, too, 
 because it specifies the emeralds and sapphires 
 and other stones, whereas the Collector's report 
 refers only to them as diamonds and precious 
 stones." 
 
 "Well," concluded Mr. Daniels, with that su- 
 perior air he assumes when he tries to win an 
 argument, ' ' it does not matter whether you found 
 it or not. We object to it. They cannot introduce 
 it," the latter opinion being addressed to the court. 
 
 "It is the act of the witness," remarked His 
 Honor significantly.
 
 THE LASAR DIAMOND CASE 163 
 
 *'Do you examine all the precious stones 
 brought into this port?" asked Mr. Wellington. 
 
 ''I do," said General Mindil. 
 
 ''Have you examined your records to ascertain 
 whether any diamonds imported by Max J. Lasar 
 have ever been submitted to you for examina- 
 tion?" 
 
 "I have gone over my record from January 2, 
 1897, and have found no entry of Max J. Lasar. 
 I have examined none of his goods, with the excep- 
 tion of these in question." 
 
 ' ' Did you, upon the latter examination, find any 
 stones that you recognized, or packages that you 
 recognized as having examined before?" 
 
 ''I did." 
 
 ''What are you trying to prove?" inquired the 
 court. 
 
 "Among the fifty packages of diamonds sub- 
 mitted to him for appraisement at this time," said 
 General Wellington, "he was able to recognize so 
 many of them as having been previously submit- 
 ted to him for appraisal, as having been imported 
 by Maxwell & Armstrong, and were claimed by 
 them as such, and I want to designate those and 
 separate them from the others." 
 
 The court nodded an approval of this procedure, 
 and Mr. Wellington asked the witness if he had 
 examined his records to ascertain if the stones 
 were the same weight and value as the ones that
 
 164 DEFRAUDING THE GOVERNMENT 
 
 had come in previously under the Maxwell & Arm- 
 strong entry. General Mindil answered : 
 
 ''The appraisal I made and set upon them per 
 carat agreed almost identically with the entered 
 value of the goods brought in by Maxwell & Arm- 
 strong, although I think some of the packages 
 were not so full as they were originally. Some had 
 been taken out." 
 
 ''Do you assume that these papers are the same, 
 or that they have changed the wrappers?" asked 
 Judge Brown. 
 
 "I assume this," said Mr. Wellington. "The 
 firm of Maxwell & Armstrong unported certain 
 diamonds. They were removed from the original 
 papers and put into these little packages and these 
 marks were put upon them. But from some of 
 these papers certain diamonds had been sold, so 
 that it was almost impossible for us to designate 
 exactly which ones. AVlien the appraiser was ap- 
 praising them, Mr. Murphy and Mr. Lasar called 
 his attention to some that had been im])orted by 
 Maxwell & Armstrong. The appraiser, however, 
 found the identification sufficiently distinct to con- 
 cede that they were those which he had appraised 
 for that firm on these particular numbers." 
 
 This brought Mr. Murphy into the breach, who 
 said: "I would like to state that what General 
 Wellington states took place there is not the fact. 
 We offered at the time of the appraisement to 
 point out many of these packages upon which duty
 
 THE LASAR DIAMOND CASE 165 
 
 had been paid. Our offer to identify the packages 
 was denied, and we were precluded from specify- 
 ing any of the packages that were appraised at the 
 Appraisers' Stores by the witness on the stand as 
 being diamonds that had been imported and duty 
 paid upon them." 
 
 ' ' General Mindil, will you please state what did 
 occur about letting the counsel and the claimant 
 here point out any goods at the Appraisers' 
 Stores!" asked General Wellington. 
 
 ''The Collector was unusually generous in allow- 
 ing them to see anything in the matter of appraise- 
 ment of that kind. Mr. Lasar brought with him 
 an expert in diamonds, and they examined paper 
 after paper. The expert practically agreed with 
 my valuations. We did not differ five per cent, in 
 our valuations. They were not prevented from 
 seeing the diamonds and pointing out. Now that I 
 have my records here, I do not think that any of 
 the fifty packages here in question were regularly 
 imported and submitted to me last year. ' ' 
 
 "Does Your Honor hold that that statement is 
 in evidence that these diamonds were not properly 
 entered!" asked Mr. Daniels. 
 
 "Simply evidence that none has been sent to 
 him, and he says that there was no other appraiser 
 during the period mentioned," ruled the court.
 
 CHAPTEE VIII 
 
 Although perfectly satisfied with its work of 
 establishing the fact that Lasar had imported the 
 diamonds unlawfully, the Government decided to 
 improve its chance of winning by producing as 
 evidence the depositions of Isidor Solomon, a dia- 
 mond merchant of Amsterdam, Holland, and of 
 Louis Neresheimer, in the diamond trade in Lon- 
 don, from whom the smuggler purchased some of 
 the goods in question while on the other side. That 
 of the Dutch merchant was taken before a United 
 States commissioner in this country, while the 
 sworn statement of Neresheimer was obtained at 
 the American Consulate in London. 
 
 The legal talent representing Lasar raised a 
 storm of protest against the admission into the 
 l)roceedings of these depositions, claiming an ille- 
 gality for the whole thing on the ground that they 
 were not parties to the affair, so far as being pres- 
 ent when the two men affirmed to the truth of the 
 statements. These depositions created more occa- 
 sion for discussion by both sides than any other 
 single feature of the case, but the tempest of words 
 ended in the court admitting both documents. 
 
 166
 
 THE LASAR DIAMOND CASE 167 
 
 In Ms deposition Solomon identified in one of 
 his personal books a memorandum made on the 
 date of a first transaction of a sale of diamonds to 
 Lasar. He likewise identified two paper wrappers, 
 one of glazed paj^er, on which were certain figures, 
 and which he affirmed encircled the package of 
 diamonds which Lasar purchased of him. The 
 court overruled the objections of the claimant's 
 lawyers to the introduction of both exhibits. To 
 the question in the deposition of ''What was the 
 character of the stones purchased that day!" Mr. 
 Crane interposed with an objection that the de- 
 scription of the sale was not shown to be the sale 
 of the merchandise claimed to be the subject mat- 
 ter of the proceeding. The court asked these per- 
 tinent questions : 
 
 ''Are not these a part of the goods seized? Do 
 not these packages have their counterparts in the 
 report of the Appraiser?" 
 
 Mr. Crane said that there was no evidence to 
 show it, but Mr. Wellington insisted that the Gov- 
 ernment had evidence to show that the packages 
 mentioned in the deposition were in the Lasar safe 
 at the time of the seizure, and that the counterparts 
 of them, which were empty, bore figures exactly 
 the same. The court announced that it must re- 
 ceive the testimony. The deposition stated that 
 the first sale to Lasar took place on October 5 and 
 was followed by another on October 7, and by 
 others on subsequent dates.
 
 168 DEFRAUDING THE GOVERNMENT 
 
 When the trial was resumed on the morning of 
 November 16 Mr. Murphy proceeded ^Yith his ar- 
 gument in opposition to the offer by the Govern- 
 ment of the papers and memoranda taken from 
 the safe of Lasar on the grounds that the papers 
 at the time of the seizure did not contain the prop- 
 erty which the Government alleged was illegally 
 imported. Judge Brown said: 
 
 "The particular thing which raised this ques- 
 tion was objection to three wrappers attached to 
 this deposition. There are two that are admitted, 
 and those two papers are the ones which the wit- 
 ness, Solomon, testified were the wrappers that 
 contained certain diamonds which were among 
 those seized. These were the wrappers in which 
 the diamonds were sold, and which passed to the 
 purcliaser along with the diamonds, and he identi- 
 fies them partly by his own marks on the papers 
 and partly by the correspondence with his own 
 entry. It is true that these papers did not contain 
 the diamonds at the time of the seizure. It is con- 
 ceded that they were taken from Lasar 's safe, but 
 in a separate compartment from the compartment 
 in which the diamonds were seized. 
 
 "It is a fair (juestion to submit to the jury that 
 finding the diamonds liere and the papers here in 
 which they were contained when bought, whether 
 they did not come over togetlier — that is to say, 
 transmitted here — and that any change in the 
 wrappers of the diamonds, if the jury believes the
 
 THE LASAR DIAMOND CASE 169 
 
 diamonds were the same lot, was a change made 
 here. The act charged as illegal is the illegal im- 
 portation — an importation without consultation, 
 without entry and without pajmient of duty. In 
 other words, a smuggling operation, which was 
 intended to be so from the very beginning. That 
 is what is charged. They did not consularize or 
 invoice them, because they meant to smuggle them, 
 and they did smuggle them, because they entered 
 clandestinely and without entry. That is the 
 charge. 
 
 "Now, these papers are of some value — great 
 value, possibly, as evidence of identification. I 
 could not decide this question on a mere decision 
 that books and papers possible in certain circum- 
 stances might not be seized, without also saying 
 that, however intimately these particular papers 
 might be connected with the illegal act, just simply 
 because they were evidence they should not be 
 received. Now, it is impossible, I think, to sustain 
 a position like that. If the act is illegal, and you 
 trace it and all that belongs to it in its history, you 
 certainly cannot say that because some of the inci- 
 dents of that act furnish evidence against the 
 goods, or the claimant, that therefore they have 
 got to be excluded. That would be preposterous. 
 In that way you could never prove a case, because 
 you would shut out the evidence which would 
 jn-ove it. 
 
 "That is a very different thing from matters
 
 170 DEFRAUDING THE GOVERNMENT 
 
 Tvliicli are not themselves any part of the illegal 
 act, but which are mere matters of evidence, which 
 are discoverable in a man's house, in his store, 
 desk or files of papers, so that they can't be used 
 for a similar purpose. That is a very different 
 question. A man's house may be his castle. His 
 l^rivate papers, whether in his house or store, are 
 free by the Constitution from unreasonable search 
 and seizure. He cannot be compelled to give evi- 
 dence against himself. 
 
 "Therefore, if you are pursuing mere evidence, 
 and are trying to compel him to produce some- 
 thing which you have not got, you may be limited. 
 Simply because you happen to be there, you can- 
 not turn around and rummage his desk, take his 
 books, his files of papers and letters, and hunt 
 them over, and if you can find anything, appro- 
 priate it and have it here and give it in evidence. 
 
 "A letter written by a man recounting a past 
 transaction would be evidence against him if you 
 could get it rightly, or other correspondence, or 
 his own books in which he has entered these very 
 things, or data which would be very valuable to 
 the Government if they could get it rightly, but 
 in no way connected with the legal ini])()rtation, 
 with the purchase of the goods, with the failure to 
 consularize, or with the act of smuggling and get- 
 ting them into his possession and not entering 
 them. I think I ought to admit those things which 
 are part of the illegal act itself."
 
 THE LASAR DIAMOND CASE 171 
 
 To the admission of the memorandum book of 
 Witness Solomon, Mr. Murphy, for the claimant, 
 formed a number of objections. He insisted that 
 the witness having stated that the book was not 
 an accurate memorandum of his transactions, and 
 not being made on October 5, 7 and 8, the dates of 
 the alleged transaction, it was not a record kept 
 in the regular course of business and should not 
 be admitted. It was rather a book of convenience, 
 and contained notes or memoranda of certain sales 
 jotted down at certain times that might be a day 
 or two after the sales were made. In answer to 
 these claims the court said: 
 
 ' ' The witness knows about the sales, but for the 
 details he relies on this book. In regard to this 
 not being a book of account, it is like my pocket- 
 book would be, containing the entry of figures in 
 precise detail. If they swear that it was made at 
 or about the time, say, it is correct, and their oath 
 is connected with it, it is allowed to go in evidence 
 ex necessitate. On such a point what better proof 
 could be obtainable? It was not made in the pres- 
 ence of Max J. Lasar, it is true, and you are not 
 bound by it any more than you are by any other 
 piece of evidence. Tlie jury may reject the whole 
 if it wishes. The jury is to consider what the wit- 
 ness has said about it." 
 
 While the deposition of Mr, Neresheimer was 
 being read, Mr. Denby offered in evidence an 
 invoice of November 3, 1897, under the name of
 
 172 DEFRAUDING THE GOVERNMENT 
 
 Maxwell & Armstrong, together with the declara- 
 tion covering one box of diamonds, not set, in- 
 voiced at 168,613 francs and 38 centimes, under 
 consular invoice 1078 from Antwerp, October 22, 
 1897. This related to one transaction, the ship- 
 per abroad being Joseph Rester. The invoice con- 
 tained eleven entries, described as brilliants and 
 melles (small diamonds), and the counsel for 
 Lasar tried to make it appear that the Gov- 
 ernment had admitted that the eleven packages 
 of gems protected by the invoice had been 
 illegally seized. Mr. Wellington straightened 
 out the matter by saying that the Govern- 
 ment had found six of the entries of the invoice 
 when the diamonds were seized from Lasar 's safe, 
 and of these six the Government admitted that 
 duty on them had been paid. The others had dis- 
 appeared and were presumably sold. 
 
 It was William H. McCormack, spoken of else- 
 where in this book, who went to England to get the 
 deposition of Neresheimer. McCormack took with 
 him on this trip two packages containing dia- 
 monds and a separate wrapj^er, all of which Neres- 
 heimer identified, the first-named as having been 
 sold to Lasar by him and the paper as having cov- 
 ered the purchased goods. McCormack made the 
 mistake of being present in the American Con- 
 sulate in London when, on May 4, 1898, the depo- 
 sition of Neresheimer was taken. When the dia- 
 monds were being prepared by Collector of the
 
 THE LASAR DIAMOND CASE 173 
 
 Port Bidwell for transmission abroad by McCor- 
 mack, so that Neresheimer might see them, they 
 were carefully sealed up with the wrapper, so that 
 there could be no tampering with them or any 
 such charges made. The diamonds when they 
 started abroad with McCormack were in the con- 
 dition that marked them at the time of the seizure, 
 and they were opened by Neresheimer himself. 
 The stones were worth forty-five hundred dollars. 
 
 Notwithstanding the absolute certainty that the 
 package entrusted to the care of McCormack, who 
 was a special employee of the Treasury Depart- 
 ment, was in no way meddled with during tlie trip 
 gr until it reached the English witness' hands, the 
 counsel for Lasar filed an acre of protests against 
 the admission as evidence of the wrap]:)er. 
 
 Mr. Daniels insisted that he knew of no practice 
 of law which permitted an exhibit to be detached 
 from a commission and brought over and intro- 
 duced in evidence through collateral evidence of 
 an independent witness. The wrapper, he con- 
 tended, was not marked by the commissioner who 
 took the deposition of Neresheimer, nor was it 
 marked by the witness in any shape or form. It 
 was utterly impossible to determine from the com- 
 mission what wrapper was referred to, except that 
 it was a wrapper having the design of a mask and. 
 a seal ring. The wra})per could not be introduced, 
 because it was not identified. 
 
 At great length Mr. Daniels argued, even saying
 
 174 DEFRAUDING THE GOVERNMENT 
 
 that there might have been a substitution if found 
 necessary, but his chief claim against the admis- 
 sion of the wrapper was that he would have no 
 opportunity to cross-examine Mr. Nereslieimer. 
 The court said, in reply to the lawyer's plea: 
 
 *' There is no doubt the way you suggest is the 
 usual form. The only way to prove such a paper 
 as this, or its contents, would be to annex it to the 
 deposition, have it sent over, examined there, 
 sealed up, and still annexed to the deposition, and 
 returned in that way. The only question, how- 
 ever, is, does the law prohibit any other possible 
 way in the case of valuables, like diamonds, which 
 would suffer certainly a rather serious exposure, 
 supposing them to be of value ? 
 
 "The witness says they were of the value of 
 about forty-five hundred dollars — the foreign 
 value. Is it true that the law allows no way of 
 proving that excej^t by annexing it to a commis- 
 sion? I differ with you in my judgment regard- 
 ing the desirability of sending forty-five hundred 
 or five thousand dollars' worth of diamonds at- 
 tached to a commission. I should consider that 
 very risky, if anj^ other way were allowable by 
 law. 
 
 ''I think this testimony should be received. 
 Every dei^osition and all papers attached in reg- 
 ular way are liable to possibilities of fraud and 
 substitution. I do not know of any rule which ac- 
 tually requires that the package shall be annexed
 
 THE LASAR DIAMOND CASE 175 
 
 to the answer. The only question, after all, is one 
 of preserving the rights of the parties by prevent- 
 ing the substitution of one thing for another. 
 
 '*I understand from counsel, besides the testi- 
 mony of the witness, Neresheimer, which stands 
 as any other witness in a cause stands testifying 
 to a fact, as the authority for the truth of the 
 statement, besides his testimony there is addi- 
 tional testimony or circumstances referred to by 
 counsel for the Government that they propose to 
 show that pains have been taken to prevent any 
 substitution or improper meddling with the 
 Ijapers. 
 
 ''I think those are reasonable, and it seems to 
 me there is no such unreasonableness in the 
 course as should condemn it, unless it appears to 
 have been condemned by authority which I am 
 bound to follow. For the purpose of this case, 
 therefore, I think I should admit this testimony." 
 
 McCormack explained that the wrapper and dia- 
 monds were handed to him on April 19, 1898 ; that 
 the diamonds, after he had counted them to see 
 that the right number were there, were sealed in 
 an envelope, and ''have not left my possession 
 from that day to this," as he explained it. Mc- 
 Cormack added under oath that he i3laced the en- 
 veloped diamonds with the wrapper in another 
 and larger envelope, which was in turn sealed up 
 by Henry Small, the secretary for Collector Bid- 
 well. Neresheimer, according to McCormack, was
 
 176 DEFRAUDING THE GOVERNMENT 
 
 handed the sealed envelope at the American Con- 
 snlate in London, and the English witness had the 
 property in his possession while making the an- 
 swers to the interrogatories on the deposition. 
 Neresheimer opened the envelope containing the 
 diamonds and placed them on a desk in front of 
 him while the officials of the Consulate were ask- 
 ing him the necessary questions about them. 
 
 The special agent told at length of the many 
 marks which were on the wrapper when he handed 
 it to Neresheimer, and added that the London dia- 
 mond dealer identified each and every one of these 
 marks and attested to the fact in his deposition. 
 William M. Osborne was the commissioner, and 
 he, too, affixed his seal and attested to Neresheim- 
 er 's signature as to the truth of the document. Mr. 
 Neresheimer put his seal on the envelope contain- 
 ing the diamonds when he lianded them back to 
 McCormack to bring back to this country. 
 
 Mr. Wellington asked that the envelope contain- 
 ing the diamonds be opened while McCormack was 
 on the stand testifying, but the court said that it 
 was unnecessary; that the envelope might remain 
 sealed and kept in court for examination if any- 
 body so desired. At this point Mr. Daniels re- 
 newed his motion to strike out the deposition of 
 Neresheimer on the ground that McCormack was 
 present while it was being taken, and that the spe- 
 cial agent took an active part in it, contrary to 
 law; that Commissioner Osborne was not present
 
 THE LASAR DIAMOND CASE 177 
 
 at the taking of the deposition, but was repre- 
 sented by the vice-consul, Mr. Frigout;and tliat 
 the claimant's counsel were taken by surprise on 
 the evidence of Neresheimer. 
 
 The court thought it peculiar that Commissioner 
 Osborne should have placed his seal upon the pa- 
 pers in question without once being present, and 
 so told the Government lawj^ers. His Honor also 
 pointed out that McCormack was the Govern- 
 ment's witness and that his statement made the 
 situation the more acute. To question the special 
 agent more fully on this important matter he was 
 recalled to the stand later in the trial. McCor- 
 mack stated on this occasion that the Commis- 
 sioner, so far as he knew, had administered no 
 oath to Neresheimer, but that the papers were out 
 of his possession for three days, and in the posses- 
 sion of the Commissioner, he presumed. The court 
 admitted the Neresheimer deposition, neverthe- 
 less.
 
 CHAPTER IX 
 
 The Government produced a number of wit- 
 nesses to corroborate Miss Cruede in her narrative 
 as to Lasar's trip in the Labrador, his presence in 
 Canada, and also the advent of his sister-in-law in 
 Montreal, none of which the lawyers for the smug- 
 gler would admit. One of the first of these witnesses 
 was Thomas Henry Nuttall, a steward of the 
 Labrador, who identified Lasar in court as one of 
 the passengers of the Labrador during October- 
 November, 1897. The steward said that Lasar was 
 known to him as M. J. Lanas, and this name, sup- 
 posed to be his, appeared on the ship's list of pas- 
 sengers, one of which he x^ersonally handed to 
 Lasar at the beginning of the trip. Nuttall like- 
 wise identified Miss Cruede as having been the 
 room companion of Lasar during the voyage. The 
 claimant's counsel endeavored to show that mis- 
 spellings in passenger lists were quite frequent, 
 whereas they are not. The object was to try to 
 show that Lasar did not cross in the Labrador 
 under an assumed name, or, rather, that he j^er- 
 sonally did not desire to. Nuttall settled that 
 point for good, however, by relating how he, as 
 
 178
 
 THE LASAR DIAMOND CASE 179 
 
 steward for Lasar, constantly called and ad- 
 dressed him as "Mr. Lanas" during the trip, and 
 that Lasar never contradicted him. 
 
 To satisfy the jury that it was Mrs. Morris 
 Lasar who was in Montreal about the time her 
 brother-in-law, the smuggler, arrived there in the 
 company of Ivy Cruede, the Government called 
 George Phillips, a clerk in the Windsor Hotel, of 
 that city, to the stand. He was asked if he recalled 
 the fact that a woman arrived at the hotel on No- 
 vember 6, 1897, and registered as Mrs. S. Smith, 
 of Brooklyn. He said he remembered it distinctly 
 and that he assigned her to room 337. He was 
 asked if he saw anywhere in the courtroom a 
 woman who answered to the description of Mrs. 
 Smith. He rei3lied that "the woman dressed in 
 black, sitting over there, ' ' was Mrs. Smith. Then 
 a sensational scene took place. 
 
 Mr. Wellington, addressing himself to counsel 
 for Lasar, asked if they had any objection to hav- 
 ing Mrs. Morris Lasar stand up for identification. 
 Mr. Crane retorted : 
 
 "W^e do. We decidedly object to the lady being 
 compelled to stand." 
 
 "I ask the ladj^ there with the black hair and 
 veil to stand up," requested Mr. Wellington. 
 
 The woman indicated was seated with three oth- 
 ers, but declined to budge. The court then said : 
 
 "General Wellington, if they do not wish to 
 make any admission as to the identity of the per-
 
 180 DEFRAUDING THE GOVERNMENT 
 
 son registering as i\[rs. S. Smith, let the witness 
 go right over and point her out more carefully. I 
 notice that there are more ladies sitting over 
 there." 
 
 Witness Phillips left the stand and, walking 
 down among the lawyers and others gathered in 
 the body of the court, halted in front of Mrs. Sarah 
 Lasar and said : 
 
 "This is the lady." 
 
 The silence was most impressive and the scene 
 altogether very dramatic. The hotel clerk then 
 returned to the witness chair as the learned Judge 
 asked Lasar 's counsel: 
 
 "Is that sufficient indication of the person indi- 
 cated?" 
 
 "An elegant sufficiency," murmured Lawyer 
 Crane. 
 
 "Is she the one that bears that name!" the 
 court wanted to know of Mr. Crane. 
 
 "She is Mrs. Lasar," admitted the lawyer. 
 
 Phillips then identified the register of the Wind- 
 sor Hotel, which was handed to him, and pointed 
 out the signature of Mrs. S. Lasar, alias Mrs. S. 
 Smith. He likewise identified on the following 
 page of the register, under the date of Sunday, 
 November 7, the two names of M. J. Lasar and 
 Miss Lasar. The smuggler was asked to stand up, 
 and the hotel clerk readily identified him as the 
 man who wrote the last-mentioned ontiy in the 
 register on that Sunday, and he identified Miss
 
 THE LASAR DIAMOND CASE 181 
 
 Cruede as the young woman who was in his com- 
 pany, and who was pointed out to him as being 
 Miss Lasar. They had rooms 366 and 368. 
 
 At this point the counsel for Lasar about made 
 up their minds that the jig was up, so far as trying 
 to conceal the fact of the presence in Montreal of 
 Sarah Lasar about the same time that the smug- 
 gler arrived there from England. Mr. Crane arose 
 and said: 
 
 "We concede all this about the signatures of 
 Mrs. S. Smith, Brooklyn, at the Windsor Hotel 
 in Montreal on November 6, and at the Queen's 
 Hotel in the same city the day following, on No- 
 vember 9. We admit nothing, though, as to the 
 identity of the persons or as to the handwriting." 
 
 The witness was asked to identify some of the 
 stationery of the Windsor Hotel, and he did, par- 
 ticularly an envelope bearing a three-cent Cana- 
 dian stamp, dated Montreal by the official postal 
 stamp, and addressed to the Pavonia Hotel, No. 
 
 Chambers Street, New York City, which was 
 
 the establishment of Morris Lasar. The letter and 
 envelope was in the handwriting of Sarah Lasar. 
 
 On the cross-examination of Clerk Phillips by 
 Mr. Crane the latter naturally tried to make it ap- 
 pear strange that the witness should have remem- 
 bered Mrs. S. Smith so thoroughly, when there 
 were some two hundred odd guests in the house. 
 Mr. Crane wanted to know if Mrs. Smith presented 
 any unusual appearance, if she had deported her-
 
 182 DEFRAUDING THE GOVERNMENT 
 
 self in a manner as to attract undue attention, or 
 if there was anything unusual in her behavior that 
 had caused the witness to remember her above all 
 others. 
 
 Mr. Phillips replied that one of the things that 
 struck him as being odd was that the woman, being 
 undoubtedly a Jewess, bore the name of Smith; 
 that she did not speak the best of English; and 
 that, although she had engaged in a long conversa- 
 tion with him regarding weekly rates and the like, 
 he had noticed her in the evening, a few hours 
 after this conversation, purchase a railroad ticket 
 at the ticket office in the hotel. This, indeed, was 
 rather strange, he imagined, as was also the fact 
 that she remained at the hotel one-half day only. 
 
 An attempt was made by Mr. Crane to impress 
 upon the jury that the hotel clerk was really testi- 
 fying as he had been coached to do ; that under a 
 special arrangement with me he was to come here 
 and pick out Mrs. S. Smith as Mrs. Sarah Lasar. 
 In answer to the hundreds of questions fired at 
 him along this line Mr. Phillips said : 
 
 Mr. Weldon, the manager of the Windsor Hotel, 
 had instructed him to come to New York to aid 
 in the identification of the people in question. He 
 was accompanied by another clerk, whose name 
 was MofPatt. He had been spoken to by Mr. Theo- 
 bald regarding the identification, but had not been 
 told what to say. He was quite sure as to his iden- 
 tifications, particularly that of Mrs. Sarah Lasar,
 
 THE LASAR DIAMOND CASE 183 
 
 because be personally assigned the room to ber. 
 There was no talk of compensation regarding his 
 trip with Mr. Theobald, or, for that matter, with 
 anybody else. Mr. Theobald had made all arrange- 
 ments for his coming, but through Manager Wel- 
 don. He was told that the case had something to 
 do with the smuggling of diamonds, but Mr. Theo- 
 bald made no attempt to describe the appearance 
 of Mrs. Smith, whom he was to try to identify. 
 
 The witness continued that during a hearing in 
 the Lasar case, prior to the trial then in progress, 
 he was taken to a room in the Federal Building, 
 where there were half a dozen women, and Mr. 
 Theobald asked him if he was able to identify the 
 person who had written the Smith signature. The 
 witness said that he had no difficulty in doing this, 
 and that he immediately pointed out Mrs. Sarah 
 Lasar as the woman who registered as Mrs. Smith. 
 Nobody exercised any influence, nor was there any 
 endeavor to enable him to make the identification. 
 
 Satisfied that they had proved the presence of 
 the smuggler, his sister-in-law and Miss Cruede in 
 Montreal at one and the same time, the lawyers 
 for the Government called Frank Hough and H. 
 Connolly to establish the claim that Lasar and the 
 English girl had arrived in Jersey City in com- 
 pany of each other. Hough was a clerk in Tay- 
 lor's Hotel and H. Connolly was a bookkeeper in 
 the Hotel Washington, both of that city. Hough 
 testified that about 10 p.m. of November 11, judg-
 
 184 DEFRAUDING THE GOVERNMENT 
 
 ing from the register of Taylor's Hotel, wliicli he 
 identified, Mr. Lasar arrived at the establishment 
 with Miss Cruede. They were in a cab, and drove 
 up to the ladies' entrance. Mr. Lasar registered 
 the name of Miss Cruede, which the witness 
 showed in the register, and, as he was in charge 
 of the desk at the time, he gave the young woman 
 Room 17. Mr. Lasar, the witness added, did not 
 remain there any length of time on this occasion. 
 To use his own language, "He went upstairs with 
 Miss Ciiiede and was there about twenty minutes, 
 I suppose, and then came down." 
 
 AVhile Hough was on the stand five telegrams 
 purporting to have either been sent by or received 
 by Lasar were offered for identification and duly 
 marked, both sides agreeing. These telegrams 
 were for the purpose of extending the proof that 
 Lasar was in Montreal and Jersey City when the 
 Government claimed he was, and also tended to 
 show that one of the telegrams was sent to Mrs. 
 Sarah Lasar. Bookkeeper Connolly identified 
 Lasar as an old patron of the Hotel Washington, 
 and swore that he was a guest of that hostelry on 
 the night of November 11. He came in alone, the 
 witness said, and he personally registered him. 
 He stayed there for two or three weeks after his 
 arrival.
 
 CHAPTER X 
 
 In many big legal cases mucli has depended 
 upon the opinion of the expert in handwriting. 
 There are some who believe that it is possible to 
 disguise one's handwriting so completely that the 
 expert, no matter how proficient, is unable to de- 
 cide with any degree of accuracy that it was 
 penned by one who wrote this or that shown him, 
 and which is admitted to be in the chirography of 
 the person involved. Some of the greatest mur- 
 der cases ever tried in the United States were 
 largely dependent for the conviction of the accused 
 upon the testimony of the expert Jim the Penman. 
 At times these experts have been made a sorry 
 example of by the cross-examiners, but as a gen- 
 eral thing the experts have had the better of the 
 argument, due no doubt to the fact that everybody 
 who writes has certain characteristics or peculiar- 
 ities of hieroglyphics that all attempts at disguise 
 fail to hide. 
 
 In the hope of showing a similarity in the writ- 
 ings of Smuggler Lasar and penmanship in the 
 various hotel registers ho signed, and particularly 
 to establish the fact that the signature of Mrs. 
 
 185
 
 186 DEFRAUDING THE GOVERNMENT 
 
 S. Smith, Brooklyn, as it appeared on the register 
 of the Queen's and Windsor hotels in Montreal, 
 was written by the same hand as that which 
 penned a letter from Montreal to Morris Lasar 
 at the Pavonia Hotel in Manhattan, S. M. Kins- 
 ley, an expert handwriter, was jDroduced by the 
 Government as a witness. 
 
 Sister-in-law Lasar, it may be recalled, became 
 frightened after she reached the Queen's Hotel 
 in Montreal, where she had gone at the request 
 of a letter from the smuggler to her husband, the 
 saloon-keeper. She returned to the metropolis as 
 a result of this fright, but her husband evidently 
 put some backbone into her and had her go back 
 to Montreal, where she went to the Windsor Hotel 
 and met the smuggler. Then she came back to 
 New York with the diamonds which Lasar had 
 brought across the ocean. But while she was in 
 Montreal the first time, and before she became so 
 frightened as to hasten away, she wrote her hus- 
 band about her feelings, fears, and the like, and 
 this was one of the letters found upon the person 
 of the husband when he was arrested. 
 
 Mr. Kinsley was called to express an opinion of 
 the various scrawls. He exiolained, in reply to 
 questions, that he was the editor of Demnan's Art 
 Journal and an examiner of questioned handwrit- 
 ing. His professional experience as a penman ex- 
 tended over a period of fourteen years, he said, 
 and he had been consulted in some three hundred
 
 THE LASAR DIAMOND CASE 187 
 
 cases and had testified in about two hundred of 
 them in the courts of America and Canada. He 
 readily stated that the writing entries of Mrs. S. 
 Smith, Brooklyn, in the registers of the two Mon- 
 treal hotels were by the same hand, and that the 
 letter addressed to Morris Lasar and found upon 
 his person when that individual was taken to the 
 Hotel de Ludlow was written by the same hand 
 that made the Smith entries in the hotel registers. 
 The witness was equally positive as to the writings 
 of Smuggler Lasar, both in Montreal and Jersey 
 City, as applied to the hotel registers, and also as 
 to private letters and certain marks upon diamond 
 papers. 
 
 Naturally this was most disconcerting to the 
 lawyers for Lasar, and they tried to make it ap- 
 pear that handwriting experts were a poor lot, 
 after all, and that the only man who knew to a 
 certainty about Lasar 's writing was Lasar him- 
 self, but unfortunately his word would not be 
 taken. Expert Kinsley compared the various ex- 
 hibits both at home and in court, and was real 
 mean enough to stick to the idea that he had origi- 
 nally formed as to the similarity of the several 
 groups of writings. Mr. Lasar evidently did not 
 realize that he had placed his pen to so many va- 
 rious kinds of papers until Mr. Kinsley began to 
 identify receipts, letters, telegrams, envelopes, dia- 
 mond papers and hotel registers. The word ''sold" 
 as it appeared on the empty diamond wrappers
 
 188 DEFRAUDING THE GOVERNMENT 
 
 was in every instance pronounced by the expert 
 as being in the handwriting of Lasar, indicating 
 how the contents had been disposed of. When 
 it came to his passing judgment on tlie figures 
 marked on these diamond papers, the witness said 
 that he had nothing with which to compare them, 
 but that the "L" in the mark was the same as 
 used in the name Lasar. 
 
 Mr. Crane undertook the cross-examination of 
 Mr. Kinsley, and his first question was : 
 
 ''You say you have had quite an extended ex- 
 perience as an expert in penmanship ? ' ' 
 
 ''Professional penman, author, pen artist and 
 publisher for fourteen years," was the reply of 
 the witness. 
 
 "As a matter of fact the testimony which you 
 give here is only opinion evidence?" 
 
 "That is it exactly." 
 
 "There have been quite a number of cases of 
 differences of opinion among experts as to the 
 genuineness of signatures. Is that so?" 
 
 ' ' Not quite a number. A few, yes. ' ' 
 
 "For instance, the difference of opinion, by way 
 of illustration, as to the writing of the bordereau 
 in the Dreyfus case. There was quite a diversity 
 of opinion in that, was there not?" 
 
 "I have examined it and passed upon it." 
 
 "And the Esterhazy letters — did you examine 
 them?" 
 
 "No, sir, I did not."
 
 THE LASAR DIAMOND CASE 189 
 
 ''But there has been a difference of opinion with 
 regard to those expressed?" 
 
 "There are ten who say Dreyfus did not write 
 it and two who say he did." 
 
 "Now, at the most, Mr. Kinsley — fairly, now, 
 at the most, your opinion as to Mr. Lasar's writing 
 is simply based upon the resemblance between the 
 writings I ' ' 
 
 "Not at all, sir," replied the expert. "I do not 
 go by resemblances. Resemblances we refer to as 
 pictorial or picture only, and I look deeper than 
 that. I put a magnifying glass on and discover 
 the nerve-trembling, the quality of line and the 
 nerve-pressure. It is true that the signatures of 
 men are usually differently written than the body 
 of their writings, and that men adopt different 
 curves, or what may be called peculiarities. Many 
 people have two different signatures. For exam- 
 ple, I do myself. I have my professional signa- 
 ture and then I have a rapid business hand that I 
 make use of. As a rule the majority of people 
 write their names much better than their general 
 writing, but there are others who make hiero- 
 glyphics out of them, so that you cannot tell what 
 it is." 
 
 "The signatures of Mr. Lasar that you had to 
 base your conclusion upon were the signatures 
 attached to official documents?" 
 
 "Yes, sir." 
 
 "And the usual signatures which a man would
 
 190 DEFRAUDING THE GOVERNMENT 
 
 write either at the bottom of a check or at the bot- 
 tom of official papers I ' ' 
 
 ''As a matter of fact," replied Expert Kinsley, 
 "I know that it is not the signature that he writes 
 to a check, because I have compared them with 
 the endorsement on the back of these checks." 
 
 ''Handwriting will differ, will it not, according 
 to the condition of the person writing? That is to 
 say, if the writer be in an excitable mood, or if he 
 is under a nervous strain, or if his nerves are not 
 in a proper, settled condition, his writing will 
 show the effect, as a usual thing?" 
 
 "Yes, the pictorial effect will differ, but the 
 character of the hand cannot be changed even by 
 design." 
 
 "Upon what do you base the opinion that this 
 writing or that writing is Mr. Lasar'sl" 
 
 "I took the two conceded signatures, the one to 
 the receipt for the diamonds and the other to the 
 stipulation, and compared them with other writ- 
 ings — for instance, the signatures to the hotel reg- 
 ister and the telegrams, Tt was on the conceded 
 signatures that I found the characteristics for the 
 word "sold," which word was undoubtedly writ- 
 ten by Mr. Lasar." 
 
 "You assume, then, in coming to your conclu- 
 sion, that the writings on the telegram blanks 
 were genuine wi-itings of Lasar?" 
 
 "No assum})ti()n whatever," returned the wit- 
 ness. "My opinion is very strong on that. Just
 
 THE LASAR DIAMOND CASE 191 
 
 as strong as it is on anything else. I either stand 
 or fall on it all, or not at all. There was no if 
 about it at all." 
 
 "Take the letter M' in 'arrived' in the telegram. 
 Is there any characteristic about that letter *d' 
 that corresponds with the signature of Max J. 
 Lasar?" 
 
 '*No, sir, because the 'd' is not in the signa- 
 ture." 
 
 General Wellington interfered at this point and 
 said to the witness : 
 
 "When he shuts you off as short as that, and 
 it does not express your full meaning, I give you 
 the direction that you are permitted under the 
 rules of evidence, with His Honor's acquiescence, 
 to fully give your answer and not to be shut off 
 by counsel." 
 
 "Do you want to qualifj^ the answer!" asked 
 Mr. Crane. 
 
 "All I intended to say was that the letters you 
 picked out for me are not incorporated in the name 
 Max J. Lasar, and consequently you cannot make 
 a comparison. It is not fair," remonstrated the 
 handwriting expert, who evidently was able to 
 take care of himself. 
 
 "You say that you have seen the same charac- 
 teristics in the handwriting of different persons. 
 How can you, with any degree of certainty, give 
 even an opinion oatli as to the identity of the 
 writing — that is, outside of the retainer?"
 
 192 DEFRAUDING THE GOVERNMENT 
 
 "I am not a lawyer, and I do not have any re- 
 tainer. There is no string tied to me. There is no 
 retention in the matter. To give an opinion in a 
 case like this is almost as certain as mathematics, 
 when you take the height, slant, shape, spacing, 
 and find that they correspond all the way through 
 in two sets of writings. It is simply clear beyond 
 the bounds of all, not only probability, but possi- 
 bility, that no two persons could so incorporate 
 into their handwritings the characteristics that 
 you will find. The writing is full of characters 
 and characteristics, and these are incorporated in 
 the hand by countless repetition, and you cannot 
 throw them off even at will. There is no disguise 
 attempted. Really, as I told the District Attorney, 
 they did not need a handwriting expert." 
 
 "Much depends upon the kind of pen that is 
 used, doesn't it?" inquired Mr. Crane. 
 
 ''That does not destroy the characteristics of 
 the hand, unless you use a club," responded the 
 witness breezily. 
 
 Doubtless the counsel for Mr. Lasar considered 
 the testifying Jim the Penman too tough a nut 
 for them to crack, for when it came to the time 
 for them to re-cross-examine the witness they met- 
 aphorically bowed him from the chair, without 
 even mentioning tlie fact that a chap named Field- 
 ing once remarked that "setting down in writing 
 is a lasting memory." 
 
 To this day Lasar does not know how the Gov-
 
 THE LASAR DIAMOND CASE 193 
 
 ernment managed to get the original telegrams 
 that passed between him and his sister-in-law in 
 Montreal and his hired knaves in the metropolis. 
 I would like to tell them, but it is a state secret.
 
 CHAPTER XI 
 
 It was quite natural for the counsel for Lasar 
 to play the innocent act when it came to the time 
 for summing up. Nobody, therefore, was surprised 
 when Mr. Daniels, clapping huge white wings upon 
 Angel Lasar, sat him upon a golden pedestal, fig- 
 uratively speaking, and addressed the court as 
 follows : 
 
 *'We all feel that the Government has made out 
 no case whatever to entitle it to a decree, and that, 
 therefore, the defense is not called upon to intro- 
 duce any evidence. This conclusion not to call a 
 witness growing out of what we believe to be the 
 insufficient case made by the Government, is 
 strengtliened by the anomalous position in which 
 the defense finds itself. 
 
 "All the witnesses that are material to the de- 
 fense are under indictment. The claimant. Max J. 
 Lasar, is under indictment. His sister-in-law, 
 Sarah Lasar, is under indictment. Her husband, 
 Morris Lasar, is under indictment. John Maxwell 
 is under indictment. If we called any of these as 
 witnesses for the claimant, their going on the stand 
 would be a voluntary act, and anything they said 
 upon the stand, either on direct or cross-examina- 
 
 194
 
 THE LA8AR DIAMOND CASE 195 
 
 tion, anything that might be tortured against them 
 on the record, all of their sayings on the record on 
 cross-examination, could, under the law, be used 
 against them in these indictments. It would be 
 otherwise if they were subpoenaed by the Govern- 
 ment and compelled to go on the stand. Then what 
 they said could not be used against them. 
 
 ''It was a serious responsibility that counsel 
 were confronted with, and we could not advise 
 them under these circumstances that they should 
 go on the stand. Much as we would desire to have 
 them go on the stand, much as we believe that if 
 they went on the stand they could give a theory of 
 this case entirely consistent with innocence, yet 
 it was a dangerous risk they ran. 
 
 "So far as I am personally concerned, I may say 
 that the confession that was introduced of Mr. 
 Maxwell was a complete surprise to me in this 
 case. I had no knowledge of its existence. So far 
 as Miss Cruede's handwriting was concerned, we 
 are confronted with this, that we had no standard 
 by which comparison could be made, and for that 
 reason we were in a situation that we concluded to 
 rest the case without calling any witnesses, and 
 ask Your Honor to direct a verdict in favor of the 
 claimant." 
 
 Which was infinitely amusing, to say the least.
 
 CHAPTEE XII 
 
 In his charge to the jury Judge Brown said : 
 
 "The information in this case is filed under Sec- 
 tion 3082 of the Revised Statutes, which is gener- 
 ally known as the ^Contrary to Law' section, and 
 13rovides for the condemnation of goods that have 
 been knowingly introduced into this country con- 
 trary to law, and also provides that the offender 
 may be fined or imprisoned. 
 
 ''This section provides also that whenever, on 
 a trial for a violation of this section, the claimant 
 is shown to have or to have had possession of such 
 goods, such possession shall be deemed evidence 
 sufficient to authorize conviction, unless the claim- 
 ant shall explain his possession to the satisfaction 
 of the jury. 
 
 "Section 3082 is the one under which this infor- 
 mation has been filed. Another clause of a more 
 recent act, that of June 10, 1890, is in these words : 
 'That in all suits or informations brought where 
 any seizure has been made pursuant to any act 
 providing for the regulation or collection of any 
 duties on imports or tonnage, if the property is 
 claimed by any person, the burden of proof shall 
 
 196
 
 THE LASAR DIAMOND CASE 197 
 
 lie upon the claimant, provided that probable 
 cause is shown for such prosecution, to be judged 
 by the court.' 
 
 "Upon a trialj therefore, of this kind, where 
 property has been seized for a violation of a rev- 
 enue act by being introduced contrary to law, it is 
 sufficient in the first instance for the Government 
 to make out simply so much of a case as the court 
 may consider to be probable cause for the prosecu- 
 tion. In this case the Government might have 
 stopped simply there, had it chosen to do so. It 
 has, however, gone, in mj^ judgment, much beyond 
 that point in the amount and fullness of evidence 
 which it has given upon that general subject. In 
 quite a number of particulars the contention of the 
 Government is substantiated by several different 
 witnesses instead of one. In many particulars, as 
 it appears to the court, there is a union of differ- 
 ent branches of evidence, all pointing to the same 
 conclusion, namely, that a considerable quantity 
 of diamonds was brought over by Mr. Lasar on 
 the Labrador, was sent to New York by his sister- 
 in-law, and afterwards taken to his store, 24 
 Maiden Lane, and there put upon the market and 
 offered for sale and a portion sold in the manner 
 which you have heard described. 
 
 "In the judgment of the court, then, the prob- 
 able cause which is submitted for its decision has 
 been quite fully made out. The court could not, 
 therefore, grant the motion of the claimant to di-
 
 198 DEFRAUDING THE GOVERNMENT 
 
 rect a verdict for the claimant, and that motion is 
 denied. 
 
 ''Under this same section, having found and the 
 court instructing you that probable cause has been 
 shown for the prosecution, and, in the judgment of 
 the court, much more than probable cause — I mean 
 evidence extending much beyond that would con- 
 stitute by itself sufficient prol)able cause — the de- 
 fense is thrown upon the claimant. 
 
 *'The act of 1890 provides that the burden of 
 proof shall lie upon the claimant. This is a pro- 
 vision which in the first instance has been very 
 long the law of the Government — I think since 
 1799, if not in the identical words, in substantially 
 the same form. The meaning of that is that, hav- 
 ing iDroved so much, it shall rest with the claimant 
 to show that these goods came in rightly, were im- 
 ported regularly, that the duties have been paid, 
 and that they were not introduced contrary to 
 law. It is not necessary for us to speculate why 
 that section was enacted, although I think we can 
 see very good reason why such a provision should 
 be in the law. 
 
 ''It is because it is the Government on one side 
 and multitudes on the other. Every man who im- 
 ports goods knows how he imports them. If he 
 does not import them, but buys them, he knows 
 how and when and where he bought them. In 
 other words, the evidence in regard to every spe- 
 cific lot of goods is presumably in the i^ower of
 
 THE LASAR DIAMOND CASE 199 
 
 the claimant to produce. If honestly introduced, 
 there seems to be no reason why the evidence can- 
 not be produced without difficulty. If they are im- 
 ported directly by the person who claims them, he 
 has in the ordinary course of business his evi- 
 dences, his invoices, and he knows by what vessel 
 they come. It is a simple matter to explain it all. 
 
 ''If he bought them, he produces the evidence 
 of his purchases and shows that without difficulty. 
 I say in ordinary cases. I do not say but that some- 
 times there might be a combination of circum- 
 stances in which there might be difficulty, but the 
 cases would be very rare in which it would not be 
 simple and easy to explain the introduction. 
 
 ''The Government, in dealing with thousands 
 and thousands of importations, is at the greatest 
 disadvantage in proving affirmatively how goods 
 that might have been brought in clandestinely, 
 secretly came in. The Government has no means 
 of knowledge. It is comparatively wholly dis- 
 armed. As no evidence has been introduced on the 
 part of the defense, the defense does not take up 
 the burden which the law puts upon it. It is prac- 
 tically, therefore, the same as a default in that re- 
 gard under this provision of the law. As this bur- 
 den of proof has not been taken up by the claim- 
 ant, upon a motion to direct a verdict for the Gov- 
 ernment, it is the duty of the court so to direct, 
 and you are therefore directed to find a verdict 
 for the Government for the goods which are stated
 
 200 DEFRAUDING THE GOVERNMENT 
 
 in the indictment, except for the six packages 
 which you have heard named, and which it is con- 
 ceded were in the invoices of Maxwell & Arm- 
 strong, and which had paid duties, namely, 401, 
 404, 405, 407, 408 and 409. ' ' 
 
 The jury thereupon rendered a verdict, as di- 
 rected, for the United States, and the diamonds 
 were confiscated and afterwards sold at public 
 auction.
 
 CHAPTER XIII 
 
 "She loved me for the dangers I had passed, 
 And I loved her that she did pity them." 
 
 The bards have sung of love for ages, but they 
 have not sufficiently exploited the dangers of love 
 that has a mushroom growth. This is the sky- 
 rocket sort of love, except that sometimes the de- 
 scent of the Cupid stick is not nearly so rapid as 
 is the ascent. There are cases where this sample 
 of spontaneous combustion of loving hearts re- 
 sulted in amorous conflagrations that all the fire- 
 engines of gossip, social order and divine regula- 
 tion could not put out. All of this is preliminary 
 to the relating of the love-story of Elaine Cruede 
 and Lancelot Lasar. 
 
 It is no easy task to decide when Government 
 Witness Ivy Cruede discovered that she loved 
 Government Robber Max J. Lasar. There can 
 be no doubt that she "loved" him for sinister mo- 
 tives only while they were shipmates on the old 
 Labrador, but, as absence makes the heart grow 
 fonder, it may be probable that the fatal dart made 
 her captive during the period of her sequestratio 
 
 as a Government witness. She could not have 
 
 aoi
 
 202 DEFRAUDING THE GOVERNMENT 
 
 loved him while she was in the witness chair. 
 There is a consensus of opinion on that point. 
 
 Miss Cruede on this occasion had practically 
 defied the man in the public court. It may have 
 been play-acting on her part, but it was seemingly 
 very, very real. The mirror of her soul flashed 
 with the language of revenge rather than with 
 that of affection. She had begged the presiding 
 magistrate to permit her to stand alongside the 
 witness chair, that she might the better see Lasar. 
 In her excitement — or it may have been just 
 "business" for dramatic effect — she removed her 
 sailor hat, and as she stood up and pointed her 
 finger defiantly at the smuggler her hair fell over 
 her shoulders, making a scene that has never had 
 an equal on the stage. 
 
 The strange appearance of the witness as, with 
 disheveled hair, flashing eyes and unswerving fin- 
 ger, she called upon her Maker to bear witness 
 that she spoke the truth, did more to influence the 
 jury in its subsequent finding than many suppose. 
 Lasar never had a chance to get back his dia- 
 monds after the woman thus testified. Everything 
 his counsel had done to make him appear a perfect 
 saint on this wicked, designing sphere was scat- 
 tered like cliaff by the spectacular demonstration 
 of the English witness. 
 
 Stranger things were in store for Lasar, how- 
 ever, and he was soon to have a hearty laugh at 
 the expense of the Government, though he knew
 
 THE LASAR DIAMOND CASE 203 
 
 it not when the jury rendered its decree condemn- 
 ing the property that he had tried to smuggle. He 
 looked as white as the driven snow as he left the 
 courtroom with the adverse judgment ringing in 
 his ears. 
 
 The failure of his case meant more to him than 
 the mere loss of fifty-seven thousand dollars' 
 worth of diamonds. This had been what is legally 
 called an in rem case, and the fact that the jury 
 gave it as its opinion that Lasar intended to smug- 
 gle the goods left him open to the penalty of a 
 criminal proceeding that was seemingly sure to 
 follow. Several years' imprisonment stared him 
 in the face as he left the courtroom that day. He 
 certainly looked the part of a miserable, forsaken 
 wretch as he walked half-dazed but woefully alive 
 in the direction of the elevators. 
 
 The Federal Building is built on a triangle at 
 the intersection of Broadway and Park Row. 
 There are elevators at each corner of the big 
 building. During the trial Miss Cruede had come 
 to the building from the Windsor Hotel each day 
 in the company of a Secret Service man. The 
 Government had special reason for keeping the 
 chaperon in the background, expecting an event 
 to happen, but it never did. Max Lasar left the 
 courtroom in the company of his brother, Morris, 
 and the latter 's wife. Miss Cruede and the Wash- 
 ington detective departed by another door. The 
 arch-smuggler was so overcome with emotion that
 
 204 DEFRAUDING THE GOVERNMENT 
 
 lie was unable to talk, but bis brother pressed bis 
 hand and said in tbe presence of a dozen court 
 attaches : 
 
 ''Cheer up, Max. Your time will come. That 
 damn girl did you." 
 
 A tear stole down the smuggler's cheek, his lips 
 trembled, and he mutely pressed his brother's 
 hand. The latter whispered something that was 
 not audible to those gathered around. Quick as a 
 flash the face of Max changed to rage, and he 
 hoarsely said : 
 
 ' ' Never, Morris ! By God, never ! I shall never 
 talk to her again." 
 
 He evidently did not know his own mind, and 
 no wonder, with the awful, wrecking pace that it 
 had been sent during the long trial of fourteen 
 days. The two brothers parted, and Morris with 
 his wife walked in the direction of one of the north 
 elevators to gain the ground floor. Max, unat- 
 tended and with bowed head, started along the 
 lengthy passageway of the Broadway side with 
 the intention of descending to the ground floor in 
 one of the elevators on the south end. The ele- 
 vator, almost filled with human freight, had 
 stopped as he reached the cage-like structure that 
 surrounds it, and he stepped aboard just as the 
 conductor slammed the door. 
 
 Lasar heard a voice say, ' ' You must not. Listen 
 to me," at the instant the car began its descent. 
 He turned his head for a moment. The eyes of
 
 THE LASAR DIAMOND CASE 205 
 
 Ivy Cruede were fixed upon liim. Such a change 
 in a woman's eyes! All the vindictiveness was 
 gone. They were as calm as the sky in the seren- 
 est noon. They spoke, though her tongue was 
 silent — volumes that spoke pity, placability and 
 love. Lasar gulped it all down in an instant. The 
 shadow of the jail was upon him. He was down 
 and out as the world viewed him. The only thing 
 left him was diplomacy and this woman. Both 
 were valuable just then. She was the Govern- 
 ment's trump card. If he again possessed her he 
 might laugh at the jail and locksmiths, as love has 
 often done. 
 
 It happened so quickly that everybody else in 
 the elevator wondered how it really happened. 
 The first intimation that they had of something 
 unusual transpiring was when Ivy Cruede threw 
 her arms around Lasar 's neck. He embraced her 
 and sobbed aloud as if his heart would break. Not 
 a word was spoken, and even the jolt of the car as 
 it struck the ground floor did not awaken the 
 couple from their unholy trance. 
 
 The elevator conductor winked significantly to 
 a post-office employee, the Secret Service man 
 turned black with anger, and one of the lawyers 
 in the recently decided case, who had also been in 
 the elevator, brought from the recesses of his tired 
 brain the words of Lamb, that 
 
 "Man while he loves is never quite depraved, 
 And woman's triumph is a lover saved."
 
 206 DEFRAUDING THE GOVERNMENT 
 
 The Secret Service detective was for stopping 
 the proceeding the moment all three alighted from 
 the elevator car. 
 
 ''You had better go about your business," he 
 said to Lasar, and he said it in no gentle tone. But 
 the woman stepped in, as she did in the days of 
 Adam, and, taking the detective by the arm, she 
 whispered in her most suasive way : 
 
 ''I beg of you not to make a scene here. Re- 
 member how I have suffered. He is more sinned 
 against than sinning. Let him go to the cars with 
 us." 
 
 "No, no," said the detective. ''I told you in 
 the elevator that you must not do it. You diso- 
 beyed me. Now I will get into a devil of a hole." 
 
 Again the woman's eyes changed. They flashed 
 as if a perfect hell was to break loose. The owner 
 of them said : 
 
 ''Well, if you insist upon making a scene, so be 
 it. I will not leave unless you permit him to go 
 to the cars with me. ' ' 
 
 It was a plain ultimatum, and the Secret Ser- 
 vice man saw that the woman's eyes, like those 
 of Mars, were fixed to "threaten and command." 
 He bowed to the inevitable, and the three hurried 
 into the street on the Park Row side. 
 
 The scene in the Federal Building corridor, 
 while seemingly not more public than hundreds 
 enacted there every day, had nevertheless at- 
 tracted many of the curious, and as the trio made
 
 THE LASAR DIAMOND CASE 207 
 
 their way in the direction of a Fourth Avenue car 
 it was to run the gauntlet of as critical a mob as 
 one could wish to see. Lasar's demeanor was 
 markedly Chesterfieldian as he entered the car. 
 He bowed the detective into a seat with the grace 
 of a veteran society woman at a pink tea, and he 
 hinted in his most subtle way that he would be 
 highly offended if the official guide of Miss Cruede 
 refused to let him jiay the fares. 
 
 The obtrusiveness of the man made him persona 
 non grata with the detective, who insisted upon 
 running the programme to his own satisfaction, 
 and, to use a modern expression, he side-tracked 
 the smuggler at every opportunity. Mr. Detec- 
 tive had to go it alone on the journey uptown. 
 Lasar and the Government witness were as indif- 
 ferent to his presence as they were to the family 
 troubles of the motorman in front. They billed 
 and cooed like a couple of Central Park lovers in 
 summertime. Their profound satisfaction with 
 each other was so great that they failed to observe 
 or hear the many rude glances and pointed re- 
 marks of their fellow-passengers. 
 
 One of the things that troubled the detective 
 most on the trip u}) to the Windsor Hotel was 
 how he would communicate the tidings of the new 
 danger to the United States District Attorney 
 without losing sight of the star witness for an in- 
 stant. He was afraid that Lasar, with the remark- 
 able obliquity in his moral composition, would ere-
 
 208 DEFRAUDING THE GOVERNMENT 
 
 ate and rehearse new fabrications and deprive the 
 Government of the use of Miss Cruede. Plan as 
 he might to avert this much-dreaded condition, the 
 detective was unable to hit upon any plan until 
 he reached the Windsor Hotel. 
 
 "I will turn the girl over to her chaperon. She 
 will keep an eye on that fellow," soliloquized the 
 detective. 
 
 The Secret Sei*vice man underestimated the 
 faithfulness of the womanly protector who had 
 been engaged to come to this country with Miss 
 Cruede. She usually kept two eyes on the latter. 
 She had in this instance as many for Lasar. 
 
 The chaperon had never seen Lasar, but photo- 
 graphs of the smuggler had been shown to her 
 from time to time. She recognized him the mo- 
 ment he entered the suite reserved for the witness 
 and herself at the Windsor Hotel. There was no 
 mistaking the look of disgust that overspread the 
 good woman's face as, with Lasar beaming with 
 joy behind her, the misguided witness entered. 
 
 "What does this mean, Ivy? The Government 
 has won its case, and you are to take up with this 
 bad, dreadful man again? Oh, I feared that you 
 were weak. It is too bad, too bad ! ' ' 
 
 Miss Cruede did not make reply, but, removing 
 her jacket with the aid of the gallant Lasar, she 
 rang a call-bell and said : 
 
 "I must have a cup of tea immediately. I am so
 
 THE LASAR DIAMOND CASE 209 
 
 fatigued. Be seated, my dear Mr. Lasar" — the 
 latter with great unction. 
 
 '*He shall do nothing- of the kind," exclaimed 
 the chaperon with considerable warmth. "Oh, 
 Ivy, you are a silly girl. You cannot be in your 
 right senses. You are committing social suicide 
 to take up with that wretch again." 
 
 There was no way of preventing the awful scene 
 that followed. Miss Cruede walked over to where 
 Lasar was seated and kissed him passionately 
 again and again. He put his great, rough arms 
 around her slim waist and pulled her down upon 
 his knee. 
 
 "They will never take you away from me 
 again, ' ' said he, in a tone that was extremely soft 
 for him. 
 
 "Never, never!" Miss Cruede replied. "I love 
 you. Oh, Max, you will never realize how much I 
 have longed for you ! ' ' 
 
 The face of the chaperon was crimson with rage. 
 She was a gentlewoman unaccustomed to scan- 
 dalous scenes that gave an unmarried girl and a 
 libertine a chance to publicly display their liaison, 
 and she blushed for her sex. Yet she had her duty 
 to perform, and, like a true soldier, she deter- 
 mined to remain in the presence of the dissolute 
 couple if she had to be shamed to death for it the 
 next moment. She therefore remained a mute but 
 unsullied witness to the nauseating exhibition of 
 licentiousness that followed.
 
 210 DEFRAUDING THE GOVERNMENT 
 
 The Secret Service man had hurried downstairs 
 to a telephone the moment he left Miss Cruede in 
 charge of the chajoeron. He told General Welling- 
 ton of the conditions prevailing at the hotel, and 
 that official said: 
 
 ' ' Go back to the rooms where they are. If they 
 attempt to leave, arrest both. I will send a man 
 up who will stop their little love affair." 
 
 I was at the Collector's office in the Custom 
 House when General Wellington telephoned and 
 asked me to go straight to the Windsor Hotel. I 
 lost no time in getting uptown, and entered the 
 suite without the formality of an announcement. 
 This is what I saw: 
 
 The chaperon was standing at the foot of a 
 bed, with the Secret Service agent standing near 
 by, with his back to Miss Cruede and Lasar. This 
 precious pair had undisputed possession of the 
 most remote corner of the room. The English wit- 
 ness was comfortably seated in the lap of Lasar, 
 with her arms clasped about his neck. The smug- 
 gler's face was a picture of abject terror when he 
 saw me. 
 
 "What do you want?" demanded Miss Cruede, 
 as she jumped to her feet. 
 
 "I want that man to go away from here," was 
 my reply, as I pointed to the snmggler. 
 
 *'If he goes away I'll go with him," said the 
 misguided woman, adding: "I have made up with 
 Lasar and he has i^romised to marry me. The
 
 THE LASAR DIAMOND CASE 211 
 
 case is over. You have beaten him. You cannot 
 touch him now. I am determined never again to 
 testify against him." 
 
 So Lasar was playing his trump card ! He held 
 the future of that little woman in the palm of his 
 hand. While her eyes were blinded to her folly 
 and his vices there was no hope of saving her. 
 Capturing as he had our most important defenses, 
 it meant the complete downfall of the Government 
 case against him, a criminal proceeding involving 
 imjorisonment from three to five years and a fine 
 of five thousand dollars. His love-making had 
 certainly clogged the wheels of justice, and, 
 whether or not it was a real amour, it truly was a 
 diplomatic investment for the smuggler. I have 
 tried to believe that Lasar had some affection for 
 the girl, but the contrary belief will not down. 
 
 It is just likely he was advised by his friends 
 to renew his "attachment" for the star witness if 
 opportunity offered. He doubtless thought it 
 better to be the head of a dog than the tail of a 
 lion, and, as his kind of ''love" was usually found 
 in the market, he probably considered it profitable 
 to outwit the authorities by holding out to this 
 deluded but confiding woman the glamor of what 
 seemed to her to be bright promises and a ray of 
 sunshine. 
 
 ''What do you mean to do with this woman?" I 
 demanded of Lasar. 
 
 He made no reply, simply grinned at me and
 
 212 DEFRAUDING THE GOVERNMENT 
 
 showed his teeth, I had seen him display his teeth 
 before and knew that he was laughing in his sleeve 
 at me. I turned to Miss Cruede and told her that 
 General Wellington wished to see her and that it 
 was imjDerative that she accompany me at once. 
 
 '•I won't go without Mr. Lasar," she said. 
 
 That was just what I wanted her to insist upon. 
 I rang for a carriage and we drove to the District 
 Attorney's office. Arriving there, Lasar said that 
 he would wait in the corridor until Miss Cruede 
 returned. I told him that he, too, would have to 
 appear before the official, and threatened to cause 
 his arrest unless he did so. 
 
 General Wellington, in that kind, fatherly way 
 for which he is known, did everything in his power 
 to show the Englishwoman the evil of her ways. 
 First he advised, then he begged, and finally he 
 protested, but all in vain. He might just as well 
 have tried to build a dividing wall through the 
 Atlantic as to have parted the foolish woman and 
 her knavish paramour. 
 
 Miss Cruede remained in New York for about 
 three months after this and then went back to 
 Europe, but, as was anticipated by everybody but 
 herself, Lasar did not accompany her abroad. I 
 never saw her again and I never w^ant to. It was 
 a most horrible experience and a thankless piece 
 of work that I had to perform to keep her out of 
 the snares and pitfalls that were set for her. 
 
 The Government did not oppose her departure,
 
 THE LASAR DIAMOND CASE 213 
 
 being satisfied that it would be a waste of energy 
 and time to attempt to get her to testify in any 
 criminal proceeding against Lasar. On the theory 
 that the- fool tries to pick a fly from a mule's hind 
 leg, while the wise man lets out the job to the low- 
 est bidder, General Wellington washed his hands 
 of Max J. Lasar once and forever. 
 
 '0! love is like the rose. 
 And a month it may not see. 
 Ere it withers where it grows."
 
 CHAPTER XIV 
 
 An experience such as Lasar had would have 
 been an absolute check upon the dishonest ambi- 
 tions of the average smuggler, but Max J. Lasar 
 was an extraordinary one. The lesson held out 
 to him was the loss of fifty-seven thousand dollars' 
 worth of diamonds, the sacrifice of a very large 
 sum in counsel fees, the complete loss of his busi- 
 ness, a thorough disgrace through the world-wide 
 publicity that his case enjoyed, the abandonment 
 of friends and credit, the agony of countless sleep- 
 less nights, and, worst of all, the constant pres- 
 ence of that contempt which the world holds for 
 a man when he is caught. This, I repeat, was an 
 experience to satisfy the greatest glutton for 
 wrong-doing. 
 
 But Lasar 's persistence in doing wrong was 
 more than lie could control, if he ever tried. The 
 echoes of his trial had hardly died away when 
 he arrived at Quebec on one of the Dominion Line 
 steamers with more diamonds that he intended to 
 smuggle in his possession. This was in May of 
 1900. I had been warned that he was to try his 
 old tricks and I was on the watch for him. 
 
 Unfortunately he arrived in Canada at a time 
 
 214
 
 THE LASAR DIAMOND CASE 215 
 
 when the Dodge case was on trial befoTe Judge 
 Brown in New York, and, as I was the seizing ofiS- 
 cer in this instance, I was compelled to remain at 
 the Dodge trial. It was due to this that I failed 
 to present myself to the man on his latest and last 
 attempt to rob the United States Government. He 
 fell into competent hands, nevertheless. 
 
 Crossing in the ship, Lasar became acquainted 
 with a young couple who were returning to Amer- 
 ica on their honejTuoon trip. They were Brookljm 
 people, and simple in their love, as many Brooklyn 
 lovers are. The smuggler, with an innate eye to 
 business, thought he saw in the unsophisticated 
 human turtle-doves a chance to "cast an anchor 
 to windward," and during the trip he proposed 
 a chimerical business scheme to the love-rapt 
 bridegroom and the two became quite friendly. 
 
 When the steamer reached Quebec, Lasar sur- 
 prised the couple with the announcement that he 
 was obliged to leave the ship there to go to the 
 interior for a few days. Why he did this was not 
 quite clear to the innocent folk from Brooklyn, 
 but, as they told him that they were to stay several 
 days in Montreal before crossing the Canadian 
 border into the States, he relieved their sorrow in 
 a measure by announcing that in all probability 
 he would see them before they left Montreal. This 
 was agreeable news to the young couple and they 
 seemed j^erfectly satisfied. 
 
 The truth is that Lasar fully intended to go di-
 
 216 DEFRAUDING THE GOVERNMENT 
 
 rect to Montreal with the steamer, but at the pier 
 in Quebec, where the craft berthed for a few hours, 
 he saw, or imagined that he saw, the face of an 
 inquiring mind, and tlie vision was too much for 
 his nerves. He hastily ordered the ship's stew- 
 ards to get his luggage upon the wharf, and, with 
 a great flourish of trumpets and a most effusive 
 farewell of his fellow-voyagers, he disembarked 
 and purchased a railroad ticket for a hole in the 
 wall some hundred miles inland. This was a bit 
 of acting only and intended as a ''throw-off." 
 
 Lasar left the station with the discovery that he 
 was mistaken in the identity of the man he had 
 seen on the pier, and, satisfied that he was not 
 being shadowed, he lost no time in abandoning the 
 train at the second station out. He then proceeded 
 to Montreal by rail and reached that city in ad- 
 vance of the doting pair whose friendship and gul- 
 libility he wished to use. He remained in the back- 
 ground that day, and when he found the Brooklyn 
 lovers at their hotel the day following he was quite 
 careful to omit that he had reached the old lair of 
 bank wreckers before they did. 
 
 "I arrived an hour ago," he said to them, with 
 a great show of comfort that he was once more in 
 their company. "I found that I could get along 
 
 without remaining at for the next few days. 
 
 Besides, I did not want to miss your dear selves." 
 
 The bridegroom liked "taffy" at any hour of 
 the day or night, and tliat he struck at everything
 
 THE LASAR DIAMOND CASE 217 
 
 that Lasar said as does a young bass at his fav- 
 orite bait was excusable in view of the esteem with 
 which he held the smuggler. The favorable opin- 
 ion was likewise shared by the new wife. Both 
 believed Lasar to be most exemjolary in conduct 
 and opinions, and he certainly was on his good 
 behavior while in their company. But, then, it is 
 a simple matter to please some people, when they 
 are neither suspicious nor over-worldly. Lasar was 
 a tough customer, not fit to live, and surely not fit 
 to die, but the pair from the City of Churches 
 knew it not, which fact was their undoing, too. 
 
 A round of pleasure was arranged for the bene- 
 fit of Lasar, and he certainly had a good time for 
 the following few days. The couple had lots of 
 time on their hands and were in no hurry to give 
 up their sight-seeing. As for Lasar, he was anx- 
 ious to get across the border as soon as possible, 
 but he wanted to do it in safety, and he saw in the 
 couple, as he supposed, the means of doing so. He 
 accepted their hospitality without any exhibition 
 of weariness, and said that they would have to let 
 him entertain them when the^^ had crossed the line 
 and reached Buffalo, where, he added, he was well 
 known. This was a truthful statement, for the 
 most indolent detective in the neighborhood of the 
 Niagara knew Lasar to be a rogue and felt justi- 
 fied in "interviewing" him on sight. 
 
 "When we get to Buffalo," Lasar was wont to 
 say to the unsuspecting couple, time and time
 
 218 DEFRAUDING THE GOVERNMENT 
 
 again, "I want to show you everything that is go- 
 ing. ' ' He used to expatiate at length in this wise, 
 usually addressing both of his companions; but 
 on one occasion, the day before all three left Mon- 
 treal to come to the States, he turned to the hus- 
 band and said : 
 
 "You have been so good to me that I shall miss 
 you very much when the trip ends. I want you to 
 let me make your wife a present when we get to 
 Buffalo. Now, I will not take 'no' for an answer. 
 As a matter of fact, I have already selected the 
 gift and it is in my possession. I cannot send it 
 back to the jeweler's." 
 
 The night of the day of Lasar's arrival in Mon- 
 treal I was informed by telegraph that he had 
 come. I immediately called ujd the Government 
 officials at Niagara Falls and also at Buffalo on 
 the long-distance telephone and instructed them 
 to be on the lookout. I tried to get a postpone- 
 ment of the Dodge case, that I might go on and 
 make the seizure personally, but was unable to 
 do so. 
 
 The smuggler and his innocent tools at last left 
 their respective hotels in Montreal to go to Buf- 
 falo. Lasar had called at the couple's hotel an 
 hour before the time set for their departure and 
 took from a hand valise a package as large as a 
 cake of washing soap. He handed this to the 
 bride with the remark : 
 
 "Your present is in this package, but I do not
 
 THE LASAR DIAMOND CASE 219 
 
 want you to see it until we get to Buffalo. It is a 
 piece of jeweliy, and, for fear that the customs 
 officials on the other side of the border might ask 
 a lot of unnecessary questions as to how you got 
 it, I think the best plan is to conceal it somewhere 
 about you. When we get to the other side I'll open 
 the package and give you one of the sweetest pres- 
 ents you ever saw. ' ' 
 
 The heroic effort that the woman made to con- 
 ceal her desire to see the gift there and then was 
 primarily responsible for the fact that she per- 
 mitted herself to indorse the advice of the intrepid 
 Lasar. There is an old Spanish maxim saying, 
 '^Es de vidrio la mtijer" (meaning that woman is 
 made of glass), and how was this lovesick woman 
 to know that the man who stood before her, draw- 
 ing fine pictures of a gift she had never seen, was 
 a most worthy descendant of the famous Ananias ? 
 She did not know, poor little woman, that Lasar 
 had an infatuation for smuggling that amounted 
 to lunacy, and that he was virtuous only when he 
 lacked the opportunity or initiative to be other- 
 wise. 
 
 Even with her misgivings — and she later admit- 
 ted that she had some — the woman looked at her 
 husband, who was present when Lasar made the 
 proposition above quoted. If the husband showed 
 any disinclination to permit his wife to do as sug- 
 gested, he did not do so by word of mouth. His 
 silence seemed a golden guarantee to the wife that
 
 220 DEFRAUDING THE GOVERNMENT 
 
 the idea met with his entire approval, and she took 
 the package and left tlie room. When she liad con- 
 cealed it upon her person she returned to the room, 
 and, feeling as chip])er as a schoolboy at promo- 
 tion time, Lasar hurried from the hotel to catch 
 the train, his two dupes, in blissful expectancy, 
 trailing behind in his wake. They jumped into a 
 convenient carriage and within half an hour were 
 in the railroad car that was to take them to Buf- 
 falo and their doom. 
 
 La Rochefoucauld it was, I believe, who said 
 that it was more disgraceful to distrust than to 
 be deceived. Lasar 's business made him of neces- 
 sity distrust everybody. To him everybody else 
 was wrong. In this respect he was like the woman 
 watching the parade in which her loving spouse 
 participated. "They are all out of step except 
 my Jimmie," was her philosophical way of look- 
 ing at it. So it was with Lasar. Association with 
 dishonest men and not overly-honest women had 
 made him as polluted as a rotten mackerel, and 
 he saw nothing that was good. The couple from 
 Brooklyn were as childlike and bland as virtue 
 itself. While, perhaps, they were more or less led 
 astray with the prospect of receiving something 
 from Lasar, they were also equally unselfish, and 
 their consenting to carry his illicit package across 
 the border was to please Lasar rather than reward 
 themselves. 
 
 Had he been wise enough to trust the couple
 
 THE LASAR DIAMOND CASE 221 
 
 and let them enter the States without the formal- 
 ity of remaining in their company, it is absolutely 
 certain tliat he wonid have succeeded in defraud- 
 ing the Government. But he was afraid to let 
 them out of his sight while the woman had the 
 precious package on her person, although a less 
 sensible man, after even a most hasty glance at 
 the couple, would have seen honesty depicted in 
 great letters on their faces. Lasar, however, came 
 over in the identical car with them, and even con- 
 versed with them in the most self-satisfied way 
 when the customs officials came around to examine 
 their trappings. He might just as well have car- 
 ried the stuff on his own person. 
 
 The disillusionment of the Brooklyn couple 
 when the Government officers stepped up to Lasar 
 and informed him that they were informed that 
 he was bringing dutiable goods into the country 
 ^vithout the formality of making a public declara- 
 tion was tragic to behold, according to authentic 
 reports of eye-witnesses. They had no suspicion 
 that the man was not honest. He had assured 
 them of the fact so often, had seemed to be per- 
 fectly open at all times to investigation, and, more- 
 over, had been so gentlemanly and pleasing, that 
 it was a sad blow to them to find that he was near- 
 ly as black as painted. 
 
 Mr. Bridegroom said he knew that some awful 
 mistake had been made. Mr. Lasar knew differ- 
 ently and said nothing. The bride wanted to
 
 222 DEFEAUDING THE GOVERNMENT 
 
 swoon, but was afraid to, lest the releasing of her 
 stays, wliicli is the usual modus operandi adopted 
 in strenuous events of that kind, should reveal the 
 presence of the identical package that the officials 
 were perhaps looking for. They say that all lovers 
 are lunatics, but this pair were wise for their day. 
 So, while the bridegroom produced voluminous 
 papers to attest to the fact that he personally was 
 a very honest man — a state of existence which was 
 in no way disputed — his young wife, unlike many 
 of her sex, was unable to talk, but did what every 
 woman has done since the flood, sat down and 
 cried. 
 
 The flood of tears swept away the glamor that 
 she had invested in the assurance that Lasar was 
 not guilty of being a smuggler, and she blamed 
 herself for committing her friendship to one of 
 whose antecedents and character she had not even 
 inquired. It was an awful shock to the sensitive 
 bride to be thus held up to public attention by be- 
 ing proclaimed the traveling companion of a pro- 
 fessional Government robber, but the worst was 
 to come, though she knew it not. 
 
 While the j^oung woman was holding her own 
 counsel and struggling with herself to suppress 
 her emotion, her husband, who was sjninky as a 
 dock rat, was saying something like this : 
 
 "Gentlemen, you have made a grievous mistake 
 and owe this man an apology. You are a pack of 
 confounded fools. Gentlemen, do not make a scene.
 
 THE LASAR DIAMOND CASE 223 
 
 A horrible mistake has been made. Oh, you long- 
 eared asses ! I'll make you all sweat for this when 
 I go to Washington." 
 
 And so forth, alternating an appeal with a pro- 
 testation, and a gentle utterance with a violent 
 denunciation. But the stoicism of the officials was 
 not susceptible to threat, asperity or appeal. One 
 of the officials, who knew Lasar from title to dash, 
 was less diplomatic in his utterances than the oth- 
 ers, and said : 
 
 ''This is no mistake. There is not a bigger 
 smuggler on earth, and as a liar he is like Captain 
 Cuttle's watch, 'equaled by few and excelled by 
 none!' " 
 
 The three travelers were taken into a private 
 room of the railroad station at Buffalo and Lasar 
 was searched in the presence of his two compan- 
 ions. Nothing incriminating was found either 
 upon his person or in his baggage. Then Mr. 
 Bridegroom, with many entreaties and much men- 
 acing language on his part, was put through the 
 same examination. It was a heart-straining or- 
 deal on his part, whereas in the case of Lasar the 
 novelty of a search was his many years before. 
 
 The bridegroom, of course, had nothing that the 
 customs officers wanted, and, without expressing 
 any opinion other than a glance at one another, 
 the officers had about concluded that a mistake had 
 really been made, when one of them nodded his 
 head significantly in the direction of the woman.
 
 224 DEFRAUDING THE GOVERNMENT 
 
 ''Don't believe it, Jim," said one of them. ''She 
 seems to be all right and above-board. Why, she's 
 half seared to death to carry any stuff that we 
 want around with her. She hasn't got the heart 
 to do it, I'll wager." 
 
 At that moment, had they known it, the big 
 heart of the little woman was throbbing as if it 
 would break, and with each pulsation forty thou- 
 sand dollars' worth of diamonds were rising and 
 falling. The price of diamonds rose and fell with 
 marvelous irresolution at that moment. Would 
 they, or would they not? The uncertainty was 
 awful. Her heart stopped stark still for an in- 
 stant. It looked as if they intended to have her 
 searched, too. -The price of diamonds was very, 
 very low. No, the three broad-sliouldered men 
 were talking to Lasar again. They had turned 
 their giant-like backs towards her and their de- 
 termined-looking faces were earnestly set upon 
 the real smuggler. The very knowledge quickened 
 her blood and set her heart going again. Once 
 more there was a rise in the price of diamonds. 
 Thump ! thump ! thump ! The real smuggler ! Why, 
 it was she ! Oh ! the very thought of her iniquity 
 was deadly, and again her heart stopped. 
 
 All the color had left the woman's face, and she 
 was unmindful of anything about her, when she 
 heard a faltering voice that seemed familiar say 
 something that sounded like ;
 
 THE LASAR DIAMOND CASE 225 
 
 *'My dear! Awful — shame — insist — search — 
 you. ' ' 
 
 She slirank away as does a delicate skin when it 
 meets a cold draught. Mental torture and physi- 
 cal suffering have a limit, and as a merciful cli- 
 max the woman swooned away. When she came 
 to, a woman was bending over her and, with the 
 practical way of a woman, was fastening her waist. 
 The bride knew that this woman must have seen 
 the package, which had been concealed inside the 
 waist at the top of the corset, and when she heard 
 that the woman was an inspector employed by the 
 Government, she knew that everything was known 
 by one stranger, at least, and that stranger an en- 
 emy. But the bride was brave as she was faith- 
 ful. Perhaps she really believed that she might 
 in some unknown way manage to leave with the 
 package and get the much-promised present. Or 
 
 perhaps she just wanted to be loyal to But 
 
 what is the use of conjecturing? 
 
 "Madam," said one of the customs officials in 
 the most kindly voice, when she had seemingly re- 
 covered her composure — "madam, we do not wish 
 to humiliate you with a search. If you have any- 
 thing in your possession upon which duty has not 
 been made, please turn it over to us. Otherwise 
 we will be obliged to search you to make sure." 
 
 Even this warning was lost upon the woman. 
 The search was then ordered, and the woman in- 
 spector soon ' ' found ' ' the package of diamonds.
 
 226 DEFRAUDING THE GOVERNMENT 
 
 All three were then placed under arrest and 
 subsequent!}^ released upon their own recogni- 
 zance. The Brooklyn couple had no difficulty in 
 proving they had unconsciously been made com- 
 mon carriers for Lasar and were brought to trial. 
 Lasar was held by the Grand Jury of Buffalo 
 under ten thousand dollars bail, and as he did not 
 have a friend on this wide earth to step forward 
 for him, he was unable to obtain a bondsman. He 
 was convicted when the case came to trial and was 
 sentenced to the Erie County jail for a term of six 
 months and an additional fine of one thousand 
 dollars was imposed. To avoid the payment of 
 this fine he served an extra thirty days. 
 
 Immediately upon his release from prison he 
 pleaded so earnestly to be given a show to begin 
 life anew that some of his acquaintances in New 
 York collected a sum of money for him, and he 
 started for Europe as a second-class passenger in 
 one of the Liverpool steamers. I met him one day 
 shortly after this on the Avenue de 1 'Opera, Paris, 
 and he positively took to his heels and ran away. 
 
 The last time the man was in New York he was 
 in a sorry plight. He did not have a penny, nor 
 did he know where his next night's lodging was 
 coming from. lie was in search of a position at 
 the time and looked to be a skeleton of his former 
 self. 
 
 Now that he is down and out, as the expression 
 goes, I pit}^ him from the bottom of my heart. But
 
 THE LASAR DIAMOND CASE 227 
 
 is he entitled to sympatliyl He was his own un- 
 doing. He preferred to be a smuggler to anything 
 else, and the orchard of smuggling is one that 
 bears vainglory blossoms and no fruit. The finan- 
 cial straits of the man and his general condition 
 prove that it is not profitable to try to defraud 
 Uncle Sam. Very rarely do men grow wealthy at 
 the business. They may succeed for a time in pil- 
 ing up considerable money, as did Lasar, but, like 
 him, they must spend it in defending themselves 
 when they are eventually caught. 
 
 I know that at one time Lasar was worth two 
 hundred and fifty thousand dollars, and it is be- 
 lieved by those who know him best that all of this 
 he secured in smuggling. His original capital was 
 only ten thousand dollars, and this was loaned him 
 by a friend, an importer of diamonds, who is lo- 
 cated on Maiden Lane. When Lasar began to 
 smuggle, the duty on diamonds was twenty-five 
 per cent., so that his profits rolled up fast. When 
 I arrested him the duty was only ten per cent. ; but 
 had it been only one per cent., I honestly believe 
 that he would have smuggled just the same. The 
 love of the perilous avocation seemed to be born 
 in him, and he just could not help following his 
 calling. 
 
 I am familiar with several cases in which he 
 acted as common carrier of smuggled diamonds 
 before he went into the business on liis own ac- 
 count. His commission in these instances was
 
 228 DEFRAUDING THE GOVERNMENT 
 
 fi\ e per cent, of the value of what he brought over, 
 the other twenty per cent, defrauded from the 
 Government going to the real owners of the goods. 
 A remarkable fact in this connection is that firms 
 for whom Lasar brought these illegally imported 
 diamonds and other gems were then and still are 
 supposedly respectable brokers in the diamond 
 district. The Government, however, knows who 
 they are, and their time is coming. 
 
 They say Lasar is honest now. I hope the state- 
 ment is true, but, without doing the man any in- 
 justice, it is hard to believe. The fox may grow 
 gray, but never good. His life has certainly been 
 a failure. As a great man once said of another, 
 Lasar has spent his life letting down empty buck- 
 ets into empty wells and trying to draw them up 
 again. 
 
 "I pity him, but must not dare to show it; 
 It adds to some men's misery not to know it."
 
 MRS. MILES' PEARL NECKLACE 
 
 CHAPTER I 
 
 "In all ordinary cases we see intuitively at first view what 
 is our duty, what is the honest part. In these cases doubt 
 and deliberation is of itself dishonesty." — Bishop Butler. 
 
 There was plenty of deliberation in what Mrs. 
 May Miles did, but the jury had its doubt about 
 her doubt. Mrs. Miles' doubt, if she really pos- 
 sessed any, consisted of whether she should de- 
 clare a pearl necklace brought by her from Paris 
 at its alleged purchase price, or if it would be 
 more profitable to her to let the Government em- 
 ployees appraise it. That was her plain, unvar- 
 nished statement of the case. An ungallant jury 
 listened patiently to what Mrs. Miles had to say, 
 and, although she said a lot, the twelve men, for 
 the life of them, were unable to believe that Mrs. 
 Miles was to be believed. As a result this woman 
 is without a pearl necklace, which the court rec- 
 ords, her sworn statement to the contrary, show 
 she deliberately tried to smuggle. 
 
 Mrs. Miles is the wife of Harry Miles, of Balti- 
 
 229
 
 230 DEFRAUDING THE GOVERNMENT 
 
 more. Mr. Miles, according to his own assertion, 
 is a man of means. His cliief identification with 
 the case is that he is the husband of Mrs. Miles, 
 but did not know that she was bringing to this 
 country a new pearl necklace worth $26,013, which 
 she says she purchased abroad. 
 
 The least said about the conditions of this pur- 
 chase, the better all around. They will not bear 
 the scrutiny of a very powerful searchlight. "Be- 
 cause I would live quietly in the world, I hear, and 
 see, and say nothing" on that score. Leaving, 
 then, aside the matter of who purchased the pearl 
 necklace in question, and under what condition 
 payment was made, there is a general agreement 
 that Mrs. Miles arrived in New York July 22, 
 1902, with the necklace, and that she failed to de- 
 clare the same coming up the bay in the steamer, 
 as required by law. Had she done so, many ex- 
 pressions of vituperation and calumny might not 
 have been uttered. 
 
 Mr. and Mrs. Miles went abroad in the summer 
 of 1901. Some time in May of the year following 
 it became necessary for Mr. Miles to hasten back 
 to America. He was not engaged in any business, 
 but his sudden return was for the purpose of at- 
 tending to the details of certain business for his 
 father, who was too aged to attend to them him- 
 self. Mr. Miles left his wife in Paris with their 
 maid. It was two months after the return of her 
 husband that Mrs. Miles decided to start for home.
 
 MRS. MILES' PEARL NECKLACE 231 
 
 I was in the establishment of Tiffany & Co., 36 
 Avenue de I'Opera, Paris, about July 12, 13 or 14, 
 of 1900, when I saw Mrs. Miles for the first time. 
 She was engaged in examining a number of pearl 
 and diamond necklaces when I entered, and I saw 
 her select one which I afterwards seized. The 
 seizure occurred at the pier of the North German 
 Lloyd, following her disembarkation from the 
 steamer America, which had brought her across 
 the ocean, 
 
 Mrs. Miles did not take the rope of pearls in 
 question with her from Tiffany's the day I saw 
 her make the selection. I made sure of that. On 
 this occasion she was seated at a table in the big 
 jewelry emjoorium, and a salesman exhibited nu- 
 merous neck-chains, ''dog-collars" of pearls, neck- 
 laces and ropes of pearls for her benefit. Without 
 her knowledge or consent, I was at her hotel in 
 Paris the day following, when I saw several pack- 
 ages delivered to her by an employee of Tiffany 
 & Co. At the time of the seizure in New York I 
 did not know whether the rope of pearls found on 
 her person was half the size of a chain that I had 
 seen her examine in Paris, but the moment I laid 
 eyes on it I identified it as one of the several neck- 
 laces that were shown to her in the Tiffany shop. 
 
 Mrs. Miles, in her legal fight to recover the prop- 
 erty taken from her by me, swore that she made 
 the purchase of it at her hotel in Paris the night
 
 232 DEFRAUDING THE GOVERNMENT 
 
 preceding her departure from Cherbourg in the 
 steamer America. In this detail I was obliged to 
 disagree with the woman, and her counsel tried 
 to make a mountain out of the fact that we failed 
 to agree on this and a number of other points, im- 
 portant or otherwise, but chiefly the latter. It 
 was quite natural that there should be more or less 
 disparity in our statements, disprovable as the 
 majority of hers were afterwards shown to be. 
 I will, however, let the testimony and evidence 
 decide these points and stick to a straightforward 
 story. 
 
 Before I had even dreamed of meeting Mrs. 
 Miles so soon, I purchased my ticket in Paris to 
 come back to New York on the America. I had no 
 idea that the woman was to be a fellow-passenger 
 until I saw her on the tender in Cherbourg harbor 
 that was taking us to the ocean greyhound, then 
 lying outside near the breakwater. 
 
 I had rather calculated that Mrs. Miles would 
 come home later in the season, and b}^ another ves- 
 sel, it mattered not by what or when, for I felt sat- 
 isfied that I would demand an interview of her con- 
 cerning her jewelry whenever she did arrive on 
 this side. I was inclined to believe that, in addi- 
 tion to a necklace of pearls, she had selected a dog- 
 collar of pearls, but, if she did, I never found it, 
 nor did she give it up. 
 
 The America made an exceptionally fine run 
 across the Atlantic. Many things concerning this
 
 MRS. MILES' PEARL NECKLACE 233 
 
 narrative transpired diu-ing the triji and will be 
 treated when the proper time arrives. One may 
 be told now, however, because of its strong bearing 
 on a statement of Mrs. Miles made on the stand 
 during the trial that followed the seizure. 
 
 When we were three days out, or in mid-ocean, 
 the commanding officer of the America gave a tea 
 in his cabin, and invited fifteen of the six hundred 
 odd passengers on board. Mrs, Miles was one of 
 the favored few and I was another. At this gath- 
 ering many trifling things were said, as is usual 
 at functions of this kind, and during the course of 
 events I was presented to Mrs. Miles-by one of the 
 most popular of the passengers. 
 
 Yet when Mrs. Miles went on the stand she 
 swore that she had never, to her recollection, seen 
 me before the morning on which I presented my- 
 self to her on the steamship pier and asked her to 
 hand over to me the necklace which she received 
 while abroad. I was an utter stranger to her, ac- 
 cording to her well-groomed statement, and she 
 added that she was naturally amazed when I spoke 
 to her. 
 
 I truly and honestly think she was amazed. 
 Dumfounded would better describe her condition 
 at that moment, for she was unable to talk. But 
 Mrs. Miles had her own reason for swearing that 
 she never saw me before that morning, and she 
 swore to it as positively as the Irishman did to the
 
 234 DEFRAUDING THE GOVERNMENT 
 
 identity of the gun which he said he knew ever 
 since it was a pistol. 
 
 I do not think it necessary to say that tbe jury 
 did not believe this or a number of other oaths 
 which the woman made. The verdict shows that. 
 Rather than have any misunderstanding on the 
 score that Mrs. Miles did see me on shipboard 
 during the trip, I am going to relate a little state 
 secret. Perhaps I should not tell it, for Mrs. 
 Miles' sake, but her lawyers were so anxious to 
 make my actions appear in an unfavorable light 
 that I must of necessity defend myself and relate 
 an incident of the trip that did not come out dur- 
 ing the trial. 
 
 Another of our fellow-passengers on the Amer- 
 ica was a ''Dr." Sampson, a man about town, who 
 made a living in dabbling in race horses, faro and 
 other "harmless" amusements of the gambler. 
 This man lately sued the Police Department of 
 New York for damages, claiming that a picture of 
 himself which the police had put in the rogues' 
 gallery had no business there, or something like 
 that. The day before the "tea" in the captain's 
 cabin on the America "Dr." Sampson, with whom 
 I had a slight acquaintance, came to me on the 
 promenade deck and said that Mrs. Miles, who 
 had noticed me several times since the ship left 
 the English Channel, desired to meet me, and that 
 he would be pleased to present me. 
 
 "No, thank you," was my reply. "I do not
 
 MRS. MILES' PEARL NECKLACE 235 
 
 care to meet the lady. Why? I have my own rea- 
 sons." 
 
 I did not then have, nor have I now, the slightest 
 douBt that ''Dr." Sampson was telling the truth. 
 He is a man of the world, with all that the ex- 
 l^ression implies, but his word is as good as his 
 bond, according to those who know him well. Just 
 why Mrs. Miles wished to ''meet" me I am at a 
 loss to conceive, but it is as clear as daylight that 
 I was not the utter stranger that she would have 
 the jury believe. 
 
 "Dr." Sampson is still alive to substantiate 
 what I say, and so is another passenger, a well- 
 known lawyer, who heard what the sporting man 
 said and also the reply that I made. An effort 
 was made at the time to get the gambler to court, 
 but he was absent from the city. There is like- 
 wise another untold incident of the trip to indi- 
 cate that Mrs. Miles was not entirely unaware of 
 my existence before that eventful morning on the 
 X^ier, but it will keep. T will take Emerson's ad- 
 vice in this matter and "Be silent, where reason 
 is not regarded and truth is distasteful." 
 
 Mrs. Miles brought with her back from Paris 
 twenty-one pieces of baggage, nine of which were 
 trunks. While the ship was coming up the bay 
 to her pier, the custom house officials, as was cus- 
 tomary, boarded her from a revenue cutter to take 
 the declarations of the passengers. A deputy col- 
 lector in charge of the division of the customs
 
 236 DEFRAUDING THE GOVERNMENT 
 
 service, a branch that superintends tlie collection 
 of duties on passengers' baggage and the regula- 
 tions relating thereto, was in control of the Gov- 
 ernment work on the America the day she ar- 
 rived. 
 
 Mr. Miles on former trips had made the ac- 
 quaintance of the deputy, and that gentleman had 
 instructed his wife to present herself to the dep- 
 uty on the ship's arrival. This the Baltimore 
 society woman did. The deputy is noted for his 
 kindness to everybody, women in particular, and 
 he took Mrs. Miles on this occasion to a seat in the 
 main saloon, where the passengers had gathered 
 to make their declarations. 
 
 "Take a place at this table," said the deputy to 
 Mrs. Miles. "There are only a few ahead of you, 
 and you may make your declaration to this 
 officer. ' ' 
 
 By this officer the deputy meant an acting dep- 
 uty collector, whose duty that day was to receive 
 passengers' declarations. The acting deputy was 
 at the head of the table, and when Mrs. Miles' 
 time came the official asked her the customary 
 questions as to how much she had expended abroad 
 for wearing apparel, but the society woman was 
 unable to tell him. 
 
 The acting deputy was not satisfied with the 
 answers of the woman and questioned her more 
 fully than is usual. She admitted finally that she 
 had made purchases of wearing apparel during
 
 MRS. MILES' PEARL NECKLACE 237 
 
 her absence, but added that she was unable to 
 state to what value. The officer then made an en- 
 try across the declaration: "wearing apparel 
 — value unknown." The exact phraseology is 
 quoted, because it was the only leg that the de- 
 fense had to stand on when the case came to trial. 
 
 Having thus disposed of the question of wear- 
 ing apparel, the acting deputy collector questioned 
 Mrs, Miles specifically regarding the purchase of 
 articles of personal adornment, but she made no 
 answer. At all events she failed to declare the 
 new jewelry then in her possession. Of this part 
 of the affair the evidence of the acting deputy 
 was: 
 
 Q. Did Mrs. Miles mention to you at the time 
 you took her declaration that she had jjurchased 
 any jewelry abroad? 
 
 A. No, she did not. 
 
 Q. Did you ask her whether she had or not? 
 
 A. I am strongly under the imiDression that I 
 questioned her particularly on that one point. 
 
 Q. But you are sure that she did not mention 
 to you at any time during the process of taking 
 her declaration, and before she signed the declara- 
 tion, that she had purchased any jewelry abroad? 
 Is that right! 
 
 A. Perfectly sure of that. 
 
 The declaration of Mrs. Miles was numbered 
 425, and because the witness had to educate the 
 woman's lawyers as to the modus operandi of re-
 
 238 DEFRAUDING THE GOVERNMENT 
 
 ceiving the statements of incoming passengers, 
 that part of the case was long drawn out and quite 
 tedious. The acting deputy put the woman's dec- 
 hiration with some others that he had taken on 
 the cabin table before him, preparatory to deliv- 
 ering them to another official whose duty it was 
 to collect all the declarations for presentation to 
 the official desk on the j^ier. 
 
 I walked through the saloon shortly before the 
 declarations were removed from the table and 
 picked up the one that Mrs. Miles had made. Her 
 signature affirming to the contents of the paper 
 appeared at the top and the bottom of the docu- 
 ment, but there was no mention of any pearl neck- 
 lace or other valuable jewelry, as the law required. 
 That fact I made mental note of, and afterwards 
 mentioned the fact to the deputy, also saying to 
 him : 
 
 "When Mrs. Miles reaches the pier I wish you 
 would be a witness to what I say." 
 
 The deputy collector assented, and a few mo- 
 ments later I saw Mrs. Miles on the promenade 
 deck, all ready to go ashore. She wore a dark 
 traveling skirt, a white silk shirt-waist under a 
 light jacket, and a French hat. Two costly pearl 
 earrings were in her ears and her ungloved fingers 
 were covered with rings of all descriptions. I 
 make mention of the clothes she wore for the rea- 
 son that the counsel of the woman afterwards tried 
 to make believe that her waist worn that day was
 
 MKS. MILES' PEARL NECKLACE 239 
 
 made of linen, with a sheer lace yoke, and that she 
 wore the seized necklace around her neck, where, 
 under the openwork, it could be plainly seen. 
 
 It is true that Mrs. Miles removed her reefer 
 because of the intense heat when she reached the 
 pier, thus making her waist entirely conspicuous. 
 It was claimed by her attorneys that the removal 
 of this coat gave everybody full opportunity to see 
 the necklace in question that was around her 
 throat. Of course, the woman did not have the 
 new necklace around her throat or anywhere else 
 in plain view. 
 
 Mrs. Miles was shrewd enough to put the new 
 necklace in a safe place on her person, and it was 
 not in her pocket, either. It was about ten in the 
 morning when the America was warped into her 
 pier, and Mrs. Miles and maid were among the 
 first to disembark. Mr. Miles was on the pier to 
 meet his wife and baby, and, following an atfec- 
 tionate greeting, he took the maid up to the end 
 of the pier and placed her in a closed carriage. 
 Then he returned to that section of the pier 
 marked by the letter "M," where the family bag- 
 gage was being carried from the ship. I waited 
 more than an hour, the time being consumed in 
 greeting my own family, before I made any at- 
 tempt to ask Mrs. Miles regarding her failure to 
 declare the necklace which she had illegally 
 brought in. 
 
 Mrs. Miles was standing at the end of one of
 
 240 DEFEAUDING THE GOVERNMENT 
 
 her trunks, and her husband was seated on one 
 of them, when I approached with the deputy. 
 There can be no doubt as to the conversation that 
 ensued, although Mr. and Mrs. Miles gave a dif- 
 ferent version of it, as was expected they would 
 do. 
 
 "Mrs. Miles," I said to that woman, "this is 
 the Deputy Collector of the Port." She nodded, 
 indicating that she had met the deputy before. 
 Then the latter said : 
 
 "How do 3^ou do, Mrs. Miles! I have already 
 met you on board." 
 
 "Mrs. Miles," I resumed, "you have some jew- 
 elry in your possession which you got while in 
 Paris, and you have failed to declare the same." 
 
 Mr. Miles was still seated on a trunk, some four 
 or five feet away, and, noticing this, I said: 
 
 "Mr. Miles, I wish you would listen to what I 
 am going to say. You are interested in it, I 
 think." 
 
 Mr. Miles arose and came over to where we were 
 standing. Again addressing Mrs. Miles, I repeated 
 that she had neglected to declare some jewelry 
 that had come from Tiffany & Co. in Paris. Mr. 
 Miles seemed to be taken completely aback at the 
 statement, but his wife did not appear to be nearly 
 so perplexed as she afterwards said she was. She 
 made reply: 
 
 "You are entirely mistaken. I had some jew-
 
 MRS. MILES' PEARL NECKLACE 241 
 
 elry mended in Paris, and that is all. The repairs 
 did not amount to much. ' ' 
 
 "Excuse me, Mrs. Miles," I insisted. "I am 
 thoroughly familiar with what you have brought 
 from Paris, and, as you have not declared the 
 same, you will do me the kindness to deliver the 
 same to me." 
 
 "Has the United States Govermnent any officers 
 in the jewelry stores in Paris to find out what the 
 Americans purchase over there?" inquired Mrs. 
 Miles, a trifle annoyed. 
 
 "The Government has not, if it be of any inter- 
 est to you to know," I made reply, adding: "It 
 has nothing to do with this particular case, and I 
 again ask 3^ou to hand over to me the jewelry 
 which you have failed to declare." 
 
 Mrs. Miles hesitated for a full minute, and 
 finally said: "Well, I did purchase a pearl neck- 
 lace while in Paris, but I only paid eight or nine 
 thousand dollars for it. But please do not take 
 it from me. Must you take it from me ? ' ' 
 
 "It is my duty to do so," I replied. "I must 
 take it. If you have it around your neck, please 
 pass your finger under your collar and hand it to 
 me here." 
 
 "That is impossible," said the society woman. 
 "It is not around my neck. There are too many 
 people on the pier here, and I cannot expose my 
 person by handing you what you want. Is there 
 no private room in which I may gof"
 
 242 DEFRAUDING THE GOVERNMENT 
 
 It was the deputy collector, I think, who sug- 
 gested that we go back aboard the America and 
 permit Mrs. Miles to take the necklace from her 
 person. At that moment the deputy was called 
 away to j^erform another official task and was un- 
 able to accompany us on board. 
 
 Mrs. Miles ascended the gang-plank first, with 
 her husband and myself in the order named. We 
 went to the social hall of the craft, and while Mrs. 
 Miles entered that luxurious apartment, Mr. Miles 
 and myself remained out on the j)romenade deck, 
 seated on one of the many benches that were there. 
 
 Mrs. Miles was gone several minutes. Her hus- 
 band during her absence was painfully crestfallen, 
 and for a full minute after we sat down he made 
 no attempt to speak. At last he said: 
 
 "This is a sad ending to a pleasure trip. I can- 
 not explain to you, but it will be a dreadful blow 
 to my people and our friends. Do you think it 
 will escape the newspapers ? The puUlicity is more 
 than I can bear." 
 
 ''Newspaper men," said I, ''have a way pecu- 
 liarly their own in hearing of cases of this kind. 
 I am afraid that the}^ will get information of it 
 in the usual course of events." 
 
 "Will 3^ou i)i-omise me that you will not tell 
 them?" was Mr. IMiles' inquiry. 
 
 "Indeed I shall, and, what is more, I shall do 
 all in my power to get them to say as little as pos- 
 sible about it in the event of the news being noised
 
 MRS. MILES' PEARL NECKLACE 243 
 
 about," was what I said to the dejected man; for 
 I felt extremely sorry for him — he looked so white 
 and down-hearted. 
 
 Mr. Miles was about to say something else, when 
 his wife came towards us. She had a pocket-hand- 
 kerchief in her hand, and the pearl necklace was 
 inside of it. 
 
 ' ' Here is what you want, ' ' the woman said. ' ' But 
 must I really give it up! Because I would much 
 rather send it out of the country again if you are 
 to seize it." 
 
 "I am afraid that it is too late for that," I made 
 answer. ''The Collector of the Port will now have 
 to decide the question of ownership." 
 
 I unfolded the handkerchief to make sure that 
 the necklace was there. It was a perfect beauty. 
 A subsequent appraisement showed that there 
 were 246 pearls in all in the necklace, and that it 
 could be wound around the average woman's neck 
 four times, if tightly drawn, or be made into 
 three strings if permitted to hang loosely on the 
 neck. The 246 pearls represented 1,410 grains, 
 and all were fastened by a diamond clasp at the 
 end. In the center there was an immense pearl, 
 while the others graduated in size to form a per- 
 fect symmetry. Following a hasty examination 
 of the necklace, I returned it to the handkerchief 
 and placed both in my trousers' pocket. Then I 
 asked Mrs. Miles : 
 
 ""What has become of the dog-collar of pearls
 
 244 DEFRAUDING THE GOVERNMENT 
 
 which you got from Tiffany's in Paris on this 
 trip?" 
 
 *'Yoii are entirely mistaken about that. My 
 only purcliase there you have taken from me." 
 
 "What did this pearl necklace cost!" 
 
 ''I paid sixty-five thousand francs for it." 
 
 Before we left the ship to return to the pier 
 Mr. Miles asked me to give him my card, which I 
 did. It was mj official card, and, pointing to the 
 Custom House address on it, I said to him : 
 
 "I intend to turn this necklace over to the Col- 
 lector to-morrow morning at ten o'clock. If you 
 will be at his office at that hour you may make 
 any explanation you choose when I formally sur- 
 render the property." 
 
 Mr. Miles thanked me and said that he would be 
 there at the designated hour. I had been away 
 from home for several months, and, being anxious 
 to leave the pier with my family, who had come 
 down to welcome me, I liurried away. I kept the 
 necklace at my house in Harlem all that night, and 
 this point was the basis of much criticism by the 
 opposing counsel, who claimed that the law re- 
 quired me to send the stuff to the seizure room 
 without any delay. 
 
 I told the deputy collector as I left the pier that 
 I had seized the necklace and that I intended to 
 communicate that fact by telephone to the Col- 
 lector the moment I reached my home. This I did 
 through the private secretary of that official, add-
 
 MRS. MILES' PEARL NECKLACE 245 
 
 ing that I would produce the property in the 
 morning. 
 
 It was entirely regular and sanctioned by cus- 
 tom, this carrying to my home of the seized neck- 
 lace, but the legal talent employed by Mr. Miles 
 pretended to think otherwise. At all events the 
 Collector thought that I had fulfilled my duty in 
 every sense of the word, and the opinion of the 
 lawyers of Mr. and Mrs. Miles to the contrary was 
 for the purpose of attacking my credibility. 
 
 When I left the pier, an official of the Govern- 
 ment with whom I had been at variance for some 
 years learned of the seizure by me, and sought 
 out Mrs. Miles. He sympathized with her, and 
 by innuendo and cowardly remarks tried to im- 
 press upon the woman that I had been hasty in 
 making the seizure, and suggested that she imme- 
 diately go to the Collector about it. This official 
 was afterwards transferred to an inferior position 
 for his malicious malignity on this occasion. 
 
 His words to Mrs. Miles gave her the idea that 
 there was a loophole for escape, and, being a 
 woman of brains, she immediately grasped the 
 opportunity. First of all she announced that all 
 her trunks were not on the pier when I made the 
 seizure, and secondly, she questioned my authority 
 in the premises. Mr. Stevens, while not inclined 
 to be complimentary to me, dared not make the 
 statement that I was not vested with the lawful 
 right to seize her property.
 
 24G DEFRAUDING THE GOVERNMENT 
 
 Mrs. Miles, however, had been given her cue, as 
 they say on the stage, and, thanks to Prompter 
 Stevens, she was able to question my actions when, 
 a half hour before she left the pier, the deputy 
 collector again saw her. She said to the deputy 
 collector : 
 
 ''What is the position of Mr. Theobald?" 
 
 "He is a special employee appointed by the 
 Treasury Department, and, while he works in con- 
 junction with the Collector, he is not directly an- 
 swerable to that official." 
 
 ''Had he the right to make this seizure!" was 
 Mrs. Miles' next question. 
 
 "Yes, indeed," responded the deputy. "This 
 or any other seizure." 
 
 Mrs. Miles knew perfectly well that I had the 
 authority to take her necklace away, but she had 
 a purpose in making these inquiries, and, in addi- 
 tion, she had a witness in her husband to prove, 
 as she afterwards tried to do, that she had doubts 
 as to giving up the necklace to me — for all of which 
 the Government had a certain inspector indirectly 
 to thank. Like Mr. Pecksniff in his opinion of j\Ir. 
 Pinch, the inspector has disappointed me; but I 
 do not think the worse of human nature on that 
 account. 
 
 The night of the day of the seizure, while I was 
 entertaining some friends at home, I was sur- 
 prised to have a card of Mr. Miles handed to me. 
 I went to the door and found its owner standing
 
 MRS. MILES' PEARL NECKLACE 247 
 
 on the stoop. I had not given him my home ad- 
 dress, and his visit was a puzzle to me. He told 
 me that he had called in regard to the necklace, to 
 ascertain if I could not do something to smooth 
 the matter over. I did not realize at that time that 
 it was a bait designed to catch me, but I see it all 
 now. 
 
 "May I come in?" Mr. Miles asked. 
 
 ''I am entertaining some friends," was my an- 
 swer. "I will see you in the Collector's office to- 
 morrow morning." 
 
 Mr. Miles expressed great disappointment, and 
 said that if I could give him a few minutes' talk 
 on the street he would consider it a great favor. 
 There was a victoria standing at the door waiting 
 to take my family out, and, perceiving what I con- 
 sidered the deplorable condition of the man, I 
 said: 
 
 ''Jump into that rig. I will join you in a mo- 
 ment and drive you to the ' L ' station. ' ' 
 
 I drove Mr. Miles to the station of the elevated 
 railroad, but it never dawned upon me that I was 
 doing something that left me open to criticism and 
 that the man would take advantage of my good in- 
 tention. On the trial, however, the law^^ers oppos- 
 ing the Grovernment endeavored to make capital 
 out of this action of mine. Gossip and frogs will 
 drink and talk, though, and great stress was laid 
 on this harmless ride. 
 
 The morning after this ride I went to the Cus-
 
 248 DEFRAUDING THE GOVERNMENT 
 
 torn House and formally delivered the pearl neck- 
 lace to Collector Nevada N. Stranaban. Mr. and 
 Mrs. Miles were there, and were informed bj" the 
 Collector that the jewels would be sent to the seiz- 
 ure-room because of Mrs. Miles' action in clan- 
 destinely introducing them into the country. Mr. 
 Miles desired to know how he could recover the 
 property, and Mr. Stranahan told him that he 
 would have to go to a court of law. 
 
 Nothing more was said at that time, and neither 
 Mr. Miles nor his wife made any attempt to show, 
 as both subsequently did, that there was any desire 
 to avoid the payment of duty. It was only after 
 they consulted counsel that they discovered, as 
 they thought, that it was as easy as lying to get the 
 stuff back. 
 
 When the necklace was sent to the Public Stores 
 it was appraised by George W. Mindil, an expert 
 in precious stones, who for seven years previous 
 was Government examiner, and who for forty 
 years was in the jewelry business in New York. 
 Mr. Mindil placed the foreign value of $16,258.60 
 on the necklace, which, adding the duty of sixty 
 per cent., or $9,755.16, made the home market 
 value $26,013.76. 
 
 The defense protested against even poor old 
 Mindil, who in the trade was regarded as being 
 without a peer in his own line of work. But, then, 
 the lawyers for the claiinant admitted the truth 
 of very little that the Government set up. The
 
 MRS. MILES' PEARL NECKLACE 249 
 
 Government was trying to rob their angelic client, 
 according to the defense, and if living there were 
 experts in the question of honesty of j^urpose, the 
 lawj^ers of Mrs. Miles truly posed as such. Their 
 endeavors to prove something, so long as it was 
 something, reminded me of the attorney who asked 
 a very worthy man what was honesty. 
 
 ''What is that to you?" said the worthy man. 
 "Meddle with those things that concern you." 
 . But, then, the worthy man could not have made 
 such a rude answer to any of Mrs. Miles' attor- 
 neys.
 
 CHAPTER II 
 
 "When Beelzebub first to make mischief began, 
 He the woman attack'd, and she gulled the poor man. 
 This Moses asserts and from hence would infer 
 That woman rules man, and the devil rules her." 
 
 There was a long breatliing space between tlie, 
 time of the seizure of Mrs. Miles' necklace and the 
 ojjening of the trial seeking the return of the prop- 
 erty. The case was heard before the Hon. 
 
 and a jury in the United States District Court 
 
 at New York. There appeared as counsel for the 
 claimant Lawyer Moore and an attorney formerly 
 connected with the customs service. The Govern- 
 ment was represented by Frank Condon and Roy 
 Denby. 
 
 The trial began Xovember 30, 1900, and there was 
 a red-hot legal battle from start to finish. There 
 were six counts in the cause of action, but towards 
 the close of the case the attorneys for the Govern- 
 ment waived two of the counts as being unneces- 
 sary to prove that Mrs. Miles was guilty of "the 
 clandestine introduction of a dutiable article with 
 the knowledge that it was subject to the pajmient 
 of duty, in violation of Section 3082, United States 
 Laws." 
 
 250
 
 MRS. MILES' t*EARL NECKLACE 251 
 
 The contention of the claimant, through her law- 
 yers, was, that when she made the declaration as 
 having purchased *' wearing apparel, value un- 
 known," she did all that was required by law, and 
 that this very entry on the declaration included 
 the pearl necklace in question. Of course, it was 
 a ridiculous claim and never could have stood on 
 its own bottom. The defense did admit some 
 things, however. It was conceded by Mr. Moore 
 that the jewelry under seizure was dutiable at 
 sixty per cent, ad valorem, but this eminent law- 
 yer insisted that he reserved the right to question 
 any appraisement made by the Government. It 
 was conceded that the goods seized were not on the 
 ship's manifest; that the seizure was formally 
 adopted by the Collector of the Port ; and that the 
 property at that moment was in the hands of the 
 Government. 
 
 The first witness examined in the case was the 
 acting deputy collector, and, after a lengthy ex- 
 planation of how he took the declaration of Mrs. 
 Miles, the lawyers of that woman tried to show 
 that the acting deputy was a particular friend of 
 a particular friend of a particular friend of mine, 
 or some other nonsense of that kind ; that the act- 
 ing deputy and I had a long talk before he took 
 Mrs. Miles' declaration; and that his passing me 
 the time of day meant a conspiracy to get that 
 pearl necklace from the woman who had it hidden 
 away on her person.
 
 252 DEFEAUDING THE GOVERNMENT 
 
 Although the acting deputy did not prove to b6 
 a strenuous witness, he showed the lawyers on the 
 other side that he could not be bulldozed into say- 
 ing things that were not true or that were irrele- 
 vant. 
 
 Mr. Moore, in pleading the case, moved for a 
 dismissal of the information and for a direction 
 of a verdict in favor of the claimant on the ground 
 that the evidence presented by the Government 
 failed to support the allegations. As to the first 
 count, the claimant contended, he said, that mere 
 acts of concealment did not constitute smuggling 
 or clandestine introduction under Section 2865. He 
 claimed that the evidence showed not only there 
 was no concealment, but that the chain was, in 
 fact, mentioned to the customs official who took 
 the claimant's declaration on board the ship when 
 she swore to "wearing apparel, value unknown." 
 
 An attempt to get before the court a private re- 
 port of the seizure that I made to Collector Stran- 
 ahan, as an exhibit, resulted in a wonderful dis- 
 play of legal oratory and bickering. This occurred 
 during the time that Collector Stranahan was on 
 the stand. That my readers may fully understand 
 why the defense was anxious to get this personal 
 report in as evidence it is necessary to give a ver- 
 batim account of the proceedings which led up to 
 it. The cross-examination of Mr. Stranahan was 
 by Mr. Moore, and was as follows :
 
 MRS. MILES' PEARL NECKLACE 253 
 
 Q. Mr. Stranahan, is Mr. Theobald an appointee 
 of yours"? 
 
 A. He is not. 
 
 Q. He is in your office as a subordinate of 
 yours 1 
 
 A. No. 
 
 Q. He is not? 
 
 A. No. 
 
 Q. He is an appointee of the Treasury Depart- 
 ment? 
 
 A. He is. 
 
 Q. And acts under that department and not un- 
 der you? 
 
 A. My understanding is that he is an appointee 
 of the Treasury Department and detailed to this 
 port, but is not under my direction. 
 
 Q. Did Mr. Theobald make a report respecting 
 this seizure to you the day after the seizure ? 
 
 A. I will refresh my recollection. [After refer- 
 ring to paper.] He did. 
 
 Q. Have you the paper there? 
 
 A. I have. 
 
 Q. Please let me see it. 
 
 By Mr. Denby : I object to it. 
 
 The Court: I rule that you haven't any legal 
 and constitutional right to look at the paper. I do 
 not rule now whether it is or is not admissible in 
 evidence. 
 
 By Mr. Moore : You ruled, as I understand it,
 
 254 DEFRAUDING THE GOVERNMENT 
 
 or at least deferred the fiDal determination of the 
 matter until a later stage of the case, when you 
 would hear me again on the subject. 
 
 The Court: I will hear you again, if you have 
 anything further to say, but my view is that a 
 mere notice to produce and an actual production 
 in court of a document belonging to the Govern- 
 ment does not give you the right to inspect the 
 document. 
 
 By Mr. Moore : I say that I want to inspect the 
 document because it is germane to this case, with 
 the view of seeing what bearing it has on the case. 
 
 The Court: If you want to offer it in evidence, 
 a question will perhaps arise, but I do not think 
 the papers of the Government are open to inspec- 
 tion. 
 
 By Mr. Moore : I have not seen the document, 
 but because I am not permitted to see it, and the 
 court will not let me see it, I will offer it in evi- 
 dence without having seen it. I take exception to 
 Your Honor's refusal to allow me to inspect the 
 document before offering it in evidence. 
 
 The Court: I do not require you to offer it in 
 evidence. 
 
 By Mr. Moore : I know you do not, but I offer it 
 in evidence, although I have not seen it. 
 
 By Mr. Denby : I object to it as incompetent and 
 immaterial for any purpose. It is not pertinent 
 to anything on the direct examination of tliis wit- 
 ness, and second, it is a secret archive of the Gov-
 
 MRS. MILES' PEARL NECKLACE 255 
 
 ernment which every officer is required to make 
 in the performance of his duty, and might contain 
 matters which would be impolitic, in a public 
 sense, to have known. Sometimes these reports 
 embrace reports of other things besides the mat- 
 ters in question, and it is improper and it is privi- 
 leged. 
 
 The Court : That is the ground that is troubling 
 me. I do not think the other is of much impor- 
 tance. If this had been offered at the time Mr. 
 Theobald was on the stand, a different question 
 would have been presented from that which is pre- 
 sented now. But Mr. Moore at that time only 
 asked to inspect the document and did not offer 
 it in evidence then. 
 
 By Mr. Denby: Even waiving the position I 
 take about its being a secret archive, yet they 
 would have to show its materiality and compe- 
 tency here, and would have to make him their wit- 
 ness as well, and be bound by it. 
 
 Perhaps we can simplify this. We are objecting 
 here for a principle, and if it is not to be a prec- 
 edent against the Government's rights to protect 
 its own archives, we consent that they read that 
 in evidence as a part of their case. We are glad 
 to have it. 
 
 By Mr. Moore : I shall offer it in evidence, but 
 I would like to see it. 
 
 The Court: You shall offer it, of course. You 
 offer it in evidence, and the District Attorney has
 
 256 DEFRAUDING THE GOVERNMENT 
 
 withdrawn his objection to the admissibility of the 
 document, and therefore it will be received in evi- 
 dence and marked as an exhibit on the part of the 
 claimant. 
 
 Mr. Moore, in his opening statement to the jury, 
 after explaining at length the nature of the counts 
 and the law on the subject, said : 
 
 "This is not a criminal case in the sense that it 
 is a case against the liberty of a citizen. This is 
 an action brought to take away and to condemn 
 the property of a citizen; to deprive him of his 
 propert}^ as a punishment for having violated the 
 law. So that the immediate consequence of a ver- 
 dict in this case adverse to the claimant is to take 
 away the property, valued at sixteen thousand dol- 
 lars, leaving her still liable, as I understand it, for 
 the duty of the article. ' ' 
 
 Examined by Mr. Condon. 
 
 Q. State what, if any, position you hold under 
 the Government. A. I am Collector of Customs 
 at the Port of New York. 
 
 Q. Were you such Collector on the 22d of July, 
 1902? A. I was. 
 
 Q. Can you state whether the seizure which has 
 been testified to, as made by Special Treasury 
 Agent Theobald, of the pearl necklace in evidence, 
 was adopted by you? 
 
 Objected to as immaterial, irrelevant and incom- 
 petent. Objection overruled- Exceptiou. 
 
 A. It was.
 
 MRS. MILES' PEARL NECKLACE 257 
 
 Q. Can you state from your recollection the date 
 or the approximate date of the adoption of the 
 seizure by you? A. I could not state positively. 
 The taking of the necklace by Mr. Theobald was 
 on the 22d of July. My adoption was subsequent 
 to July 30, and within a day or two. 
 
 Q. The day following the seizure! A. The day 
 following the seizure. 
 
 The Court : Now, while this has gone as far as 
 it has, I want to say that for the protection of the 
 'claimant's rights, if you wish to recall Mr. Theo- 
 bald for cross-examination in view of this report, 
 you can do so. 
 
 Mr. Moore : Thanks, Your Honor. 
 
 Q. Mr. Stranahan, have you with you the regu- 
 lations issued by the Treasury Department on the 
 23d of February, 1901, relative to the examination 
 of passengers' baggage? A. I believe I have [pro- 
 ducing] . 
 
 Mr. Moore : I offer this in evidence. Rule five, 
 last paragraph, is one that is important. 
 
 Mr. Condon : I object to it. 
 
 Q. (by Mr. Denby). Is that a Treasury decision 
 or regulation! A. Why, it is a regulation, I be- 
 lieve. 
 
 Q. It has become a regulation ! A. Yes. 
 
 Q. Printed, isn't it! A. I think so. 
 
 The Court : Do you object to this ! 
 
 Mr. Denby: I object to it. This is a matter of 
 law binding upon the customs officers, and, assum-
 
 258 DEFRAUDING THE GOVERNMENT 
 
 ing it is a coustructiou of these statutes, it is a 
 matter of construction by you and is not a matter 
 of evidence. It is a matter of law and is binding 
 upon the claimant as well as the officers. 
 
 The Court: I think it is the same as a statute 
 of the United States. Assuming it is, a statute of 
 the United States would not be admissible in evi- 
 dence. 
 
 Mr. Mooro : It is something which we may refer 
 to as a regulation without proving it. 
 
 The Court: I do not saj that. "Whether it is 
 law or not is a matter I want to consider, but you 
 may embody whatever you wish in that as a re- 
 quest to charge. 
 
 Mr. Moore : I want to argue upon it. Of course, 
 if it is a statute or regulation having the effect of 
 law, it is a matter of which the court takes judicial 
 notice, and we are all at liberty to (^uote from it 
 as appropriate and germane; but if it is not, it is 
 a regulation that must be proved in the case, and 
 there is no other way of referring to it, and for 
 that reason I desire to offer it in evidence. If 
 Your Honor and Mr. Denby think it is a statute, 
 that is my own view, that these Treasury regula- 
 tions amount to law, but to be on the safe side I 
 want to have it in evidence. 
 
 The Court: I shall sustain the objection. 
 
 Exception taken by Mr. ]\Ioore. 
 
 Mr. IMoore : I would like to have this document 
 marked for identification.
 
 MRS. MILES' PEARL NECKLACE 259 
 
 Marked for identification Exliibit ''C." 
 
 Mr. Moore : I understand tlie court to base the 
 ruling on the ground that it is an untimely occa- 
 sion for offering it. 
 
 The Court: Oh, no. 
 
 Q. (by Mr. Moore). Mr. Stranahan, were the 
 regulations contained in that paper printed and 
 promulgated! A. These regulations were made in 
 1899, a long time prior to my coming into office, 
 and I never have examined to see if they are 
 printed ; but it is the usual practice, and I presume 
 they are. 
 
 Mr. Denby: I ask to have his iDresumption 
 stricken out. 
 
 The Court: Yes. 
 
 Q. Don't you know whether or not all regula- 
 tions of the Treasury are printed and promul- 
 gated? A. Yes, sir, I know they are not all. 
 
 Q. Not all? A. No. 
 
 Q. And don't you know whether this one was or 
 not? A. I do not. 
 
 Mr. Denby: We now ask Your Honor to find 
 that probable cause has been made out by the pros- 
 ecution. 
 
 The Court : It is not the time for that yet. 
 
 Mr. Denby : I am simply making it now because 
 that was the rule adopted in the Dodge case, and 
 I think it is proper for the Government now to 
 make its motion for Your Honor to rule that there
 
 260 DEFRAUDING THE GOVERNMENT 
 
 is probable cause for the prosecution at this time. 
 We would like to have a finding on that. 
 
 The Court: That has already been determined 
 by the court in the refusal of motion to dismiss. 
 
 Mr. Denby: We desire to ]:)ut the Government 
 in the j^roper shape of asking for a ruling now, 
 I have a printed transcript of the record of the 
 Dodge case in the Circuit Court of Appeals, where 
 I made a motion at folio 206, and after discussion 
 the court made a finding to the effect that probable 
 cause for the prosecution had been shown, and that 
 the claimants were put to their proof. 
 
 The Court: On this question of probable cause 
 should I not hear the other side? It may have 
 some effect on the probable cause. A prima facie 
 case of probable cause has doubtless been made 
 out, but there are two sides to probable cause as 
 well as to any other matter of litigation. I will 
 reserve my ruling ui)on that for the i^rescnt, 
 
 Mr. Moore : The District Attorney having called 
 other witnesses and introduced more evidence, I 
 renew the motion made yesterday upon all the 
 grounds stated. 
 
 The Court : The same rulings and exceptions. 
 
 The cross-examination of Mrs. May Miles 
 proves beyond a dou])t her intentions as given 
 below. 
 
 After Collector Stranahan had left the witness 
 stand he was followed by the claimant in the case, 
 Mrs. May Miles. I testified when I was before the
 
 MRS. MILES' PEARL NECKLACE 261 
 
 jury that Mrs. Miles had the necklace secreted in 
 her stocking (when I took her on board the 
 steamer after she had disembarked, and when I 
 approached her on the pier sitting beside her hus- 
 band on a steamer trunk). In giving her testi- 
 mony to the jury the claimant's attorney wanted 
 to prove that Mrs. Miles had this pearl necklace 
 around her neck, which was covered by the shirt- 
 waist offered in evidence and received as the claim- 
 ant's exhibits to be later produced in court. 
 
 This pearl necklace which I seized from Mrs. 
 Miles contained 246 pearls from one end to an- 
 other, measuring one and a half yards, or fifty- 
 four inches. It is not likely that a woman would 
 want to wear a necklace containing 246 pearls 
 around her neck, who had purchased it abroad, 
 with every intention in the world to smuggle it, 
 because it would have been a very noticeable fact, 
 and she would have been approached not alone by 
 the inspector who examined her baggage, but by 
 the lady inspectresses, who are constantly on the 
 lookout for just such a prize as she would have 
 presented to the eyes of these inspectresses had 
 she worn it around her neck. 
 
 The testimony that she gave to the jury was one 
 pack of lies from beginning to end. They wanted 
 to prove that on the day of the seizure I did not 
 report it to the Collector. As a matter of fact, I 
 telephoned, in riding home with my family from 
 the Savoy Hotel, to the Collector that I had the
 
 262 DEFRAUDING THE GOVERNMENT 
 
 necklace in my possession, and I wanted liim 
 to know that I had made this seizure, and that I 
 would bring it to him the following morning to 
 the Custom House, unless he decided to send a 
 messenger to my house for it. 
 
 The claimant then wanted to make a great noise 
 regarding this fact, namely, my taking this neck- 
 lace to my home (where it was deposited in a 
 safe until the following morning, which has been 
 a custom of mine for a number of years after 
 making a seizure. Having seized from Michael 
 Leinkram twenty-seven thousand dollars' worth 
 of diamonds on the same steamer on which Prince 
 Henry was when he paid a visit to America in 
 1901, those diamonds were taken to my house on 
 a Saturday and kept there until Monday morning, 
 and when the diamonds were taken to the Apprais- 
 ers' Stores to be appraised and weighed, and when 
 the claimant presented a bill of particulars in the 
 case to prove the theft, there was not as much as 
 a grain missing from all these diamonds. It was 
 an attack upon my honesty, but did not carry 
 weight with the jury.) 
 
 The case was finally closed on both sides and 
 given to the jury, who brought in a verdict for the 
 Government, condemning the pearl necklace. An 
 appeal was taken by the claimant and a new trial 
 was ordered by the United States Circuit Court 
 of Appeals for the Second Circuit District. The 
 judges, in ordering a new trial, claimed that the
 
 MKS. MILES' PEARL NECKLACE 263 
 
 Government had erred in many rulings of the 
 district court. The case was again tried, which 
 resulted in a verdict for Mrs. Miles. The jewelry 
 was then deported to Tiffany & Co. in Paris. 
 
 Whether they ever were returned to this country 
 by Mrs. Miles I am not in a position to know. I 
 am satisfied in saying that in losing this case I 
 lost the best case of smuggling which ever came 
 before my notice. To my mind it was a clearer 
 case of clandestine entry than the Phyllis E. 
 Dodge case, and it was the only case, I regret to 
 say, that I was not successful in.
 
 WHY MIGHT IS RIGHT, AND WHEN 
 
 CHAPTER I 
 
 Neither a beautiful woman nor the pull of a 
 rich man is sufficient to interfere with the eternal 
 placidity of things. When there is a combination 
 of both, as is usually the case, a fierce attack upon 
 the object of its wrath is the result ; but it does not 
 always follow, however insistent some may be to 
 the contrary, that wrong conquers. 
 
 It seems to be the law of nature in these days 
 of brass that a woman should be beautiful, and 
 as beauty is inseparable from the desire for finery, 
 it is equally as natural that she should be content 
 with no one but a rich man. 
 
 I met such a woman in Phyllis E. Dodge. Com- 
 missioned to do an im])ortant thing abroad for the 
 Government, I embarked, April 11, 1S98, on the 
 steamer Kaiser Wilhelm der Grosse. I made many 
 acquaintances during the trip, and among them 
 was a member of the New York Stock Exchange, 
 who is now dead. He was a young man, clever and 
 generous, and able, whenever necessary, to stir 
 the blood of Wall Street to its profoundest depths ; 
 yet, like many great men who have gone before 
 him, he was as weak as a sick kitten every time a 
 
 264
 
 WHY MIGHT IS RIGHT, AND WHEN 265 
 
 certain pair of sparkling eyes were focused upon 
 him, which was too often for his good. 
 
 These mirrors of a blackened soul were on that 
 ship, too, and it did not take me long to discover 
 that love was a weary word to this Avoman and 
 that the man's love consisted of physical fire only. 
 It was plain that he had a lesson to learn. I knew 
 the young man's father very well and felt deeply 
 for them both. 
 
 Aside from the fact that nearly everybody on 
 the shijD knew intuitively that Phyllis E. Dodge 
 was not the young man's wife, few could but ad- 
 mire the woman. She was tall and stately, a pro- 
 nounced brunette, with black eyes that reminded 
 me of a famous line in which those kind of optics 
 were coupled with the de'il, and with a vivacity 
 that swept everything before her. She charmed 
 and captivated everybody at will, and once, at a 
 race track in England, when she was gowned in 
 a most bewitching Parisian costume, she had an 
 army of light-headed Britons ready to lay down 
 their lives for her. 
 
 As an additional traveling companion to this 
 wealthy young man was a diamond broker, whose 
 father some few years before was closely identified 
 with a scheme to defraud the Government by 
 smuggling precious stones from Europe into the 
 States by way of the borders of Canada. The 
 young diamond broker was, in turn, accompanied 
 by two women. I had no trouble in learning the
 
 2G6 DEFRAUDING THE GOVERNMENT 
 
 general reputation of the five, and I likewise was 
 not surprised to be informed that it was very bad. 
 The Wall Street man with Mrs. Dodge, and the 
 diamond broker with the other two women, occu- 
 pied one of the smaller tables in the saloon at 
 meal-times. They were the gayest people on the 
 ship, and flaunted their fine feathers as only those 
 lost to shame can do. 
 
 When the Kaiser Wilhelm der Grosse reached 
 Cherbourg, the banker, the diamond merchant and 
 the three women departed on the tender, and I 
 heard the wine steward sigh. Their going was 
 a deep loss to him. France received them with 
 open arms; they were of her kind. I forgot all 
 about them ten minutes after they were gone, and 
 might not have given them another thought had 
 it not been for some information I received a few 
 days later in London. 
 
 A part of my mission abroad was to have a con- 
 ference with Major Williams, a special agent of the 
 United States Treasury Department, in charge in 
 Europe, with headquarters in Paris. Iliad intended 
 to remain in London ten days, but, learning that a 
 young American banker, who was in company with 
 a woman named Dodge, had purchased in Paris, a 
 few days before, a piece of jewelry, called a stom- 
 acher, at a cost of three hundred thousand francs, 
 or about sixty thousand dollars in American 
 money, I determined to curtail my stay in the Eng- 
 lish capital and run across the channel to see
 
 . WHY MIGHT IS RIGHT, AND WHEN 267 
 
 Major AVilliams. The latter assisted me for the 
 three following days in making a tour, but we were 
 assured that no such dream of the jeweler's art 
 as described had been purchased. So we dropped 
 the matter. 
 
 About a week after I met some friends at the 
 Cafe de Paris, and one of them invited me to call 
 on an acquaintance at the Hotel Maribout. It was 
 about ten-thirty in the evening when we reached 
 there, and my friend, who was a New York mer- 
 chant, sent up his card with a note saying he would 
 call again at some more seasonable hour. The 
 page brought back a message asking that we go 
 up to the apartment, if only for a few minutes. I 
 had not asked my friend as to whom he wished to 
 pay his respects, and was greatly surprised when 
 I entered to find myself in the presence of Phyllis 
 E. Dodge. She was attired in the most gorgeous 
 evening dress that I have ever beheld. With her 
 at the time was the young banker (to whom I have 
 already referred) and a tourist who had come 
 over on the Kaiser Wilhelm with us. 
 
 Now, this brunette, who was five feet seven 
 inches tall, was an extremely vain woman. It was 
 the unsatisfied yearning of the heart that induced 
 her, half an hour after we had arrived, to say : 
 
 ''I want to show you, gentlemen, the handsom- 
 est piece of jewelry that ever graced the body of 
 a beautiful woman. And I am beautiful, am I 
 not? Just as if you dare to say anything else !"
 
 268 DEFEAUDING THE GOVERNMENT 
 
 There was a scurry of silken robes for an in- 
 stant, and this "affinity" disappeared into an ad- 
 joining apartment and presently returned with 
 the identical stomacher that was so accurately de- 
 scribed to me in London. It was the most dazzling 
 article of adornment I had ever seen. It could 
 be so subdivided that part of it might be used as 
 a tiara for the hair. There were no less than 
 three hundred diamonds in it, more than one hun- 
 dred emeralds and about seventy-five pearls. 
 
 I forgot the magnetic influence of the woman in 
 the grandeur of the ornamentation that was 
 passed to me. I examined it most carefully, and, 
 being a fairly good judge of stones, readily noticed 
 that all were of good size and excellent color. At 
 the end of the stomacher there was a drop pearl, 
 pear-shaped, and I could not help making a men- 
 tal note that for brilliancy and color I had never 
 seen its equal. This pearl was nearly an inch in 
 length. 
 
 "It is a present from a dear friend," said the 
 delectable woman of the world, with one of her 
 sweetest smiles. "It cost a pretty penny, too. 
 But it is none too good for me, think you?" 
 
 This was said with an archness that was part of 
 her very existence. I never fully realized until 
 then the meaning of silence being strength. Here 
 was a woman who was a match for the best man 
 alive when it came to cunning or perspicacity, yet
 
 WHY MIGHT IS RIGHT, AND WHEN 269 
 
 she was splicing a rope that would probably hang 
 her, and she little dreamed that I might be her 
 executioner, as I really expected to be, considering 
 the fact that I felt morally certain she would make 
 no attempt to pay duty on that precious stomacher 
 when she returned to the States. But I did not 
 tell her what I was then thinking, and, faith ! I did 
 not know her thoughts, for which latter condition 
 of affairs I am not sorry. The next time I saw 
 this human siren was on the steamer St. Paul, 
 coming up New York Bay. 
 
 I came back from Paris by way of Switzerland, 
 after transacting some official business in this Eu- 
 ropean center, and reached the metropolis early 
 in June. I was dining at a friend's the Sunday 
 after my arrival, when he handed me a slip of 
 paper, saying: 
 
 ' ' Here is the name of a lady who is a friend of 
 a dear friend of mine, and if you will get her the 
 courtesy of the port I shall appreciate it veiy 
 much. ' ' 
 
 I bowed and put the paper in my pocket without 
 even glancing at the name. It was not until I 
 reached home that I discovered that the request 
 my friend had made was in behalf of Phyllis E. 
 Dodge. I lost no time the next day in 
 seeking my friend and informing him that 
 I would not, under any condition, ask the 
 courtesy of the port for Mrs. Dodge. He did not 
 demand any explanation and I volunteered none.
 
 270 DEFRAUDING THE GOVERNMENT 
 
 A few days later I was waited upon by the young 
 man who had accompanied Mrs. Dodge abroad, 
 but who had returned before her. His mission 
 was to' get me to use my influence in having cour- 
 tesies extended to Mrs. Dodge when she arrived. 
 
 ' ' Indeed, I shall not, ' ' I said. ' * All the influence 
 in the world would not induce me to do so." 
 
 He wanted to know why, and I said that infor- 
 mation had been lodged with the Government 
 against the woman, but I did not, for business rea- 
 sons, tell him that I had lodged the information. 
 
 ''Why," said the young banker, "the informa- 
 tion is a cigarette dream. If any purchases have 
 been made by Mrs. Dodge, they will consist of a 
 few dresses and nothing more. I will give my 
 personal guarantee that she has bought nothing 
 else." 
 
 Mrs. Dodge came in on the St. Paul, June 24, and 
 with a special agent whom I had taken into my 
 confidence I proceeded down to Quarantine to in- 
 tercept the ship before she reached her pier. I 
 pointed out Mrs. Dodge to the special agent and 
 instructed him as to what to do. I was anxious 
 that he should make no attempt to talk to the 
 woman about any jewelry or the like until after 
 the craft had berthed and her baggage had been 
 placed on the wharf and duly inspected. I wanted 
 to remain in the background for obvious reasons. 
 
 I had no suspicion that my instructions would 
 not be faithfully carried out, or that the investi-
 
 .WHY MIGHT IS RIGHT, AND WHEN 271 
 
 gation of the woman's baggage would be anything 
 but regular. But time opens many graves, and 
 even at the distance I was from the location of 
 Mrs. Dodge's trunks I could see that the special 
 agent was altogether too much interested in the 
 woman whose arrival I had been patiently wait- 
 ing. Her friend, who was also, but differently, 
 interested in her coming, arrived on the pier a few 
 moments before she came ashore, and subsequent- 
 ly I noticed that he was in close consultation with 
 the special agent. 
 
 What was clearly a perfunctory examination of 
 the luggage followed, and with its completion the 
 inspector who performed it went after an ap- 
 praiser. The latter, with the inspector and the 
 sjiecial agent, hovered about the trunks for a few 
 minutes and then came over to where I was with 
 the information 'that the stomacher was not in the 
 baggage, and that all the other pieces of jewelry 
 which Mrs. Dodge had with her were old. All 
 three officials agreed upon these points. 
 
 I immediately went across the pier, determined 
 to handle Mrs. Dodge without gloves. I de- 
 manded to see her jewelry. She had a valise 
 in her hand and replied that her jewels 
 were in that. I took the valise from her and 
 oj^ened it, removing a jewel casket. The special 
 agent and inspector seemed unable to talk when 
 I pulled this casket out. The box contained, in 
 addition to a pearl necklace, a collarette or dog-
 
 272 DEFRAUDING THE GOVERNMENT 
 
 collar of pearls and a number of other pieces of 
 jewelry. The necklace was made up of sixty-one 
 pearls of enormous size and brilliancy and had a 
 diamond and pigeon blood ruby. The collarette 
 had eleven strands of pearls, five bars of diamonds 
 holding the strands together. When I had finished 
 an examination of the contents of the jewel casket 
 her friend stepped up and asked me what I in- 
 tended to do with the valuables. 
 
 ''They have not been declared, according to 
 law," I said, "and must be seized." 
 
 His face turned livid with rage, and he was un- 
 able to talk for a full moment, but he finally 
 shouted : 
 
 "You don't dare to seize this stuff. Do you 
 know who I am ! ' ' 
 
 ' ' Perfectly, ' ' I replied. ' ' You are a millionaire, 
 with might on your side. I am simply a servant 
 of this Government, but I have right to back me. 
 I mean to seize this property, and, aside from my 
 superior officer, there is not a man alive who can 
 prevent me. ' ' 
 
 "I'll make you suffer for this. I'll put you out 
 of the service." 
 
 It was my turn to get angry. "If you impede 
 me in the slightest way," I said to him, "I'll turn 
 you over to an inspector, with instructions to ar- 
 rest you for interfering with a Government officer. 
 I am not dealing with you, and I do not fear your
 
 WHY MIGHT IS RIGHT, AND WHEN 273 
 
 money any more than I do your infiuence or your 
 threats." 
 
 Then, turning to Mrs. Dodge, I asked her what 
 had become of the stomaclier which she had sliown 
 me in Paris. 
 
 ' ' I did not take it, ' ' she said naively. ' ' I did not 
 like it, you see, and returned it to the jeweler's, 
 taking these two pearl necklaces instead." 
 
 Her friend tried to interrupt the woman, going 
 so far as to say, "Don't tell him anything. I'll 
 take care of him." 
 
 But she would not take his advice, remarking: 
 ^'Wliat's the use? He probably knows more than 
 you think," which was the truest word she ever 
 spoke, although I am rather inclined to the belief 
 that she was not always on terms of the closest 
 intimacy with the truth. 
 
 About this point of the scene on the pier the 
 deputy surveyor, in charge of the inspectors at the 
 dock, arrived on the ground and asked the special 
 agent, with whom I had conferred so many days 
 and upon whom I largely depended for assistance, 
 if he would assume the responsibility of the 
 seizure. 
 
 ' ' Not if I know it ! " he exclaimed, looking away 
 from me. 
 
 ''How about you?" inquired the deputy sur- 
 veyor, addressing me. ''Will you assume the re- 
 sponsibility of this affair?" 
 
 "Yes, indeed," I replied. "I would have no
 
 274 DEFRAUDING THE GOVERNMENT 
 
 hesitancy in doing so if it were twenty times as 
 big a case. Aside from doing my duty, I want to 
 show this man that I do not care a rap for his 
 millions." 
 
 I was dumfounded at this juncture by the spe- 
 cial agent clapping his hands with joy and shout- 
 ing that he would share the responsibility with me. 
 
 I turned my back on him. So did the majority 
 of his friends when they heard the story. He 
 never explained his peculiar actions of that day, 
 and I am afraid he would have been unable to do 
 so if asked. 
 
 The jewels were brought to the Collector the 
 following morning and were then taken to the Ap- 
 praiser's room. The best experts of the city were 
 summoned to pass judgment upon the necklace 
 and collarette, and they were appraised at sixty- 
 four thousand dollars. How reliable was this 
 judgment may be imagined from the fact that 
 when the Government sent me abroad the follow- 
 ing August to ascertain how much was paid for 
 the jewelry, the manufacturer who sold it to Mrs. 
 Dodge showed me his books, and the figures varied 
 only two per cent, from the official appraisement. 
 
 Before recounting the result of the legal battles 
 for the possession of these jewels,! want to say that 
 while some had doubt as to the honesty of the spe- 
 cial agent who was on the pier when the property 
 was seized, I had none. I do not think he received 
 a penny for his peculiar actions on that day. He
 
 WHY MIGHT IS RIGHT, AND AVHEN 275 
 
 was, like many others in the service, afraid of the 
 millionaire, and the fear of getting into trouble 
 blinded him to his duty. He was simply a chunk- 
 headed fool, and that was all. 
 
 There were many remarkable features of the 
 trial, and there were many surprised, including 
 myself. I knew what to expect of Phyllis E. Dodge. 
 I knew that she had the natural art of the actress, 
 and although she had never been on the stage, as 
 far as official knowledge went, still she was the 
 peer of scores back of the footlights in serenity, 
 piquancy, facetiousness and artificiality. She al- 
 ways made a study of her victim, and did it thor- 
 oughly and diplomatically, as every human spider 
 should. 
 
 I did not know what to expect of her millionaire 
 lover, however, and, notwithstanding many official 
 reassurances from Washington, I felt satisfied 
 that he would attempt some tricks. But, believing 
 in the old saw of '' Unsafe are things that are dis- 
 graceful," I was serene in the belief that right 
 would prevail. 
 
 The case was called for trial on June 12, 1900, 
 or nearly two years after the seizure. There was 
 a notable array of talent on both sides, S. E. 
 Smithers and T. F. Carey appearing for the de- 
 fendants, and General Wellington with several of 
 his assistants defending the Government. 
 
 Mrs. Dodge showed her hand the moment she 
 stepped into court. She was stunningly arrayed
 
 276 DEFRAUDING THE GOVERNMENT 
 
 in a gown of immaculate white; diamonds glis- 
 tened at her ears and throat, and a picture hat, 
 which was the envy of every woman who saw it, 
 adorned her well-poised head. She was clearly 
 one of the most beautiful women to be seen in a 
 whole day's walk, and, as she flashed her dark 
 eyes coquettishly around, there were few who 
 could resist giving her more than one glance. 
 
 The millionaire friend was not there. Mrs. 
 Dodge did not lavish any great attention upon any 
 one. She knew she had him safe under her thumb, 
 and there was no necessity for public acting, so 
 far as he was concerned. There were twelve men 
 in a charmed box that Mrs. Dodge was anxious 
 to please, and in little, subtle ways she showered 
 her attention upon them. 
 
 At rare intervals only, during the five days in 
 which the trial lasted, did the woman fail to shoot 
 her winsome glances at the men who were to de- 
 cide her case, and there is no denying that this 
 fusillade of eyes — black, lascivious eyes — ^had 
 many willing targets. The attorneys for the wom- 
 an did everything they could to prove that she had 
 means and was accustomed to everything within 
 reach of a woman of large means. 
 
 It was most outrageous, but it went on the court 
 records as gospel truth, and there you are! To 
 establish this belief in the mind of the jury the de- 
 fendant's counsel exhibited photographs of Mrs. 
 Dodge in evening costumes. In all of the pictures
 
 WHY MIGHT IS RIGHT, AND WHEN 277 
 
 the necklace under seizure was shown as having 
 been worn by her while being photographed. 
 
 The lawyers in her behalf contended that her 
 position in life was consistent with whatever pur- 
 chases she made abroad. The Government proved 
 that the seized property was purchased by her 
 friend and presented to her by him; that Phyllis 
 E. Dodge had no means of her own; that the 
 
 house she occupied on Street, New York City, 
 
 was purchased for her from the actor, Richard 
 Mansfield, by her friend and presented to her by 
 him. 
 
 It was clearly established that, aside from being 
 the owner of this piece of property, the woman 
 had no wealth and no other possible means of sup- 
 port. The law, it was shown by General Welling- 
 ton, was black and white on the question of pres- 
 ents. The law specifies, and is quite conclusive on 
 the subject, that presents of whatsoever nature 
 are dutiable at whatever the tariff calls for, and 
 these goods were clearly dutiable, having been pre- 
 sented to her. To me, one of the first surprises 
 of the trial was when the Government did not call 
 me to the stand to testify. I, above all, felt con- 
 fident of being able to show intent to defraud. 
 
 Contrary to the wishes of her counsel, Mrs. 
 Dodge insisted upon being put on the stand. She 
 had an eye battery in reserve and wanted to use 
 it. She began her testimony with an untruth, say- 
 ing that while the ship was coming up the bay she
 
 278 DEFRAUDING THE GOVERNMENT 
 
 went below to the saloon and sat next to the cus- 
 tom house inspector, "who gave me a blank to fill 
 out." She insisted that this was correct, when 
 cross-examined. To use her own words, I will 
 give the remainder of the testimony as follows : 
 
 * ' The inspector asked me what I had purchased 
 abroad, and I wrote, 'Some linens.' I think it was 
 six hundred and fifty francs' worth, but I am not 
 positive. Then he asked me if I had purchased 
 anything else, and I said, 'No, I don't think so; 
 but, suddenly remembering, I again made answer, 
 'Oh, yes, I did, too — a little dog and a trunk.' He 
 told me that I would not have to declare the trunk, 
 but that the dog was in all probability dutiable. 
 I told him how much the dog had cost and declared 
 it. Then he asked me if I had bought anything 
 else, and I replied in the negative. He then gave 
 me a ticket, and I came away." 
 
 In reply to questions from Mr. Carey, her coun- 
 sel, Mrs. Dodge said that when she came off the 
 ship with the valise in her hand she did not know 
 that presents were dutiable. She admitted that 
 the valise contained, in addition to the necklace 
 and collarette, the following articles: 
 
 One spray pin, one turquoise bracelet, one dia- 
 mond chain bracelet, two diamond rings, one emer- 
 ald and diamond ring, one ruby buttertiy, one dia- 
 mond catch-pin, one diamond scarfpin and a set 
 of pearl buttons which were studded with dia- 
 monds and intended for a full-dress vest. These
 
 WHY MIGHT IS RIGHT, AND WHEN 279 
 
 pearl buttons were pronounced by connoisseurs to 
 be the most perfect and beautiful collection that 
 they had ever seen. They were in a most costly 
 box within the jewel casket, and are referred to 
 specially because it was charged that she had 
 brought them over as a present to the millionaire 
 friend. Her own attorney asked if this statement 
 were not true, putting his query in this way : 
 
 ' ' Did you state that the buttons in this box were 
 intended as a present for Mr. T' 
 
 Mrs. Dodge replied that she had never made a 
 statement of that kind. Literally speaking, she 
 went all to pieces when General Wellington took 
 her in hand. Her answers were at first either non- 
 committal or evasive, and there was a merry twin- 
 kle in her eye every time she scored a hit. But 
 there existed certain facts that no quibbling in the 
 world could get around, and Mrs. Dodge was finally 
 obliged to admit that everything she had brought 
 with her on the trip in question was dutiable. She 
 was asked if she personally purchased any of the 
 jewels, or whether her own money was used in pay- 
 ment for them, and she evaded the question by an- 
 swering that she did not know they were dutiable. 
 
 General Wellington is as gallant as the knights 
 of old, but he is matter-of-fact, for all that, and 
 he could not possibly let this woman dodge the 
 question. He pressed her for an answer, and she 
 fled behind the protection of "I do not know."
 
 280 DEFRAUDING THE GOVERNMENT 
 
 Q. Now, Mrs. Dodge, you have heard the testi- 
 mony of the witnesses here, have you not? 
 
 A.' Yes. 
 
 Q. You have been present throughout the trial? 
 
 A. Yes. 
 
 Q. You heard the testimony as to the officer put- 
 ting his hand on these things and saying, "If you 
 do not seize them, I will"? 
 
 A. Yes. 
 
 Q. How long after your coming off the vessel 
 did that happen? 
 
 A. Oh, not very long; almost directly after. 
 
 The Court: That was Mr. Theobald, wasn't it? 
 
 Mr. Carey : Yes, sir. 
 
 Q. Now, will you state whether you knew at 
 the time you came off the boat with this bag that 
 the contents of it or any of them were dutiable? 
 
 Objected to as incompetent, immaterial and ir- 
 relevant under the pleading and under the statute. 
 Objection overruled. Exception taken. 
 
 A. Well, I simply did not think that presents 
 were dutiable and I did not declare them. As for 
 
 those little things I brought, well, I told Mr. 
 
 that that was workmanship, and he said that was 
 dutiable, and I said I was willing to pay it, and he 
 walked away and didn't say anything more to me 
 at all. They took everything. I simply did not 
 think a present was dutiable. I didn't know how 
 much it was worth, in the first place. 
 
 Q. Mrs. Dodge, did you hear the testimony of
 
 WHY MIGHT IS RIGHT, AND WHEN 281 
 
 Mr. , and whichever other testified to that, 
 
 that you told him that everything you had in the 
 way of jewelry in this bag had been taken by you 
 out of the United States? Did you ever make any 
 statement of that kind to him? 
 
 A. I did not, sir. 
 
 Q. Did you state to any of these witnesses that 
 tlie pearls in this expensive pearl necklace had 
 been taken by you abroad to be strung? 
 
 A. I did not. 
 
 Q. Did you state to Mr. or anybody else 
 
 that these buttons in this box were intended as a 
 present for a friend ? 
 
 A. Certainly not. 
 
 Q. Now, with regard to these buttons, what is 
 their use — for what purj)ose were they bought or 
 made? 
 
 A. Shirt buttons, and studs and cuff buttons. 
 
 Q. Are they such as are worn on ladies' shirt- 
 waists or cuffs ? 
 
 A. Certainly. 
 
 Q. I will ask jou this direct question, and you 
 need not answer it until the gentlemen on the 
 other side have had an opportunity to make their 
 objection. Did you at the time you came off the 
 dock with this bag in your hand have any intent to 
 defraud the United States out of any duties to 
 which it was entitled? 
 
 Objected to as incompetent, immaterial and ir- 
 relevant. Objection overruled. Exception taken.
 
 282 DEFRAUDING THE GOVERNMENT 
 
 ^A. I certainly had no sucli intention whatever. 
 
 The Court : I am not quite clear what she said 
 about this first box of buttons, which was the first 
 subject referred to. She had a lot of old things, 
 and a jeweler in Paris made them up, and she told 
 
 Mr, that, and he said there was a duty on 
 
 workmanship. Those are the buttons first spoken 
 of. 
 
 Mr. Wellington: A part of the diamonds in 
 these buttons was in old jewelry, and she took 
 those diamonds and went to an artificer in Paris. 
 
 The Witness : He made them into the buttons ; he 
 sent me a bill for two hundred and eighty dollars. 
 
 By the Court : 
 
 Q. Is there much value in these diamonds except 
 the workmanship? 
 
 A. Just the workmanship. The diamonds are 
 only little roses, anyway. They don't amount to 
 anything. 
 
 The Court: How many buttons are there there? 
 
 Mr. Wellington: Thirteen. 
 
 Q What are they set in? 
 
 A. Just in porcelain. 
 
 Q. Common porcelain buttons? 
 
 A. With the exception of the little diamonds; 
 but it is the workmauslii]) that is expensive. 
 
 Q. The workmanship is setting? 
 
 A. Yes, sir. 
 
 Q. Those crosses are diamonds, also? 
 
 A. Yes, sir.
 
 WHY MIGHT IS EIGHT, AND WHEN 283 
 
 Q. Was it, in fact, designed as a present to your 
 friend? 
 
 A. Certainly not. 
 
 Cross-examination by Mr. Wellington. 
 
 Q. About this ring — you are not sure whether 
 there were any of the diamonds in that that you 
 brought over? [showing turquoise scarf ring], 
 
 A. Oh, yes, I am sure there were some of them ; 
 how many I don't know. 
 
 Q. How is it that you are sure there were some? 
 
 A. Because the man told me had a few left and 
 he would make me up a scarf ring, so I told him 
 to go ahead and do it. 
 
 Q. How do you know that they are not all those 
 that you furnished ? 
 
 A. They may have been; I don't know. 
 
 Q. You don't know anything about it? 
 
 A. I know some of them are mine, and they may 
 be all mine. I know what I paid for the thing 
 when finished. 
 
 Q. What was the amount! 
 
 A. Sixty-five dollars. 
 
 Q. You knew that you had purchased these arti- 
 cles, as in this completed form, abroad? 
 
 A. Well, I thought it was workmanshij^, and I 
 did not know there was duty on workmanship, and 
 
 I asked Mr. on the wharf as soon as I 
 
 landed. 
 
 Q. When you were making your declaration on 
 board the ship did j^ou mention these articles?
 
 284 DEFRAUDING THE GOVERNMENT 
 
 A. I was not asked then if I had bought them 
 abroad. I did not mention them, no, because I 
 did not know that I had to declare them. 
 
 Q. Haven't you just stated that you were asked 
 whether you purchased anything- abroad? 
 
 A. I did not purchase them. I paid for the work- 
 manship. 
 
 Q. You did not call that a purchase, when you 
 got all except the little diamonds in there? 
 
 A. That is the main thing, workmanship. 
 
 Q. Haven't you said the diamonds were of no 
 account ! 
 
 A. I said the workmanship was the chief value. 
 
 Q. You purchased that abroad? 
 
 A. But I didn't know it was dutiable. 
 
 Q. "Will you answer the question? 
 
 A. I don't know. 
 
 Q. Then, as to the ring, that, excepting the little 
 diamonds in it, you purchased abroad, didn't you? 
 
 A. I paid for the workmanship of it. 
 
 Q. Didn 't you pay for the gold ? 
 
 A. I guess that was in it. T say what he fur- 
 nished when it was finished was sixty -five dollars. 
 
 Q. Did you purchase all excepting the little dia- 
 monds in it? 
 
 A. I paid for the workmanship of it. 
 
 Q. Will you answer the question yes or no? Did 
 you purchase all in the ring excepting the dia- 
 monds ? 
 
 A. Yes.
 
 WHY MIGHT IS EIGHT, AND WHEN 285 
 
 Q. You knew that at the time you made that dec- 
 laration ? 
 
 A. I knew it was workmanship, and did not know 
 it was dutiable. 
 
 Q. You knew that fact, that you had purchased 
 all in that ring excepting the little diamonds, at 
 the time you made the declaration 1 
 
 A. Yes ; I knew I had furnished a great deal to- 
 wards it. 
 
 Q. (Question repeated.) 
 
 A. There was not much outside of the diamonds. 
 
 Q. Did you or not know that fact? 
 
 A. Oh, I knew that. 
 
 Q. Now, did you at the time that you made your 
 
 declaration say to Mr. on board the ship 
 
 that all the jewels you had you had taken aboard 
 with you? 
 
 A. He didn't ask me a word about jewels. 
 
 Q. Did you state that to him? 
 
 A. I certainly did not, 
 
 Q. No question was asked you about any jewels ? 
 
 A. Not a word. 
 
 Q. Not a word on the ship by any one? 
 
 A. Not a word by any one. 
 
 Q. Did you, after you signed your declaration, 
 volunteer the statement that "all the other things 
 I have in my baggage I took abroad with me"? 
 
 A . No ; not after I signed the declaration. 
 
 Q. Didn't you say that?
 
 286 DEFRAUDING THE GOVERNxMENT 
 
 A. No; I signed the declaration the last thing 
 when I left the dock, almost seven o'clock. 
 
 Q. You did not say that at that time to any of 
 the officers? 
 
 A. No. 
 
 Q. To Mr. or any of the officers? 
 
 A. I did not. 
 
 Q. If you had purchased these things abroad, 
 you knew that purchases of jewelry were dutiable? 
 
 A. Certainly. 
 
 Q. And you knew you had these articles in your 
 baggage ? 
 
 A. Yes. 
 
 Q. Did you have them, at the time you made 
 your declaration, in your hand satchel? 
 
 A. I did. 
 
 Q. Now, after you had made your declaration of 
 
 the linen and the dog, did you say to Mr. 
 
 that all the rest of the articles in your baggage 
 you had taken abroad with you ? 
 
 A. He did not ask me. 
 
 Q. Did you, after yon had declared the linen and 
 the dog — you recall entering those? 
 
 A. Yes, sir. 
 
 Q. Did you, after you had signed that declara- 
 tion and declared those things, say to Mr. • 
 
 that all the other things you had taken abroad with 
 you? 
 
 A. T did not. 
 
 Q. Now, you say this pearl band or dog-collar
 
 .WHY MIGHT IS RIGHT, AND WHEN 287 
 
 and the large pearls with the ruby pendant were 
 given to you in Paris ? 
 
 A. They were. 
 
 Q. Do you recall what date I 
 
 A. I do not. 
 
 Q. Do you recall what date you sailed? 
 
 A. For Paris? 
 
 Q. From Paris, or left Paris? A. I left Paris 
 on the 17th of June and arrived here the 24th. 
 
 Q. And you cannot state when they were pur- 
 chased or when you first obtained them? 
 
 A. No; it was while I was over there. I don't 
 remember the date. 
 
 Q. As near as you can say? 
 
 A. Well, I guess it was some time in the begin- 
 ning of May. 
 
 Q. How clear is your recollection about that? 
 
 A. Well, I know I had worn them some; I had 
 gone to different affairs, parties and operas, and 
 worn them a good deal, so I had them some time 
 in my possession. 
 
 Q. Do you remember about going to any affair 
 in May and wearing them? 
 
 A. I do. 
 
 Q. What event was that! 
 
 A. I went to the opera several times and to par- 
 ties at friends' houses. 
 
 Q. And how are you able to fix the date as being 
 in May? 
 
 A. Because I sailed the 17th of June, and I was
 
 288 DEFRAUDING THE GOVERNMENT 
 
 there the whole month of May, and I sailed on the 
 11th of April, so I certainly went somewhere dur- 
 ing the month of May. 
 
 Q. I am trying to get at whether you can remem- 
 ber and recall any event in May, with certainty as 
 to the date being in May, where you wore these 
 jewels f 
 
 A. Why, certainly ; I went a dozen times. 
 
 Q. You are sure in May 1 
 
 A. Yes, sir. 
 
 By the Court : 
 
 Did you go direct from New York to Paris? 
 
 A. I went to Cherbourg and then by train. 
 
 Q, On which steamer did you go ? 
 
 A. On the Kaiser Wilhelm der Grosse, of the 
 North German Lloyd. 
 
 Q. Disembarked at Cherbourg? 
 
 A. Yes, sir. 
 
 By Mr. Wellington : 
 
 Q. It only rests as a general recollection you 
 have on which you fix the date? 
 
 A. No, I don't know the date. 
 
 Q. And you don't know but what it may have 
 been in June that you first wore it? 
 
 A. No, I don't think it was in June, because I 
 had worn them a good deal. At least, I don't 
 know; it may have been in June; I don't know, 
 but it was while I was over there. I am not sure 
 and I cannot say just when, but I sailed on the 
 11th of April and returned on the 24tli of June,
 
 ,WHY MIGHT IS RIGHT, AND WHEN 289 
 
 and it was during that time I got them and wore 
 them. 
 
 Q. And in Paris j^ou wore them several times? 
 
 A. Quite often. 
 
 Q. You say these were given to you! 
 
 A. Yes, sir. 
 
 Q. Did you visit the place of their purchase and 
 inspect these large jewels before they were given 
 to you I A. Yes, to have the clasp made. I think 
 I designed the clasp, because I furnished my own 
 stones for them. I did not see the pearls before 
 they were selected. 
 
 Q. Now, confine yourself to the necklace of large 
 pearls with the pendant. Did you ever see that 
 or any part of it before it was presented to you? 
 
 A. I never did. 
 
 Q. You never visited the establishment where 
 they were purchased ? 
 
 A. Oh, I have been to the establishment, but not 
 about the pearls. 
 
 Q. And while you were there did you ever see 
 them? 
 
 A. No, I did not see those pearls. 
 
 Q. Didn't you see them in the necklace! 
 
 A. Nor unstrung. 
 
 Q. How did you happen to furnish the diamonds 
 for the pendant that was to be attached to the 
 necklace 1 
 
 A. Well, I was told that I was going to be pre- 
 sented with a pearl necklace, and I asked about
 
 290 DEFRAUDING THE GOVERNMENT 
 
 tlie clasp, and tliey said it was going to have a 
 jolain spray clasp. 
 
 Q. Who told you that? 
 
 A. A friend of mine. 
 
 Q. He was going to make you a present of the 
 pearls'? 
 
 A. Yes. So I thought I could improve on it by 
 putting a brooch clasp on that, and I had these 
 stones I did not use, and I gave them to this man, 
 and he showed me several designs for clasps, and 
 I had this clasp made then on the large necklace. 
 
 Q. Whom did you furnish those diamonds to! 
 
 A. To a jeweler in Paris by the name of jNIorey. 
 
 Q. He was the man from whom the necklace was 
 purchased I 
 
 A. Yes. 
 
 Q. You took them and delivered them to him? 
 
 A. I did. 
 
 Q. No. 5 Faubourg St. Honore? 
 
 A. YcvS, sir. 
 
 Q. Didn't you testify you took those diamonds 
 and used your own pearls? 
 
 A. I did not. 
 
 Q. You simply took them and delivered them I 
 
 A. I did. 
 
 Q. Did you direct him what to do with them? 
 
 A. I did. 
 
 Q. What? 
 
 A. Make a clasp. 
 
 Q. You mean put them around this pendant?
 
 [WHY MIGHT IS RIGHT, AND WHEN 291 
 
 A. No : to make the clasp. 
 
 Q. Of the large pearls ? 
 
 A. I didn't know anything about the pearls. I 
 didn't know which pearls I was going to get. On 
 the necklace which I was to get I told him to make 
 a clasp for the necklace. 
 
 Q. And by that clasp you meant the little pen- 
 dant, as we call it? 
 
 A. Yes. 
 
 Q. That is what clasps it together? 
 
 A. Yes. 
 
 Q. Now, these diamonds around the ruby — did 
 you furnish those ? 
 
 A. I did. 
 
 Q. The ruby you did not ? 
 
 A. No. 
 
 Q. Nor none of the pearls? 
 
 A. None of them. 
 
 Q. Now, do you know what the cost of that neck- 
 lace was? 
 
 A. I didn't know it over there, but I knew after 
 all this trouble came up. 
 
 Q. You were not told there what its price was? 
 
 A. No, I was not. 
 
 Q. And as to the dog-collar or band, you fur- 
 nished the diamonds of these little cross-bars hold- 
 ing the pearls together? 
 
 A. Yes, sir. 
 
 Q. Is that all you furnished? 
 
 A. Just the diamonds, yes.
 
 292 DEFRAUDING THE GOVERNMENT 
 
 Q. And that was purchased by whom? 
 
 A. My friend. 
 
 Q. And presented to you in Paris ? 
 
 A. In Paris. 
 
 Q. And you wore that there several times ? 
 
 A. Oh, yes, very often. 
 
 Q. And that you had in your baggage when you 
 entered? 
 
 A. I did. 
 
 Q. And when you made your declaration? 
 
 A. Yes. 
 
 Q. And the large pearls? 
 
 A. Yes. 
 
 Q. You knew they were both in your bag? 
 
 A. Yes. 
 
 Q. That you had possession of them at the time 
 you made your declaration? 
 
 A. Yes. 
 
 Q. I understood you to say that your name was 
 Mrs. Phyllis E. Dodge? 
 
 A. Yes. 
 
 Q. That is your name? 
 
 A. Yes. 
 
 Q. Will you swear to that ? 
 
 A. Swear to it? 
 
 Q. Will you swear to that? 
 
 A. It is a name I assumed about ten years ago. 
 
 Q. What is your real name? 
 
 Q. You say you have had this name about ten 
 years ?
 
 WHY MIGHT IS RIGHT, AND WHEN 293 
 
 A. About ten years. 
 
 Q. Were you ever married? 
 
 A. I was. 
 
 Q. To a Mr. Dodge? 
 
 A. No. 
 
 Q, What was your name? 
 
 A. I refuse to answer. 
 
 Q. You refuse to answer? 
 
 A. Yes. 
 
 Q. Your name never was Dodge until you as- 
 sumed it? 
 
 A. Never. 
 
 Q. Where were you living when you assumed 
 this name of Mrs. Phyllis E. Dodge? 
 
 A. New York. 
 
 Q. You were living in New York? 
 
 A. Yes. 
 
 Q. Were you born in New York? 
 
 A. I refuse to answer. 
 
 Q. Why? 
 
 A. Simply because I don't care to answer. 
 
 Q. Why? 
 
 A. I do not care to go into my domestic affairs. 
 I do not think they have anything to do with this 
 case. 
 
 Q. It is simply a matter of your private pleasure 
 that you refuse to answer? 
 
 A. Yes, sir. 
 
 Q. For the same reason you refuse to answer 
 what your husband's real name was?
 
 294 DEFRAUDING THE GOVERNMENT 
 
 A. Yes, the same reason. 
 
 Mr. "Wellington : I shall ask the court to direct 
 her to answer. 
 
 The Conrt: If you show me that the answer 
 that she might make of the true name, for instance, 
 has some necessary connection with the case, upon 
 which you wish to predicate further, or other 
 l^roof, I will consider whether I shall direct her to 
 answer. If it is merely to indicate what the true 
 name was, and nothing more, I think I will decline 
 to require her to answer. 
 
 Mr. Wellington: The object is, if we can find 
 her true name and of the husband, we can get some 
 track of the history of this woman and find out 
 how credible she is. 
 
 The Court : I think for that purpose I shall not 
 require her to answer, considering that she has 
 been going under the name of Dodge for ten years. 
 
 Mr. Wellington : That we cannot tell. It is only 
 her statement. If we can get at the proper name 
 we may be able to contradict her. 
 
 Q. When did you first assume the name of 
 Dodge? 
 
 A. I refuse to answer. 
 
 Mr. Wellington: Our information is that it is 
 only two or three years, and we ask the conrt to 
 instruct her to answer as affecting her credibility. 
 
 Q. I asked you if your name was Phyllis E. 
 Dodge? 
 
 A. I said yes, and that I had been known by that
 
 WHY MIGHT IS RIGHT, AND WHEN 295 
 
 name for ten years, and probably eleven years, and 
 b}" no other name ever since that time. 
 
 Q. Why do you refuse to answer? When and 
 where did you first assume that name? 
 
 Objected to that the question had been ruled out. 
 
 The Court : I think this answer is sufficient for 
 any purposes of contradiction in respect to what 
 you have just stated, namely, that you expect to 
 show that she has -been known by some other name 
 during the last ten years. She says she has been 
 known by no other names during that time. 
 
 Q. For ten years, you say, you have gone under 
 the name of Dodge 1 
 
 A. Yes, sir. 
 
 Q. And you refuse to give the name you went 
 under before? 
 
 A. I certainly do. 
 
 Q. Will you give your maiden name? 
 
 A. I will not. 
 
 Q. Now, where do you say you live ? 
 
 A. At present? 
 
 Q. Yes. 
 
 A. At 104 West Eightieth Street. 
 
 Q. You say you own that house? 
 
 A. I do. 
 
 Q. From whom did j^ou purchase it? 
 
 A. From a man by the name of Knight. 
 
 Q. Did you pay him the money for it? 
 
 A. T\niopaid for it? 
 
 Q. Yes.
 
 296 DEFRAUDING THE GOVERNMENT 
 
 A. A friend. 
 
 Q. Is there any mortgage on it now? 
 
 A. Not a penny, 
 
 Q. Have you any occupation in life? 
 
 A. No. 
 
 Q. Any means of earning money? 
 
 A. No. 
 
 Q. Have you inherited any fortune from any 
 ancestors? 
 
 A. I refuse to answer. 
 
 The Court : Unless there is some special reason 
 why you should not answer that question I think 
 you should answer it. 
 
 A. I have been left some little money. 
 
 By Mr. Wellington : 
 
 Q. How much? 
 
 A. I don't remember just how much it was, it is 
 so long ago. 
 
 Q. Have you any of it left now? 
 
 A. I have a little money. I don't know that it is 
 that. I don't think it is. 
 
 Q. I will ask you this square question. T guess 
 you won't object to answering it. Is or is not your 
 whole means of livelihood derived from the sup- 
 port, during this time, from this friend? 
 
 Objected to. 
 
 Q. You have no occupation and no means of 
 earning money, and you are not earning money by 
 any pursuit or occupation? 
 
 Objected to as already answered.
 
 WHY MIGHT IS RIGHT, AND WHEN 297 
 
 Mr. Wellington : Do you desire to make any cor- 
 rection? If that is understood, I won't pursue it 
 further. 
 
 Mr. Carey: Certainly. I would have admitted 
 it all without your asking if you had asked me to. 
 
 Q, Getting back to one other point, Mrs. Dodge— 
 I suppose you prefer we shall call you Mrs. 
 Dodge? 
 
 A. I don't care what you call me. 
 
 Q. I desire to call you what you desire me to. 
 
 A. It doesn't make any difference what you call 
 me. 
 
 Q. Getting back to the purchase of the pearls, do 
 you or not remember the fact that they were pur- 
 chased by your friend on the 2d day of June? 
 
 A. I told you I did not remember the date. 
 
 Q. I know you did, and I am trying to see if I 
 cannot refresh your recollection. 
 
 A. No, I don't remember what day it was. 
 
 Q. Do you know how soon after they were pre- 
 sented to you that you wore them at all ? 
 
 A. I do not. 
 
 Q. So that if they were purchased on the 2d day 
 of June, and you left Paris on the 17th, you could 
 only have had an opportunity to wear them about 
 two weeks 1 
 
 A. No, if that was the date. That looks like it. 
 
 Q. Did you ever see your friend's affidavit that 
 he made in this case, when you were seeking to 
 have these jewels released?
 
 298 DEFRAUDING THE GOVERNMENT 
 
 A. I don't know whether I did or not. 
 
 Q. Do YOU recollect there was such an affidavit 
 made down at Mr. Smithers' office when you were 
 present ? 
 
 A. What kind of an affidavit f 
 
 Q. An affidavit when there was an effort made 
 with the Treasury Department to have these 
 things released. 
 
 A. I did. 
 
 Q. Did you see your friend's affidavit at that 
 time or hear it read? 
 
 A. I don't know whether I did or not. 
 
 Q. Just look at that paper, and I will ask you 
 whether you ever read that before [showing]. 
 
 A. I know that is true^ but I don't know that I 
 have seen the affidavit before. 
 
 Q. The matters there stated you think to be cor- 
 rect? 
 
 A. T know it is correct. 
 
 Q. You notice he states this was purchased on 
 the 2d day of June ? 
 
 A. I see it is so stated there, and it may be cor- 
 rect. 
 
 Q. That you believe to be correct? 
 
 A. I told you before I did not remember the date. 
 
 Q. Having seen it there now, do you think it is 
 correct? 
 
 Objected to. 
 
 Q. Now, after reading that affidavit and refresh- 
 ing your recollection about it, is it or not your best
 
 .WHY MIGHT IS RIGHT, AND WHEN 299 
 
 recollection that these jewels were purchased by 
 your friend on the 2d day of June ? 
 
 A. I know they were purchased by my friend, 
 but I don't know about the 2d day of June. 
 
 Q. And you can't say whether it was in June or 
 May? 
 
 A. I cannot. 
 
 Q. Do you recollect how soon your friend ar- 
 rived, on the other side! 
 
 A. No, I don't know exactly how soon it was. 
 
 Q. Do you remember whether it was about the 
 first of June he arrived in Paris? 
 
 A. That it was after the first of June? 
 
 Q. Yes. 
 
 A. Why, it must have been. No, it was not. It 
 was in May. If he sailed — let me see. It must 
 have been in May that he came there. 
 
 Q. Have you any recollection about that ? 
 
 A. I don't know the date — no. 
 
 Q. Mrs. Dodge, will you look at the signature 
 there and say whether that is your handwriting? 
 [showing original answer in this case]. 
 
 A. That is my writing, 
 
 Q. Do you remember where you signed that? 
 
 A. I do not. 
 
 Q. You don't know where you signed it? 
 
 A. No. 
 
 Q. Do you recollect whether you read it? 
 
 A. Of course I read it, or I should not have 
 signed it.
 
 300 DEFRAUDING THE GOVERNMENT 
 
 Q. Were the statements therein, so far as you 
 then knew, true to the best of your knowledge? 
 
 A. As far as I knew then, certainly, 
 
 Q. Now, you have stated to us that these articles 
 at the time you made your declaration — the arti- 
 cles that were seized — were in your hand-bag? 
 
 A. They were. 
 
 Q. And as long as they were in your possession 
 they were in that hand-bag? 
 
 A, That was not very long. 
 
 Q. But they were there all the time you had pos- 
 session of them, from the time you made your dec- 
 laration up to the time, or from the time you were 
 called upon to make your entry or declaration, up 
 to the time the bag was taken possession of by 
 the officers, the jewels were in the hand-bag? 
 
 A. Yes, they must have been there. 
 
 Q. Do you remember that was the fact ? 
 
 A. Of course. 
 
 Q. Now, how did you come to make this state- 
 ment in your answer : ' ' This claimant, further an- 
 swering, alleges that there was no attempt at con- 
 cealment of said jewelry or any part thereof; that 
 the same was partly worn by this claimant and 
 the balance carried in an open bag"? Now, what 
 part of this jewelry that you are claiming in this 
 case was worn by you on that occasion? 
 
 A. These same things here? 
 
 Q. Yes. 
 
 A. None of these were worn by me.
 
 WHY MIGHT IS RIGHT, AND WHEN 301 
 
 It is useless to give the reader further informa- 
 tion regarding the testimony that was given by- 
 Mrs. Dodge. 
 
 The result of this trial was a decree given for 
 the United States Government condemning all of 
 the property seized. An appeal was taken by 
 Messrs. Smithers & Havens together with my 
 friend, T. J. Carey. (I want to say that never in 
 his lifetime did Mr. Carey work more faithfully 
 for a client than he did to win this case.) 
 
 The United States Circuit Court of Appeals 
 quickly ordered a new trial and the case was re- 
 tried. The Government lost the case on the second 
 trial, and an appeal was then taken to the United 
 States Court of Appeals and the case was then 
 won by the Government. 
 
 The case itself created such world-wide atten- 
 tion that S. E. Smithers and T. J. Carey took the 
 case to the United States Supreme Court, all of 
 the judges sitting in session, and a decision was 
 given again for the Government. 
 
 Then the case was presented to President Roose- 
 velt. The Secretary of the Treasury at that time 
 was present, and a strong appeal was made to 
 President Roosevelt, which was turned down by 
 him, and the Secretary ordered the goods sold. 
 
 I was present at the time that these jewels were 
 sold at public auction in one of the courtrooms in 
 the Federal Building, which was the end of the 
 famous Phyllis E. Dodge case.
 
 THE LEJEUNE JEWELS 
 
 CHAPTER I 
 
 What is known as the Lejeune case was a cele- 
 brated one in customs circles. Since I made the 
 acquaintance of Constant Lejeune I have seen 
 most convincingly the wisdom of Sev Stevenson's 
 remark, *'A11 that is necessary sometimes is to 
 stand on guard with an assured countenance." 
 Brass ! Lejeune had as much of it as he had pol- 
 ish. Usually these two opposites do not go to- 
 gether. Lejeune was infinite cheek "a capite ad 
 calcem/' but he had that perfumed arg-ument that 
 carried weight. He came from Belgium, where, 
 I believe, he was once wealthy. Reduced circmn- 
 stances were given by his friends as an excuse for 
 his attempt to defraud not only the Government, 
 but a number of wealtliy persons as well. 
 
 Although Lejeune arrived from Brussels on 
 June 18, 1901, it was not until the close of that 
 year that his operations attracted official atten- 
 tion. I left my Christmas dinner to locate the 
 man. For some weeks before, the New York mar- 
 ket had been carrying expensive jewelry on which 
 
 802
 
 THE LEJEUNE JEWELS 303 
 
 duty had not been paid. At least, I went over tons 
 of declarations of New York, Philadelphia, Balti- 
 more and Boston, and could not find any record 
 of the property, which was accurately described. 
 The express company which delivered the eighteen 
 pieces of baggage which Lejeune and his wife 
 brought in when they landed from the steamer 
 Kaiser Wilhelm der Grosse on June 18 supi^lied 
 me with their hotel address. 
 
 In this way I traced the man from place to place 
 until at last I located his lair in the Judson Apart- 
 ment House, 53 Washington Place, South, Man- 
 hattan. I had in my possession the evening I first 
 called there a list of jewels he had brought in, to- 
 gether with a sworn declaration made on arrival 
 that he had nothing except eight dollars' worth of 
 personal effects. The declaration showed that 
 even those were sworn off and admitted free. Be- 
 tween Christmas Day of 1901 and January 3 fol- 
 lowing I ran the whereabouts of the Belgian down. 
 AVhen I called at his apartments in the Judson on 
 the night of the last-mentioned date, I was in- 
 formed by a maid that Mr. and Mrs. Lejeune were 
 not at home, but were visiting friends at No. — 
 Washington Square, West. 
 
 Not desiring to disturb the host of Lejeune, T 
 sent a special messenger up to the apartment to 
 requesthim to come at his convenience to the lower 
 floor. Not knowing me or my mission, he re- 
 sponded more out of curiosity than anything else.
 
 304 DEFRAUDING THE GOVERNMENT 
 
 I told him in very few words that I desired to ques- 
 tion him at length regarding the sale of a lot of 
 jewelry that was formerly his property, and also 
 as to the receipt by him from Miami, Fla., of a 
 consignment of valuable goods. That very day, 
 it seems, Lejeune had been blackmailed out of two 
 hundred dollars by somebody more alert than him- 
 self, and he seemed to place some connection be- 
 tween that incident and my visit, for he viewed 
 the latter with great suspicion. I showed him my 
 badge, but he laughed at it. 
 
 We were in the midst of a heated discussion, 
 when Mrs. Lejeune and her host came down to the 
 lower landing. Mrs. Lejeune could talk English 
 fluently, and addressed me in that language. I ex- 
 plained to her the situation, and she advised her 
 husband, in French, to go back to their apartment 
 with me and talk the matter over. Wlien we 
 reached the Judson I said to Mrs. Lejcnme : 
 
 ''Madam, do me the kindness to turn over your 
 jewels." 
 
 "My husband has them locked up," she made 
 reply. "He will get them, that you may see them." 
 
 Lejeune went into an adjoining room and pres- 
 ently returned with an immense jewel casket. This 
 he handed to her, with tlio remark in an undertone 
 that she be careful what she did or said. 
 
 The piece de resistance of the jewel cabinet was 
 a diadem, about five inches in length and about 
 two and one-half inches wide. It was of fine sprays.
 
 THE LEJEUNE JEWELS 305 
 
 like a boiiqnet, the center rod connecting the 
 sprays having in its fokls a setting that held a 
 most magnificent diamond. This was a Regent or 
 Pitt cut, weighing about five carats. Tliere were 
 also in the casket the following: 
 
 Pair of diamond and pigeon blood ruby brace- 
 lets. 
 
 Pair of emerald and diamond bracelets. 
 
 Diamond-studded brooch. 
 
 Black pearl set in a ring. 
 
 Four magnificent diamond rings. 
 
 The emerald and diamond bracelets were 
 worthy of admiration of a princess of India. The 
 emerald in the center, in addition to being fully 
 five-eighths of an inch square, was of the most 
 rich and vivid green I had ever seen. The dia- 
 monds at either side of it were Kohinoor cut and 
 graduated from a five-carat stone to one of about 
 one and one-half carats. 
 
 The brooch was also a kingly prize. It con- 
 tained twenty first-water stones, none of them 
 weighing less than three or four carats. The black 
 pearl set in the ring, the Lejeunes admitted, was 
 worth no less than five thousand dollars. 
 
 I asked Lejeune what he considered the collec- 
 tion of nine pieces to be worth, and he said about 
 fifteen thousand dollars. I could not help smiling 
 at this, and I remarked : 
 
 "There are dozens of dealers downtown who
 
 306 DEFRAUDING THE GOVERNMENT 
 
 would fall over one another to get these jewels at 
 that figure." 
 
 He shrugged his shoulders, and, with a gesture 
 to his wife, indicated that she place the gems in 
 the casket. I waited until she had done so, when 
 I informed her that it would be necessary to take 
 the entire collection under seizure. 
 
 **Ever\^thing may be quite correct, madam," I 
 said to her, "but that is for the Collector of the 
 Port to decide." 
 
 Mrs. Lejeune was amazed at the idea and pro- 
 tested amid a fusillade of English and French. 
 Lejeune himself grew white with anger, but I ex- 
 plained that it was the usual formality, and that if 
 the introduction of the jewels into the country was 
 regular they would be returned. 
 
 Up to this point Lejeune had acted with the 
 greatest tact, but when he realized that I was de- 
 termined and intended to take the jewels away on 
 my person he became impudent and showed that 
 beneath his veneer there was a composition of in- 
 elegant brass. I had told him that I desired to 
 take the things away with the least possible pub- 
 licity, as I was not anxious to get the affair in the 
 press. This, it seems, gave him an opportunity 
 to resort to stratagem, and he immediately de- 
 nounced me as an impostor. 
 
 It just happened that before I entered the Jud- 
 son apartment the first time on that night I spoke 
 to a uniformed policeman on the street, introdu-
 
 THE LEJEUNE JEWELS 307 
 
 cing myself and indicating- that I might have some 
 use for him. lie said that he would be close at 
 hand, and I saw him on a nearby corner when, 
 with Mr. and Mrs. Lejeune, I entered the 
 Judson for the second time. Bearing the fact in 
 mind, I said to Lejeune that the policeman on that 
 patrol would identify me. 
 
 "At all events," I continued, *4t will be neces- 
 sary for me to take these jewels, whether or not 
 you choose to go." 
 
 Both then said that they would give the jewels 
 over to me, and, while I was making out a receipt 
 for the same, Lejeune, probably inspired by his 
 wife, said that in view of the great value of the 
 property, and the fact that it was night, he would 
 accompany me home and spend the night with me. 
 
 It was my turn to object. The upshot of the 
 matter was that I assured him that I had, on innu- 
 numerable occasions previously, carried much more 
 precious jewelry than that of which he was so 
 careful, and that if he would accompany me to the 
 nearest police station, I would not only guarantee 
 him a safe return home that night, but also an 
 official assurance that he could entrust his prop- 
 erty to me, pending a decision by the Collector. 
 Lejeune and his wife walked with me to the Mercer 
 street station-house and were convinced by the ser- 
 geant in command that I had the authoi ity to take 
 possession of the jewels. The Lejeunes then re- 
 traced their steps homeward.
 
 308 DEFRAUDING THE GOVERNMENT 
 
 I had no positive evidence that the jewels were 
 smuggled, though the information that I possessed 
 warranted that conviction. This was my chief ob- 
 ject in making the seizure as quietly as possible. 
 I wanted to cover up every loophole of Lejeune 
 before any news of the affair reached the public. 
 My surprise and chagrin may be imagined when, 
 upon arriving at my home at midnight, I found 
 more than a dozen reporters, representing all the 
 big dailies, on hand, awaiting my coming. 
 
 I asked them where they had heard that a seiz- 
 ure had been made, and they said that the officials 
 of the Mercer Street police station had given out 
 the information. I insisted that I had nothing to 
 say, but what was printed next morning threw 
 me back several days in my task, if it did not se- 
 riously affect the success of several important fea- 
 tures of my operations. I learned a lesson from 
 the police that night. 
 
 The Lejeune jewels were delivered to the Col- 
 lector's special deputy the following morning and 
 placed in the Custom House safe. Lejeune did not 
 let the grass grow under his feet. He had the 
 younger Mr. Moon, of Moon Brothers, retained as 
 his attorney. Bright and early the same day, and 
 overflowing with an exuberance of imaginary au- 
 thoi'ity, this lawyer was at the Custom House be- 
 fore the Collector reached his desk. 
 
 It was evident from the initial bow of the law-
 
 THE LEJEUNE JEWELS 309 
 
 yer that morning that he was under the misappre- 
 liension that the entire United States Government 
 was resting on his shoulders. Mr. Moon repre- 
 sents many French firms, and that fact has helped 
 to make him pompous. He was certainly inebriated 
 with his own importance and verbosity that morn- 
 ing. He spoke about damnable outrages, the weak- 
 ness of a Government that would permit the vio- 
 lation of a man's home, and a great deal more 
 twaddle of that kind. 
 
 His purpose was apparent from the very outset, 
 however. He wanted to scare the Treasury De- 
 partment of this great and glorious country into 
 returning the Lejeune jewels ''without any ques- 
 tions asked." When, finally, he addressed his ha- 
 rangue to me, I told him in undisguised language 
 that I was never frightened when I had the law 
 on my side, and that as I had the power vested in 
 me to perform the duties given to me by my su- 
 periors, one of which was the seizure of his client's 
 jewels, I was not to be bullied into returning them 
 pending a decision from a higher authority. 
 
 Mr. Moon, in behalf of his client, admitted that 
 Lejeune had arrived in this country on the pre- 
 vious June 18 with a considerable amount of jew- 
 elry; that he had become pressed for read}^ cash 
 two or three months following his arrival and had 
 sold some of the jewelry and was willing to sell 
 the rest. 
 
 "What he did was done legally," said Mr.
 
 310 DEFRAUDING THE GOVERNMENT 
 
 Moon. "It was on my advice that he made the 
 sale, and it was authorized by one of your deputy 
 ccllectors." 
 
 This was a startling admission, and evoked some 
 inquiry on the jjart of Collector Bidwell, to which 
 Mr. Moon replied that when his client asked him 
 for advice as to his desire to sell the jewels, the 
 counsel had written to the deputy collector. An 
 answer was received on November 30 consenting 
 to the sale and stating that duty need not be paid. 
 
 "That, sir, is our authority," said Attorney 
 Moon to Collector Bidwell, "and you cannot get 
 around it." 
 
 Then followed a lengthy appeal for the return 
 of the property seized. The Collector said that 
 the same would have to be detained pending the 
 pleasure of the department in Washington. The 
 Collector pointed out to Mr. Moon that the deputy 
 collector had written an unofficial letter in a 
 friendly spirit, and that in making a reply to the 
 inquiry of Mr. Moon, he (the Collector) had not 
 been informed in the premises and knew nothing 
 of any consent being given. 
 
 "It was entirely illegal on the part of the dep- 
 uty collector," was the comment of Mr. Bidwell. 
 "So far as I can see, the property is clearly duti- 
 able, and Mr. Lejeune has violated the law in sell- 
 ing this dutiable jewelry." 
 
 While Lejeune was scurrying around the next 
 few days trying to keep the authorities off his
 
 THE LEJEUNE JEWELS 311 
 
 track, I managed to secure the name of a man to 
 whom he had sold a quantity of jewelry for $23,- 
 180. In addition, I learned that Lejeune was the 
 proprietor of an immense store on Fifth Avenue, 
 near Sherry's, where he was selling bric-a-brac 
 and expensive furniture. I searched high and low 
 to find some record of duty having been paid upon 
 the imported furniture and fine arts of this store, 
 but without success. 
 
 Lejeune, it was discovered, had a secretary 
 whose business it was to introduce the stuff to the 
 attention of wealthy New Yorkers. The sale of 
 the $23,180 worth of diamonds had been effected 
 through the good offices of this secretary, who, it 
 was ascertained, had to serve papers on Lejeune 
 for the payment of the commission on this sale. 
 The buyer of the jewelry was Baron Erlanger, who 
 had jDurchased it for his wife. 
 
 The Baron was residing in the metropolis at the 
 lime, and I located him without any great diffi- 
 culty. He told me without hesitation about the 
 whole transaction. According to his statement, 
 Lejeune told him that he was hard pressed for 
 funds, which he needed to improve an orange 
 grove near Miami, Fla. He purchased from 
 him one diamond necklace, a large piece which he 
 said was similar to the diadem then in possession 
 of the customs, two bracelets, a solitaire diamond 
 ring, a diamond and ruby bracelet, one half-moon 
 diamond pin, and one diamond and sapphire ring.
 
 312 DEFRAUDING THE GOVERNMENT 
 
 '^They were delivered to me on the payment of 
 $3,000 cash. I gave him my notes for the re- 
 mainder, $20,180, ' ' is the way the Baron put it. 
 
 What the Baron said about Lejeune needing im- 
 mediate cash to imj)rove an orange grove was an 
 echo of what Attorney Moon said at the hearing 
 before Collector Bidwell. Observe the inconsist- 
 ency of the lawyer's claims. When I saw Lejeune 
 at his home in the Judson he showed me three poli- 
 cies on the New York Life Insurance Company for 
 one hundred thousand dollars. He displayed them 
 in an endeavor to establish the claim that he was 
 an honest man. Had Lejeune required money as 
 badly as his lawyer tried to make all hands be- 
 lieve, the insurance policies would have secured it 
 for him within a few hours. But he did not want 
 money that way. He preferred to defraud the 
 Government. That was the secret of his financial 
 embarrassment. 
 
 Baron Erlanger furaished me with the name of 
 his attorney, on whom I called at his office on West 
 Tenth Street, Manhattan. He gave me a state- 
 ment of the transaction between Lejeune and his 
 client, from which I abstract the following : 
 
 The purchase of the jewels was made November 
 6, 1901, and they were delivered the day 
 following. The sum of $3,000 in cash was 
 paid to bind the sale. One note for $2,000 
 was given, payable in six months from No- 
 vember 27, 1902. A second note, payable May
 
 THE LEJEUNE JEWELS 313 
 
 7, 1903, for $8,000, and a third note, paj^able No- 
 vember 27, 1904, for the remainder, $10,180, were 
 also in the list of promissory indebtedness. I give 
 the exact dates of these notes to illustrate that if 
 Lejeune could afford to sell jewelry on November 
 6, 1901, and wait more than three years to get a 
 final payment, he could not have been in any great 
 degree of financial embarrassment. Besides, of the 
 $3,000 cash that was paid to consummate the sale, 
 Lejeune had promised to give his secretaiy $900 
 for bringing Erlanger into the net. 
 
 That the man was not poverty-worn when he 
 made the sale may be surmised from the fact that 
 he gave this same secretary $200 a few days before 
 he transferred the diamonds to Baron Erlanger. 
 Again, it was learned that Lejeune, in order that 
 he should not be forced to pay any more commis- 
 sions on any sales of jewels to Baron Erlanger, 
 compromised with his secretary and secured a re- 
 lease from that individual for $75. This made a 
 total of $1,175 paid to the secretary out of $3,000, 
 which he needed so much to improve his orange 
 grove in Florida. 
 
 Dovetailing the Erlanger transaction to the 
 complete satisfaction of Collector Bidwell, I began 
 an investigation of the contents of Lejeune 's Fifth 
 Avenue ''Art Gallery." I visited the place on the 
 morning of January 7, 1902. It consisted of two 
 large salesrooms and was street-numbered 520. 
 Outside, there was a brass sign calling attention
 
 314 DEFRAUDING THE GOVERNMENT 
 
 to the fact that a collection of fine arts and house- 
 hold goods were on sale. There were magnificent 
 paintings, statuary, rugs, bric-a-brac and furni- 
 ture in abundance, and, as I entered, a young sales- 
 woman came forward and asked me what I de- 
 sired. I told her that I merely desired to look 
 around, and she voluntpered to accompany me. 
 
 The young woman explained everything in de- 
 tail, informing me of the price from the tickets 
 which were attached to the articles I examined. 
 These prices were marked in plain figures. In a 
 rear room there were fourteen pieces of gilt fur- 
 niture without any upholstering except the cover- 
 ing of the springs. Under the law, imported fur- 
 niture that is not upholstered is dutiable. That 
 these fourteen pieces were imported was certain. 
 Their workmanship and design were far superior 
 to anything I had ever seen. The young woman 
 gave their price as $12,000. In this set were in- 
 cluded a mantelpiece and a screen, which, like the 
 remainder of the set, were siraply framework. 
 
 From the gilt furniture, the saleswoman took me 
 to two magnificent vases that were made of onyx 
 and were twelve feet high. The j^rice asked for 
 these was $9,000 each. Near the vases was a clock 
 built on an onyx pedestal. It was an ideal piece 
 of workmanship, and its design was in every par- 
 ticular as elegant as the vases. It seemed to make 
 a complete set with the latter. The sum of $4,000 
 was asked for the clock.
 
 THE LEJEUNE JEWELS 315 
 
 Behind this onyx dream was a painting by a 
 famous artist, 15 feet long by 8 feet high, which 
 the young guide told me was worth $12,500. Then 
 we came across a bedroom of the sixteenth cen- 
 tury. It was complete in every detail — of solid 
 mahogany and of a most inviting design. The 
 price in this instance was $6,000. For a dining- 
 room set $7,000 was asked. Not allowing for the 
 countless smaller things which the young woman 
 displayed, I afterwards figured out that I had ex- 
 amined $64,900 worth of stuff, which, in due time, 
 was seized. 
 
 I proved beyond all reasonable doubt that near- 
 ly all, if not the entire contents of these sales- 
 rooms had been imported by Lejeune from Brus- 
 sels. I do not dispute that the stuff may have been 
 his personal effects, and that under certain con- 
 ditions it was entitled to free entry. The law states 
 that a passenger, on his arrival here, be he a for- 
 eign subject or an American resident abroad who 
 has spent more than two years on the other side, 
 is j)ermitted to bring with him his personal effects 
 and household goods, provided he takes the oath 
 swearing off the penalty. 
 
 But the strongest part of that same law is that 
 it is specifically stated upon this swearing-off cer- 
 tificate that the goods which he asks to have ad- 
 mitted duty free are not for sale. Lejeune, whether 
 or not he had any legal right to bring the jewels 
 and furniture in, duty waived, violated the trust
 
 316 DEFRAUDING THE GOVERNMENT 
 
 reposed in him when he offered them for sale, 
 which he certainly did. Collector Bidwell repeat- 
 edly stated that he wished to be perfectly fair in 
 the matter, and added that if the Lejeunes, 
 through their lawj^er, would guarantee to return 
 on demand the jewels then in the Custom House, 
 he would surrender the property to Attorney 
 Moon, pending a decision from Washington. 
 
 The Lejeunes evidently had not acted in perfect 
 faith with their lawyer, because the latter abso- 
 lutely declined to assume the responsibility for his 
 clients. Criticism is not necessary in this connec- 
 tion. To further emphasize the lack of honesty 
 of Lejeune 1 will briefly state the result of my ad- 
 ditional investigation. 
 
 First of all, his claim of being compelled to sell 
 some of his jewelry was a prearranged one, and 
 I believe that his lawyer afterwards made this dis- 
 covery. Lejeune did not bring the jewelry to this 
 country, nor did his wife. They were in the safe 
 of the Grand Central Hotel for several days be- 
 fore the Lejeunes arrived. 
 
 On June 16, two days before Lejeune reached 
 Manliattan, there arrived at the hostelry just men- 
 tioned one Octave Fontaine and his wife. Lejeune, 
 through a prearrangement, was to go into business 
 with Fontaine in New York. The Fontaines left 
 the Grand Central Hotel June 21, three days after 
 the arrival of the Lejeunes in the steamer Kaiser 
 Wilhelm der Grosse. Mrs. Fontaine returned to
 
 THE LKJEUNE JEWELS 317 
 
 the hotel on June 24, followed the next day by her 
 spouse. They again left the hotel June 27, and, as 
 they had brought the Lejeune jewelry there, it 
 is safe to assume that the valuables were in the 
 safe of the hotel for fully eleven days. 
 
 Concerning the movements of these jewels prior 
 to their sale, they have been pretty well traced. 
 
 , a reputable banking house, who produced 
 
 their books for my benefit, show that on Septem- 
 ber 17, 1901, Octave Fontaine delivered to them a 
 sealed package for the ''account of Constant Le- 
 jeune." Another entry shows that on September 
 21 of the same year "one sealed package, said to 
 contain jewelry," was delivered to the firm by 
 Charles Lejeune for the account of Constant Le- 
 jeune. This Charles Lejeune is a brother of Con- 
 stant Lejeune. A receipt by Constant in posses- 
 sion of the firm shows that on October 23, 1901, 
 the package was delivered to him. 
 
 The books of a certain banking house are a liv- 
 ing testimony to the fact that Lejeune was not in 
 the financial distress that his attorney claimed. 
 They show that on June 13, five days before Con- 
 stant and his wife arrived in this countiy, a pack- 
 age of bonds of the city of Paris was received by 
 the firm for their account from the Credit Lyon- 
 naise of Brussels to the value of thirty-two thou- 
 sand francs. On July 16, 1901, the sum of twenty- 
 eight thousand francs was sent to the Credit Lyon- 
 naise of Brussels by Constant, and the memorau-
 
 318 DEFRAUDING THE GOVERNMENT 
 
 dum attached to this account states that "the re- 
 maining bonds are to be held at the disposal of 
 Octave Fontaine, who will apply. ' ' 
 
 The firm, on July 26, as per entry in its books, 
 delivered to Octave Fontaine ten bonds, Fontaine 
 filing a letter from Lejeune as identification. Three 
 days later there was delivered to him "one sealed 
 package, contents unknown." That Constant and 
 Fontaine understood each other perfectly may be 
 gleaned from the following, which is a copy of an 
 original letter dated Miami, July 23, 1901, the 
 original being in the possession of the Govern- 
 ment: 
 
 My Dear Fontaine: I send you to-day the jewels. Just 
 think, they made us pay sixteen dollars for insurance. Please 
 do not forget to wire me as soon as possible the amount which 
 can be put at my disposal, with date, etc. 
 
 (Signed) Constant Lejeune. 
 
 My Dear Fontaine: I hereby confirm my letter of the 23d 
 inst. In case you should not have ordered my wine, it would 
 be kind of you to add thereto ten half-bottles of Pom Greno 
 Extra Dry. Could you not find among your friends a party 
 that would undertake a sale of two large paintings. "Marine" 
 and the "Dog of Verbockeren"? Do me the favor when you 
 write to "Madam" and request her to hurry the shipment of 
 the jardiniere, and don't forget to present my compliments 
 to her. Yours lovingly, 
 
 (Signed) Constant Lejeune. 
 
 Both of the above are literal translations and no 
 attempt has been made to alter their construction. 
 Constant, during July, had asked Fontaine to ship 
 to Miami from the other side a quantity of empty 
 jewel cases. According to Lejeune 's suggestion.
 
 THE LEJEUNE JEWELS 319 
 
 they wore to be hidden in some cases of merchan- 
 dise to escape customs observation. Fontaine was 
 a bit squeamish about getting into difficulties with 
 the custom house authorities of this country, so 
 he left the jewel cases in Brussels, where they are 
 still supposed to be. Fontaine went back to Eu- 
 rope the last part of August, and when he returned 
 to Miami the following December he found the fol- 
 lowing letter from Charles Lejeune awaiting him 
 there : 
 
 Dear Foxtaine: Will you please remit to me as soon as pos- 
 sible all the money and bonds and boxes (I mean les ecrins de 
 hijoux at le ceach d'or diadem) that my brother has trusted 
 to you? If you do not have them here, please let me know 
 where they are and when I can get them. 
 
 Yours truly, 
 
 (Signed) Charles Lejeune. 
 
 I do not know what Fontaine's intentions were 
 regarding the jewel boxes, but it seems that he had 
 some sort of reverence for the customs law of this 
 country. He came to me with the documents af- 
 fecting that portion of this celebrated case, and 
 my advice was to treat the Lejeunes with the re- 
 spect that distance and experience would sanction. 
 This fatherly advice was followed to the letter, 
 and resulted in the curtain being rung down upon 
 the serious comedy that the Lejeunes had staged 
 for the unsuspecting American public. 
 
 But the law is an odd affair. When we consider 
 ourselves most secure, that is the time for Mr.
 
 320 DEFRAUDING THE GOVERNMENT 
 
 Technicality to make his entrance and captiva'U^ 
 the audience. I was of the opinion that I had ob- 
 tained sufficient evidence to make even Charles 
 Lejeune ashamed of his own brother. To strength- 
 en my case against Constant, T had secured from 
 a famous jeweler's establishment on Fifth Avenue 
 a receipt for the return of a black pearl ring which 
 he had given the jeweler to sell. The receipt 
 reads : 
 
 "Received of & Co. one black ring which was left with 
 
 them to sell. Valued at $11,000. 
 
 (Signed) "Constaxt Lejeune." 
 
 This receipt evidently referred to the black 
 pearl ring which I seized with the other eight 
 pieces in the Judson apartment. If it was worth 
 eleven thousand dollars, what must have been the 
 entire value of the property that I took from him 
 that night? Certain it is that the pearl was worth 
 much less than either bracelet. 
 
 In view of the above facts, seemingly convincing 
 of wrongdoing on the part of Constant Lejeune, I 
 rested content that conviction was as sure as fate. 
 I knew so much of the man that I had not told that 
 I did not think it necessary to drink up the whole 
 ]mddle to find that the water was dirty. Collector 
 Bidwell personally took the case to Washington. 
 
 The authorities there decided, in view of the 
 station occupied by Lejeune and his wife in Eu-
 
 THE LEJEUNE JEWELS 321 
 
 rope, of their wealth there, and the fact that they 
 displayed bills from the jewelers there of whom 
 they purchased the jewels, and that they had the 
 jewels in tlieir possession one year prior to their 
 arrival in this country, that the property should 
 be absolutely released. The furniture and bric- 
 a-brac were, however, held to be clearly dutiable. 
 What I think of the matter is another thing en- 
 tirely. I used to have different views, but now I 
 am a firm believer that "laws, like sausages, cease 
 to inspire respect in proportion as we know how 
 they are made. ' '
 
 PROFESSIONAL SMUGGLER 
 
 The Government officer must deal with all 
 grades of society, from the highest down to the 
 very dregs of humanity. I have found from my 
 experience that the possession of great wealth does 
 not deter many men and women from the attempt 
 to evade the United States Government duties. I 
 have also found that, as the act of smuggling is 
 criminal, or bordering upon criminal, it is only 
 natural to find members of the criminal classes 
 and sharpers of all descriptions engaged in such 
 attempts. Thus I have come to use the term, in 
 common parlance, "professional smuggler." 
 
 To outwit these two classes, the Government 
 must or should have a man or men possessed of 
 thepeculiarqualities which will enable them to deal 
 on the one hand with men and women who have 
 been clever enough to accunmlate great wealth, 
 and who challenge the wits of the Government offi- 
 cers in attempting to get past the Port of New 
 York with jewelry purchased abroad, and on the 
 other hand, the smugglers of the criminal class, 
 who by common consent are known to be the 
 brightest and most unscrupulous persons who 
 
 S32
 
 PROFESSIONAL SMUGGLER 323 
 
 cross the Atlantic, because tbey have sharpened 
 their wits against those of the best legal and police 
 authorities of the world. 
 
 It must be also apparent that with each seizure 
 of goods, with each foiling of an attempt on the 
 part of either of these classes to evade the pay- 
 ment of duties, a considerable financial loss ensues 
 to the smuggler — a parting with prospective gains 
 — a crushing mental disappointment. 
 
 When the would-be smuggler is of the female 
 sex, and the articles which she attempts to carry 
 through are of a very valuable nature, such as 
 jewels, furs or laces, the disappointment is all the 
 more keen from the fact that such articles are well 
 known to be very dear to womankind, and it is 
 only natural that she should attempt to rally to 
 her support, for purposes of revenge, all the influ- 
 ential male friends whom she may possess. 
 
 Therefore it follows that when a Government offi- 
 cer has achieved considerable success in tliis class 
 of work he becomes a marked man. Against him 
 are leveled the shafts of malice, hatred, revenge, 
 foul slander, calumny and the grossest kind of 
 personal abuse and vilification. 
 
 If you will stop to consider why this should be 
 so, you will observe that while perhaps a million- 
 aire manufacturer would not stoop to such meth- 
 ods, on the other hand they are the only ways by 
 which the scum of society can make its malice felt, 
 unless by means of personal violence and attempts 
 of physical injury.
 
 THE CASSIE CHADWICK CASE 
 
 The half of Cassie Chadwick's colossal swindles 
 has never been known, and probably never will 
 be; and much that is known will never be di- 
 vulged. It is not until now, in these pages, that 1 
 have been able to make public the incidents of her 
 long and successful career in the smuggling line, 
 which came under my notice during my connection 
 with the Treasury Department, as their special 
 agent. That the knowledge of this particular 
 phase of her varied criminality did not extend out- 
 side the Official Ear is due to the fact that at the 
 time of her prosecution, 1903, in Columbus, Ohio, 
 she was indicted only for certain individual 
 fraudulent transactions, and exclusive of Govern- 
 ment fraud. 
 
 Although six years dim remembrance some- 
 what, my visual memory clearly recalls this won- 
 derful woman as I first met her in 1902 ; alone in 
 the great saloon of the steamer Kaiser Wilhelm 
 der Grosse; outwardly an unassuming, conser- 
 vative, well-bred woman of about sixty-five years; 
 tall and slender, with iron-grey hair, unpro- 
 nounced features, and intelligent, dark eyes; 
 
 324
 
 CASSIE CHADWICK CASE 325 
 
 quietly but richly dressed — a sort of well-gowned 
 Hetty Green; a woman who, even in small gath- 
 erings, would not have attracted attention, either 
 favorably or unfavorably, as it seemed to me. Yet 
 this physically inconspicuous figure was, as the 
 world knew later, a veritable colossus of achieve- 
 ment, in her own unlawful line, whose woman's 
 wit outwitted the brains and experience of some 
 of our most noted financiers; and who, also, as I 
 shall prove in this story, successfully depleted one 
 of the most essential branches of United States 
 revenue until the time of her arrest. 
 
 I have frequently been solicited, by newspaper 
 representatives whom I would have liked to favor, 
 to give this story of the Chadwick Smuggling Case 
 to them; but, having promised certain prominent 
 persons not to do so, pending my reinstatement 
 in the Treasury Department, which took place in 
 1907, I was obliged to refuse. I am now, there- 
 fore, at liberty to give it here, just as I know it 
 to be true, without exaggeration, and for the first 
 time. 
 
 Having much occasion, in my work under the 
 Goverimaent, to know the general frailty of hu- 
 man nature, I am indeed glad that I was not called 
 upon at the trial of Cassie Chadwick to cast one 
 stone at this offending, aged woman who, after a 
 little more than one year's imprisonment, having 
 been suddenly thrust from an environment of lux- 
 ury into abject, sordid surroundings, disgrace, and
 
 32G DEFEAUDING THE GOVERNMENT 
 
 the world's opprobrium, succumbed speedily un- 
 der this combined misery to the heavy destroying 
 hand of sickness — that avenger of the rich and 
 poor alike, the Nemesis that overtakes us all — and 
 expiated her sins in death. When the dark clouds 
 of merited disgrace enveloped her in that twilight 
 of final obscurity from which she never emerged, 
 the bold and scheming heart that had never failed 
 her before grew faint, and she withered in the 
 presence of One with whom she had never before 
 been confronted. The iron-grey hair whitened, 
 the spirit flagged; the once erect frame became 
 bowed — and so ended one of the most sensational 
 criminal cases of the day, the true inwardness of 
 which evaded the brightest legal lights. 
 
 Every one who reads knows the facts of Cassie 
 Chadwick's final detection, apprehension and 
 bringing to justice; but comparatively few know 
 that she was one of the most successful smugglers 
 of her age. As early as 1902 the late Cassie Chad- 
 wick of Cleveland, Ohio, who was later embroiled 
 with certain bankers of Ohio and rich men of 
 Pittsburg, financially, had attracted the attention 
 of the Custom House officers, as a probable smug- 
 gler of jewelry, and was already under the surveil- 
 lance of their force. As a special agent of the 
 Treasury Department I first became associated 
 with the "Chadwick Snuiggling Case" on one of 
 my trips to Europe, ]\Iay 17, 1902, and became cog- 
 nizant of her methods of ordering jewelry and
 
 CASSIE CHADWICK CASE 327 
 
 stones in Paris. Major Williams, who was at that 
 time in charge of the Paris office, and myself, hav- 
 ing ascertained that she had an arrangement with 
 a certain jeweler there, on the Rue-de-la-Paix, to 
 set precious stones and rare jewels to order for her, 
 finally secured a clerk in the employ of this jeweler 
 to part with the secrets of his employer. In pursu- 
 ance of our plan with this clerk it was agreed that 
 all of Cassie Chadwick's orders should be dis- 
 played in the window of this jewelry store, and in 
 a certain prearranged place, in certain special 
 boxes, such as are customarily used for window 
 displays of this sort in jewelry establishments. 
 This arrangement was carried out, and in this 
 way we were enabled to photograph every piece 
 of jewelry belonging to her and give an accurate 
 description of it. So that at that time we were in 
 possession of absolute reproductions of over one 
 hundred different articles of jewelry which had 
 been made up to order by this Rue-de-la-Paix 
 jeweler for her; this alone forming most convin- 
 cing evidence that the unfortunate woman's state- 
 ment, which she made in court at the time of her 
 trial and conviction, to the effect that she did not 
 ''import merchandise or jewelry," was a perjured 
 one. 
 
 Up to this time, however, in spite of every pos- 
 sible effort, so carefully did Mrs. Chadwick guard 
 her movements that we had not been able to dis-
 
 328 DEFRAUDING THE GOVERNMENT 
 
 cover when, or on what steamers, she left port 
 either in America or Europe on her many trips, 
 doubtless made for smuggling purposes ; although 
 she was always accompanied by her son and 
 daughter, and we had a description of them all. 
 She had always selected the steamships and routes 
 least likely to be chosen by one of her supposed 
 wealth and position, as it appeared ; and thus had 
 always successfully evaded us. Nevertheless, the 
 most skillful schemer eventually meets his coun- 
 ter})art, and finally it was learned that she would 
 arrive from Europe on the steamer Kaiser Wil- 
 helrn der Grosse, June 17, 1902. At this time 1 
 was in New York ; so, intent on meeting this clever- 
 est of women, I boarded the steamer at Quaran- 
 tine; but, as I found that this same information 
 was already in the possession of other special 
 agents, and the Surveyor's staff, I did not take any 
 active part, any more than is here related, on this 
 jDarticular occasion, preferring that the other 
 agents should assume the initiative. However, 
 wishing to assure myself that this was the veri- 
 table Cassie Chadwick who was under suspicion, 
 I remained carefully watcliing for possible devel- 
 opments. Tt was then the custom of the Govern- 
 ment to have the vessel boarded at Quarantine by 
 the Surveyor's officers, in order to take the decla- 
 ration of the passengers en route between Quar- 
 antine and the steamship pier. When the vessel 
 was being tied to the pier it was observed that all
 
 CASSIE CHADWICK CASE 329 
 
 the passengers, save one elderly woman, had left 
 the saloon of the steamer, and that she remained 
 sitting there, as though waiting for some one ; so, 
 having asked the Deputy Collector of the Port 
 whether the passenger listed as Mrs. Chadwick 
 had made her declaration, and having received a 
 negative reply, I approached the seated woman, 
 saying : ' * Pardon me, madam, but have you made 
 your declaration?" She replied that she had not 
 yet done so, owing to the fact that she was unac- 
 quainted with the necessary preliminaries for so 
 doing. Having then asked her name, and being 
 informed by her that it was Chadwick, my suspi- 
 cion that she was waiting for some influential 
 friend, or friends, to help smuggle her possessions 
 on shore, was thoroughly aroused. Avowed igno- 
 rance of the simple act of "declaration" from one 
 who traveled abroad so frequently was, of course, 
 an obvious misrepresentation, and obviously given 
 for the purpose of diverting any possible suspi- 
 cion from her. However, I accepted her statement 
 in apparent good faith, and, offering my services 
 — as any gentleman would have done to a woman 
 so alone, so unsophisticated and inexperienced — 
 conducted her to the Deputy Collector, who re- 
 ceived her declaration, in response to the usual 
 questions. According to her statement the duti- 
 able articles in her possession consisted only of 
 some "second-hand, unstrung pearls and a few 
 pieces of jewelry" (just what would constitute
 
 330 DEFRAUDING THE GOVERNMENT 
 
 a ''second-liand" pearl I've never yet been able 
 to determine; but the Deputy received the decla- 
 ration without flinching) of no relative value. And 
 though these pearls were unstrung they formed a 
 complete necklace on which, and the small articles 
 of jewelry above mentioned, the revenue officers 
 collected about ten thousand dollars at the 60 per 
 cent, rate of duty. 
 
 After this incident I heard no more concerning 
 the Chadwick party for some time until I took an- 
 other trip to Europe during that same summer. 
 Arriving there, Special Agent Williams and my- 
 self received valuable information, through a re- 
 liable source, to the effect that Cassie Chadwick 
 was known to be a purchaser of jewelry and unset 
 stones in large sums, all this information tending 
 undeniably to prove that she was a dealer in this 
 class of goods, selling them to her special clique 
 of wealthy customers in all the large cities of the 
 United States, and especially in Cleveland and 
 Pittsburg. 
 
 One day in the latter part of 1902, having again 
 returned to the United States, in pursuance of my 
 official duties, as I was glancing through an Eve- 
 ning Telegram my attention was arrested by a 
 lieadliner containing the name Chadwick. The 
 article stated that a Mrs. Chadwick of Cleveland, 
 Ohio, had lost some jewelry in a sleeper on her 
 way from Pittsburg to New York over the Penn- 
 sylvania Railroad; and that she had offered a re-
 
 CASSIE CHADWICK CASE 331 
 
 ward for the return of the jewelry, which had been 
 found by one of the porters and given to Chief of 
 Police Murphy of Jersey City. Hailing the con- 
 ductor and jumping from the car that was bear- 
 ing me homeward to the upper part of Manhattan 
 I entered the Hotel Endicott and telephoned my 
 family that they need not await dinner for me. I 
 then hurriedly proceeded to call on Chief Murphy, 
 with whom I was on friendly terms, telling him 
 that I was on my way to Jersey City to see this 
 jewelry that had been lost by Mrs. Chadwick, and 
 which was now in his possession. He said Mrs. 
 Chadwick was coming to his office at eight o 'clock 
 on that same evening and that as soon as she had 
 paid the reward offered he should return the jew- 
 elry to her, so I arranged with him to be present 
 at police headquarters at the time of her expected 
 arrival, but went there earlier, at seven-thirty, in 
 order to inspect the jewelry, which proved to be of 
 no especial value. I then asked him to permit me 
 to sit in an inner room adjoining his private of- 
 fice and await Mrs. Chadwick 's coming there, so 
 that without being seen by her I might determine 
 whether she were the well-known Cassie Chadwick 
 or some other woman bearing the same name. He 
 willingly complied with my request and placed me 
 in his bedroom in such a position that through the 
 open door I could plainly see the occupants of his 
 office, being in the dark myself, and at such an 
 angle that, though seeing, I was yet unseen.
 
 332 DEFRAUDING THE GOVERNMENT 
 
 Mrs. Chadwick arrived promptly at the hour of 
 eight, accompanied by an elderly lady and gentle- 
 man whom I did not know, and the Chief seated 
 her in line with my point of vantage and in such 
 a position that she nearly faced me, so that I easily 
 recognized her as Cassie Chadwick. She identified 
 the jewelry, paid the offered reward to the Chief 
 for the finder of her property, and the trio then 
 departed. I remained only long enough to ascer- 
 tain from Chief Murphy that Mrs. Chadwick 's ad- 
 dress was at the Fifth Avenue Hotel in New York 
 City; and then hastened after them, hoping I 
 might overtake the carriage in which they arrived 
 before it reached the Twenty-third Street ierry, 
 but unfortunately there was neither car nor con- 
 veyance in sight when I left headquarters, so that 
 considerable time was lost before I reached the 
 ferry-house, and I found the Chadwick party had 
 embarked on a boat ahead of me. I followed on 
 the next one, and proceeded directly to the hotel. 
 Being known by the hotel clerk, I asked for the as- 
 sistance of his house detective as a witness in the 
 transaction in which I was about to be engaged; 
 but he was unfortunately absent, so I obtained the 
 number of the suite of rooms occupied by Mrs. 
 Chadwick, ])roceeded to the second floor without 
 being announced, and knocked. In response a neat 
 young woman, who proved to be Mrs. Chadwick 's 
 maid, came to the door. As it swung outward I 
 placed my foot in the opening and advanced my
 
 CASSIE CHADWICK CASE 333 
 
 body sufficiently to insure admittance, asking that 
 she present my card to her mistress. As the maid 
 naturally questioned the nature of my business, I 
 again instructed her simply to take my card to 
 Mrs, Chadwick. It was my official one, and read 
 as follows: "W. H. Theobald, United States 
 Treasury Department, Custom House, N. Y.," 
 which probably enlightened her as to the purpose 
 of my visit. After a delay of about ten minutes 
 Mrs. Chadwick, attired in an exquisite, soft, quilt- 
 ed Chinese kimono, came from the room adjoining 
 that in which I was waiting, holding my card in 
 her hand, and haughtily demanded, with a well- 
 assumed air of the utmost surprise: "How dare 
 you intrude upon my privacy without being an- 
 nounced!" One whose profession it is to evade 
 the law must naturally be prepared to meet detec- 
 tion lurking at every corner and imminent at any 
 moment. Mrs. Chadwick, pre-eminent in this re- 
 spect, was cool, quick-witted and alert. She knew 
 her own rights in a case of this sort, and her pres- 
 ence of mind never deserted her for a single mo- 
 ment during our interview. Defrauding the Gov- 
 ernment as a smuggler is treated mildly, as a mat- 
 ter of general policy, since restitution of the 
 amount of avoidance of duties restores the Gov- 
 ernment to its own again, and so annuls the fault; 
 and she whose colossal, and much more danger- 
 ous, machinations had for so many years eluded 
 discovery was by no means dismayed at the turn
 
 334 DEFRAUDING THE GOVERNMENT 
 
 of affairs that brought me to her door in search 
 of contraband goods. 
 
 I recognized her at once, disjjlaj^ed my shield, 
 told her most courteously that I regretted very 
 much being obliged to resort to this method of in- 
 trusion, but that my visit was, as she was now 
 made aware, an official one, and that, as a Govern- 
 ment rei:)resentative, I had come to ask her to give 
 up the diamond necklace which she had smuggled 
 into this country on June 17, 1902. She pro- 
 fessed to be still more indignant and amazed, and, 
 with a convincing attitude of injured innocence, 
 declared vehemently that she would have me ar- 
 rested for daring to insult her in this manner! 
 Upon my still persisting that she must produce 
 the diamond necklace she continued to equivocate, 
 maintaining that she had no proof that I was what 
 I represented myself to be. To this I responded 
 by inviting her to summon the hotel clerk to her 
 room to vouch for the fact that I was a special 
 agent of the Treasury Department. She then 
 asked me if I had a search-warrant, proving an 
 intimate knowledge of the requirements of my de- 
 mands in this matter. I had none, but assured her 
 that if she still refused to comply with my request 
 I should remain at the hotel until morning, and 
 then secure a seai-ch-warrant; and that if I then 
 found the necklace in her possession T would place 
 her under arrest, as I had positive information 
 against her in regard to this diamond necklace.
 
 CASSIE CHADWICK CASE 335 
 
 Finally, after much more bandying of words to 
 the same effect, she promised that she would be at 
 the office of the Collector of Customs, N. N. Stran- 
 ahan, at nine-thirty the following morning, and 
 that she would bring the diamond necklace with 
 her, which she stated was not on the premises at 
 that time, being in a safety deposit vault down- 
 town. I then took leave of her, but before return- 
 ing to my home I placed a detective on guard to 
 watch her movements for the night. His report in 
 the morning showed that many telegrams had been 
 sent and messages received until a late hour that 
 night, but that Mrs. Chadwick had not left the 
 hotel at any time. 
 
 She failed to appear at the Collector's office at 
 nine-thirty the following morning, as promised; 
 but came there at eleven o'clock. In the mean- 
 time, before she arrived, I had related the entire 
 affair concerning my visits to police headquarters 
 in Jersey City, and my call on her at the Fifth 
 Avenue Hotel, to the Collector, and had assured 
 him that if he would hold the necklace in his pos- 
 session for a short time I should be able to give 
 him evidence, corroborated by Special Agent Wil- 
 liams of Paris, that would not only be the means 
 of condemning this diamond necklace, but of all 
 the jewelry reconstructed and purchased abroad 
 that year by Cassie Chadwick, which had been sold 
 to some of the wealthy families of Pittsburg and 
 other large cities. To my unmitigated surprise,
 
 336 DEFRAUDING THE GOVERNMENT 
 
 after Mrs. Cliadwick had stated to Collector Stran- 
 ahan that she had purchased all the stones that 
 formed the necklace in different stores in Amer- 
 ica, in order to match them perfectly, and that she 
 had then taken them abroad with her and had them 
 mounted in Paris, the necklace was returned to 
 her without further comment or question from 
 him. It is a well-known fact that, according to the 
 revised statutes, all merchandise taken from the 
 United States and conveyed to foreign countries, 
 and there reconstructed, is dutiable on return to 
 the United States at the regular rate of 60 per 
 cent. I refer to jewelry of course. In all my of- 
 ficial career this was the first and only time that 
 I ever knew of an exception being made to this 
 law in any case. Therefore my great astonish- 
 ment at this act on the part of the Collector. 
 
 AVlien Mrs. Chadwick left the office in unchal- 
 lenged possession of her diamond necklace of al- 
 most fabulous worth I told Collector Stranahan 
 frankly that he had made a very serious mistake 
 and prophesied tliat some day Cassie Chadwick 
 would be caught red-handed, and the fact clearly 
 proven that she was the most notorious smuggler 
 in America — even more so than Max J. Lasar, who 
 was acknowledged to be the greatest diamond 
 smuggler this country has ever known. 
 
 Tlie following copy of a consular invoice, taken 
 from the files of the consulate of Brussels — as well 
 as many others of the same order, which sj^ace
 
 CASSIE CHADWICK CASE 337 
 
 does not permit introducing here — gives irrefuta- 
 ble evidence of Cassie Cliadwick's business as 
 an importer and undervaluer. And each and every 
 article enumerated on this invoice is undervalued 
 no less than 200 j^er cent. This again refutes her 
 testimony at the time of her trial and conviction, 
 which was to the effect that she did not "import 
 merchandise or jewelry." Cassie Chadwick smug- 
 gled into the United States, during her lifetime, 
 over two million dollars worth of merchandise, 
 which, with 60 per cent, tariff added, constitutes a 
 home value of three million dollars. 
 
 Brussels, le 7 December, 1901. — Copy. 
 
 Brussels, Consular No. 2124. 
 Amount Francs, 4, .570. 
 Consular Fee, $2.50. 
 
 Consular Fee, Francs, 13. 
 
 INVOICE. 
 
 Invoice of 5 boxes of objects of art purchased by Madame 
 Chadwick, of New York (U. S. A.), from Mr. Nosset, of Brus- 
 sels, to be shipped per Vaderland. 
 
 Marks Amounts 
 
 and Consular 
 
 Numbers. Description. Price. Corrections. 
 
 BoxNo.l.— 3 Statuettes i voire 33 100 
 
 1 Motif ivoire — 50 
 
 1 Petit vase ivoire — 50 
 
 1 Coffret ivoire — 65 
 
 1 Service pour Bebe metal dore. — 15 
 
 2 Plaques peinture sur por- 
 
 celaine 25 50 
 
 Forward 330
 
 338 DEFRAUDING THE GOVERNMENT 
 
 Marks Amounts 
 
 and Consular 
 
 Numbers. Description. Price. Corrections. 
 
 Brought forward 330 
 
 5 Boites papier a lettres et 
 
 enveloppes 2 10 
 
 1 Ivoire sculpte — 40 
 
 1 Marbre sculpte — 15 
 
 1 Plaque peinture sur porce- 
 
 laine — 20 
 
 5 Bouchons en corne du cerf . . . 2 10 
 5 Tasses et soustasses porce- 
 
 laine Saxe decore 5 25 
 
 1 Tasse et soustasse avec cou- 
 
 vercle — 5 
 
 2 Ivoires encadres 40 80 
 
 1 Groupe porcelaine Amours 
 
 a I'arbre — 45 
 
 1 Plat capo di Monte porce- 
 
 laine — 35 
 
 2 Petites peintures sur toile. . . 7.50 15 
 
 1 Petit ecran en ivoire — 20 
 
 1 Statuette equestre ivoire — 40 
 
 1 Petite coupe ivoire — 40 
 
 1 Assiette avec peinture (porce- 
 laine) — 25 
 
 1 Plaque peinture porcelaine 
 
 Vienne — 40 
 
 5 Assiettes porcelaine Vienne. . 40 200 
 
 6 Tasses et soustasses porce- 
 
 laine Blanche 2 10 
 
 1,005 
 
 Box No. 2.— 1 Broc ivoire — 1,000 
 
 1 Char Empire ivoire — 375 
 
 1 Petit bronze — 15 
 
 1 Petit broc ivoire et argent. . . — 375 
 
 1 Peinture sur toile — 100 
 
 1,865 
 
 Box No. 3. — 5 Tapis d'orient en soit 1 de 
 
 100, 4 de 150 — 700 
 
 2 Couverture laine 10 20 
 
 Forward 720
 
 CASSIE CHADWICK CASE 339 
 
 Marks Amounts 
 
 and Consular 
 
 Numbers. Description. Price. Corrections. 
 
 Brought forward 720 
 
 6 Morceaux brocand ancien, le 
 
 lot — 42 
 
 1 Morceau brocand ancien — 15 
 
 1 Lot 5 armoiries — 8 
 
 2 Chassubles brodees ancien et 150 
 
 accessoirs 130 280 
 
 1 Petit tapis Aubusson — 20 
 
 1 Petit tapis orient — 15 
 
 1,100 
 
 Box No. 4. — 1 Fauteuil Empire avec bronze. — 300 300 
 
 Box No. 5. — 1 Fauteuil Empire avec bronze. — 300 300 
 
 Valeur francs 4,570 
 
 Valeur totale 4,570 
 
 Signature of purchaser or seller or agent of either (signed) 
 
 A. NOSSET. 
 
 After the diamond necklace was returned to 
 Cassia Chadwick by Collector Stranalian nothing 
 further was ever done towards apprehending her 
 for smuggling. At the time when she was arrested 
 on the other charges and came up for trial I was 
 not called upon to add my testimony to the mass 
 of proof that was unearthed against her as a swin- 
 dler. I might have presented to the courts my 
 evidence in connection with my investigations of 
 her smuggling career, but this particular form of 
 her many offenses did not come to the front im- 
 peratively ; and at that time I was out of the serv- 
 ice, and chose to remain silent. Of course if I 
 had been summoned to court for the purpose of 
 testifying I would have done so fearlessly, con-
 
 340 DEFRAUDING THE GOVERNMENT 
 
 scientiously and fully. She died in prison in Col- 
 umbus, Ohio, after being convicted. On the day 
 of her death a newspaper representative from one 
 of the large Manhattan dailies called on me at my 
 residence, saying that he had received authoriza- 
 tion from Collector Stranahan to call and see me 
 for the puri30se of requesting the story of Cassie 
 Chadwick's smuggling record, to be given out for 
 publication. I replied that if he would bring me 
 a letter from the Collector, proffering this request, 
 I would willingly comply. But this newspaper 
 representative never returned, and Collector 
 Stranahan never sent me any letter asking me to 
 give the story to the papers. 
 
 The incidents of Cassie Chadwick's sensational 
 career, which were made known to the public when 
 the great expose of her swindling transactions 
 with Ohio bankers and Pittsburg magnates filled 
 the newspaper columns for over a year, still 
 awaken echoes of wonderment when recalled — at 
 the marvelous ingenuity and shrewdness of this 
 woman, who also possessed the necessary finesse 
 and daring to carry out the schemes she evolved, 
 PVom the very hour of discovery the magnitude of 
 her illegal achievements brought her international 
 notoriety. Such characters leave an impress on 
 the imagination of those of their day, the psycho- 
 logical eft'ect of which is an incalculable and un- 
 known quantity.
 
 CASSIE CHAD"WICK CASE 341 
 
 Criminologists, psychologists, and scientists — 
 each and all — according to their particular trend 
 of theory, attempt to explain the causes and con- 
 ditions, generic and specific, that result in these 
 isolated cases of criminal genius which, happily, 
 occur with the usual rarity of the advent of 
 geniuses in every line — even literary and artistic; 
 but the problem still remains a vexing and mooted 
 one. 
 
 Probably if the mental processes of Cassie 
 Chadwick could have been known it would have 
 been found that she justified her conduct of life to 
 herself — as do many others — on the theory that 
 the world owed her a living equivalent to her brain 
 power, and according to the light aj^portioned her 
 to determine what constituted for her the stand- 
 ards of happiness to which she wished to attain; 
 and that her conscience — if awakened at all — did 
 so tardily, latent until aroused by the overwhelm- 
 ing miseries attendant upon her detected guilt. 
 
 One who regarded the world from the humorous 
 side alone might grimly soliloquize that, after all, 
 it is only one of Fate's little ironies that Cassie 
 Chadwick should fall under the universal law: 
 that "big fleas have little fleas to bite 'em," and 
 that, either here or hereafter, the flea is probably 
 caught at last. 
 
 But, summing up, one word might be said to 
 soften the heinousness of this woman's many of- 
 fenses: though she defrauded the nation and
 
 342 DEFRAUDING THE GOVERNMENT 
 
 swindled our magnates, at least she did not plun- 
 der the poor. Keep this charitable thought with 
 you, reader, rather than the remembrance of her 
 sins.
 
 SMUGGLING A WEDDING PRESENT 
 
 Women have smuggled for their husbands and 
 men have violated the customs regulations for 
 their disreputable women, but it is unusual to find 
 a young girl aiding in the smuggling of valuables 
 that are intended as her own wedding present. 
 Philip S. Murry was engaged to a sister of Joe 
 Miller, the copper millionaire. The world at large 
 generally displays a marked interest in those for- 
 eigners who are destined to marry American beau- 
 ties, particularly when the intended bride has 
 money and social standing. 
 
 Like the rest of the world, I viewed the coming 
 of Mr. Murry with some interest, but my interest 
 was purely of a business nature. When he came, 
 on March 17, 1900, in the Cunard Line steamer 
 Campania, I was among the most ardent of his 
 admirers. There was an immense party of ladies 
 at the pier to greet him, and a bevy of these were 
 the sisters of Mr. Miller. 
 
 Like the majority of foreigner bridegrooms-to- 
 be, Mr. Murry was quite suave with the customs 
 officials who went down the bay to take the decla- 
 
 343
 
 344 DEFRAUDING THE GOVERNMENT 
 
 rations. Mr. Murry liad a poor memory for de- 
 tails, but he was quite sure that he had nothiug 
 valuable to declare. What was the use of carry- 
 ing coals to Newcastle! He had innumerable 
 l^ieces of baggage, as became his ambitions, and 
 had a temjDer into the bargain when it became nec- 
 essary to display it. He became grievously in- 
 sulted when I went to him and suggested that 
 there might be a possibility of his having neglected 
 to closely examine his conscience or even his vul- 
 gar baggage. 
 
 "PerhajDs you are not acquainted with the law," 
 I said to him. ' ' If you are bringing over any pres- 
 ents to give to anybody in the United States, it 
 is a clear violation of the law, since you have not 
 declared them. Upon the examination of your 
 baggage, if anything dutiable be found, you may 
 find yourself in a very unpleasant predicament." 
 
 ''How dare you!" he said, showing the whites 
 of his eyes. "I am a gentleman, and you should 
 not approach me on such a subject. I have brought 
 nothing to be given away and have nothing of any 
 value outside of ray personal effects." 
 
 Shortly after this conversation I saw Mr. 
 Murry 's fiancee shove her hand in his raglan coat 
 pocket and withdraw a package that was wrapped 
 in white tissue paper. She saw that she was being 
 watched and quickly replaced the parcel. Four 
 times after this incident I spoke to Mr. Murry, re- 
 minding him of the rigor of the law, but each time
 
 SMUGGLING A WEDDING PRESENT 345 
 
 he scowled at me and insisted he had nothing that 
 concerned this blessed Government. But I was so 
 certain that he had diamonds or other precious 
 stones with him that I finally said : 
 
 ''Mr. Murry, I want you to show me the trunk 
 in which you have concealed those diamonds. I 
 do not want any nonsense about it, either." 
 
 A look of despair overspread his face, and, fol- 
 lowing a pause of several seconds, he pointed at 
 the smallest trunk in his collection. ''They are in 
 there, ' ' he said. 
 
 Under a lot of magazines in the bottom of this 
 trunk we found a pearl necklace. In a new dress- 
 ing-case which he was bringing over for his in- 
 tended bride we found, wrapped up in a lot of 
 English newspapers, a gorgeous bracelet. He in- 
 sisted that these were all, but I reminded him that 
 he had something in the pocket of his raglan that 
 might be dutiable, and he immediately produced 
 the package that his promised wife had tried to 
 remove to her own safekeeping. 
 
 This package consisted of a beautiful pearl-and- 
 diamond ring of considerable value, I handed 
 Mr. Murry over to the inspector and had him ar- 
 raigned before a United States Commissioner. Mr. 
 Miller gave bail for his appearance in the sum of 
 two thousand dollars. An appraisement of the 
 jewels by the Collector put a value of $17,935.70.
 
 346 DEFRAUDING THE GOVERNMENT 
 
 The case was presented to the court and compro- 
 mised by the department on the payment of the 
 duty. The balance of the goods were rebonded 
 and returned to London.
 
 MRS. RUBINS AND HER LINENS 
 
 Still another instance of dishonesty on the part 
 of Government employees is represented in the 
 case of a Mrs. Rubins. For some time before my 
 attention was called to the case huge quantities 
 of imported linens were being offered for sale at 
 a price that conveyed the impression that they 
 were smuggled, or otherwise unlawfully secured. 
 The goods consisted of the finest kinds of table- 
 cloths, napkins, bed-spreads, toweling and the like. 
 
 It looked at first as if there was no limit to the 
 circulation of this linen, and for this reason no 
 great trouble was experienced in ascertaining who 
 was distributing it. Mrs. Rubins, I found, lived 
 in Ri\dngton Street, between Orchard and Ludlow 
 streets, a part of Manhattan that is thickly inhab- 
 ited by Hebrews. She had many envious friends, 
 who did not hesitate to inf oiTn me that the woman, 
 accompanied by her husband, had but lately ar- 
 rived from Germany in the steerage of the steamer 
 Auguste Victoria. 
 
 Being steerage passengers, the Rubinses did not 
 have to make any declaration to the custom offi- 
 cials, as is required by law in the case of other 
 
 347
 
 348 DEFRAUDING THE GOVERNMENT 
 
 ocean travelers. Although this formality is waived 
 in behalf of third-class passengers, for the obvious 
 reason that not one in twenty-five has anything 
 dutiable upon arrival, there is, nevertheless, an 
 examination of steerage luggage on the steamship 
 pier before the owners of the same go to Ellis 
 Island for Immigration Bureau purposes. I over- 
 hauled the records for this particular trip of the 
 Auguste Victoria, but was unable to produce any 
 record of the entry of the goods. 
 
 When the attention of the United States District 
 Attorney was called to the matter bj^ me, he ad- 
 vised that the Surveyor of the Port be instructed 
 to send to me for examination the four inspectors 
 who were on duty at the pier the day the passen- 
 gers of the Auguste Victoria disembarked. 
 
 Mrs. Rubins was an odd creature. She had odd 
 ways, an odd eye, which was glass, and as odd a 
 head of red hair as a comb ever touched. She pos- 
 sessed an odd parrot, too, and this noisy bird, I 
 learned from some of the dock officials, she carried 
 ashore when she landed. I felt sure that if the 
 inspectors did not remember the celebrated red 
 hair, they were sure to recall the artificial eye or 
 the talkative parrot. But they proved to be the 
 most ignorant quartette T ever encountered. 
 
 There was no mistaking the fact that a fraud 
 had been committed, however, and I deteiTQined 
 to make the affidavit myself to the District Attor- 
 ney in order to secure my search warrant. If the
 
 MRS. RUBINS' LINENS 349 
 
 inspectors' memory was deficient, I liad hopes that 
 such would not be the case with Mrs. Rubins, who, 
 I felt satisfied, would point out to me the inspec- 
 tor who passed her baggage. I therefore insisted 
 that the four inspectors accompany me to her 
 house. We were about to enter, when a woman 
 came out and walked leisurely up the street. One 
 of the inspectors said : 
 
 * ' I think that is the woman you are after. I had 
 nothing to do with the passing of her baggage, but 
 I recognize her." 
 
 I sent the man after her, but she refused to re- 
 turn. She was a giantess in appearance and looked 
 capable of beating the famed Thalestris herself. 
 I compelled her by sheer force to show her apart- 
 ments. When we entered, a tall, gentle-looking 
 man sat at a table in the dining-room. The woman 
 belabored him with a convenient broom the mo- 
 ment she entered and shouted in German that his 
 bad advice was responsible for our invasion. He 
 did not have a ghost of a chance with her, for she 
 wielded the important household article with the 
 muscle of an Amazon. 
 
 Several of the inspectors, believing that their 
 turn was to come next, literally embraced that 
 side of the cause which seemed to stand very little 
 in need of assistance. The husband, as the meek, 
 tall man proved to be, finally succeeded in check- 
 ing the torrent that seemed to have no end to its 
 flowing.
 
 350 DEFRAUDING THE GOVERNMENT 
 
 Tears followed the outburst of anger, and when 
 this salty flood had ceased Mrs. Rubins invited me 
 into an adjoining room. I felt relieved to observe 
 that she dropped the broom as I stepped forward 
 to comply with the request. This room I found 
 to be a wonder in itself. It was about fifteen feet 
 square, and around its sides were built several 
 shelves, on which were piled a lot of packages, 
 which I afterwards found contained the linens for 
 which I was seeking. 
 
 The collection was so great that the packages on 
 the top shelf reached clear to the ceiling. She 
 readily admitted that one of the men in the room 
 we had just left had passed her baggage and that 
 she had paid him for the service rendered. 
 
 The shelves were plainly made of old lumber 
 and bore many stencil marks. I asked the woman 
 who had made the shelves, and she replied that 
 they were the creation of a carpenter who lived 
 two doors away, and that he had used in their con- 
 struction the wood of the cases the goods in ques- 
 tion came in. 
 
 Mrs. Rubins pointed out the guilty inspector the 
 moment we returned to the outer room. He was 
 indignant, but Mr. Rubins, having sullenly sub- 
 mitted to the vigorous conqueror, now endorsed 
 what his wife said. I called an express wagon and 
 seized the entire contents of the room, even taking 
 the shelving. The latter proved to be splendid 
 evidence.
 
 MRS. RUBINS' LINENS 351 
 
 We liad to figlit our way out of the house, the 
 screams and jorotests of Mrs. Rubins bringing to 
 her aid hundreds of Hebrews, who were seem- 
 ingly willing to take long chances to take posses- 
 sion of the linens in the interest of Mrs. Rubins. 
 The municipal police turned out reinforcements, 
 however, and the violent application of stout lo- 
 custs on the vulnerable spots of the attacking 
 party soon brought the mob to terms. 
 
 While the exjDressmen were loading up the 
 wagon I went in search of the carpenter who had 
 made the shelves. In his shop were found three 
 of the covers of the cases that the linen came in, 
 and an examination of these tops showed in chalk 
 marks the accused inspector's figures and the num- 
 ber of his shield. This was the last straw, so far 
 as his claims to innocence were concerned. He 
 tried to brazen it out, nevertheless. 
 
 Mrs. Rubins made a stubborn fight to prevent 
 the Government getting a decree of confiscation. 
 She even had the audacity to appeal to the Hebrew 
 Charities to fight her wicked claims. The goods 
 seized were appraised at thirty-five hundred dol- 
 lars, but represented only a minor portion of the 
 original importation. The United States Commis- 
 sioner at Jersey City decided the case against the 
 woman. About the same time the inspector whom 
 she had bribed to rob the Government was dis- 
 missed from the service.
 
 UNDERVALUATION OF MERCHANDISE 
 
 Undervaluing of merchandise is, to my mind, 
 the meanest kind of smuggling, because the under- 
 value!' frequently makes an unwilling tool of an 
 unfortunate examiner of merchandise employed at 
 the United States Public Stores, where all invoices 
 and merchandise from foreign countries to the 
 United States are examined. 
 
 It is a custom for the exporter who makes a con- 
 sular invoice at some United States consulate in 
 some foreign country to enumerate on his invoice 
 or invoices the character of goods and prices in 
 the usual wholesale quantities. 
 
 To give you an idea of the large amount of 
 fraud committed against the Government by 
 importers who are unscrupulous, it is only neces- 
 sary for you to refresh your memory in connection 
 with the Rosenthal case, who defrauded the Gov- 
 ernment out of one hundred thousand dollars in 
 the importation of silks from China and Japan. 
 Rosenthal is now a fugitive and living in Vienna. 
 
 From my personal experience I do not hesitate 
 to say that the French and German exporters are 
 the ones who do more undervaluing than all the 
 
 352
 
 UNDERVALUATION 353 
 
 other foreign countries put together. The Ap- 
 praisers' Stores at the Port of New York are run 
 on a purely business basis, and an invoice under- 
 valued is as hard to pass in any division of that 
 great institution as it is for two trains to pass 
 each other going on the same track. 
 
 All manner of tricks and devices are used by 
 the European exporters of merchandise, and their 
 latest scheme to defraud the United States Gov- 
 ernment is as follows : 
 
 It is the law that the exporter, in shipping to 
 the United States an article manufactured in 
 France at five francs, cannot sell this particular 
 article to any one in the country of production 
 (France) for more than five francs, but he can 
 sell to any country other than France for more 
 money. If it can be shown that he receives more 
 than five francs for the same article which he is 
 shipping to the United States, his invoices can be 
 advanced accordingly, and when the confidential 
 agents who reside in Paris, London, Cologne, Ber- 
 lin or St. Gall call on these firms who are underval- 
 uing, the excuse is usually given that "the prices 
 we are making for other countries on the same 
 goods as we send to the United States are our ex- 
 port prices and the article is not the same." If 
 asked to show the article, they produce a photo- 
 graphic album and show you a photograph of the 
 supposed article in question. This has been my 
 experience on several occasions, and I never could
 
 354 DEFRAUDING THE GOVERNMENT 
 
 make out a clear ease except in one instance, which, 
 was done in the following manner. 
 
 We will call the undervaluer Max Rosenberg, 
 a native of Berlin, Gennany, but living and doing 
 
 business in , where he has accumulated over 
 
 a million dollars, or five million francs, and all this 
 money made by defrauding the United States Gov- 
 ernment. 
 
 I had an important investigation to make at the 
 office of a manufacturer of ladies' costumes, who, 
 it seems, was in trouble at the Public Stores at the 
 Port of New York, and, in order to facilitate his 
 matter, he wanted his books examined, so that he 
 could send affidavits to his lawyers in New York, 
 who had suggested in a letter to him the practica- 
 bility of the examination of his books at this time. 
 I was detailed to make the examination, and ac- 
 cordingly called upon the manufacturer, who pro- 
 duced his books, and, with the assistance of his 
 bookkeeper, I examined numerous entries of in- 
 voices of goods manufactured by him and sold to 
 various American firms; and, seeing many in- 
 voices made to Max Rosenberg, who has been un- 
 der suspicion for many years, but to this time has 
 never been caught, I therefore copied all the origi- 
 nal numbers of the manufacturer and numbers 
 given Max Rosenberg, as also the prices. [It may 
 be well to state that each commissioner having 
 goods made to order by various manufacturers 
 always has his own numbers, which are set
 
 UNDERVALUATION 355 
 
 aside on the manufacturers' books as a reference.] 
 In all, I took down twenty-nine numbers, and, feel- 
 ing satisfied that I had accomplished something 
 which might lead to the ultimate bringing to jus- 
 tice of Max Rosenberg, I returned to the office, at 
 36 Avenue de I'Opera. I then examined the files 
 of the consulate, and brought out all of the in- 
 voices of Max Rosenberg, representing shipments 
 of his firm for the preceding six months, and ex- 
 amined each item on his consulated invoices, and 
 the result was that I found, out of the twenty-nine 
 numbers, twenty-four undervalued from ten to 
 thirty-three per cent. I then called upon Max 
 Rosenberg, and asked him to show me some of 
 the entries on his books. He looked at me for 
 a moment, and told me that I and the United 
 States Government could go to hell, and added 
 something more which is not fit to be in print. If 
 I ever have the pleasure of meeting Rosenberg 
 in the United States, I will ask him if he re- 
 members the insult which he handed out to me, 
 and which I, as a Government official in a for- 
 eign country, could not resent, and when he goes 
 back to Europe I will give him something that 
 will remind him that there is one man living in 
 the United States who has upheld the Stars and 
 Stripes.
 
 WHAT THE GOVERNMENT DEMANDS 
 
 The Government is not insatiable, or even over- 
 mercenary, as seems to be the popular verdict of 
 those who prefer to patronize European markets. 
 Its laws and regulations are the most comprehen- 
 sive in the world, and there are none so easy to 
 obey, and, as a natural sequence, none so easy to 
 break. To the honest man the demands of the 
 United States customs are as straight as a mar- 
 line spike. This statement may be assailed by 
 some who believe that free trade would be the shin- 
 ing glory of this country, a contention that serves 
 the purpose about election time, and no other. 
 
 The great majority of the hundreds of thou- 
 sands of travelers who cross and recross the west- 
 ern ocean each year obey the laws of every country 
 they enter. When they return to this side with 
 the goods they have purchased on the other side 
 they pay the taxes imposed upon their purchases 
 with the same spirit that they support their 
 churches, their schools or their clubs. Domestic 
 merchants and manufacturers, willi their count- 
 less army of workers, are protected in this way, 
 and it is these who are most hurt when the dishon- 
 
 356
 
 THE GOVERNMENT DEMANDS 357 
 
 est jiian brings in goods on which he should pay 
 duty, but on which he does not. 
 
 The Government is not exclusive in its rewards 
 for information that may lead to seizure, of no 
 matter what kind. It is true that this country has 
 an immense army of "intelligence" agents here 
 and abroad, and it has been stated that even the 
 clerks in the large establishments of Paris, Lon- 
 don, Antwerp, Brussels, Berlin, Amsterdam and 
 other cities of Europe have been known to sell valu- 
 able goods to wealthy Americans with one bow and 
 inform the special agents of the purchases with 
 the next scrape. 
 
 I am in a position to know that this statement is 
 not true. Likewise, it has been repeatedly said 
 that every crowded steamer during the season has 
 its quota of special agents as passengers, and that 
 the stewards of these ships are a valuable aid in 
 the ascertaining of certain facts that are of para- 
 mount importance to the Government. This, too, 
 is a base fabrication. 
 
 The fact that any individual, foreigner or na- 
 tive, has as much authority to make a seizure of 
 smuggled goods as has a regularly employed offi- 
 cial of the Government is and always will be a 
 keen incentive to the capture or exposure of the 
 wrongdoing traveler. There is one drawback only 
 to the aspirations of the private individual when 
 he desires to make a seizure. It is this : A Gov-
 
 358 DEFRAUDING THE GOVERNMENT 
 
 ernment officer may make a seizure whenever he 
 thinks he is justified in doing so. 
 
 If it be subsequently shown that he was in error, 
 and the goods in question are released, the claun- 
 ant to the same has no cause for legal action 
 against the officer, because the law protects him. 
 But a private individual, so-called, making the 
 seizure on information or belief, must bear out 
 his case absolutely, and if unsuccessful in proving 
 that the goods should be confiscated or otherwise 
 held, the claimant has good cause for damages 
 against him. 
 
 What the Government demands is this : Every- 
 body who goes abroad is entitled to bring back to 
 these shores one hundred dollars' worth of per- 
 sonal effects, if purchased abroad not strictly for 
 the use of the purchaser, so long as they are not 
 for sale. That is the limitation under the customs 
 laws. If one buys presents, whether of jewelry, 
 clothes, souvenirs, or what not, for anybody else, 
 relative, friend or stranger, and brings them here 
 to distribute, they are not dutiable, irrespective 
 of the fact that the purchaser bought nothing for 
 himself. Still another manner of illustrating the 
 law is in this way: If the traveler buys fifty dol- 
 lars' worth of goods for himself and fifty dollars' 
 worth of presents, he is not obliged to pay duty on 
 the presents. There is not much complication 
 about that law, though many think there is as
 
 THE GOVEKNMENT DEMANDS 359 
 
 much complication about it as there is injustice, 
 when in truth there is neither. 
 
 The operation of ascertaining what dutiable 
 stuff returning tourists have is conducted in this 
 manner: There are twenty-one special clerks un- 
 der the jurisdiction of the deputy collector of the 
 Port of New York. It is the duty of a portion 
 of this staff to meet at Quarantine all incoming 
 vessels from foreign parts. These men leave the 
 Barge Office at the Battery, in the lower section 
 of the metropolis, and board a revenue cutter, 
 which is a big, powerful tug, which conducts them 
 to the ship inward bound. 
 
 One officer is usually detailed to every thirty 
 passengers, making on an average, in season, 
 about thirt}' officers to each passenger steamer. 
 During that season in which traffic is exceptionally 
 large and steamers arrive on time, it frequently 
 happens that there may be four or five steamers 
 bound up the bay at the one time. In that event 
 the clerks are divided among the steamers, the 
 ratio being one officer for fifty or sixty passengers. 
 
 When the officers board the steamer at Quaran- 
 tine they take their seats at the head of each table 
 in the main saloon. There are usually eight or 
 ten large tables. The passengers are then re- 
 quested to sit at one side of each table for the pur- 
 pose of making declarations, and after this duty 
 has been perforaied each passenger changes his 
 seat to the opposite side of the table, that he may
 
 360 DEFRAUDING THE GOVERN]\IENT 
 
 sign his declaration. Having done this, he is pre- 
 sented with a ticket on which is printed a number 
 corresponding to the number on his dechiration. 
 He then departs and the next passenger takes his 
 turn. 
 
 Many amusing incidents take place with the 
 making out of these declarations, and often the 
 gentler sex is the central figure in them. This 
 was especially true of former times when the new 
 regulations were not in effect. A famous dress- 
 maker, who was always under suspicion, was on 
 one occasion interrogated as follows : 
 
 ''Have you any dutiable merchandise in your 
 baggage ! ' ' 
 
 "No." 
 
 "Have you purchased any wearing apparel 
 abroad!" 
 
 "No." 
 
 "Have you anything that was purchased or 
 that was given to you while abroad?" 
 
 "No." 
 
 "Do you swear to the truthfulness of these 
 statements 1 ' ' 
 
 "Yes." 
 
 All this time the dressmaker, who swore to the 
 above statements as being absokitely true, had 
 $15,000 worth of new dresses and new ma- 
 terials in her trunks that she expected to get in 
 by illegal means. A number of society women 
 coming back from Eui'ope with entire trousseaus
 
 THE GOVERNMENT DEMANDS 361 
 
 made for themselves or for their daughters have 
 made declarations similar to the one just cited. 
 
 A passenger who has a lot of personal effects 
 that are old and in use is not obliged to pay duty 
 on the same, but it has often happened that the 
 passenger has stated that he has a lot of souvenir 
 spoons, worth perhaps ten dollars, and, acting in 
 an honest manner, declares the purchase in the 
 regular way. When the inspector on the pier is 
 handed the declaration that has been made out 
 on the ship by the clerks he is absolutely compelled 
 to go through all the luggage of the passenger in 
 question until he finds the spoons to have them 
 duly appraised. 
 
 This is the basis for the "rigid" examination 
 complained of by passengers who are obliged to 
 find the spoons that their value may be assessed. 
 The duty must be collected on these spoons before 
 the declaration is turned into the higher channels 
 and the amount paid must be marked on the dec- 
 laration. This naturally makes a delay, and de- 
 lays are thought to be most annoying — and doubt- 
 less are — to tourists, who are anxious to join their 
 families and friends, then close at hand. 
 
 Yet if the passenger understood the law as well 
 as the officials, he would end by appreciating the 
 work of inspection, which is never unduly rigid, 
 unless necessity demands. The fault for ninety 
 per cent, of the delay and irritation on the piers 
 rests with the passengers themselves. They will
 
 362 DEFRAUDING THE GOVERNMENT 
 
 not help the officials as they should. Rather, they 
 do everything they can do to handicap their move- 
 ments and duties. For the benefit of those who 
 do not know what a passenger's declaration is, T 
 have added to this story the copy of the Govern- 
 ment's declaration: 
 
 BAGGAGE DECLARATION AND ENTRY. 
 
 District of New York, Port of New York. 
 
 I, , a resident of U. S., residing at — Fifth Ave., 
 
 destiaation N. Y. C, a passenger on the steamship Majestic, 
 from Liverpool, do solemnly and truly declare that, to the 
 best of my knowledge and belief, I have the following pieces 
 of baggage, namely: 
 
 Trunks. Bags or Valises. Boxes. Other packages. Total, 
 27 35 62 
 
 That such baggage is my personal property (and that of 
 my wife, maid and servant, who accompany me) ; that all 
 of the articles in my baggage or on my person purchased 
 abroad (and intended for others for sale), and their cost prices 
 paid by me, or by others who have entrusted them to me, are 
 fully set forth and described in the annexed entry; that, with 
 the exception of said articles, the said baggage contains only 
 such wearing apparel and personal effects (as were taken by 
 
 me and my ■ out of the United States), and include only 
 
 such articles as are in the use of, and necessary and appro- 
 priate for, the immediate purpose of the journey, and present 
 
 comfort and convenience of myself (and my ), and are 
 
 not articles intended for other persons or for sale. 
 
 Subscribed and declared before me this — day of , 
 
 1900. 
 
 (Signed) , 
 
 Surveyor's Staff Officer. 
 
 (Signed) , 
 
 Passenger. 
 
 inspector's retttrn to collector. 
 I certify that I have examined the above 62 pieces of bag- 
 gage and found nothing dutiable except as entered below. 
 
 (Signed) , 
 
 Inspector.
 
 THE GOVERNMENT DEMANDS 3G3 
 
 ENTRY OF ARTICLES REFERRED TO ABOVE. 
 
 Description porpien "^ „u 2 ^ § 
 
 of rntf^ Classification. a-SS --gS g 
 
 Articles. ^°^t- S <^ « fi 3 
 
 o 
 
 $100 allowed. $2.20 
 
 Dresses— 5 lbs. silk and wool wg. app'l 394 44.60 236.40 
 
 Wraps— Fur 130 35 45.50 
 
 Bonnets — 4 doz. la. k. gloves 20 $3 doz. .12 
 
 Gloves— Jewelry 193 60 115.80 
 
 Underwear — Lace and emb'd art 89 60 53.40 
 
 Jewelry— Photos 7 25 1.75 
 
 Coats— Fans 20 50 10.00 
 
 Trousers— Dec. china 2 60 1.20 
 
 Waistcoats— Prints 22 25 5.50 
 
 Mnf. metal 165 45 7^.25 
 
 Mnf. cotton 2 45 .90 
 
 Mnf. plaster 22 35 7.70 
 
 Wg. app'l taken from U. S 2,000 
 
 Wearing app'l for Mrs. , 333,890 fcs. Free on oath. 566.60 
 
 Sundry articles, £43 14s. 
 Embroideries, bronze, etc., 408 fcs. 
 Total, 1,000 fcs. 
 
 District of New York, Port of New York. 
 
 (Signed.) , 
 
 Appraiser. 
 I do solemnly swear that the prices above set forth show 
 the actual cost or foreign market value of the articles named, 
 to the best of my knowledge and belief. A certified invoice 
 
 cannot be produced, for the reason 
 
 Subscribed and sworn to before me this 27th day of , 
 
 1900. 
 
 (Signed) , 
 
 Surveyor's Staff OflScer. 
 Duties paid me as above. 
 
 (Signed.) , 
 
 Collector's Clerk. 
 .(Signed) .
 
 ROBBING THE MAIL ON THE HIGH SEAS 
 
 The peculiar methods and risks taken by men 
 occupying honorable positions in the employ of 
 steamship companies cannot be accounted for. I 
 am about to relate a story regarding the robbing 
 of the mail on the high seas by the chief officer 
 of one of the White Star Steamship Company's 
 boats. The man, who had the esteem of the com- 
 pany, with the rank of chief officer, might ulti- 
 mately have been appointed as the captain of one 
 of the steamers connected with this prominent 
 steamship company. I cannot account for this 
 man's misdeed, because the man's mind must cer- 
 tainly have been affected, to lead him to commit 
 the theft for which he is now serving a term of 
 prison in England. 
 
 It was in 1899 when one of our officers followed 
 a laundry wagon from the White Star pier, after 
 the driver of this wagon had received from the 
 ship the bags of soiled linen which the laundiy 
 was to clean, and whose place of business was in 
 Hoboken. The officer in question followed the 
 wagon to the lioboken ferry, and then stopped the 
 horse and wagon, requesting the driver to return 
 
 864
 
 ROBBING THE MAIL 365 
 
 with his wagon to the White Star Line pier. The 
 bags were taken from the wagon and examined, 
 and in some of these bags, concealed underneath 
 the soiled linen (belonging to the ship) were found 
 hundreds of pieces of lace. The driver was al- 
 lowed to go and the laces were seized. 
 
 A few hours after this event word reached me 
 from Hoboken that a seafaring man had presented 
 some coupons of a certain railroad stock at the 
 pending house in Hoboken and wanted to sell 
 them. The banker, thinking it nothing unusual 
 for a seafaring man to oifer for sale anything of 
 this kind, simply asked the question, ''Where do 
 you come from?" The seafaring man turned 
 around and rushed out of the place, leaving the 
 coupons lying on the counter of this banker. The 
 fact of this seafaring man running through the 
 street aroused the suspicion of a policeman, and 
 he took up the chase, along with others who had 
 seen him run out of this banking institution. He 
 was caught by the policeman just across the line 
 in Jersey City and was taken before Chief of 
 Police Murphay, where he was held pending the 
 quest of the ownership of these coupons, which 
 were still in the hands of the banker. 
 
 The following morning a diamond dealer, doing 
 business in New York, called upon me at the Cus- 
 tom House, stating that his brother had shipped 
 from Amsterdam a parcel of uncut diamonds in 
 the mail, which should have reached him on the
 
 366 DEFRAUDING THE GOVERNMENT 
 
 day preceding his visit to the Custom House. As 
 these diamonds were covered by insurance, yet 
 he did not care to lose them, notwithstanding the 
 fact that the insurance company would pay the 
 loss, as the stones in question — only three of them 
 — were large ones, and they were to be polished 
 for a special order. ^ 
 
 In the meantime the owner of the case of laces 
 which had been stolen had made his entry in the 
 Custom House, and was informed at the Public 
 Stores that the case of laces enumerated on his 
 invoice could not be found. 
 
 An investigation was then being made by the 
 post-office inspectors and myself on the steamer, 
 then lying at her pier at the foot of Christopher 
 Street, Manhattan. We searched the chief offi- 
 cer's room, but could not find a trace of anything 
 in connection with the theft of the laces, coupons or 
 diamonds. 
 
 I left the White Star pier and crossed over to 
 PToboken, and then proceeded to Jersey City and 
 called at the office of Chief Murphay at Police 
 Headquarters. I then informed the chief of what 
 had taken place in connection with the theft of 
 these coupons (the owner of which had not up to 
 this time appeared) and requested him to allow 
 me the privilege of having a talk with his pris- 
 oner. (In the meantime the officers, from the cap- 
 tain down to the lowest of the steamer, could not 
 account for the disappearance of the chief officer.)
 
 ROBBING THE MAIL 367 
 
 He sent for him and brought him into his private 
 office and told him who I was, and we then pro- 
 ceeded (the chief and myself) to put the prisoner 
 through a short cross-examination. We were to- 
 gether about fifteen minutes, and the result of 
 that fifteen minutes ' talk with him did not amount 
 to anj^thing, and I did not succeed in getting him 
 to confess to the theft of either the laces, coupons 
 or diamonds. 
 
 I proceeded to light a cigar, when I noticed that 
 the prisoner had his pipe filled with tobacco, which 
 he had in his hand during this interview, and after 
 lighting my cigar I held the match over towards 
 him and told him to smoke up. He said he pre- 
 ferred a dry smoke. I looked at him for a moment, 
 then reached over and took the pipe away from 
 him. Chief Murphay looked at me in amazement 
 for the moment, not knowing what I was about 
 to do. The prisoner got up, and so did I. Chief 
 Murphay reached over and pulled him back in his 
 chair. I then crossed the room to the table and 
 took a newspaper and opened it on Chief Mur- 
 phay 's desk. The pipe which I had taken from the 
 prisoner had a very large bowl. I emptied the 
 contents of this bowl on the newspaper, and, to 
 the amazement of Chief Murphay — and I must 
 confess I was amazed myself — there amidst the 
 tobacco we found the three diamonds belonging to 
 the firm whose mail package had not reached 
 them.
 
 368 DEFRAUDING THE GOVEENMENT 
 
 As the diamonds were not dutiable, a case of 
 smuggling could not be made against him, as they 
 were unpolished. Rough or uncut diamonds come 
 under the heading of non-dutiable merchandise. 
 
 This case was presented to the District Attor- 
 ney's office at New York, as the crime was com- 
 mitted at the Port of New York; but under the 
 treaty between England and the United States, it 
 developed that the crime had been committed out- 
 side of the three-mile limit of the United States, 
 and under the British flag, and on an English 
 steamer; so the unfortunate prisoner was trans- 
 ported in irons on the same steamer on which he 
 had been chief officer, going back witli his former 
 fellow-officers as a prisoner to bo tried for com- 
 mitting a crime against the British flag on the 
 high seas. 
 
 I was present in London at the trial, when he 
 was convicted and sentenced to ten years at hard 
 labor.
 
 THE LEINKRAM DIAMONDS 
 
 CHAPTER I 
 
 Michael Leinkram, alias Michael Hochberger, 
 had the reputation of being an extremely wise 
 man. His ambition was to grow rich on the rapid 
 transit order, and he believed the quickest and 
 safest way to attain this end was to smuggle. In 
 this respect his wisdom was bad. His brother has 
 for some years been a diamond merchant of the 
 metropolis, and Michael was anxious to* let his 
 relative get wealthy fast, too. 
 
 Michael was overjoyed when he learned that 
 Prince Henry of Germany was preparing to come 
 to America to participate in the launching cere- 
 monies of his Emperor-brother's yacht, the Me- 
 teor. Being a thoughtful man, he figured it out 
 that the welcome of Prince Henry when he arrived 
 in New York would be a spectacular one, and, as 
 Michael was then in Europe and desirous of en- 
 tering the Empire City as modestly as he could, 
 he conceived the idea that it would be an excellent 
 
 369
 
 370 DEFRAUDING THE GOVERNMENT 
 
 plan to travel in tlie same ship with the Prince and 
 land without any unnecessary honor. 
 
 His object in coming home in a thoroughly dem- 
 ocratic way was a purely business one. He had 
 made a number of "purchases" on the other side. 
 He wanted to bring them here, and as they were 
 dutiable as an importation, and as he had deter- 
 mined not to be annoyed by the necessity of pay- 
 ing duty, he thought it pradent to come home as 
 unostentatiously as possible. To further his plan 
 he decided to travel in the second cabin, a class 
 that he imagined was not subjected to the same 
 amount of scrutiny that usually fell to the lot of 
 those who came in the first saloon of the ordinary 
 ocean steamer. 
 
 Michael made all his plans to his entire satisfac- 
 tion, and when he purchased a second-class ticket 
 on the North German Lloyd steamer Kronprinz 
 Wilhelm, in which Henry was to travel in an im- 
 perial suite, he flattered himself that for once in 
 his life he had displayed wisdom that would result 
 in the undoing of those who were paid to see that 
 the Government was not cheated. 
 
 But Boileau says that the wisest man is gener- 
 ally he who thinks himself the least so, and what 
 the dishonest shipmate of the honest Prince in- 
 tended to do was known on this side almost as soon 
 as he had laid his plans. 
 
 The Kronprinz Wilhelm arrived in New York 
 on Sunday, February 23, and few ships ever re-
 
 THE LEINKRAM DIAMONDS 371 
 
 ceived a greater reception. Because cf the pres- 
 ence of the Prince on board, arrangements were 
 made to berth her at a special wharf, and a new 
 pier at the foot of West Thirty-fourth Street, Man- 
 hattan, was selected. Joseph Daniels, an acting 
 deputy collector, went down the bay on the reve- 
 nue cutter with several others to take the decla- 
 rations of the passengers. 
 
 Coming up the river, Daniels took the declara- 
 tions of a number of second-cabin travelers, 
 including Leinkram. The latter appeared on 
 the passenger list as "Herr Leinkram Otten- 
 dorf," but he afterwards denied that he had any 
 intention of posing under an assumed name. The 
 entry on the passenger list was a mistake, accord- 
 ing to his way of thinking. 
 
 Daniels asked Leinkram the usual questions, to 
 which he replied that he was a native of Austria ; 
 that he was going to No. — West 161st Street; 
 that he had one piece of baggage and that he had 
 nothing dutiable. He was handed the declaration 
 and the examiner saw him swear to the truth of 
 the statements therein contained. 
 
 Leinkram landed on the pier the moment the 
 ship berthed and sought an inspector to examine 
 his single piece of baggage. The inspector as- 
 signed to him was Sam Ravine, who made an ex- 
 haustive search of the man's valise, but found 
 nothing that was dutiable. 
 
 The acting deputy collector and I watched Ra-
 
 372 DEFEAUDING THE GOVERNMENT 
 
 vine overhaul the higgage, and at its completion 
 I walked over to Leinkram and asked him if he 
 had anything dutiable. I spoke in English and 
 he pretended not to understand me. Then I asked 
 him the same question in Gennan and he answered 
 me that he had nothing dutiable. I requested him 
 to go aboard the shiji with me and he consented. 
 Inspector Ravine had given me the declaration 
 made by the man and I took this aboard the ship, 
 too. 
 
 We went to the stateroom recently occupied by 
 Leinkram, and 1 searched his overcoat, undercoat 
 and waistcoat, but found nothing. Near his ab- 
 domen I felt something bulky and asked him what 
 it was. He made answer that it was a medical 
 band. I demanded to see it and he protested. I 
 insisted, with the result that I found a belt, which, 
 upon examination, was seen to be filled with dia- 
 monds. The belt was secured to his person by 
 two strings long enough to go around his stomach 
 double and was tied on the left side in a bow-knot. 
 
 Before taking the belt from his person I again 
 asked him what it was for, and he said it was a 
 flannel belt recommended by his physician. The 
 belt had five compartments, each carefully sewed 
 by hand, and I had to cut the threads to get at the 
 interior. I found five packages of diamonds, all 
 unset stones, the duty on which was ten per cent. 
 There were fifteen liundred diamonds in all. Many 
 were brilliants or large stones, but the majority
 
 THE LEINKRAM DIAMONDS 373 
 
 were of an eighth or a sixth of a carat andknown in 
 the trade as ''melle." The vakie of the gems, it was 
 subsequently ascertained, was thirty thousand dol- 
 lars. The belt had been torn open in the presence 
 of Leinkram and the deputy collector, and I said 
 to the would-be smuggler : 
 
 ''Do you own these diamonds?" 
 
 He shrugged his shoulders for reply. I had no- 
 ticed his brother, Moses Leinkram, on the pier, 
 and I said to Leinkram : 
 
 ''What's the use of your playing innocent! Is 
 this your property, or is it owned by your 
 brother?" 
 
 He hesitated a second or two and then said that 
 the goods belonged to his brother, the diamond 
 merchant. I then placed the man under arrest, 
 but before doing so made a package of the dia- 
 monds. To avoid the big crowd that had assem- 
 bled to see the Prince, we took Leinkram through 
 the private entrance that had been prepared for 
 Prince Henry to board his yacht, the Hohenzol- 
 lern. It was the most expeditious way to gain the 
 street, and the fact was made a strong point in the 
 defense of the man by his counsel, Edward 
 Leonard. 
 
 At the head of each pier reserved for the dis- 
 embarkation of passengers from foreign ships a 
 customs official is stationed for the sole purpose 
 of rubber-stamping the paper label that is placed 
 on luggage passed by inspectors. When we went
 
 374 DEFRAUDING THE GOVERNMENT 
 
 out of the private exit it was not thought neces- 
 sary to have the label stamped by the "rubber." 
 
 The defense set up the claim that as Leinkram 
 had not landed in a technical sense, he could not 
 have smuggled; but Judge Thayer, before whom 
 the case was tried, decided that the dock was the 
 shore; that when Inspector Ravine put his label 
 on the valise and Leinkram was free to go, under 
 ordinary conditions, the smuggling was complete, 
 and that the dock was just as much i3art of the 
 State of New York as the central part of the State 
 would be, and that the intention of the man was 
 clearly to defraud the revenue. 
 
 Leinkram was locked up that night in a police 
 station and the following morning was arraigned 
 before the United States Commissioner. The day 
 of the arrest I tried without success to get him to 
 acknowledge that he was familiar with the con- 
 tents of the belt he wore prior to the moment when 
 I cut its fastenings on the Kronprinz Wilhelm and 
 exhibited the diamonds to his seemingly aston- 
 ished gaze. He insisted that he was bringing the 
 belt in trust for his brother and knew nothing 
 whatever about what it contained. 
 
 Had the man steadfastly adhered to this state- 
 ment he might have saved his precious hide from 
 a criminal proceeding and his lawyers from a good 
 deal of unnecessary work. But on the Monday 
 on which he was arraigned before the United 
 States Commissioner the smuggler admitted to
 
 THE LEINKRAM DIAMONDS 375 
 
 me that his previous statement was a falsehood 
 and that he was aware from the very outset what 
 the belt contained. 
 
 We were en route from the West Thirty-seventh 
 Street police station, where he had spent the pre- 
 vious night, to the Commissioner's offices in the 
 Federal Building when he admitted that he had 
 been lying. He told me, in addition, that he had 
 gone abroad in the steamer St. Paul, and gave me 
 the date of his departure from this side. I asked 
 him how long he had been acting as a carrier for 
 his brother. He evaded the question at first, but 
 finally said that he had been in the country about 
 one year and three months only and that this was 
 his second smuggling trip. He was quite anxious 
 to learn how I had discovered that he was bring- 
 ing goods to this country in violation of the law, 
 but I did not satisfy his curiosity. 
 
 As a matter of fact, his own brother provided 
 me with the electric current that was to shock the 
 smuggler. He did it in this way : I had had sev- 
 eral experiences, in the discharge of my duty, with 
 Moses Leinkram prior to the arrest of his brother 
 by me. Nearly a month before the latter arrived 
 I was amazed one evening to have Leinkram call 
 upon me at my residence. He said that he desired 
 to give me some information that would be valu- 
 able to me and I invited him in. The information 
 which he vouchsafed I took for what it was worth, 
 which I confess was not much. When he was
 
 376 DEFRAUDING THE GOVERNMENT 
 
 ready to depart he pulled a large wallet from his 
 pocket and took from it several new one-hundred- 
 dollar bills, sajdng : 
 
 ''I wish to make you a little present." 
 
 I could scarcely contain myself, but realized that 
 if I were to display my disgust it might be the 
 means of preventing me from catching him red- 
 handed at some future time, so I asked him why 
 he wished to make me a present. He said : 
 
 ''You remember about a year and a half ago 
 you held me up when Joseph Meyer arrived from 
 Europe ? If you recall, you detained and searched 
 not only Mr. Meyer and myself, but Mr. Jacobson, 
 my brother-in-law, and I tell you that you made 
 us feel very uncomfortable. About six months 
 ago my wife arrived from Europe, and she was 
 also searched at your request. All of these things 
 are very disagreeable to a man of my standing 
 and refinement." 
 
 ' ' It was very thoughtful of you, ' ' I made reply 
 as diplomatically as I could. "I would not take 
 a dollar from you or any other man." 
 
 He returned the money to the wallet and asked 
 me if he might call again. As I wanted to use 
 him, I replied in the affirmative. He returned to 
 my residence in about ten days and said that his 
 nephew was coming to this country in the Kron- 
 prinz Wilhelm, and he continued : 
 
 "He is an honest, good soul, and I would not
 
 THE LEINKRAM DIAMONDS 377 
 
 for the world have him detained on the pier as I 
 have been. Please be fair with him for my sake." 
 
 I told him I was in no way interested in the 
 movements of his nephew, as he called him; that 
 I was about to go South for my health and did not 
 wish to be annoyed by business. It may have been 
 simple imagination on my part, but his face 
 seemed to brighten up when I said I was going 
 away for my health. To satisfy him that I had 
 no designs upon the welfare of his relative, I said 
 that I would be gone fully two months. Then he 
 went away, and I heard him whistling merrily as 
 he passed down the street. He was whistling a 
 different tune when I saw him the next time. This 
 was on the Kronprinz Wilhelm's pier the day his 
 brother arrived, but before the ship berthed. 
 
 ''Why," said he on the latter occasion, "I 
 thought you had gone South." 
 
 ''I changed my mind," was the reply that I 
 made. 
 
 The next time that I saw him was at the head of 
 the pier when I was marching his so-called nephew 
 off a prisoner. He blocked my way and said : 
 
 "Why, you would not disgrace our family by 
 locking this man up 1 ' ' 
 
 I ordered him to one side, but he begged me to 
 permit him to accompany his relative to the police 
 station. I said to one of the uniformed police at 
 the head of the pier :
 
 378 DEFRAUDING THE GOVERNMENT 
 
 "If this man attempts to follow me to the sta- 
 tion I want you to lock him up." 
 
 "You just bet I will," responded the bluecoat. 
 "I do not like his looks," which was quite far- 
 seeing in the limb of the law. 
 
 The legal talent defending Michael Leinkram 
 tried to impress the jury that the man was as inno- 
 cent of any intention of wrongdoing as the lamb 
 within the fold, and, furthermore, insisted that he 
 never said that he knew what was in the red flan- 
 nel belt on his person before it was opened. No 
 living man had ever known his client to tell a false- 
 hood, the chief lawyer for the defense added, and 
 he could not have told an untruth on this occasion, 
 for he was really and truly, and a dozen other 
 things, ignorant of the fact that the much-spoken- 
 of belt contained diamc::ds. 
 
 The court did not believe that Mr. Leinkram had 
 such a spotless soul as his counsel would have the 
 jury believe, and the jury, too, formed its own 
 opinions. One of these opinions was that Lein- 
 kram was a dyed-in-the-wool rascal, and he cer- 
 tainly was, if two and two make four. But there 
 were some others, as developments showed. 
 
 Assistant United States District Attorney Den- 
 by, who appeared for the Govermnent, made 
 a clear case against the smuggler. He was in- 
 dicted on four counts, the jury finding him guilty 
 on all four. AVhile he was languishing in Ludlow 
 Street Jail a new and startling phase of the case
 
 THE LEINKRAM DIAMONDS 379 
 
 presented itself. The chief actor in this was a 
 shrewd, calculating chap, as the expression goes, 
 and he was the talk of the town for some days. 
 Because of what, in ordinary parlance, might be 
 called his infinite nerve and his adroit attempt to 
 make the Government hand over the Leinkram 
 diamonds to him, he is entitled to a distinct 
 chapter.
 
 CHAPTER II 
 
 William Goldman is an Antwerp diamond mer- 
 chant. He is likewise a bit of a fool and 
 a still greater bit of knave. Stevenson once said 
 that he had seen a great many wicked men and 
 fools ; that he believed both were paid in the end, 
 but the fools first. The Antwerp merchant was 
 both wicked and foolish, a dangerous combination 
 at any time of life. Charcoal Eph must have had 
 somebody very much like Goldman in mind when, 
 in one of his ruminative moods, he remarked: 
 "Dey am some men in de worP dat don't know 
 'nuff fo' t' git out'n de rain, but got sense 'nuff 
 fo' t' swipe er umbreller, Mistah Jackson." Hav- 
 ing partly introduced Mr. Goldman, he may now 
 come on the stage and play his little part. 
 
 The Antwerp merchant was originally billed as 
 a star of considerable magnitude in the Leinkram 
 drama. It was placed on the boards of the United 
 States District Court of New York as ''The Great 
 Diamond Robbery. All Stars. No Lesser Lights. 
 Thrilling Scenes and Situations and a Grand Cli- 
 max." It looked better on paper than the actors 
 in it imagined. As for newspaper notices, they 
 
 380
 
 THE LEINKRAM DIAMONDS 381 
 
 were columns long and yards wide. Goldman 
 did not have a particularly definite idea of the en- 
 terprise of the average American journalist, but 
 they laid him as bare as the day he was born be- 
 fore they cast him aside for something more 
 newsy. 
 
 The attention of the Government was called to 
 Goldman when, through his attorney, Edward 
 Cahil, he appeared before the Collector of the Port 
 of New York with the novel claim that the dia- 
 monds in the possession of that official and seized 
 from the person of Leinkram were his personal 
 property and had been stolen from him. His re- 
 quest was a remission of forfeiture of the dia- 
 monds, and he wanted them in a hurry, that he 
 might go back to Antwerp and attend to his much- 
 neglected business. He was quite serious and cool 
 about his claim, and I recollect that United States 
 District Attorney Wellington whistled and winked 
 his eye significantly when told of Goldman's mod- 
 est request. 
 
 Naturally, the Government refused to give the 
 diamonds up, and demanded to know why Gold- 
 man had the audacity to suppose it would. The 
 Belgian merchant, in the role of the much-abused 
 philanthropist, then came down to the footlights, 
 metaphorically speaking, and told the subjoined 
 sad tale : 
 
 He was an honest merchant in business at No. 
 196 Long Street, Antwerp. His chief line was the
 
 382 DEFEAUDING THE GOVERNMENT 
 
 handling of unset stones, principally diamonds. 
 There was a man named Joseph Meyer, a small 
 dealer and broker in diamonds, whose place of 
 business was on Terley Street, Antwerp. The 
 diamonds found upon the person of Leinkram 
 were the same as those he gave to this man Meyer 
 to sell on commission. Meyer did not have any 
 great responsibility in his native city, but Gold- 
 man trusted him in this instance and seemingly 
 made a mistake. 
 
 How he came to give the diamonds to Meyer 
 was : The man came to him and said that he had 
 a purchaser in Berlin for from one hundred thou- 
 sand to one hundred and fifty thousand francs' 
 worth of diamonds. He had great faith in Meyer 
 and forgot to ask the name of the intended buyer. 
 It was not odd that he should do so. Good gra- 
 cious ! no. He often gave brokers goods on memo- 
 randum for sale. All he required was a receipt. 
 Security? The idea was preposterous. It was on 
 February 9 that he delivered the goods to Meyer. 
 That was the last time he had seen the man. 
 
 Meyer had promised to return the goods or their 
 value within eight days, the honest merchant told 
 the officials, with tears in his eyes. He did not 
 wait for the eight days to expire, but, feeling sat- 
 isfied that Meyer would do the right thing, he de- 
 termined to avail himself of the chance of redeem- 
 ing an oft-made promise. This was no less than 
 to come to America to see his brother, who was
 
 THE LEINKRAM DIAMONDS 383 
 
 in business here and from whom he had been sepa- 
 rated some time. 
 
 He loved his brother to distraction, and he just 
 could not wait any longer, so packed up and hur- 
 ried across the wintry brine. He left his business 
 in the care of his wife and sailed from the other 
 side on February 13, coming on the Cunarder 
 Campania. This ship arrived here a few days 
 before the one that brought Leinkram over, but 
 he did not know this, and he did not know Lein- 
 kram. He learned of the seizure of the diamonds 
 from the New York newspapers after his arrival 
 here. 
 
 Goldman was most effusive in explanation as 
 to how he came to suspect that the diamonds seized 
 from Leinkram might be the same as he entrusted 
 to the care of the wicked Meyer. He just could 
 not explain it. It must have been telepathy. That 
 was all there was to it. When he did suspect, he 
 immediately cabled to his wife, and received an 
 answer that the whereabouts of Meyer were un- 
 known and that in all probability the goods found 
 on Leinkram were his property. He had never 
 been deceived in a man as he had been in Meyer. 
 
 But, then, he did not know any too much about 
 Meyer, now that he came to think about it, the 
 honest merchant continued. It was a mere coin- 
 cidence, his crossing the ocean about the same 
 time that Leinkram was bound westward. On his 
 honor as a man, he did not know this rascal Lein-
 
 384 DEFKAUDING THE GOVERNMENT 
 
 kram. Honest men did not want to know such as 
 he. It seemed to him, now that the subject was 
 mentioned, that he knew a man named Moses Lein- 
 kram. He was in business on Maiden Lane, or 
 some place like that, but he was not certain, be- 
 cause he did not know much about New York. 
 
 It was all news to him that Leinkram was a 
 brother of Leinkram of Maiden Lane, and that 
 
 Leinkram 's real name was . He had been so 
 
 often surprised since he came to this country that 
 nothing fully amazed him. What did the ''M" 
 
 stand for in front of 's name? He really did 
 
 not know. It might represent Moses, but he could 
 not say, because he did not know. He wanted to 
 tell only of what he absolutely knew. 
 
 This and a good deal more did Goldman say, 
 and it is given in concise form here that the reader 
 may compare the statement with the testimony 
 dragged from him on cross-examination at the offi- 
 cial hearing for the remission of the forfeiture of 
 the goods, held in the Federal Building the follow- 
 ing April and May. 
 
 It was on February 26, or three days after the 
 seizure of the diamonds, that Goldman filed his 
 claim with the Collector and the United States At- 
 torney for New York District. It was clear that 
 he let no grass grow between the time of the seiz- 
 ure and the moment he filed his claim. 
 
 The Government, through the Collector and the 
 prosecuting attorneys, not then being satisfied that
 
 THE LEINKRAM DIAMONDS 385 
 
 Goldman had not in reality been made a victim of 
 a conspiracy on the part of Meyer, Leinkram and 
 his brother, advised him, in a purely friendly 
 spirit, to hasten back to Antwerp and secure affi- 
 davits to establish his claims. 
 
 This the man did, returning in March with five 
 depositions and a string of certificates of charac- 
 ter from the Mayor, Burgomaster and other digni- 
 taries of Antwerp. Among the affidavits was one 
 from Meyer, in which the arch-conspirator said 
 that he had entrusted the diamonds in question to 
 Leinkram; that the latter was the Berlin pur- 
 chaser he had in mind when he obtained the goods 
 from Goldman ; and that the stuff seized from the 
 body of Leinkram in New York was the property 
 of Goldman and of no other person. Asked how 
 he obtained this affidavit from Meyer, if he had 
 not seen him, Goldman said that his father-in-law 
 went to Paris, where Meyer was in exile, and se- 
 cured it. 
 
 For weeks before the opening of the hearing the 
 lawyers for and against the remission of forfei- 
 ture were laying up expensive ammunition to pro- 
 tect the interests of those they were hired to serve. 
 Certain information had reached the ears of the 
 Government officials that there was a ''cul'd gent" 
 in the woodpile, and while Goldman was diligently 
 scouring through Europe, seeking certificates from 
 commissioners and other notables to show that (to 
 use his own language) ''he lived in a moral way,"
 
 38G DEFEAUDING THE GOVERNMENT 
 
 the emissaries of Uncle Sam were emulating the 
 example of the ''honest merchant" to show that 
 his morals were attractive for their brevity rather 
 than for their eminence. 
 
 Of course, Goldman did not know of this, or he 
 would not have made such a poor liar of himself 
 when he took the stand to beg the "good, kind 
 Americans" to give him back his precious gems. 
 The man had a poor opinion of American business 
 methods. He must have laughed in his sleeve 
 every time he thought how simple and childlike 
 he imagined the Government was. 
 
 It was a rude awakening for him when he dis- 
 covered that he had put his head in a halter that 
 was likely to choke him to death any time the ma- 
 chinery of justice said, "Shoo, fly." 
 
 The petition of Goldman for the remission of 
 forfeiture of the diamonds in question was heard 
 before United States Commissioner Tliomas, and 
 began April 16, or nearly two months following 
 the seizure of the property from Leinkram. It 
 continued for almost two months, and every day 
 of the hearing was more interesting than the one 
 preceding it. The petitioner was represented by 
 Edward Cahil, while General Wellington and his 
 assistants in the District Attorney's office, Messrs. 
 Denby and Condin, defended the interests of the 
 Government. 
 
 Goldman was unable to talk English with any 
 degree of accuracy and his testimony was taken
 
 THE LEINKRAM DIAMONDS 387 
 
 through Mr. Ferdinand, an interpreter. This gave 
 him an opportunity to dodge at critical moments. 
 But he managed to make a tip-top ass of himself 
 before he realized that he had done so. 
 
 He explained the Meyer transaction to his en- 
 tire satisfaction; said that he knew the man only 
 fairly well, but later on admitted that Meyer had 
 been two years in his employ ; that he had traveled 
 for him until he went into business for himself. 
 He testijSed that he had often given Meyer goods 
 when tht latter went to Paris and Berlin to sell 
 them, and that in all instances except in their 
 latest transaction he (the traveling salesman) had 
 returned the money to him. 
 
 Goldman had a complete description of the dia- 
 monds he had last given to Meyer and which the 
 latter had failed to return. He had seen the goods 
 seized from Leinkram at the Public Stores, and, 
 although he did not weigh them, because a scales 
 was not handy, he knew from the papers in his 
 possession and the marks on the packages and 
 papers as shown to him that the goods were the 
 identical ones he had given to Meyer. 
 
 He identified a paper shown him by his counsel 
 as one which Meyer gave him at the time that he 
 let him have ihe diamonds. The foreign value 
 of the goods that he gave the man was from one 
 hundred and twenty-three thousand to one hun- 
 dred and twenty-five thousand francs, and he did 
 not know what Meyer had done with the property.
 
 388 DEFRAUDING THE GOVERNMENT 
 
 There were twenty-five packages in all given to 
 Meyer by him, and he found upon counting the 
 stones at the Public Stores that they compared 
 with the number which he had written in his mem- 
 orandum book as given to Meyer. 
 
 Some of the packages had been mixed, he swore, 
 but the stones were all there. They had mixed 
 18| carat, or fifty-five stones known as ''melle" or 
 small stones. Seventeen lots were as he origi- 
 nally gave them, but the other eight were mixed 
 up, somebody having mixed two lots into one. 
 Goldman recognized the writing on the majority 
 of the packages, as he examined them at the Public 
 Stores, as his own, placed there three months or 
 so before he gave them to Meyer. The latter had 
 marked some of the papers himself, probal)ly be- 
 cause they became soiled. He knew it was Meyer's 
 hand-writing, he said, because he knew the man's 
 writing very well. On another of the papers he 
 had seen the writing of a broker. This was a pack- 
 age containing 19 3-16 brilliants. The broker 
 had taken this package to Prankfort-on-the-Main 
 to sell to a firm in Berlin, but had failed to dispose 
 of it and returned it. 
 
 There was no question about the stones being 
 the same as he gave Meyer. The same black stones 
 were among them. There were also naatz stones, 
 also yellow, white and steel gray, and there were 
 also some very bad ones among them. They were 
 all cut in Antwerp by the people who had cut dia-
 
 THE LEINKEAM DIAMONDS 389 
 
 monds for him for some years. They were all a 
 good cut, and not like the Amsterdam cutting, 
 which he inferred was bad. 
 
 The ''honest merchant" might have continued 
 in this line until the crack of doom had not the 
 cross-examination taken him aback somewhat. 
 This modern form of inquisition, which has re- 
 sulted in the downfall of so many untruthful wit- 
 nesses, proved no exception in the case of Gold- 
 man. 
 
 From admitting that he had only a vague sort 
 of idea about Meyer and his habits, he confessed, 
 under the manipulation of the legal jack-screw, 
 that Meyer was his wife 's brother. And since the 
 counsel for the Government were so insistent, he 
 recollected that Meyer had a partner in business 
 in Antwerp. He would have to have a moment's 
 thought to recall the name of this partner. 
 
 Yes, yes, it was Henry Grunzweig, who lived in 
 Zuremberg, a suburb of Antwerp. The firm had 
 a place of business in Meyer's house in Antwerp. 
 Now that the counsel had asked him if Grunzweig 
 was any relative of his, he remembered that he 
 was. Like Meyer, Grunzweig was a brother-in- 
 law. It was strange that he forgot to mention the 
 fact before. 
 
 The name of his brother in the metropolis was 
 Gustave Goldman. He had come over to pay him 
 a little social visit. Wliat's that? Oh, yes, an- 
 other thing he forgot. His brother was in business
 
 390 DEFRAUDING THE GOVERNMENT 
 
 on Maiden Lane. As a matter of fact, his brother 
 was his agent in the diamond business here. But, 
 then, business had not brought him over. His 
 brother had asked him several times to come over, 
 and he took his advice and made the trip. His 
 brother had been in business as his agent since 
 July of the previous year. 
 
 It might be considered strange by some that 
 Moses Leinkram had his place of business so close 
 to the one over which his brother presided, but it 
 was a mere coincidence. Goldman said this in his 
 most captivating way on the cross-examination. 
 He continued that the financial resources of Meyer 
 were very small ; that he did not own any prop- 
 erty in Antwerp, but that he had credit among the 
 diamond brokers there. 
 
 Such a thing as rating was unheard of in Ant- 
 werp, Goldman added. Some would trust Meyer 
 for five hundred francs, others for one thousand 
 francs, and others would not trust him at all. The 
 witness had not taken any steps in Antwerp to 
 recover the value of the diamonds in question from 
 Meyer, neither had he made any effort to cause 
 the arrest or extradition of the man for the alleged 
 theft. 
 
 His father-in-law, who had managed to get 
 Meyer to make an affidavit admitting certain 
 things, refused to tell him where Meyer was stop- 
 l^ing in Paris when he made the sworn statement. 
 It was true that on his direct examiniiaon he had
 
 THE LEINKRAM DIAMONDS 391 
 
 testified that he came here to pay a visit to his 
 brother, but the truth was he came here because 
 his brother had advised him that a firm with 
 which he was doing business was a bit "shaky," 
 and the bad news brought him here. In evi- 
 dence to prove this wonderful display of hon- 
 esty, so far as concerned Michael Leinkram, he 
 could truthfully swear on a mountain of Bibles 
 that he never saw the man to his knowledge, knew 
 him not, and had never heard of him until he read 
 in the daily press that some diamonds which he 
 had tried to import had been seized. Some new 
 facts were educed by the cross-examination of 
 Brother Goldman, however. 
 
 Gustave Goldman, sworn on behalf of the claim- 
 ant, testified as follows: 
 
 Examined by Mr. Ware. 
 
 Q. Mr. Goldman, where Is your place of busi- 
 ness? 
 
 A. In the city of New York. 
 
 Q. How long have you been in business here in 
 New York? 
 
 A. Since the first of July, last year. 
 
 Q. Who is your correspondent abroad; from 
 whom do you receive your merchandise from 
 abroad? 
 
 A. My brother, William Goldman. 
 
 Q. Are you carrying on a business for yourself 
 or for him? 
 
 A. For him.
 
 392 DEFRAUDING THE GOVERNMENT 
 
 Q. As his agent and representative here? 
 
 A. Yes, sir. 
 
 Q. And have been since you carried on that busi- 
 ness? 
 
 A. Yes, sir. 
 
 Q. During that time have you made importations 
 of merchandise? 
 
 A. Yes. 
 
 Q. Of what kind? 
 
 A. Diamonds. 
 
 Q. And have they been regularly entered at the 
 Custom House and paid duties? 
 
 A, Yes, sir. 
 
 Q. Who is your Custom House broker? 
 
 A. Isaac & Co. 
 
 Q. Since you have been in business have you sold 
 any diamonds that came into this country that 
 have not passed through the Custom House and 
 that have not paid duty? 
 
 A. No. 
 
 Q. You keep books in the course of your business 
 there? 
 
 A. Yes, sir. 
 
 Q. Are those tlie books described by Mr. Mindil 
 which you produced to-day? 
 
 A. Yes, sir. 
 
 Q. You produced all the books kept by you? 
 
 A. Yes, sir. 
 
 Q. And you have no secret or other set of books? 
 
 A. No, sir.
 
 THE LEINKRAM DIAMONDS 393 
 
 Q. Are the entries in them made in the regular 
 course of business in the regular order? 
 
 A. Yes, sir. 
 
 Q. There are no false entries made in the books 
 or inaccurate ones? 
 
 A. No, sir. 
 
 Q. Do you know Mr. Meyer? 
 
 A. Yes. 
 
 Q. Do you know a man named Michael Lein- 
 kram? 
 
 A. No. 
 
 Q. When did you first hear of him? 
 
 A. AVhen we read it here in the paper. 
 
 Q. A paper in which his name was mentioned? 
 
 A. Yes, sir. 
 
 Q. How long ago was that? 
 
 A. Maybe three months ago. 
 
 Q. AVas there ever any arrangement between 
 your brother and yourself or Meyer and your- 
 self whereby Leinkram or anybody else should 
 bring a lot of diamonds that had been smuggled 
 to your place? 
 
 A. No. 
 
 Q. Was there ever any arrangement or under- 
 standing whereby you should receive from any one 
 smuggled diamonds? 
 
 A. No. 
 
 William H. Theobald, being duly sworn, on be- 
 half of the Government testified as follows : 
 
 Examined by Mr. Condin.
 
 394 DEFRAUDING THE GOVERNMENT 
 
 Q. Mr. Theobald, what is your occupation! 
 
 A. Special employee of the Treasury Depart- 
 ment. 
 
 Q. What was your employment on the twenty- 
 third day of February, 1902? 
 
 A. Special employee of the Treasury Depart- 
 ment. 
 
 Q. Did you meet any steamer that day coming 
 from abroad? 
 
 A. Yes, sir. 
 
 Q. What steamer was it? 
 
 A. Kronprinz Wilhelm, which arrived from 
 Bremen. 
 
 Q. Where did it dock? 
 
 A. At the foot of Thirty-fourth Street, North 
 River. 
 
 Q. Were you there in your official capacity upon 
 the pier? 
 
 A. Yes, sir. 
 
 Q. State what, if anything, you did upon that 
 day, or did you upon that day make a seizure ? 
 
 A. Yes, sir. 
 
 Q. From whom? 
 
 A. From Michael Leinkram, alias 
 
 Mr. Cahil: I object. Michael Leinkram is the 
 name upon the record. 
 
 The Commissioner : Let him answer. 
 
 A. (continued) alias Michael Ilochberger. 
 
 Mr. Cahil: I object and move to strike out the 
 last part of the answer.
 
 THE LEINKRAM DIAMONDS 395 
 
 Motion denied. Exception taken. 
 
 Q. State briefly the circumstances ; or, first, what 
 did you seize from Michael Leinkram on that oc- 
 casion? 
 
 A. A red flannel belt containing a lot of packages 
 in which there were five hundred and odd carats of 
 diamonds. 
 
 Q. Are they the diamonds that were examined 
 in the Custom House! 
 
 A. The diamonds I seized were sent to the Pub- 
 lic Stores and appraised. 
 
 Mr. Cahil : I will admit that. 
 
 Q. State briefly the circumstances of the seizure, 
 just what you did. 
 
 A. After the inspector of customs had examined 
 and passed the baggage of Michael Leinkram, I, 
 accompanied by the dejouty collector in charge at 
 the pier, asked the inspector if he was through 
 with' the examination. He said he was. I took the 
 declaration 
 
 Q. Do you recall the name of the inspector? 
 
 A. Inspector Ravine. I took the declaration of 
 Leinkram away from the inspector, 
 
 Q. You mean the baggage declaration made on 
 shipboard ? 
 
 A. Yes, sir. I told him I would have to use it, 
 and asked Leinkram to accompany me on board 
 the ship for the purpose of searching his person. 
 Accompanied by the deputy collector, I took Lein- 
 kram on board the ship and questioned him as to
 
 396 DEFRAUDING THE GOVERNMENT 
 
 whether he had any dutiable goods upon his per- 
 son, and he denied having anything. I questioned 
 him in both the German and English languages, 
 which I understand thoroughly. He denied that 
 he had anything of any value upon his person or 
 in his baggage. 
 
 Q. You mean when you say "of any value" — 
 you mean of any dutiable value? 
 
 A. Yes, sir. I then asked him whether he had 
 any diamonds upon his person, and he said that 
 he had not. I requested him to remove his over- 
 coat, undercoat and vest, which I searched. I found 
 nothing. Then I asked him to open his trousers 
 and pull up his shirt and undershirt, and found 
 the red flannel belt around his waist, close to his 
 skin and under his undershirt. 
 
 Q. When you found that belt did you ask him 
 any questions? 
 
 A. "V^^ien I found this belt around his waist I 
 asked him what it was, and he told me that it was 
 a rupture band; that he wore it because he was 
 ruptured. I looked around on the left side of his 
 body and found that the belt was tied with a white 
 tape attached on either end of the belt and went 
 around his body twice. I pulled the string, loos- 
 ened it, and pulled the belt off his body. I felt of 
 it and found that there was some hard substance 
 in the center of the belt, which lay upon his ab- 
 domen, and asked him if there was anything in 
 this of any value, or what was in it. He said that
 
 THE LEINKRAM DIAMONDS 397 
 
 it was simply a belt that he wore because he was 
 ruptured. I then asked him again, ''Aren't there 
 some diamonds in this belt?" All this time my 
 questions to him were in the German language. He 
 said he preferred to talk German; that he could 
 understand the German language better than he 
 could English. He said there was nothing in it 
 at all. I took the belt and cut it open and pulled 
 forth one of the packages, which was sewed on to 
 some cotton batting between the two linings of the 
 flannel of the belt, and opened one of the parcels, 
 and showed to the deputy collector, who was pres- 
 ent all the time, the diamonds found in this belt. 
 
 Q. Just what did you find in quantity? 
 
 A. Well, at that particular time I only cut one 
 of the parcels, wherein there were four parcels of 
 diamonds ; there might have been sixty or seventy 
 carats of diamonds. 
 
 Q. Did you subsequently make a more careful 
 examination of the contents of the belt ? 
 
 A. Yes, sir. 
 
 Q. What did you find? 
 
 A. Found that it contained over five hundred 
 carats. The exact weight of the diamonds I am 
 unable to state at this time. 
 
 Q. Do you remember the number of packages 
 you found? 
 
 A. Twenty-two. 
 
 Q. Twenty-two papers, do you mean? 
 
 A. Twenty-two paper parcels.
 
 398 DEFRAUDING THE GOVERNMENT 
 
 Q. Contained in how many packages? 
 
 A-, In five packages. 
 
 Q. Do you know whether those are the diamonds 
 which are the subject of seizure in the suit entitled 
 United States vs. five packages containing twenty- 
 two papers of cut diamonds? 
 
 A. Yes, sir. 
 
 Q. A\"liatdidyouthendo? 
 
 A. After taking this belt away from him he put 
 on his clothes ; we went to the dock again — left the 
 ship and went to the dock, where his valise was 
 standing, took it up, and we walked out to the pri- 
 vate entrance to the pier. This was done in order 
 that I might not create any excitement upon the 
 dock, because it was on the day of the arrival of 
 Prince Henry. We got to the street. Before get- 
 ting to the street I asked the deputy collector to 
 try and get a cab. He was unable to get a cab 
 within the lines, so we took the man through, and 
 when we got outside of the pier, on the street, his 
 brother met him and asked to be permitted to ac- 
 company him. 
 
 Mr. Cahil : I object and ask that that be stricken 
 out. 
 
 Q. (by the Commissioner). Was this in the pres- 
 ence of the party ? 
 
 A. Yes, sir. 
 
 The Commissioner: Objection overruled. 
 
 Q. (by Mr. Condin). Leinkram was in your cus- 
 tody all this time!
 
 THE LEINKRAM DIAMONDS 399 
 
 A. Yes, sir. When I put liim in the cab his 
 brother asked to be permitted to accompany him. 
 
 Q. Had yon before this time seen Moses Hoch- 
 berger? 
 
 A. Up to that time? 
 
 Q. I mean on any previous occasions? 
 
 A. Yes, sir. 
 
 Q. Do you Imow whether he is related to or is 
 a friend of Leinkram ? 
 
 A. Yes. 
 
 Q. Can you state which! 
 
 A. Yes, sir. 
 
 Q. Was he related to him? 
 
 A. He is a half-brother of Michael Leinkram. 
 
 Q. Do you know that of your own knowledge? 
 
 A. Yes, sir. 
 
 Q. Continue. 
 
 A. We took him, the deputy collector and myself, 
 in the cab to the police station — I think it was 
 West Thirty-seventh Street — where, through the 
 kindness of the officers, they locked him up and 
 detained him for me until Monday morning. On 
 Monday morning I called for him 
 
 Q. You called for him on Monday morning at the 
 police station? 
 
 A. Yes, sir. 
 
 Q. (by Mr. Caliil). What time was the seizure — ■ 
 Sunday morning? 
 
 A. Sunday afternoon. 
 
 Q. About what time?
 
 400 DEFRAUDING THE GOVERNMENT 
 
 A. Between one and two o 'clock. 
 
 Q. (by Mr. Condin). Will you go on? 
 
 A. I called for liim to arraign him before the 
 Commissioner and questioned him as to who was 
 the owner of these goods. 
 
 Mr. Cahil : Now, one moment. I presume what 
 is to follow now will be declarations made by the 
 party who was arrested on the day after the seiz- 
 ure. The question, of course, I haven't any doubt 
 but what all declarations made by Leinkram at 
 the time of the seizure, or closely connected there- 
 with at the dock immediately after, being part of 
 the res gestce, must come in, but I have serious 
 doubts as to how far that rule would apply in ex- 
 tent of time afterwards. All the cases I have ex- 
 amined where declarations of a party are ad- 
 mitted as against the claimant are admitted 
 because so closely connected with the time of the 
 seizure and being a part of the res gestce, but I 
 know of no case which permits it after such a 
 length of time, and I think my objection should be 
 made now and have that passed upon. 
 
 The Commissioner: I allow a great deal of lati- 
 tude in this proceeding, and when the question 
 comes up I will pass upon it. 
 
 Mr. Cahil: I want to get on the record as ob- 
 jecting upon the ground that the declarations by 
 the smuggler, in point of time not being connected 
 with the seizure so closely as to make it a part of 
 the res gestce, are not admissible.
 
 THE LEINKRAM DIAMONDS 401 
 
 The Commissioner : My only ruling now is that 
 I will allow a great deal of liberty in this particu- 
 lar proceeding, and when the question comes up 
 I will pass upon it. 
 
 Q. What did he say? 
 
 A. Told me that they were the property of his 
 half-brother, Moses Leinkram, whom we met at 
 the pier the day before. 
 
 Q. Is that the person who met him outside the 
 pier when you were putting him into the cab to 
 take him to the police station? 
 
 A. Yes, sir. 
 
 Q. Did he say anything else ? 
 
 A. I asked him, when he went over to bring these 
 diamonds, on what steamer he sailed. He told me 
 that he left on the St. Paul, and gave me the date, 
 which is in one of my reports, and went over there 
 for the purpose of bringing these goods over. I 
 asked him how long he had been doing this. While 
 he seemed to avoid the question 
 
 Q. Wliat did you mean by that? 
 
 A. How long he had been carrying on this busi- 
 ness for his half-brother as a carrier, and he stated 
 that he had only been in the country about a year 
 and three months and that this was his second trip 
 back and forth, 
 
 Mr. Cahil : This is all under the same objection, 
 of course. 
 
 The Witness (continuing) : Then he said he pre- 
 ferred not to say anything more until he could be
 
 402 DEFRAUDING THE GOVERNMENT 
 
 advised by his friends. I then arraigned him be- 
 fore the Commissioner, who held him. 
 
 Q. Do you know Joseph Meyer, of Antwerp, Bel- 
 gimn? 
 
 A. Yes, sir ; very well, indeed. 
 
 Q. Do you know whether he, at the time of the 
 seizure in this case, was engaged in business with 
 anybody in Antwerp? 
 
 A. Yes, sir. 
 
 Q. Do you remember the name of that person? 
 
 A. Yes, sir. 
 
 Q. What was it I 
 
 A. Goldman, of the firm of Goldman & Meyer. 
 
 Q. What was their business 1 
 
 A. Dealers in diamonds and exporters to 
 America. 
 
 Q. Do you know of your knowledge whether the 
 firm of Goldman & Meyer, of Antwerp, Belgium, 
 have any American representative? 
 
 A. Yes, sir. 
 
 Q. In this city? 
 
 A. Yes, sir. 
 
 Q. Do you know who that representative is ? 
 
 A. Yes, sir. 
 
 Q. Wlioishe? 
 
 A. Moses Leinkram. 
 
 Q. Do you know whether Moses liochberger is 
 related to either member of the firm of Goldman & 
 Meyer? 
 
 A. Yes, sir.
 
 THE LEINKKAM DIAMONDS 403 
 
 Q. To which member of that firm is he related, if 
 at all? 
 
 A. To Meyer. 
 
 Q. What relation is he to Meyer? 
 
 A. A brother-in-law. 
 
 Cross-examination of Mr. Cahil. 
 
 Q. This conversation you had with Leinkram on 
 Monday following the seizure was held where — at 
 the jail? 
 
 A. It was held on my way down from the police 
 station to this building. 
 
 Q. Anybody with you? 
 
 A. No, sir. 
 
 Q. In German! 
 
 A. Yes, and partly in English. 
 
 Q. (by Mr. Denby). You speak German? 
 
 A. Yes, sir. 
 
 Mr. Condin : Mr. Commissioner, I would like to 
 ask Mr. Cahil to stipulate, if he will, and if not, I 
 will have to furnish proof subsequently, of the in- 
 dictment, trial and conviction of Michael Lein- 
 kram of smuggling the diamonds in suit which 
 were identified in this proceeding by the claimant, 
 Goldman. 
 
 Mr. Cahil: It is so stipulated. 
 
 Mr, Condin: There is something that had es- 
 caped me in the examination and I will ask it on 
 re-direct. 
 
 Ee-direct examination by Mr. Condin. 
 
 Q. Mr. Theobald, referring again to Moses Lein-
 
 404 J3EFRAUDING THE GOVERNMENT 
 
 kram, whom yon have testified having met at the 
 Kronprinz "Wilhelm on the arrival of Leinkram, 
 and who you have also testified was the Ameri- 
 can representative of Goldman & Meyer, and 
 brother-in-law of Meyer, did you, after the arrest 
 of Leinkram, or after the seizure from Leinkram 
 by you of these diamonds, ever see Moses Lein- 
 kram ? 
 
 A. No, sir. 
 
 Q. (by Mr. Denby). Did you ever have a talk 
 with his half-brother at any time before 1 
 
 A. Yes, sir. 
 
 Q. About these diamonds? 
 
 A. No. 
 
 Q. Before the arrest? 
 
 A. Not about the diamonds. 
 
 Q. (by Mr. Condin). Where was that conversa- 
 tion? 
 
 A. At my residence. 
 
 Q. State briefly what it was. 
 
 Objected to. Objection sustained. 
 
 Q. (by Mr. Denby). Did this conversation with 
 his half-brother have anything to do with the ar- 
 rival here of Leinkram ? 
 
 A. Yes, sir. 
 
 Objected to hj Mr. Cahil. Objection overruled. 
 Exception. 
 
 Q. (by Mr. Condin). What was that conversa- 
 tion?
 
 THE LEINKRAM DIAMONDS 405 
 
 A. On the 27tli of January, 1902, Moses Lein- 
 kram called at my house. 
 
 Q. Where did you live then! 
 
 A. 221 West 128th Street. 
 
 Q. This was before the Kronprinz arrived and 
 before Leinkram was arrested? 
 
 A. Yes, sir. Can I tell this story as it occurred? 
 
 Q. State the facts of the conversation. 
 
 A. He came to my residence to give me some in- 
 formation, which I took for what it was worth, 
 and when he had finished he opened a large wallet 
 which he took from his pocket 
 
 Q. Was there any one present? 
 
 A. No, sir. and pulled out two crisp one- 
 hundred-dollar bills and asked me if I would not 
 take a little present from him. He said: ''You 
 remember about a year and a half ago you held 
 me up when Mr. Meyer arrived from Europe, and 
 detained me and searched me and Mr. Meyer and 
 my brother-in-law, Mr. Jacobson, and you made 
 us feel very uncomfortable ; and about six months 
 ago, when my wife arrived from Europe, she was 
 also searched at your request, and all these things 
 are ver^^ disagreeable." I refused to take any- 
 thing from him, but I could read between the 
 lines 
 
 Q. Never mind that. 
 
 A. I refused to take the money. 
 
 Q. What did you say to him? 
 
 A. I told him I did not see why I should take
 
 406 DEFRAUDING THE GOVERNMENT 
 
 anything from liiin; lie was not under any obliga- 
 tions to me and I did not projjose to place myself 
 under any obligations to him; that I was a Gov- 
 ernment officer and was willing and always did 
 perform my duty. 
 
 Q. What did he say? 
 
 A. He put the money back in his pocket and 
 asked me if he could come and see me again. 
 
 Q. What did you say? 
 
 A. I told him that he could. 
 
 Q. Did he come ? 
 
 A. He came about ten days before the arrival of 
 the Kronprinz. 
 
 Q. Where did you see him then? 
 
 A. At my residence. 
 
 Q. Anybody present? 
 
 A. Nobody but he and myself. He told me then 
 that his nephew was coming 
 
 Mr. Cahil: It is all under objection, both con- 
 versations. 
 
 Q. Did you ask him his name? 
 
 A. I asked him his nephew's name, and he told 
 me his name was Leinkram and that he was com- 
 ing on the Kronprinz. I told him I did not see 
 why he should tell me. I told him I was not inter- 
 ested in anything; that I was going away to the 
 South, and that I would be gone -about two months. 
 However, when he left, from then on I covered 
 every steamer that arrived in this port from Ant- 
 werp, Rotterdam and Hamburg and the North
 
 THE LEINKRAM DIAMONDS 407 
 
 German Lloyd steamers to be sure that if a man 
 by the name of Leinkram should come on any 
 other steamer than the Kronprinz I would be able 
 to find him. On the arrival of the Kronprinz, be- 
 fore the steamer was tied fast, I succeeded in get- 
 ting a passenger list, and found that Michael Lein- 
 kr^^m, alias Hochberger, was a j^assenger in the 
 second cabin. 
 
 Q. Did you ever see Moses Leinkram after that? 
 
 A. No, sir ; not until the day of the seizure. 
 
 Q. Did Leinkram, at the second interview at 
 your house, give any reason for telling you that 
 his nephew, Michael Leinkram, was to arrive on 
 the Kronprinz Wilhelm? 
 
 A. It was all done so quickly that he did not have 
 the time to give a reason. 
 
 Q. Did he or not? 
 
 A. He gave no reason, except that I asked him 
 why he came, and he said that his nephew was 
 coming from Europe. 
 
 Q. Did he answer that question when you asked 
 him why he came ! 
 
 A. No, he did not answer that question. 
 
 Re-cross-examination by Mr. Cahil. 
 
 Q. No one was present at the time when he of- 
 fered you these two one-hundred-dollar bills ? 
 
 A. No, sir. 
 
 Q. What did you say to him when he offered 
 them to you ? 
 
 A. I refused to take his money.
 
 408 DEFRAUDING THE GOVERNMENT 
 
 Q. Wliy didn't you arrest him for attempting to 
 bribe an officer of the United States I 
 
 A. Because his word would have been just as 
 good as mine in a court of justice. 
 
 Q. (by Mr. Condin). Did you have power to ar- 
 rest under such circumstances? 
 
 A. No, I don't think I did. 
 
 Q. You have power to make seizures and arrests 
 in those cases 1 
 
 A. Yes ; I have not the power to make the arrest. 
 
 It is useless to bring out all of the long testi- 
 mony i3resented by the Leinkram crowd. The case 
 
 was eventually called before the Hon. , 
 
 judge of the United States Circuit Court, South- 
 ern District of New York, as follows : 
 
 United States Circuit Court, 
 Southern District of New York. 
 
 The United States 
 
 vs. 
 
 Michael Leinkram, 
 
 Alias Michael Hochberger. 
 
 Before judge and 
 a jury. 
 
 CHARGE OP THE COURT. 
 
 Gentlemen of the Jury: There are four counts 
 in this indictment, and necessarily in setting it 
 forth there is a good deal of verbiage which is of
 
 THE LEINKRAM DIAMONDS 409 
 
 very little use to you and me in determining the 
 case. The first count charges, in short, that the 
 defendant smuggled these diamonds into the 
 United States. The second count charges that 
 after bringing them into the United States, and 
 after they reached such a stage, such a point, 
 where they could be said to have been imported or 
 brought in, he concealed them, and that such con- 
 cealment was contrary to the statute, which pro- 
 vides that ''if any person shall fraudulently or 
 knowingly import, or assist in so doing, any mer- 
 chandise contrary to law, or shall receive, conceal, 
 buy, sell, or in any manner facilitate the transpor- 
 tation, concealment or sale of such merchandise 
 after such importation, knowing the same to have 
 been imported contrary to law, the offender shall 
 be fined," etc. The charge is that, knowing that 
 these diamonds had been brought in contrary to 
 law, he was concealing them. The third count 
 charges that he brought into the United States 
 contrary to law these diamonds, and that he was 
 guilty of certain omission, whereby the United 
 States was deprived of its duty, and that the omis- 
 sion consisted of his failure to give any statement 
 of his diamonds in this declaration which has been 
 laid before you. Now, that count, you will see, 
 specially chai'ges and lays to him fault — in im- 
 porting of diamonds or bringing them in and at- 
 tempting to deprive and depriving the United 
 States of the duty by failing to give the infonna-
 
 410 DEFRAUDING THE GOVERNMENT 
 
 tion which he was required to give by law. The 
 fourth count charges the same thing, in a some- 
 what different manner, charging it directly under 
 one law instead of the other. Now, having gotten 
 through with these, the real one vital question 
 here is whether he intended to smuggle these dia- 
 monds into the United States and did smuggle 
 them into the United States. 
 
 Now, we have the evidence, and you have to in- 
 fer an intention here from his acts. You have the 
 facts, if you believe the evidence of the officer 
 taking the declaration, that he was asked, with 
 reference to these things, as to whether he was 
 bringing in anj^ property. You have the declara- 
 tion before you ; picture to yourself the scene. You 
 have the document and you have their statements, 
 from which 3^ou may determine what this defend- 
 ant meant — whether he intended to do it, after an- 
 swering such interrogatories as may have been 
 put to him by the officer at that time. 
 
 Now, upon leaving the ship he went on the dock, 
 and after he was on the dock he was taken in 
 charge by the inspector and his baggage was ex- 
 amined. The only piece of baggage which he had 
 was his valise; and he was asked, so the inspector 
 says, whether he had anything tliat was dutiable, 
 and if he did answer that he did not have anything 
 that was dutiable, as the inspector says he did, and 
 he was not telling the truth, and you think he was 
 not telling the truth, and if he did not, how does
 
 THE LEINKEAM DIAMONDS 411 
 
 that bear upon the question whether he was at that 
 time smuggling into the United States, with the 
 intention to do so, this property"? 
 
 Having been taken back to the ship again, you 
 will remember what happened in the presence of 
 Mr. Theobald, as he states it, and which is not 
 denied here — what does that all indicate as to the 
 honesty of this defendant? Does it mean that he 
 was bringing in here something that was dutiable, 
 that he was acting honestly with reference to it, 
 or that he was not, and was smuggling these dia- 
 monds in I 
 
 And the last question is the more technical ques- 
 tion. If you find that he was attempting to smug- 
 gle them in, the question is whether he reached 
 such a point in the matter that the diamonds could 
 have been said to have been imported or brought 
 into the United States. Now, here is, you will see, 
 where the real defense in this case seems to be. 
 
 Now, they were not on the manifest of the ship ; 
 there was no invoice, or consular notice, of these 
 diamonds; they were not declared; there was no 
 statement made anywhere. All the provisions of 
 the law which governs the importation of property 
 either were not availed of or it is claimed that 
 they were avoided. It is urged on the part of the 
 defendant that he had not yet passed off the dock, 
 and that perhaps he might have yet entered these 
 or declared these diamonds, or told the Govern- 
 ment that he had the diamonds. Now, if every-
 
 412 DEFRAUDING THE GOVERNMENT 
 
 thing had been done that the law required to be 
 done, and the duty of asking whether he had prop- 
 erty and whether he intended to make it known 
 and pay duty upon it, the only thing left was, when 
 he went out, the duty of somebody to look at that 
 label, and if it was there in proper foiTQ to check 
 and let him pass out. That man does not seem to 
 have any power of examination ; and I am inclined 
 to charge you, as a matter of law, if you believe 
 that all the examinations for which the law pro- 
 vided had been made, and he had knowingly failed 
 to declare that he had these diamonds, with the in- 
 tention of unlawfully bringing them into the 
 United States, that he should be regarded as guilty 
 of this offense; that the point had been reached, 
 all these usual means or opportunities which the 
 law provides had been exhausted, it seems to me 
 that you should so find; if you should find that up 
 to that time he had smuggled them into the United 
 States, then it seems to me that you should find 
 him guilty. And that it was not necessary to wait 
 until he should pass the officer who stood out by 
 the gate to determine whether he would change 
 his mind and pay the duty before passing out. 
 
 You understand, gentlemen, of course, that the 
 defendant is presumed to be innocent until he is 
 proven guilty, and that the Government must con- 
 vince you beyond a reasonable doubt that he is 
 guilty on these several counts. You will recollect 
 also the rule that a reasonable doubt is the doubt
 
 THE LEINKRAM DIAMONDS 413 
 
 that appeals to a man of common sense, and such 
 a doubt that would influence such a man in the 
 determination of an important matter. 
 
 Mr. Cahil : We except to the latter part of Your 
 Honor's charge to the jury. 
 
 The Court: To be a little more distinct about 
 this matter, I charge the jury that if at the time 
 the inspector, Herbert, got through with the de- 
 fendant and put that label on the valise, if Her- 
 bert had discharged his duty, and if at the time the 
 defendant intended to smuggle these goods into 
 the United States, and the defendant at that 
 time did not intend to pay the duty on 
 these goods up to that time, he smuggled 
 them into the United States within the meaning of 
 the law, because it appears that there was no other 
 machinery of the law to be i3ut in force relating 
 to the collection of duty upon these goods. 
 
 Mr. Cahil : It is to that portion of Your Honor's 
 charge that we except. I ask Your Honor to charge 
 that the offense of smuggling is not committed 
 unless some goods, wares and merchandise are 
 actually brought ashore or carried to shore con- 
 trary to law. 
 
 The Court: I also charge: and the dock is the 
 shore. 
 
 Mr. Cahil : Our contention is that it is not until 
 after he has gone beyond the jurisdiction of the 
 customs officials. 
 
 The Court: When he got so far along in this
 
 414 DEFEAUDING THE GOVERNMENT 
 
 matter that the customs officers had exhausted 
 their duties with reference to it, then, in my opin- 
 ion, he is beyond the line and the smuggling is 
 complete, and it is not necessary that he should 
 go out into the street, because the dock is the ex- 
 tension of the street and just as much a part of the 
 State of New York as the central part of the State 
 would be, and is subject to its jurisdiction just as 
 much, and is just as far away from the admiralty 
 jurisdiction. 
 
 Mr. Cahil: I ask Your Honor to charge that 
 mere possession of the goods is not sufficient to 
 authorize a conviction under this section, and that 
 it is necessary for the Government to show that 
 the goods were imported contrary to law and that 
 the defendant had knowledge of the fact. 
 
 The Court : I so charge. 
 
 Mr. Cahil: I would ask Your Honor to charge 
 that it is the intent to defraud the revenue, and 
 not the mere secret and clandestine manner of im- 
 porting goods, which constitutes the gist of the 
 offense. 
 
 The Court: I will charge that the intention 
 alone would not be enough, nor the bringing them 
 in would not be enough, but the two together form 
 the crime. 
 
 Mr. Denby: I ask Your Honor to charge the 
 jury that they may take into consideration the way 
 that the goods were brought in in determining the 
 intent.
 
 THE LEINKRAM DIAMONDS 415 
 
 The Court: The intent must be inferred from 
 the acts and statements of the defendant. 
 
 Mr. Caliil : I ask Your Honor to cliarge that the 
 failure of the defendant to take the witness stand 
 in his own behalf raises no presumption against 
 him in law. 
 
 The Court : I so charge. 
 
 The jury thereupon retired, and at 1.10 p.m. 
 returned and, through the foreman, announced 
 that they found the defendant guilty as charged 
 in the indictment. 
 
 Mr. Caliil: I formally move to set the verdict 
 aside on the ground that it is against the law and 
 against the weight of evidence. 
 
 The Court : Motion denied. 
 
 Mr. Cahil excepts. 
 
 On May 22, 1902, the prisoner was sentenced as 
 follows : 
 
 Sentenced to two years in prison and five thou- 
 sand dollars fine; to stand committed until paid. 
 Sentence to be executed at New York State Re- 
 formatory at Elmira.
 
 SMUGGLING OF DRUGS 
 
 There is a class of druggists in the metropolis 
 who deal in prohibited goods. Some are "pro- 
 tected" by patent rights, and others are illegal to 
 sell or even bring into the country. Early in 1900 
 the Government received the intelligence that 
 great numbers of these jirohibited articles were 
 finding their way into the hands of women of ques- 
 tionable repute, and the indication was that a sin- 
 gle agency was engaged in the work of distrib- 
 uting them through the proper, or rather im- 
 proper channels. 
 
 Several presumably respectable drug firms were 
 suspected for some little time, but their innocence 
 was established beyond peradventure. Then the 
 name of Hugo Rosenthal was placed on the list of 
 suspects. Rosenthal had a prosperous pharmacy 
 at the corner of Fifth Street and Second Avenue, 
 Manhattan, and when he originally came under 
 surveillance was absent in Europe. 
 
 We waited more than a montli for his return 
 from foreign j^arts. When I found his name on 
 the passenger list of the steamer Deutschland on 
 arrival in Hoboken, August 6, 1900, I had no diffi- 
 
 416
 
 SMUGGLING OF DRUGS 417 
 
 culty in locating him on the pier. I was quite anx- 
 ious to learn how he brought the illegal goods in, 
 being satisfied that it was in no regular way. I 
 accosted him and said that there was a strong be- 
 lief that he was engaged in the unlawful business 
 of importing prohibited stuff. He said the state- 
 ment was absolutely untrue, and gave it as his 
 opinion that somebody was joking with me at his 
 expense. 
 
 I directed him to point out his luggage, which 
 he did, vouchsafing at the same time the informa- 
 tion that it had been duly examined and passed. 
 Under the system of examination, the inspector 
 employed for that purpose is given the passen- 
 ger's declaration only when the tourist presents 
 a numbered card. The latter is retained at the 
 official desk on the pier, and the declaration is re- 
 turned to this desk by the inspector at the conclu- 
 sion of his examination. I left Rosenthal and 
 went to the desk at the head of the pier and asked 
 to see the sworn declaration of the man. It could 
 not be found. This was most mysterious. Then 
 I asked for the ticket corresponding to the number 
 of the missing declaration. This, too, was missing. 
 
 By a mere accident I tumbled over an inspector 
 who said that he knew the inspector to whom the 
 declaration of Rosenthal had been entrusted. The 
 chief of staff speedily found him, and the man 
 stated that he had made a most thorough search 
 of the chemist's luggage, but was unable to find
 
 418 DEFRAUDING THE GOVEENMENT 
 
 anything dutiable. He growled like an old sea 
 dog when I told him that he would have to examine 
 the stuff again, this time in my presence, and with 
 the aid of an inspector whom I would pick. 
 
 "AVliat!" he exclaimed. "Do you doubt my 
 honesty?" 
 
 "None of your nonsense," I said to him. "We 
 are here to get for the Government everything 
 that it is entitled to." 
 
 When we reached the spot where Rosenthal's 
 baggage was located we found that his mother had 
 arrived to greet him and that the two were en- 
 gaged in earnest conversation. Mrs. Rosenthal 
 hinted that if an examination were omitted it 
 might be profitable to the servants of the Govern- 
 ment. I found the trunks of the man loaded down 
 with all sorts of illegal stuff, and, in addition, a 
 quantity of phenacetine. 
 
 An overhauling at the Public Stores subsequent- 
 ly showed that there were one hundred pounds of 
 this phenacetine in one trunk alone. This drug, 
 which is used chiefly as an antipyretic, is most 
 valuable, and its importation into the United 
 States is more or less controlled by one firm. This 
 establishment had for several years tried to learn 
 how a score or more of houses in New York, Chi- 
 cago, Boston and San Francisco had secured the 
 stuff without its agency, but the detectives had 
 turned in a report that proved nothing. Stowed 
 in another trunk of Rosenthal's were discovered
 
 SMUGGLING OF DRUGS ' 419 
 
 250 boxes of unlawful articles. "VVlien the con- 
 tents were shown to Rosenthal, he pressed his lips 
 tightly together, flared up to a point of violence, 
 and finally remarked: 
 
 "There they are. You may do as you please 
 about them." 
 
 The inspector who claimed to have originally 
 examined the smuggler's baggage insisted that 
 there was no collusion. He made an affidavit that 
 he had looked over the insides of the trunks in a 
 consistently honest way; that he had never met 
 the chemist before, and that he did not know there 
 was any irregularity until the second examination 
 took place. 
 
 There is no question that this inspector was in 
 the pay of Rosenthal. At least, that was the opin- 
 ion of his superiors who dismissed him. Rosen- 
 thal was placed under arrest as he attempted to 
 leave the pier, and, upon being arraigned before 
 a United States Commissioner at Hoboken, was 
 remanded under two thousand dollars bail. The 
 Grand Jury at Trenton afterwards indicted him. 
 His goods were regularly condemned, and those 
 which the Government could legally sell were dis- 
 posed of at auction. The others were destroyed 
 by the United States marshal. 
 
 This seizure amounted to $3,992.04. It is a mat- 
 ter of official record that the illegal importation of 
 phenacetine stopped, in a great measure, with the 
 arrest of Rosenthal.
 
 HOW RICH MEN SMUGGLE 
 
 It must not be supposed that professional smug- 
 glers are the only ones to smuggle. It is a sad 
 commentary upon the honesty of the rich man 
 that many of his kindred believe it to be part and 
 parcel of the trade of life to defraud Uncle Sam 
 at every opportunity. I was once told by one who 
 spent many years in the service of the Treasury 
 Department that if I valued my official position 
 I must shut my eyes to many of the weaknesses of 
 men of means and influence. 
 
 **You never know what wire they can pull," 
 said this veteran agent, adding: "It is a hobby 
 with some of them to try to defraud the Govern- 
 ment. Outside their circle it would be called 'rob- 
 bery'; but, to be charitable, we, in an official ca- 
 pacity, call it 'lapse of memory.' " 
 
 "Wliile I have always respected the wishes of the 
 rich man, provided he was good, I cannot say that 
 I have shied nuicli when they have brandished the 
 signal, "I have a pull," as they have frequently 
 done. I realized that so long as I did my duty in 
 the premises, no matter what the circumstances 
 might be, nobody in Washington or elsewhere, be 
 
 420
 
 HOW RICH MEN SMUGGLE 421 
 
 he high or lowly, could consistently object to any 
 fruit of my labors. 
 
 As an illustration that even wealthy men are 
 sometimes quite frail when it comes to importing- 
 gems or other precious stones without the formal- 
 ity of an official declaration, I will cite the cases 
 of Joy Knickerbocker, president of a large con- 
 cern, and W. H. White. Any one of these men 
 is able to pay the total operating expenses of the 
 Custom House for a year without impoverishing 
 his annual income. The case of Mr. Knickerbocker 
 was a clear one of "lapse of memory." He 
 ''really" did not know that pearls were dutiable 
 when imjDorted under certain conditions. As I 
 was mainly responsible for the collection of duty 
 in the three instances, I will tell the story of them 
 as it occurred. 
 
 As a result of my trip to Europe during the 
 month of July, 1901, 1 reported on my return that 
 Joy Knickerbocker had arrived home a year be- 
 fore and had been permitted to pass his baggage 
 off the pier without the payment of any duty. I 
 was in possession of information that Mr. Knick- 
 erbocker had purchased from the house of Gold- 
 smith, of London, a pearl necklace, valued at 
 thirty thousand dollars, and I told Collector Bid- 
 well that I desired very much to seize the prop- 
 erty when Mr. Knickerbocker, who was still 
 abroad, returned. 
 
 Mr. Knickerbocker reached the west side of the
 
 422 DEFRAUDING THE GOVERNMENT 
 
 metropolis in the Kaiser Willielm der Grosse on 
 September — , 1900, the very day on which 
 I was subpoenaed to appear before the Grand 
 Jury in the city of Trenton in the case of 
 Mrs. G. F. Hall. It was impossible for me 
 to get out of appearing at this trial, and 
 the Collector decided to send a deputy of the 
 third division, who had charge of the special 
 deputy collectors who act as staff officers, to inter- 
 view ]\Ir. Knickerbocker when he touched the pier. 
 
 The deputy collector asked Mr. Knickerbocker 
 if he had purchased anything sj)ecial on the trip 
 just ended, and the steel wire magnate admitted 
 to three thousand dollars' worth of dresses bought 
 by his wife, which were declared. He stopped there. 
 Pressed by the deputy collector, ]\[r. Knicker- 
 bocker announced that he had purchased a pearl 
 necklace valued at ten thousand dollars, but in- 
 sisted that the two items he had merjtioned con- 
 sisted of his entire jjurchases while abroad. 
 
 The customs official then stated that Collector 
 Bidwell had information of the purchase in Eu- 
 rope of a necklace by ]\rr. Knickerbocker and that 
 duty had not been collected upon it. Mr, Knicker- 
 bocker looked surprised for a moment, but upon 
 being assured that the Government had the neces- 
 sary information he admitted that he had such a 
 neekhice, and added that he had failed to x^ay duty 
 u])on it. 
 
 Mr. Knickerbocker is one of the shrewdest busi-
 
 HOW RICH MEN SMUGGLE 423 
 
 ness men in the public eye, but he was thoroughly 
 unijrepared for the next question that the deputy 
 collector asked. At least, his face showed much 
 color as he was requested to state if any additional 
 value had been added to the necklace since its orig- 
 inal iDurchase. After a second's hesitation he 
 made reply that six thousand dollars' worth of 
 pearls had been placed upon this necklace since its 
 purchase, and this fact being duly established, he 
 readily estimated the value of the necklace to be 
 about thirty-five thousand dollars, foreign value. 
 
 Having satisfied himself that Mr. Knickerbocker 
 thoroughly understood the situation, the deputy 
 collector informed the man that both necklaces 
 were clearly dutiable at the rate of sixty per cent. 
 A few days after this Mr. Knickerbocker sent in 
 his check for $28,923.10, which represented the 
 sum on the ajDpraised value of $48,000, which in- 
 cluded $3,000 on Mrs. Knickerbocker 's frocks. 
 
 I learned of the White purchase of pearls while 
 I was still abroad in July of 1901. All that I could 
 glean, at first — and even this meager information 
 it took me some days to obtain — was that an Amer- 
 ican woman had made the purchase at a famous 
 establishment. At this place I inquired in various 
 ways, but all the information I could get was that 
 the lady was a comparatively young woman ; that 
 she came in her carriage with livery; that she 
 might be in Paris even at that time, but that no- 
 body in the store was able to identify her. Oh,
 
 424 DEFRAUDING THE GOVERNMENT 
 
 dear, no, they could not. She did not leave any 
 name, and nobody there seemed to know where 
 she resided, if she resided at all. This and a lot 
 more that does not really affect the case. 
 
 It is a matter of official record how I learned 
 that the woman who purchased this necklace, 
 wliich the jewelers admitted was worth thirty 
 thousand dollars — and about all that they would 
 admit — had come to America, and to the Holland 
 House I went one day in search of W. H. White, 
 who, I felt sure, would be able to tell me something 
 about the purchase abroad by his wife of a tliirty- 
 thousand-dollar necklace, upon which she had neg- 
 lected to pay duty. 
 
 I did not see Mr. White that day, although he 
 resided at that hotel, but in October, in the com- 
 pany of Mr. Small, the private secretary of Col- 
 lector Bidwell, I called at his office, on lower 
 Broadway, and interviewed Mr. White for the first 
 time upon the purchase of the necklace in ques- 
 tion. Mr, White did not relish the situation, that 
 was clear, but he stated that it was true that Mrs, 
 White had been abroad in July with a party of 
 friends and that later on he had gone abroad to 
 return with her. 
 
 I will give the remainder of Mr. White's state- 
 ment, so that it may be understood how reallj^ for- 
 getful a man may become. In substance, this is 
 what Mr. ^Hiite said : 
 
 "When Mrs. White went away to Europe I
 
 HOW EICH MEN SMUGGLE 425 
 
 asked her not to tell me of any purchases she might 
 make while abroad. I did not want to know. I 
 told her that if she should bny anything abroad 
 and not declare it, I hoped it would be seized. I 
 do not know that Mrs. White has purchased abroad 
 such a necklace as you describe, but I shall ask her 
 at the first opportunity and will let you gentlemen 
 know. ' ' 
 
 The following Monday Mr. White called upon 
 Collector Bidwell at the latter 's office and pro- 
 duced the necklace, which he said Mrs. White had 
 purchased in Paris. The foreign value of the mag- 
 nificent string of pearls which he displayed to the 
 head of the Custom House, as appraised by that 
 office, was $31,116, and the duty which we collected 
 from Mrs. White was $18,669.60, making the home 
 value of the necklace $49,785.60. 
 
 I consider Mr. AYhite very fortunate in being 
 permitted to pay duty on this jewelry, for if ever 
 precious stones should have been confiscated, it 
 was in this instance. With one exception, the 
 White necklace was the most perfect one I ever 
 saw, the brilliancy of the pearls and their coloring, 
 and even graduation, being exceptionally desir- 
 able.
 
 NECKLACE SMUGGLED IN HER MUFF 
 
 In several instances the work of the anonymous 
 letter-writer has been invited by the Government 
 officials. I recall an interesting conversation 
 which I once had with a most successful Fifth Ave- 
 nue jeweler. It was during my investigations 
 into the Lejeune case. The jeweler had compli- 
 mented me upon my success, particularly in secur- 
 ing so many pearl necklaces that year. 
 
 "Why," said he, during a general discussion, 
 "I know at least a dozen society people, all high 
 in the church, who have been abroad within the last 
 few years and who have purchased necklaces 
 worth from fifty thousand to two hundred thou- 
 sand dollars each, without paying duty on the 
 same. They have come here to my store and 
 boasted of their cleverness in getting the stuff in 
 without detection. One woman, who last year gave 
 an immense sum to charity, told me that she pur- 
 chased a necklace of pearls and pigeon blood ru- 
 bies from a Rue de la Paix jeweler in Paris for a 
 million francs. 'I brought it in in my muff,' she 
 told me." 
 
 I was certainly surprised at the statement, 
 
 426
 
 NECKLACE SMUGGLED IN MUFF 427 
 
 knowing the man to be tliorouglily honest in 
 speecli, and I thanked him for the information, 
 adding : 
 
 "T am, unfortunately, not a mind reader. You 
 have the names of a thousand or more clients on 
 your books. I cannot grasp the name of this par- 
 ticular woman out of the air." 
 
 ''She is doubtless thankful for that," he said 
 quietly. 
 
 "Well," said I, ''it is too bad. But the infor- 
 mation may possibly reach me some day." 
 
 "Possibly," was his comment, as he toyed with 
 a tiara worth one hundred and fifty thousand dol- 
 lars. 
 
 "Yes," I continued, nothing daunted. "Do you 
 know, I sometimes receive anonymous communi- 
 cations. In the majority of cases they amount to 
 nothing." 
 
 "What do you do with these anonymous com- 
 munications?" the jeweler asked me. 
 
 "The waste-basket is usually the recipient of 
 them," said I. 
 
 ' ' Indeed ! " he remarked. ' ' AVliat would be the 
 fate of an anonymous communication regarding a 
 certain pearl necklace should you receive one 1 ' ' 
 
 "It will be immediately destroyed. Do you know, 
 I have hopes of receiving one to-morrow morn- 
 ing." 
 
 "A favorite author of mine," said he, "once 
 said that all that was necessary was to stand on
 
 428 DEFRAUDING THE GOVERNMENT 
 
 guard with an assured countenance. I believe that 
 he was right. There is no saying but that you may 
 get an anon}^nous letter as soon as to-morrow 
 morning, perhaps. I do not always believe in 
 anonymous communications, but you do right in 
 destroying them immediately. Come in again 
 when you are in this neighborhood. ' ' 
 
 Strange to relate, I did receive an anonymous 
 letter in the first mail the following morning. And 
 stranger still to relate, I made the acquaintance 
 of a charitably inclined woman a few days after, 
 and, if I remember rightly, 1 was not presented to 
 her at a pink tea. We got on surprisingly well on 
 short acquaintance, and it did not take me very 
 long to discover that her mind ran to giving alms 
 and smuggling pearl necklaces.
 
 THE MAXIMILIAN JEWELS 
 
 When Maximilian was Emperor of Mexico lie 
 owned one of the most costly jeweled crowns in 
 the world. Photographs of it were distributed 
 broadcast as showing the highest perfection in the 
 art of setting precious stones. Some of the stones 
 were described officially as being enormous in 
 weight, and their color and brilliancy were classed 
 with a dream. Early in November of 1900 news 
 was received in New York that several Mexicans 
 were in the city trying to dispose of some of the 
 most expensive stones that were formerly in Maxi- 
 milian's crown. I located the men at the Hotel 
 Bartholdi, where they had a gorgeous suite, and 
 learned that they had come to the metropolis from 
 Mexico by way of St. Louis. 
 
 These men, I readily found, were no ordinary 
 smugglers, and would require a great deal of care- 
 ful watching before they could be plucked. For 
 ten days they were shadowed as faithfully as hu- 
 man agency could, but it was not until November 
 12 that the least flaw could be found in their ac- 
 tions. 
 
 On that date I followed three of the men from 
 
 429
 
 430 DEFRAUDING THE GOVERNMENT 
 
 the Bartlioldi to the office of a diamond appraiser 
 on Sixteenth Street, between Broadway and Fifth 
 Avenue. From a convenient position on the street 
 I was able to see, without being observed, every- 
 thing that the men did in the appraiser's office. 
 
 One of the men seemed to be doing all the talk- 
 ing, and I afterwards learned that he was General ^ 
 Marco. In his behalf I wish to say that I think 
 he told the truth when he subsequently said that 
 he was merely acting as an interpreter and knew 
 little or nothing of the reputations of his com- 
 panions. 
 
 I saw General Marco hand over a large pack- 
 age, which the appraiser examined in a most mi- 
 nute way. The trio spent nearly a whole hour in 
 the appraiser's office, and when they emerged it 
 was to walk rapidly in the direction of Broadway, 
 I kept my eye closely upon the smallest of the 
 three, because it was he who had taken the package 
 back from the appraiser. 
 
 The trio turned sharj^ly into Broadway, and, as 
 it was the busiest time of the day and tlie thor- 
 oughfare congested with pedestrians, I decided to 
 take action then and there. At the corner of Broad- 
 way and Eighteenth Street I placed the three un- 
 der arrest. The two companions of General Marco 
 threatened to resist arrest, so I called a policeman 
 and took all hands to the police station. 
 
 General Marco went literally to pieces when ar- 
 raigned at the station-house desk, and insisted
 
 THE MAXIMILIAN JEWELS 431 
 
 that he was shnply acting as a servant of the men. 
 A crowd of over three thousand had followed us 
 to the station, and the two Mexicans, who were 
 unable to speak a word of English, turned repeat- 
 edly to the crowd and pleaded that my action was 
 an outrage. 
 
 The Mexicans gave their names as Velo M. 
 Preza and Alejandro A. Marouci, which were the 
 same as those aj^pearing on the hotel register. 
 V7ith the aid of several detectives I searched the 
 two Mexicans first. Not a scrap of jewelry was 
 found upon them, but Preza had two return tickets 
 to Mexico. General Marco seemed such a good old 
 soul that I hesitated about searching him; so I 
 said: 
 
 * ' Before searching you. General, I wish to give 
 you an opportunity to make a statement. If you 
 have on your person any jewels that do not belong 
 to you I want you to surrender them. ' ' 
 
 He made reply without the least hesitancy. 
 
 **Yes, this package of jewels belongs to these 
 men. I have no connection with them, however. 
 I am simply employed as an interpreter. They do 
 not talk English." 
 
 He pulled from his pocket a huge package, which 
 he handed to me. I opened it and found a brooch 
 with a diamond in the center. This diamond had 
 a yellow cast, and was afterwards found to weigh 
 33 7-10 carats. There were eighteen diamonds
 
 432 DEFRAUDING THE GOVERNMENT 
 
 surrounding this center stone, none of which 
 weighed less than one carat. 
 
 Two rings, each containing a large diamond, 
 were discovered wrapped in tissue paper. One of 
 the rings had a most peculiar setting, as though 
 it contained a "crown." Each ring diamond 
 weighed five carats. They also had a yellowish 
 tint. A leather case which had held the jewels was 
 found to contain a memorandum stating that ' ' the 
 large diamond weighed 33 7-10 carats and was 
 from the necklace of Maximilian of 1860." An- 
 other memorandum said that one of the rings was 
 on Maximilian's finger ''at the time he was shot." 
 
 There was a certificate of a]^praisement, and 
 when I asked General Marco about it he said that 
 it had been secured so that an advantageous price 
 might be obtained for the jewels in a sale that was 
 to be consummated. 
 
 This is the plan as the General unfolded it: 
 
 The certificate of the appraiser was to be shown 
 to Miss Lillian Russell, the actress, and to other 
 persons who were inclined to wear massive pieces 
 of jewelry. One woman, the wife of a banker, had 
 intimated that she would be proud to be the pos- 
 sessor of a jewel which had been worn by Queen 
 Carlotta, and the certificate was intended to get 
 a larger value from her than the jewelry was 
 really worth. 
 
 When the pair of Mexicans saw that General 
 Marco had betrayed them they confessed to me
 
 THE MAXIMILIAN JEWELS 433 
 
 that tbey had come north through a prearrange- 
 ment. The moment they arrived in the metropolis 
 they entered into negotiations with a well-known 
 and popular clubman who desired to buy the jew- 
 els for one of his mistresses. He was known to 
 have at least four of these expensive luxuries. 
 This narrative might be made spicy by giving the 
 clubman's name, but as he has since married and, 
 I hope, settled down to one household, it would, 
 perhajDS, do more harm than good to tell who he is. 
 
 Marco was not detained. The two Mexicans 
 were arraigned before the LTnited States Commis- 
 sioner and held for the Grand Jury. The case was 
 disposed of by the District Attorney by the con- 
 fiscation of the jewelry, with the exception of one 
 of the rings, which was returned. The men were 
 23ermitted to depart for home and the indictment 
 has since been quashed. The value of the prop- 
 erty seized was variously estimated, the newspa- 
 pers bringing the figures up to ninety-six thousand 
 dollars. That estimate was a little too high. Who 
 owned the jewels, whether or not they belonged to 
 Maximilian or Carlotta, or how they came into the 
 possession of Preza and Marouci I have never dis- 
 covered. All I really know about the sequel of the 
 case is that not long since I received an unsigned 
 letter from Mexico, which said in cheerful 
 Spanish : 
 
 '"''Suffre por saber, y trabaja por tener. Al horn- 
 hre bueno no le busquen abolengo.'^ ("Suffer in
 
 434 DEFRAUDING THE GOVERNMENT 
 
 order to kuow, and labor in order to have. No one 
 explores a good man's pedigree.") 
 
 The apostrophe or applicableuess of which is all 
 Greek to me. But, then, Spanish wisdom is odd.
 
 HOW SMUGGLERS SMUGGLE 
 
 If all the tricks of the smuggler's trade were 
 known to the customs officials there would be no 
 necessity for special Treasury agents or those spe- 
 cial inspectors who are employed in revenue work. 
 That a good many of the tricks are known is evi- 
 denced by the constantly increasing sums that are 
 being collected upon the piers and along the bor- 
 ders. It is possible for a man or woman to smug- 
 gle for a time; that is a self-constituted fact. It 
 is impossible for either to smuggle for all times; 
 the most hardened will admit that. As surely as 
 sunrise, their downfall will occur sooner or later. 
 
 The Government never assumes that a traveler 
 is dishonest until the traveler gives it some reason 
 to think so. That is the golden rule of the service. 
 It is not emblazoned with heraldic devices on the 
 walls of the river piers, nor is it printed in the 
 smoking-rooms and social halls of the over-sea 
 steamers, but it is rightly known to all Govern- 
 ment employees that no offense must be given un- 
 less there be almost indisputable evidence that 
 something irregular is going on. It is for this 
 very reason that so many smugglers escape. 
 
 435
 
 436 DEFRAUDING THE GOVERNMENT 
 
 ''Better lose a million than liurt a dozen," is the 
 Treasury Department's motto. It is just that it 
 should be so. A celebrated business man once told 
 an assistant in our offices that he liked to defraud 
 the Government, because it sort of made him feel 
 good. He used to boast to his friends how easy it 
 was to deceive the country. His friends were of a 
 communicative kind and told the customs officers. 
 The man gave up going to Europe five years ago 
 because, as he put it, "the Government had it in 
 for him." There is nothing really surprising in 
 the latter statement, if it be true. 
 
 The ingenuity of the professional smuggler ex- 
 cels that of the professional shoplifter. There is 
 not such a wide difference between the two, either. 
 Many who roll their eyes and hold up their hands 
 in horror over the crime of the store thief consider 
 it no harm to rob the Government. In reality, one 
 is as bad as the other, and both are on a par with 
 the pocket-picker. 
 
 Some of the modes of smuggling are worthy of 
 a better cause. One diamond merchant, who was 
 clever enough to make but a single trip each year, 
 was invariably accompanied by his wife. Finish- 
 ing one of the trips, he was detained on the pier 
 and searched. There was nothing found tliat the 
 Government could lay any claim to. The merchant 
 was very indignant over what he termed ''shabby 
 treatment," and told the inspectors that he would
 
 HOW SMUGGLERS SMUGGLE 437 
 
 get even with the department if it took a hundred 
 years, 
 
 *'The next time I go to Europe," he said, "I'll 
 bring in a lot of stuff right under your noses. 
 Mark me if I do not." 
 
 The following year, upon the completion of an- 
 other trip, the man was searched, and again the 
 officers failed to locate anything that he had not 
 declared. One of the inspectresses was instructed 
 to search the man's wife, but the task revealed 
 nothing of an incriminating nature. The officers 
 were certain, however, that the woman had dia- 
 monds hidden somewhere upon her person, but 
 neither husband nor wife betrayed the other by 
 word or action. A suggestion was made by a 
 young inspector that husband and wife be sepa- 
 rated, and the woman was taken to the upper end 
 of the pier and there placed under surveillance. 
 
 The husband, although questioned at great 
 length, refused to say that he had any diamonds 
 with him. Meanwhile, another officer went to the 
 wife of the merchant and said that her husband 
 had admitted having brought over the diamonds ; 
 that she had them secreted, and that he wanted 
 her to give them up. The woman began to cry, and 
 finally became hysterical. It was one of the most 
 unpleasant ten minutes ever seen on a steamship 
 pier. 
 
 At last the woman removed her hat, took out 
 the pins that held her hair, and the officers saw
 
 438 DEFRAUDING THE GOVERNMENT 
 
 a chamois bag tied closely to the head, underneath 
 the hair. The bag contained a considerable num- 
 ber of diamonds of great value. They were of the 
 finest color and brilliancy and flawless in every 
 detail. It is needless to relate that this merchant 
 now pays duty on his imjDortatious and has aban- 
 doned the idea of revenging himself upon the cus- 
 toms officials. 
 
 The busiest period of the year for homeward- 
 bound travel is during September, and it was in 
 this month, during 1900, that an insignificant-look- 
 ing man came down the gangplank of the steamer 
 Trave. He was dressed in a long frock coat, had 
 a new silk hat, the latest-cut trousers, and carried 
 a swagger walking-stick. He was fearfully de- 
 formed, however, and reminded one of the hunch- 
 back in the "Two Orphans," only he had better 
 clothes. 
 
 Some of the customs inspectors who were fond 
 of horse-racing, believing in the efficacy of making 
 friends with the hunchback, asked him, without 
 any offensiveness on their part, if they might rub 
 his "hump." He laughingly said they might, but 
 when they approached close enough to do so he 
 drew back, and one of them became suspicious. 
 They called for a higher official and stated their 
 suspicions. The man was asked to return to the 
 ship that he might be searched. 
 
 When his clothes were removed it was found 
 that the "hunch" consisted in part of three por-
 
 HOW SMUGGLERS SMUGGLE 439 
 
 ous plasters pasted firmly to the back, and that be- 
 tween the plasters and the skin was a package of 
 considerable size, wrapped in cotton wadding. He 
 howled like a maniac while the j^lasters were being- 
 pulled off, and, as a matter of fact, I think the 
 operation did hurt him a tiny bit. 
 
 The package was about six inches long and four 
 inches wide, and rolled in between the wadding 
 were several hundred pieces of jewelry, consisting 
 of rings, stick-pins, brooches, chains, necklaces, 
 sleeve-buttons, and the like. The man was a walk- 
 ing jewelry store, if ever there was one. We after- 
 wards learned that lie bad made twenty-seven 
 trips across the Atlantic to the States and Canada, 
 and that at one time he brought in an immense lot 
 of jewelry in a casket supposed to contain the body 
 of his mother. 
 
 He denied absolutely that lie had ever said that 
 the casket contained the remains of his mother. 
 He would never be so hard-hearted as to bring 
 jewelry over in his mother 's coffin, he insisted. It 
 was his brother's casket, he added, and he liad 
 placed forty-three rings on the dead man's fin- 
 gers. These rings he subsequently sold, but he 
 would not tell where. We had to accept Ms word 
 for everything he said about the past, for lie, too, 
 insisted that he was an honest man. He seemed 
 to be perfectly dumfounded when told that it was 
 a crime to smuggle. 
 
 *'Why, everybody that I know does it," said
 
 440 DEFRAUDING THE GOVERNMENT 
 
 he, wliicli was doubtless true. The man is no 
 longer deformed, nor is he a smuggler. He is con- 
 ducting an institution for the weak-minded in Ber- 
 lin. Such is fate. 
 
 Another famous smuggler, who made six trips 
 a year to the other side, never carried any greater 
 baggage than a small hand valise. He was a man 
 of advanced years, a foreigner, named Tuprey, 
 which seems to be a most appropriate cognomen; 
 but he looked so feeble on his stout walking-stick 
 that for quite a time no official eye thought it nec- 
 essary to view his coming with suspicion. He be- 
 came too active, however. 
 
 It was discovered, in the natural course of 
 events, that the man would invariably arrive in 
 this country from Antwerp on Monday or Tuesday 
 and start the following Wednesday to return to 
 Belgium. Usually he was here forty-eight hours, 
 but not infrequently he remained on this side only 
 one day. This system of hasty departure was the 
 first thing to call attention to his many transatlan- 
 tic trips. 
 
 He was shadowed from that on, and always 
 traced, after his arrival here, to a firm in the 
 metropolis well known as purchasers of smuggled 
 diamonds. After this he was constantly searched 
 on the piers the moment he landed, but for a long 
 time the vigilance of the agents was unrewarded. 
 At last one of the inspectors thought of the cane 
 and asked the man to give it up.
 
 HOW SMUGGLERS SMUGGLE 441 
 
 ''Why, I cannot walk without a cane," he said 
 in a voice that indicated great surprise that any- 
 body with common sense should suppose for an 
 instant it was possible for him to even hobble 
 along without the aid of his faithful companion. 
 
 "If you cannot walk without your cane," re- 
 marked the inspector, "we will furnish a stretcher 
 for you. Give me that cane and climb on my back. 
 I will carry you to the end of the pier. But go you 
 must, if we have to call an ambulance, and the fire 
 department, as well." 
 
 He managed with the greatest difficulty to walk 
 to the end of the wharf without the assistance of 
 his stick, and here he was escorted to a private 
 room, which, as is the case on the majority of 
 steamship wharves, was set aside for the purpose 
 of searching suspects. It did not take long to 
 discover that the cane carried by Tuprey was 
 made of bamboo, that it had a cap which could be 
 unscrewed at will^ and that inside the cane were 
 seventeen thousand dollars' worth of diamonds. 
 
 Confronted with a handful of the finest kind of 
 brilliants, which a few seconds before had been 
 hidden within the walls of the bamboo stick, the 
 man told the authorities how he had carried on his 
 nefarious business. He said that after landing 
 he always went direct to the diamond smuggling 
 firm (the members of which, by the way, belong to 
 one of the most influential churches of New York), 
 unscrewed the cap and turned the stuff over to
 
 U2 DEFRAUDING THE GOVERNMENT 
 
 the firm by emptying the contents of the cane upon 
 tlie desk of the senior member of the establish- 
 ment. The latter, who is a director in a savings 
 bank as well as a supposedly God-fearing citizen, 
 would then take the snmggler out to lunch or din- 
 ner, as the case might be, and Tuprey would re- 
 main in the Empire City just long enough to pur- 
 chase a draft on some bank in Antwerp and take 
 the next steamer home. Then he would buy an- 
 other lot of diamonds, refill his cane with the non- 
 chalance of a college lad feeding his pipe with 
 choice tobacco, and set sail to do the whole per- 
 formance over again. 
 
 It is remarkable how finnly and rapidly Tuprey 
 walked without his cane when his property was 
 confiscated and he was told to get out of the coun- 
 try and never return. His record between the 
 Custom House and the steamship pier is yet un- 
 broken for straight heel-and-toe work. 
 
 Bringing valuables into the country in one's 
 shoes was formerly a favorite trick of the pro- 
 fessional smuggler. On one occasion a Chicago 
 man was found to have forty-two chains, one hun- 
 dred and twelve diamonds and forty-three pearls 
 in his boots. It is with no attempt at humor that 
 one may seem surprised that a man — and he a 
 Chicago man — should be able to get his feet and 
 this immense collection of dutiable goods into a 
 pnir of boots at one and the same time; but this 
 particular man had the smallest feet that ever
 
 HOW SMUGGLERS SMUGGLE 443 
 
 came out of Chicago and the largest pair of boots 
 that ever encased supposedly small feet. 
 
 The chains, it was learned, were carefully laid 
 along the inside bottom of the boots, and, as the 
 latter were of the high-top variety, their wearer 
 had no great trouble in secreting the diamonds 
 and pearls inside the tops. 
 
 Another smuggler made a business of sewing 
 precious stones inside the upper portion of his 
 socks and holding the latter in secure position by 
 means of a pair of garters which he patented him- 
 self. He always made his trips with a half-filled 
 steamer trunk, containing a scanty supply of linen, 
 which he afterwards explained, was done to give 
 the customs inspectors the impression that he was 
 poor and did not have many changes. 
 
 One day, following his arrival on the steamer 
 Friesland, he was seen to be limping about the 
 pier with a look of intense pain. He could scarcely 
 walk, and was questioned. He said that the vessel 
 had been struck by a mountainous wave and that 
 he was thrown down and had injured his limbs. 
 One of the Government officials, who was pre- 
 viously assigned to the duty of watching the man, 
 doubted the stoiy, and, consulting the officers of 
 the ship, learned that what the man said was un- 
 true. This official resought the presence of the 
 limping passenger and, as did the patriot, Pauld- 
 ing, when he met Major Andre, the spy, on the 
 road near Tarrytown in 1779, said:
 
 444 DEFRAUDING THE GOVERNMENT 
 
 ''Take off those boots." 
 
 They were slices in this instance, however, and, 
 instead of containing- plans for the delivery of 
 West Point to the enemy, they contained a most 
 heterogeneous collection of jewelry — pearls, dia- 
 monds and rubies. It appears that the smuggler 
 had in this case failed to properly sew the pockets 
 in the hose ; that they had broken adrift while the 
 ship was coming up New York Bay and the goods 
 had worked down into the confines of his shoes, 
 cutting his feet in scores of places and making it 
 almost impossible for him to walk. 
 
 The man was relieved of his jewelry and his pain. 
 He was afterwards caught smuggling precious 
 stones into the country by placing them between 
 the rim of bicycle wheels and the pneumatic tires 
 of the machines. His wife, too, was a professional 
 smuggler, thin and as devoid of womanly form as 
 is a darning needle. 
 
 She arrived in New York in 1900 with her 
 weight greatly increased. One of the inspectresses 
 noticed that she was built out of all proportion, 
 which the unsophisticated eye of man could not 
 see, and when relieved of her clothes in the pri- 
 vate room on the pier several thousand yards of 
 the most expensive laces were unwrapped from 
 her body. 
 
 She looked like the living skeleton of museum 
 fame when the lace and herself were separated, 
 according to the statement of this inspectress.
 
 HOW SMUGGLERS SMUGGLE 445 
 
 She said that she never intended to smuggle ; that 
 she was subject to chills, and that she put the laces 
 around her body to keep it warm. ''An' that, 
 mark you, is the way av a woman," as a gallant 
 musketeer once said. 
 
 Still another smuggler of diamonds, who always 
 considered the insides of his shoes good enough 
 as a vehicle for his goods, was formerly a manu- 
 facturer of clothing in New York City. His name 
 was Bush, and he was found by Government offi- 
 cers at Windsor, Canada, having worked his way 
 from Montreal to that city, with the special agents 
 close on his trail. He took the boat across to De- 
 troit, and was followed into the diamond-selling 
 market of that place, where he was apprehended, 
 searched and nothing found until the officers 
 heard his shoes emit a peculiar creak. 
 
 Two packages of diamonds, worth twenty thou- 
 sand dollars, foreign value, were found in his 
 shoes. The case was brought to prominent atten- 
 tion in official circles because some of the members 
 of the Diamond Cutters' Association of New York 
 were asked to employ counsel to protect the inter- 
 ests of the seller of the gems, who resides in Ant- 
 werp. The Belgian merchant had received but 
 ten thousand dollars as part payment of the goods 
 sold to Bush and an acceptance of the remainder. 
 The case is still in the courts in Detroit. I doubt 
 very much if the Antwerp merchant will ever re-
 
 446 DEFKAUDING THJil GOVERNMENT 
 
 ceive any part of tlie unpaid acceptance, as tlie 
 goods must be sold under the law. 
 
 Smuggling in cigars was once a most profitable 
 trade to those concerned. The fruits of the late war, 
 resulting in a closer alliance of this country with 
 Cuba and Porto Eico, have more or less stopped 
 this illegal traffic. When the trade was in full 
 swing the customs officers used to board all steam- 
 ers from Havana and other Cuban ports pretty 
 well down towards the sea. 
 
 This gave the watch-dogs of Uncle Sam a better 
 chance to observe what was going on and to search 
 the vessels, if it was found necessary to do so. For 
 some years the smugglers made a practice of 
 placing large quantities of the most costly cigars 
 into rubber bags and of throwing them over the 
 ship's sides into the water. The system was car- 
 ried on while the craft was moving between Sandy 
 Hook, the gateway of the metropolis, and Quaran- 
 tine, inside the Narrows, where the health officials 
 went on board. It was usually done during the 
 middle of the night, but the smugglers grew so 
 bold that even daylight did not stop them. The 
 rubber bags, with their precious contents, were 
 readily recovered from the water by the fellow- 
 conspirators of the smugglers, who, in small row- 
 boats, awaited just such an opportunity. The prac- 
 tice might have continued for an indefinite period 
 had not a disgruntled snmggler informed the Gov- 
 ernment. In many instances after that bags of
 
 HOW SMUGGLERS SMUGGLE 447 
 
 cigars were found in the ship's boilers or in the 
 coal bunkers, buried in ashes. 
 
 For championship honors and rare ingenuity in 
 smuggling the name of Anson Van Bussinair must 
 be considered among the first. He was a Belgian 
 that had tricks fit for a j^eddler. He flitted be- 
 tween the diamond markets of Antwerp, Amster- 
 dam, Paris and London, and the unloading place 
 was America. His trips here were, to all outward 
 appearances, thoroughly conventional ones. He 
 had a brother who resided in New York, and with 
 whom, while here, he used to live. 
 
 It was simply remarkable how he loved this 
 brother. The affection of Evangeline for Gabriel, 
 the devotion of Virginia to Paul, the fondness of 
 Faust and Marguerite, and the love of Lancelot 
 and Elaine were crude and commonplace when 
 compared with the deep feeling that existed be- 
 tween these two brothers. 
 
 The only wonder was that the Belgian ever went 
 away, once he arrived in New York. They kissed 
 and hugged in public, and they robbed the Gov- 
 ernment and seemingly prospered in private. It 
 is history, many times told, how bitter to each 
 other brothers have become once they fell out, and 
 in this particular instance these two brothers, fol- 
 lowing a business quarrel, hated each other with 
 all the intensity of their original love. 
 
 It was time for the informer to step in, and 
 Brother Cain, of New York, believing that the
 
 448 DEFRAUDING THE GOVERNMENT 
 
 most modern way to murder his brother Abel, of 
 Belgium, was to tell about his transatlantic busi- 
 ness transactions, consulted the customs officials, 
 with the usual result. 
 
 The recital of the story by the Americanized 
 brother solved a problem that was a gigantic puz- 
 zle to the authorities every time the man from 
 Belgium arrived. He had been suspected of smug- 
 gling for some little time before it was decided 
 to search him. Nothing was found. He was 
 searched so frequently on his following trips that 
 the officials grew tired of the phantom-like chase 
 for evidence, and finally they let him come in with- 
 out molestation. Van Bussinair never remained 
 in the city more than five or six days and not in- 
 frequently less, but it was noticed that he always 
 went back in the steamer in which he had arrived. 
 The detectives never failed to notice that the New 
 York brother had a new supply of diamonds a few 
 days following the departure of his brother for 
 Antwerp. They could not figure it out for the life 
 of them, however. This is how the stuff was im- 
 ported, as shown by the voluntary affidavit of the 
 informing brother. 
 
 With his consignment of diamonds safely 
 stowed away in wallets, the Belgian usually 
 boarded an outgoing ship at either Amsterdam or 
 Antwerp a half hour before the time fixed for her 
 departure. He had his room engaged in advance, 
 and was well known to the officers of the craft for
 
 HOW SMUGGLERS SMUGGLE 449 
 
 the reason that he made it a rule to take the same 
 ship on each trip, and usually the room that he 
 had occupied on the trip previous. This is no un- 
 common thing with old ocean travelers, who take 
 a fancy to a certain ship and a given room. 
 
 In the stateroom that the man selected was to 
 be found a lounge used during the rush to Europe 
 as an extra berth. The lounge, or sofa, as it is tech- 
 nically called in steamship parlance, is a station- 
 ary affair, about as high as the lower berth of a 
 Pullman sleeping-car. It has an upholstered cush- 
 ion its entire length and there is a pillow made of 
 the same material at either end. 
 
 Van Bussinair, in his original preparations for 
 smuggling precious gems, worked at night — the 
 first one at sea — and bored a hole of considerable 
 size through the deck under the lounge. There is 
 considerable noise when a steamer is under way, 
 both from the machinery and the swash of the 
 sea alongside. This noise was seemingly greater 
 than that made by the man's auger. At all events 
 he finished his job without attracting the attention 
 of his stateroom steward or without being inter- 
 rupted by anybody else. 
 
 With the making of the hole in the stateroom 
 flooring the smuggler secreted a bag containing 
 nine hundred carats of diamonds. To prevent the 
 gems from rolling away or falling into the bowels 
 of the ship below with the pitching and twisting 
 of the hull, he had the bag securely attached to a
 
 450 DEFRAUDING THE GOVERNMENT 
 
 piece of stout wire and the other end fastened to 
 the stationary bottom of the sofa. 
 
 The jDresence of neither bag* nor wire could be 
 discovered by the steward, even if he removed the 
 upliolstered cushion, the bottom board concealing 
 them from view. With tlie hole once formed, the 
 Belgian had a full week in which to secrete his 
 intended imiDortation. 
 
 They were never discovered at this end because 
 he never brought them ashore, letting them re- 
 main in their safe hiding-place while the ship was 
 at her wharf recoaling and reloading for the re- 
 turn trip. Van Bussinair would wine and dine 
 with his brother and take out a return ticket. On 
 the day of sailing he boarded the ship, placed his 
 luggage in his room, and a little time before she 
 backed into the stream his brother would go on 
 board to say a sad adieu. 
 
 Once inside the stateroom, however, the smug- 
 gler used to remove the gems from their liiding- 
 I)lace and pass them over to his brother, who im- 
 mediately went on deck, heart-broken, to all ap- 
 pearances, that the two had to part. No suspicion 
 attaches itself to visitors boarding vessels about 
 to leave New York, and this was the brothers' 
 lucky star, for the New York representative of the 
 distinguished household walked ashore with the 
 diamonds unmolested. 
 
 An official investigation of this j^articular case 
 showed that the Belgian never brought in fewer
 
 HOW SMUGGLERS SMUGGLE 451 
 
 than nine luindred carats of diamonds on any of 
 these many trips, and on one occasion he imported 
 as many as twenty-one hundred. The bedroom 
 steward of the ship that Van Bussinair made the 
 giant portion of his nefarious trips on looked sad, 
 indeed, when he learned of the proceeding. Why 
 he looked sad is a question that I am unable to 
 answer. He was said to be a good. Christian man 
 when at home and not much given to English, but 
 he swore a good, round American oath when the 
 yarn was unfolded.
 
 THE DRESSMAKER'S WAY 
 
 Following the eventful occurrences of March 
 24, and even more important ones of September 
 7, of the same year, I was on the Hamburg- Amer- 
 ican Line pier in Hoboken on the night of Sep- 
 tember 7 to "welcome home" some distinguished 
 "tourists" of the company's steamer Auguste Vic- 
 toria. Among these travelers was a man who, ac- 
 cording to rumor, was bringing in a quantity of 
 diamonds in violation of law There were also on 
 board Mrs. G. F. Hall, a dressmaker of Chicago, 
 formerly of Minneapolis ; Mrs. McKay, a dress- 
 maker with a successful establishment on 
 
 • Street, near Fifth Avenue, New York; Mrs. 
 
 Simpson, a dressmaker of Louisville, Ky., and a 
 Mrs. Janis, a swell milliner of the same city. 
 
 These were quite a batch of "notables" to re- 
 ceive unaided, and I realized on the way across 
 the North River that it meant a lively night's 
 work for me. Davis, the deputy in charge, came 
 to me and said : 
 
 "Mr. Theobald, if I can be of any service to you 
 to-night I trust you will call ui)on me. Anything 
 that you do on this pier or anything that you de- 
 sire done will be perfectly acceptable to me." 
 
 453
 
 THE DRESSMAKER'S WAY 453 
 
 It sort of took my breath away, to use a figure 
 of speech, and I cannot now recall if I regained 
 my self-possession sufficiently to make an appro- 
 priate reply, because we were not on the best of 
 terms. At all events I managed to stagger along 
 that night without his assistance. My first inter- 
 view that evening was with the passenger who was 
 suspected of being a human diamond field. 
 
 I have not much respect for the average smug- 
 gler, but I must say that I was grievously disap- 
 pointed in this man. He was not nearly so clever 
 as I was led to believe. It was a most unpleasant 
 half-hour for him while he was being searched. 
 I permitted him to depart after finding a lot of 
 diamonds which, while not of great value, were 
 still interesting enough in view of the fact that 
 he failed to get away with them without paying 
 the Government its revenue. 
 
 I went in search of Mrs. Hall and Mrs. McKay, 
 but not only was I unable to find them, but I was 
 equally unsuccessful in finding their trunks under 
 the letters assigned to them. I knew the husband 
 of Mrs. Janis very well as a boy, and I encoun- 
 tered him on the pier while in search of the two 
 dressmakers just mentioned. He had not been to 
 Europe with his wife, he explained, but was anx- 
 ious to get her off the pier as soon as possible, and 
 begged that the courtesy of an immediate inspec- 
 tion be extended to his traveling spouse.
 
 454 DEFRAUDING THE GOVERNMENT 
 
 An old-time regulation as to the extension of 
 courtesies was then in vogue, and I took Mrs. 
 Janis to the desk and asked the staff officer in 
 charge to detail an inspector to examine Mrs. 
 Janis' baggage, which was done. This inspector 
 has been a long time in the service and is known 
 throughout it as a faithful officer, but, that there 
 might be no misunderstanding, I said to him : 
 
 "This gentleman is a lifelong friend of mine, 
 but I want you to make a thorough examination 
 of his wife's baggage and if you find anything du- 
 tiable see that the duty is collected." 
 
 Nothing that was subject to duty was found, 
 however, which fact disappointed several on the 
 pier that night, who had hoped that my words in 
 behalf of my friend might prove a boomerang to 
 me. While the examination of the Janis luggage 
 was in progress I went in search of Mrs. Simpson 
 and found that her trunks had been passed. 
 
 I demanded a re-examination, with the result 
 that considerable goods not declared were turned 
 up. I was about leaving the pier to go Mrs. Mc- 
 Kay to intercept her luggage when I saw Mr. and 
 Mrs. Simpson enter a Waldorf-Astoria 'bus. 
 There was a big trunk on top of the 'bus, and, 
 failing to recognize it as belonging to the collec- 
 tion that Mrs. Simpson had shown me, I stopped 
 the driver and said that I wanted to see that 
 trunk. As I did so I saw a fine-looking woman
 
 THE DRESSMAKER'S WAY 455 
 
 with gray liair inside the vehicle in close conver- 
 sation with the Simpsons. 
 
 I had a fairly accurate description of Mrs. Hall, 
 who, the steamship officers had told me, had come 
 across in the shijD under the name of Mrs. Wall, 
 and I felt satisfied that the good-looking, gray- 
 haired woman was Mrs. Hall. I put my head into 
 the 'bus door and asked Mrs. Simpson if the trunk 
 above belonged to her. She replied that it did not. 
 Then I said to the gray-haired woman : 
 
 ''You are Mrs. G. F. Hall, are you not!" 
 
 "Is that a statement, or are you asking me a 
 question?" put in the companion of the Simpsons, 
 
 "I am asking a question," I made reply, not 
 relishing her apparent archness. 
 
 "I will answer it by saying that I am." 
 
 "Do you own the large trunk on top of this 
 'bus?" 
 
 "It is not a particularly large trunk," said the 
 woman, with a touch of sarcasm, dealing me a 
 withering glance at the same time. ' ' It belongs to 
 me, nevertheless." 
 
 I requested Mrs. Hall to step from the 'bus, 
 and, having done so. the following dialogue took 
 place : 
 
 "Have you declared the contents oi that 
 trunk?" 
 
 ' ' I have not. Wliy should I ? " 
 
 "If there be anything dutiable in it the Gov- 
 ernment expects you to do so. ' '
 
 456 DEFRAUDING THE GOVERNMENT 
 
 "Not at all. Not at all. That entire thing is 
 fixed." ' 
 
 ' ' What do yon mean by being fixed ? ' ' 
 
 ''Excuse me, sir, but I did not say it was being 
 fixed. I said that it ?ca5 fixed." 
 
 I ordered the trunk to be brought to the little 
 custom house on the pier and asked Mrs. Hall to 
 go with me to this section. She readily complied. 
 I do not know what induced me to the belief that 
 a witness might be valuable in this instance, for 
 I have always gone it single-handed, but the idea 
 proved of great benefit, as subsequent develop- 
 ments showed, and Mr. Wilson, the representative 
 of the Naval Office staff, was with me during the 
 remainder of my interview with Mrs. Hall. 
 
 When we reached the little custom house on the 
 wharf I repeated the question as to Mrs. Hall hav- 
 ing declared any dutiable goods, and she replied 
 that she had not. I inquired why she had traveled 
 under an assumed name. The name of Mrs. Wall 
 on the passenger hst was a misprint, she said. 
 Pressed for an explanation of her previous state- 
 ment that the entire thing was fixed, the woman 
 said that the reason she had not declared her du- 
 tiable goods was that she had been promised pro- 
 tection. 
 
 The matter was of such a serious nature that I 
 brought in another witness to corroborate me 
 when, next day, Mrs. Hall appeared at the Custom 
 House, as she promised to do. In the superficial
 
 THE DRESSMAKER'S WAY 457 
 
 investigation that night Mrs. Hall stated that she 
 had received a code cablegram from her husband 
 saying that everything was ''all right" and that 
 she need not declare anything upon arrival in New 
 York. The trunk seized contained dutiable goods 
 valued at 20,505 francs, or $4,331.15 by actual ap- 
 praisement. 
 
 I had hardly said ''good-night" to Mrs. Hall 
 on that Hoboken pier on the evening of September 
 7 when I set out for the McKay stronghold, on the 
 
 uptown side of East Street, in Manhattan. I 
 
 found a magnificent four-story brownstone dwell- 
 ing, and from the south side of the street, before 
 I rang the bell, I saw that somebody was celebrat- 
 ing the home-coming of the young modiste and 
 that the house was ablaze with lights from cellar 
 to roof. 
 
 The moment I rang the bell every light in the 
 front of the establishment was extinguished. It 
 looked for all the world as if the entire gas supply 
 of that house had been turned off at the meter. It 
 was about ten o'clock when I reached the house, 
 and I rang that bell until one o'clock in the morn- 
 ing before anybody deigned to make an appear- 
 ance. It was a very warm night and the windows 
 of adjoining dwellings were open, but those of 
 Miss McKay were closed as tightly as the head of 
 a drum. 
 
 I felt sorry for the neighbors about me, for the 
 clanging of that bell was not of a degree that
 
 458 DEFRAUDING THE GOVERNMENT 
 
 would allay well-strung nerves or even induce 
 sleep. But I was there to stay, much to the dis- 
 comfiture of a watchful guardian of the law, who 
 hung behind the shadow of a stout stoop to see 
 what I was up to. Those neighbors, too, who were 
 not seated on friendly stoops had their night-robed 
 forms in prominent positions at the windows, on 
 the qui vive to see what was going to happen. 
 Their remarks about "the poor man being locked 
 out," or "Perhaps he's tight," while not entirely 
 harmonious to my patient soul, were still not of 
 an offensive nature, even though they were highly 
 imaginative and personal. 
 
 That I was not a member of the household was 
 made known to the street audience when, shortly 
 before midnight, Mrs. McKay's well-proportioned 
 Irish cook came along from her "night out." She 
 asked me what I wanted, and if I ever made love 
 to a woman it was on this occasion. I had an im- 
 portant thing to say to her mistress, I told her, 
 and she readily consented to see if she could man- 
 age to get through the iron gate in the basement. 
 I was to wait a few minutes to give her a chance 
 to get in and talk with Mrs. McKay. The cook 
 disappeared in the areaway and I saw her no 
 more, the slam of the big, iron gate informing me 
 that I had been checkmated, I had no legal author- 
 ity to batter down the front door, but I felt mighty 
 like doing so. The law specifically states that one 
 cannot forcibly enter a house without the formal-
 
 THE DRESSMAKER'S WAY 459 
 
 ity of a search-warrant, and, not being in pos- 
 session of that most important docmnent, I de- 
 cided to pound away on that bell if I had to dis- 
 turb the neighborhood for six months. 
 
 I could i^lainly see that I was much more pa- 
 tient than those who were watching, particularly 
 the bluecoat, who, while seemingly statuesque and 
 imperturbable, kept his eyes on the jump. I felt 
 perfectly serene in the knowledge that so long as 
 I remained in front of that house neither Mrs. 
 McKay nor any of her agents would be able to 
 dispose of anything imported on the Auguste 
 Victoria. 
 
 My vigil was sedulously maintained at that 
 door, except for fifteen minutes, while I ran to a 
 nearby drug store to teleiDhone. I wanted to get 
 Collector Bidwell at home, that he might send me 
 reinforcements, but he was not at home. I called 
 up Pinkerton 's Detective Agency to get a few men 
 to surround the block, but no men were there. I 
 was afraid that the dressmaker might have the 
 goods taken away over the rear fences and out 
 through the next street. The officer had followed 
 me to the corner and afterwards went into the 
 drug store to ascertain the nature of my business. 
 
 I was a bit discouraged when I returned to the 
 stoop and resumed my athletic exercise on the bell. 
 It was 1.15 in the morning when I heard a 
 noise at the parlor window and a feminine voice 
 inquired my mission. The voice was clearly that
 
 4G0 DEFRAUDING THE GOVERN^IENT 
 
 of a woman who was trying bard to suppress some 
 excitement. 
 
 ''I am an agent of the Treasury Department," 
 I said, *'and I want you to open this door." 
 
 "What if I refuse!" inquired the voice, the 
 owner of which I could not see in the darkness. 
 
 '*I shall camp out on this stoop until you do," 
 was the reply I made, concluding with, "My meals 
 will be served here, too. ' ' 
 
 "You are a mean man," said the voice. 
 
 I made no reply, for I realized that there was a 
 well of tears behind the statement, and I never 
 could bear to hear a woman cry. I was unpre- 
 pared for the next move, for within a second or 
 so the voice said : 
 
 ' ' My name is McKay. Do you want to see me ? ' ' 
 
 "I certainly do." 
 
 "Very well, then, I'll open the door." 
 
 I had counted upon this clever woman demand- 
 ing to see a search-warrant or some other court 
 paper, but she seemed to be unnerved, and the next 
 moment I heard a chain-bolt rattle, a lock shoot 
 back, and there in the open doorway stood Mrs. 
 McKay in the most gorgeous costume I ever saw 
 on a woman. She was attired even to her hat, 
 which was the latest Parisian creation, and as 
 costly as it looked fair. My admiration for her 
 becoming gown was rudely interrupted by the 
 question of the dressmaker: 
 
 "Now, what do you want?"
 
 THE DRESSMAKER'S WAY 461 
 
 **I am sorry to disturb you, Mrs. " 
 
 *' Never mind your apologies, sir," said Mrs. 
 McKay. ''I prefer that you come straight to the 
 point. I am a business woman, and moments are 
 precious, particularly at this hour, when one 
 should be abed." 
 
 ''I want you to light every gas jet in this 
 house, ' ' I said in a tone that must have conveyed 
 the impression that I, too, was practical. ' ' Permit 
 me to light the one in this hall," and, striking a 
 match on the sole of my boot, I did so. Mrs. Mc- 
 Kay sat down on the hat rack in the hall and began 
 to cry as if her heart would break. 
 
 I closed the door, but as I did so I noticed that 
 my friend the bluecoat was at the foot of the stoop 
 and that he was the picture of curiosity. He was- 
 not alone a faithful officer, but an inquisitive one. 
 With Mrs. McKay weeping, wailing and sobbing 
 on that hat rack, I passed the most miserable five 
 minutes of my life. A maid came down the stair- 
 case and, with face perfectly white with anger, 
 looked me all over. 
 
 I heard the cook climb carefully up the base- 
 ment stairs, and, although I could not see her for 
 the turn in the staircase, I imagined that she had a 
 pot of hot water in her hands all ready to pour 
 down my collar at a word from her mistress. The 
 latter was, however, having a strenuous time of 
 it, and I really pitied her from the bottom of my 
 heart.
 
 462 DEFRAUDING THE GOVERNMENT 
 
 "Go away, jDlease go away," she sobbed. ''I'll 
 do anything in the world to serve you. For God's 
 sake, do not disgrace me. I cannot stand the pub- 
 licity." 
 
 I told the woman that I did not intend to injure 
 her business or herself, but that the Government 
 had been defrauded of revenue by her and that 
 I i)roi30sed to seize then and there a quantity of 
 merchandise which I knew she had brought in 
 without paying duty on the same. 
 
 ''I want to see your trunks," I said in conclu- 
 sion. 
 
 Mrs. McKay arose from the hat rack and asked 
 me to step into the back jjarlor. As I proceeded 
 I heard the patter of feet on the staircase leading 
 to the basement, and I imagine the fat cook must 
 have fallen down several steps near the bottom, 
 because there was an awful rumpus, followed by 
 the clanging of a tin as it struck the ground. 
 
 Mrs. McKay was too wrapped up in the excite- 
 ment of the moment to notice the confusion, but 
 I observed that the savage-looking maid smiled. 
 The back parlor into which I was led was used as 
 a fitting-room, and in the center of it stood an 
 empty trunk, such as is used bj^ dressmakers. It 
 was about four feet long and two and a half feet 
 high. I noticed that there was a chalk mark on 
 its side, the private "0. K." of the inspector who 
 passed it, and I also saw that the steamer label 
 bearing Mrs. McKay's name and the number of
 
 THE DRESSMAKER'S WAY 463 
 
 her' room on the Auguste Victoria was still at- 
 tached to it. I asked the woman what had become 
 of the contents of the trunk, and after a moment's 
 pause she replied that she had placed them in 
 closets on the floor above. 
 
 At this moment the secretary of the modiste, a 
 
 Mr. , appeared on the scene, and I asked Mrs. 
 
 McKay to show me to the room wherein these 
 goods were. I thought she would faint on the way 
 ui3stairs. In the right-hand corner of the room 
 on the second floor was a closet about ten feet 
 deep, such as is usually built in a large house, as 
 this one was. 
 
 Mrs. McKay opened the doors of the closet and 
 showed me all the garments that she had brought 
 over. I requested her to remove the garments and 
 return them to the trunk in the back parlor. This 
 the secretar}^ did. I wanted to have the trunk 
 repacked to satisfy myself that I had all the goods 
 that were imported. After she had repacked the 
 trunk I knew that I had less than half of the goods 
 that the trunk originally contained, but, as I had 
 no legal right to search the house, I had to be sat- 
 isfied with what she said. Her case was bad, but 
 the Government got what was due.
 
 MRS. ROOT'S LACES. 
 
 Somehow or another I cannot be made to be- 
 lieve that Louis Root knew his wife to be a smug- 
 gler. The Government does not seem to have had 
 the same faith in the man that I had. Yet I think 
 he was an innocent tool of her desire to cheat 
 somebody, she cared not whom. Root and his wife 
 arrived in the metropolis from the steamer Fries- 
 land, August 21, 1900. He was then and is now a 
 fine-looking man. He had perfectly white hair, a 
 white mustache and a commanding height and car- 
 riage. 
 
 Mrs. Root is a woman who, according to her own 
 story, sees little good health. She looks about as 
 much like an invalid as does the average lad rob- 
 bing a favorite orchard. Of a ruddy complexion, 
 with rich auburn hair, a vivacious manner and 
 queenly height, she managed to impress one as 
 being anything Imt ill. 
 
 Mr. and Mrs. Root deal in high-class laces, 
 usually made for them to order in Brussels and 
 other lace markets of p]uro]ie and formed from 
 their own designs, Thei'e is nothing shoddy about 
 their productions, their patrons being chiefly the 
 
 464
 
 MRS. ROOT'S LACES 465 
 
 ''four Imndrecl," with every brancli of whom the}' 
 have a personal acquaintance. Their income has 
 for years been enormous, but Mrs. Root had it in 
 her blood to get rich quickly, and she did not care 
 a fig who suffered, so long as it was not her own 
 precious self. 
 
 I had no occasion to suspect Mrs. Root of cus- 
 toms irregularities until the August trip above 
 mentioned. I had met both frequently in London, 
 Paris, Geneva and Luzerne and imagined that T 
 knew their ways quite intimately. It was their 
 habit while abroad to engage the most expensive 
 suites in the leading hotels, and when they re- 
 turned to this side luxury lost none of its charm 
 for them. 
 
 Their home was in Philadeli^hia, but in New 
 York or other big American cities, following a 
 business trip abroad, they made it the rule to put 
 up at the finest hotels and send out invitations to 
 wealthy people to visit their suite and examine the 
 latest high-class novelties which they had im- 
 ported. 
 
 It was marvelous the way the rich society folk 
 flocked to these hotel apartments and made pur- 
 chases. Everything appeared so precise and reg- 
 ular, too, that it came as a sort of shock when a 
 waif word coupled their name with questionable 
 methods. I had looked for some days for the com- 
 ing of the Friesland, but the day she arrived I was 
 held up by a train breakdown and was unable to
 
 4GG DEFRAUDING THE GOVERNMENT 
 
 got to the pier in time to intercept the pair. As 
 luck would have it, the express company to which 
 they had entrusted the delivery of their trunks 
 to the Victoria Hotel, where they were to stop, had 
 neglected to get them away as early as expected, 
 and I found the baggage on the pier when I got 
 there. 
 
 I immediately detained the trunks and told the 
 express comjiany to deliver them to nobody until 
 I returned. I went to the Victoria and found that 
 Mr. and Mrs. Root had been assigned to the swell- 
 est suite of rooms that the establishment owned. 
 
 Fearing that my mission there might have an 
 undesirable effect upon the health of Mrs, Root, 
 I invited that woman's husband into his own sit- 
 ting-room. He was certainly struck dumb with 
 surprise when I informed him that his reputation 
 was at stake and that I was determined to exam- 
 ine their i")ersonal effects then on the pier. Wlien 
 able to speak he asked me if I was in earnest, 
 and said that there could be nothing wrong, be- 
 cause an inspector had already j^assed the luggage. 
 
 "There must be something terribly wrong," he 
 said, his face pained beyond expression. *'I will 
 see what Mrs. Root says about it." 
 
 "With that he witlidrew. He was gone quite a time 
 and when he returned his face was as white as a 
 piece of blank paper. Great beads of perspiration 
 were coursing down his forehead and his lips were 
 blue from an excessive heart-action. I was afraid
 
 MRS. BOOT'S LACES 467 
 
 he would drop dead in his tracks. He sank into 
 a chair and buried his face in his hands. At last 
 he raised his head and said : 
 
 "You are right. Mrs. Root has been guilty of 
 a terrible wrong to me, to you and the Government 
 you represent. She has just told me ever}i;hing. 
 It is horrible. It is shameful." 
 
 He went on in this way at considerable length, 
 but finally calming himself in a measure, he told 
 me that his wife had packed the trunks and that 
 he knew absolutely nothing of their contents until 
 she had told him a few minutes before. 
 
 ''Had I known that there was any intention to 
 deceive, I would not have taken all the money in 
 the world to have permitted even the inspector 
 to be hoodwinked," said the importer, in going 
 into the details. "When I left Europe in the 
 Friesland I was under the impression that every- 
 thing that I had purchased there was shipped 
 through the regular channel to my custom house 
 brokers in Baltimore. Under this belief, I made 
 my declaration openly and without fear, declaring 
 nothing to be dutiable in those trunks, because I 
 never for a moment thought that there was any- 
 thing dutiable in them. 
 
 "The examination on the pier was made in the 
 usual way. Nothing was found. This was as I 
 expected, and as has been done for years, every 
 time that I have come. I am now informed by my 
 wife that when she packed these trunks she se-
 
 4G8 DEFRAUDING THE GOVERNMENT 
 
 cretecl in lier dresses and underwear and in her 
 stockings and in tlie bosoms of my shirts and in 
 ni}' undergarments laees of the value of five thou- 
 sand dollars or upwards. I am perfectly willing 
 to go back to the pier with you and turn over every 
 particle of stuff that my wife in her misguided way 
 has brought in." 
 
 Mrs, Root, although complaining of her many 
 supposed maladies, begged permission to accom- 
 pany us to the pier. The inspector who had made 
 the examination had been told by the express com- 
 pany of the detention of the baggage under my 
 order and awaited our coming. In the packing of 
 a trunk I will back Mrs. Root against the world. 
 It is a revelation how she did it. 
 
 The old-fashioned way of rolling up a pair of 
 stockings or hose was the cloak for the conceal- 
 ment of hundreds of dollars' worth of the most 
 valuable lace. Stitched in the linings of the 
 dresses owned by Mrs. Root were most magnifi- 
 cent pieces of lace. In the bosoms of her hus- 
 band's shirts, in his undershirts, and between 
 handkerchiefs were doilies of exceptional value. 
 If she had studied the tricks of smugglers for a 
 thousand years she could not have been more ex- 
 pert in the art. I am convinced that this was not 
 her first attempt to smuggle, but it was probably 
 her last. It was decidedly a bitter lesson for her. 
 
 Mr. Root was arrested and arraigned before 
 Commissioner Alexander, who held him in one
 
 MRS. ROOT'S LACES 469 
 
 thousand dollars bail. He subsequently paid five 
 hundred dollars fine, together with the duty on the 
 stuff. I met him recently in Paris and he was 
 evidently pleased to see me. He said the experi- 
 ence was a most beneficial one to Mrs. Root, add- 
 ing, "You did my wife a lasting turn the night 
 you came to the Victoria Hotel. ' ' 
 
 Whether or not I did is a question. I met Mrs. 
 Root abroad last year and she snubbed me, an ex- 
 perience that has enriched my stock of knowledge 
 about women and their odd ways.
 
 THE FRANK DIAMONDS 
 
 Chance acquaintances sometimes get the human 
 race into trouble. There was a man named Frank, 
 for instance, who was over-fond of passing the 
 time of day with strangers. Aside from this fault 
 and another, the mention of which will appear 
 presently, Frank was to all outward examination 
 a level-headed citizen. But he was as cunning and 
 sly as the much-lamented character whom Dickens 
 made famous. 
 
 I knew the record of Frank some little time be- 
 fore we met. I "accidentally" made his acquaint- 
 ance one night in the Hotel Cecil in London. It 
 was on the eve of our departure for America. He 
 said that he imagined me to be an American and 
 I confessed to that happy fact. He gave me his 
 card and I extended one that was not exactly 
 mine. He announced that he intended to leave the 
 following day in a Dominion Line steamer for 
 Boston. 
 
 My plans were to go in the steamer Teutonic, 
 that was also to leave the Mersey the following 
 morning for New York, but I did not tell him so. 
 This was during the middle of September, 1899, 
 
 470
 
 THE FRANK DIAMONDS 471 
 
 and I did not see Frank again until the following 
 October 25. 1 gave him lots of rope in the in- 
 terim, however. It was on October 24 that he ar- 
 rived at the Grand Union Hotel in the metropolis 
 and secured the best accommodation to be had 
 there. 
 
 I called there at midnight of that date, but failed 
 to find him. The following morning I was shown 
 to his suite and hammered on the chief door, re- 
 ceiving no response. One of the hotel attendants 
 then opened the door with a pass-key, and I was 
 greeted with a round of profanity on the part of 
 Frank, who was standing in the center of the 
 room. 
 
 ''What do you want?" he finally demanded. 
 
 "Those diamonds that you brought over," I 
 said. 
 
 ' ' Oh, come now, ' ' he said blithelj^ ' ' I met you 
 in London. You are a Cincinnati banker. I have 
 your card here." 
 
 "I am a Government officer," was my reply. 
 "Here is my card." 
 
 He took it, glanced at it, then laughed heartily. 
 ' ' You cannot fool me. I know Theobald for twenty 
 years. I used to go to school with him, ' ' was what 
 he said. 
 
 I displayed my shield, told him that I knew him 
 to be a professional smuggler, and that I wanted 
 him to go with me to the Collector of the Port. 
 
 He said something about being severely hurt by
 
 472 DEFRAUDING THE GOVERNMENT 
 
 my unjust accusation, and mentioned half a dozen 
 reputable diamond firms in the metropolis who 
 would guarantee his honesty. Would I go with 
 him to any of these establishments and learn how 
 thoroughly goody-good he was? 
 
 To my bow in the affirmative he furnished the 
 name of a Nassau Street firm in the diamond bro- 
 kerage business and well known to me. I do not 
 know what the business relations between Frank 
 and this firm were, but the latter had a rod in 
 pickle for the smuggler, of which he was evidently 
 not aware. He entered the office with a great flour- 
 ish of importance and said : 
 
 "Do you know me to be an honest man and a 
 good citizen?" 
 
 ''The worst man in State's i:)rison is better than 
 you," was the unexpected reply of the broker. 
 
 Frank boiled all over with the comparison and 
 it was some moments before he could speak. 
 
 "What the devil do you mean by saying a thing 
 like that?" he finally blurted out. "This man is 
 a Government officer and he might believe what 
 you say." 
 
 "I know he is," said the broker, "and I know 
 you, too. You are as crooked as the hind leg of 
 a dog. He has made no mistake in picking you 
 up." 
 
 This and a great deal more the broker said. 
 Frank said several pointed things, too, and, taken 
 .altogether, the war of words was quite heated. It
 
 THE FRANK DIAMONDS 473 
 
 • 
 was interrupted by the arrival of another broker, 
 
 and I thought Frank was about to faint when he 
 saw the new arrival. The latter had a package 
 containing ten thousand dollars' worth of dia- 
 monds, and before Frank could check him he an- 
 nounced to the broker in whose place we were that 
 he wished to dispose of them for Frank. 
 
 I immediately seized the gems. When we reached 
 the Custom House he entered a formal protest 
 against Collector Bidwell retaining the diamonds 
 even temporarily, but no attention was paid to his 
 demands. I had been informed some days before 
 I met Frank that he had some diamonds in a safe 
 deposit vault of the First National Bank, and on 
 the way to the Federal Building, where I was to 
 arraign him before the United States District At- 
 torney, I insisted that he give me an order on the 
 bank for them. He refused absolutely, and said 
 that to prevent the Government from getting them 
 he would withdraw the diamonds from the bank. 
 
 He went into the vault, and, as I was not anxious 
 to get into any legal complications with the bank, 
 I permitted him to remove a huge bundle contain- 
 ing many packages. As we were coming down the 
 winding stairs I observed the man abstract a 
 package and secrete it in an inside pocket of his 
 waistcoat. 
 
 I said nothing of this until we returned to the 
 Custom House. Then I told him that he was mak- 
 ing a grave mistake in acting unfairly with the
 
 474 DEFRAUDING THE GOVERNMENT 
 
 Government, which was only too anxious to treat 
 him decently if the goods then in his possession 
 were shown to be duty paid. 
 
 ''Hand everything over and let the courts settle 
 the question," is the way I jDut it. 
 
 He immediately deposited the packages with 
 the Collector, but incidentally forgot to deliver the 
 one he had abstracted and hidden in his inside 
 pocket. I speedily found it for him and turned it 
 over to the Collector. It was the smallest but 
 most valuable package of the lot, as an examina- 
 tion revealed, containing ])earls, emeralds and ru- 
 bies, Frank secured the most expensive counsel 
 to be had, but the case never went to trial, being 
 compromised by the payment of duty.
 
 HE USED HIS FRIEND 
 
 The periodical smuggler is the more dangerous 
 because he is not so readily suspected. One of the 
 most successful merchants on Maiden Lane has 
 had for some years spasmodic fits of virtue. When 
 he was good he was, like the little boy with the 
 mumps, very, very good; but when he was wilful 
 his wickedness ran to smuggling. This merchant 
 carries in his establishment an unusually fine stock 
 of precious gems, and while there is no question 
 that he has paid duty on the major portion of his 
 wares, there is considerable question about the 
 entry of the remainder. 
 
 About one year ago the merchant was abroad 
 on a regular tour of the Continental markets. He 
 was in Paris when he ran across a friend of life- 
 long standing. There was an effusive meeting, for 
 each was fond of the other. The merchant, how- 
 ever, was not averse to using his friends. The one 
 he met in the French capital was, to use the mod- 
 ern phrase, * ' easy. ' ' 
 
 "So you are going to start to-morrow for 
 home?" said the merchant, when they had com- 
 pleted their exchange of compliments. "I envy 
 
 475
 
 47G DEFRAUDING THE GOVERNMENT 
 
 you. I wish that I were going, too. No place like 
 home. I must remain here a month longer to fin- 
 ish business. I want to give you a send-off before 
 you go. Now, I won't take any excuses. I want 
 you to come to my hotel this evening and I'll set 
 you down before one of the finest dinners you ever 
 had." 
 
 The friend had much to do on the eve of his de- 
 parture, but he was a loyal friend and willing to 
 please. Plalf a dozen times that evening the mer- 
 chant remarked how complete was his happiness. 
 It was certainly a festive gathering, and the wife 
 of each man, who was present, declared the dinner 
 to be unexcelled. The wine, according to all ac- 
 counts, was as old and as rich as the friendship of 
 the two men. About the time the servants were 
 assisting the guests to don their wraps the mer- 
 chant slapped his friend affectionately on the back 
 and said to him : 
 
 "Henry, old chai:>, come to think of it, I want 
 you to do me a favor. ' ' 
 
 "Have no fear, it will be done," ejaculated the 
 friend. "T have yet to refuse you anything. "What 
 can I do for you ? ' ' 
 
 The merchant took a package about the size of 
 a box of safety matches from his trousers ' pocket 
 and, holding it in his hand for a second, said: 
 
 "I want you to take this to New York and give 
 it to my son Byron, who is, as you know, taking 
 care of the shop during my absence. It is a bunch
 
 HE USED HIS FRIEND 477 
 
 of keys that I forgot to give to him when I left 
 home. ' ' 
 
 Without waiting for the friend to make any an- 
 swer the honest merchant lifted up the tail of his 
 friend's evening coat and ran the package into the 
 rear pocket of the trousers. Then he said : 
 
 "Be careful about those keys. See that nobody 
 but Byron gets them." 
 
 "Byron will get them personally, if I have to 
 swim across," was the reassuring answer of the 
 steadfast friend, who shortly after made his adieu 
 and took his departure. By midnight the friend 
 was whirling along the French railway en route 
 to Cherbourg, where, with his wife, he was to em- 
 bark on the steamer Deutschland, that was to 
 bring him to New York. His dress suit was safely 
 stowed away in his trunk, and he had forgotten 
 all about the bunch of keys, that lay serenely in 
 the starboard quarter of his trousers, by the time 
 that he stepped aboard the ship. 
 
 The Deutschland broke the world's record on 
 this trip to the westward. She was half-way across 
 and throwing tons of water over her cleaver-like 
 prow when the merchant's friend emerged from 
 the main saloon doorway to get a breath of the 
 sparkling air before he went below for dinner. It 
 was about twilight, and giant clouds, low down on 
 the horizon, were hurrying eastward, like huge 
 pieces of cotton. It had been rough all day, and 
 the noble ship was piling into the big combers like
 
 478 DEFRAUDING THE GOVERNMENT 
 
 a hungry colored ''gent" sailing into a ripe water- 
 melon. A reception and concert had been planned 
 among the passengers to follow dinner, and our 
 friend was decked out in his evening clothes as he 
 stepped to the promenade deck. He started to go 
 forward, and had navigated some twenty feet in 
 capital style when the bow of the steamer sank 
 into the hollow of an Alp-like wave that broke into 
 an acre of foam and spindrift forward before the 
 craft recovered her buoyancy. 
 
 The only recollection of this sea that remains 
 in the memory of the custodian of the keys is the 
 damage that it did. A few eye-witnesses say that 
 there was a man washed along the deck for a dozen 
 yards or more and the owner of the dress suit was 
 rudely deposited against the ship's rail, from 
 which he arose a dripping, frightened and profane 
 mass of humanity. He was soaked to the skin, and 
 limped as a brawny sailor took him by the arm 
 to lead him towards the saloon entrance. 
 
 "I have hurt my hip," he moaned between sti- 
 fled oaths. He ran his hand along his back to feel 
 if any bones were broken and felt something in the 
 back pocket. He pulled it out and discovered the 
 package which his friend had given him in Paris. 
 
 "This darn bunch of keys!" was what he said 
 as he held tlie water-soaked package up to the gaze 
 of a few sympathizing passengers who had hur- 
 ried forward to learn if he were hurt. His wife 
 was among those who had gathered about him,
 
 HE USED HIS FRIEND 479 
 
 and, passing the package, that now resembled so 
 much pulp, he said to her : 
 
 *^Take those keys and keep them until I arrive. 
 Do not lose them, though. Oh, I 'm not hurt. Sim- 
 ply fell on those keys." 
 
 They entered the superstructure, and, like a 
 half-drowned rat, he limped down the grand stair- 
 case, amid an insuppressible titter from the 
 thoughtless but more fortunate voyagers. The 
 man's wife met a steward at the entrance to the 
 main saloon, and to him said : 
 
 ''Steward, fetch me an envelope from the li- 
 brary. The paper on this package has become 
 water-soaked through the mishap to my husband. ' ' 
 
 While the steward was engaged in obeying the 
 instructions, madam sat by her husband in one of 
 the chairs of the saloon. 
 
 ''This paper is useless. I will put these keys 
 in an envelope and lock them in your trunk." 
 
 The woman started to remove the paper, which 
 was thoroughly saturated. Her husband was about 
 to say that he would go to their stateroom to get 
 a change of clothing when, with a cry of surprise, 
 madam said: 
 
 "Oh, you sweet darling! Tried to surprise me, 
 and by the merest accident I have found you out. 
 Oh, Henry, this is simply gorgeous!" 
 
 To the amazement of the speechless Henry, his 
 wife held up to his gaze one of the most magnifi- 
 cent diamond necklaces that he had ever seen. And
 
 480 DEFRAUDING THE GOVERNMENT 
 
 while Henry was trj'ing to find his breath to ex- 
 plain that an awful mistake had been made, his 
 wife was dilating with a number of acquaintances 
 what a dear, good fellow he was and how he had 
 tried to surprise her. All laughed and were filled 
 with admiration for the handsome necklace, which 
 she showed around. The husband seemed to bo J 
 the only glum one in the gathering just then, and 
 one of the men, who thought that he scented some- 
 thing unusual, whispered to a friend : 
 
 ''She caught him with the goods on. He must 
 have intended that neckgear for another woman. 
 Look at his face. You can buy him body and soul 
 for thirty cents." 
 
 Henry certainly did look glum, but the majority 
 attributed it to the fact that he had received a 
 nasty knock and a wetting. They advised him to 
 go to his room immediately. He lost no time in 
 doing so. His wife kissed him over and over again 
 when they reached the stateroom, and he sat down 
 and groaned. 
 
 *'How selfish of me to dote on this beautiful 
 present when you are in such pain," she said. 
 ''I'll go and get the ship's doctor." 
 
 "No, no," he said in a voice that sounded unlike 
 his own. "Go and get the fool-killer instead." 
 
 Then he told her all about it, and she, the wife 
 of his bosom, groaned in concert with him. 
 
 ' ' Such a shabby, scurvy trick ! ' ' said the woman, 
 in conclusion. "What do you intend to do with
 
 HE USED HIS FRIEND 481 
 
 the necklace — give it up to the authorities and let 
 them confiscate it?" 
 
 Before he answered these two questions he 
 thought of what a good, faithful friend he had 
 been to the diamond merchant and how their lives 
 had been more or less interwoven. Then he 
 thought of the inequality of Irving 's lines : 
 
 "Sweet is the memory of distant friends! 
 Like the mellow rays of the departing sun. 
 It falls tenderly, yet sadly, on the heart." 
 
 ''Like mellow rays!" he repeated. "I wish I 
 had him here." This and much more he solilo- 
 quized. His greatest ordeal was yet to come, how- 
 ever. This was the battle with his conscience. He 
 knew it to be his duty as a good citizen and honest 
 man to give up the necklace to the customs offi- 
 cials, but he was led to believe that the man had 
 made some horrible mistake and had never in- 
 tended to make him a common carrier in an at- 
 tempt to defraud the Government of its revenue. 
 Say what his wife would, he could not be made to 
 believe that the diamond merchant was other than 
 a friend. He had attested to that fact, to all ap- 
 pearances and purposes, many times. So, in the 
 battle between duty to his country and duty to the 
 merchant, he gave the latter the benefit of the 
 doubt and committed a dishonest act. 
 
 No mention of his having the necklace in his 
 possession was made by him upon arrival in the
 
 482 DEFEAUDIXG THE GOVERNMENT 
 
 metropolis. The day following he visited the mer- 
 chant's establishment on Maiden Lane and said 
 to the son, who greeted him with joy that was 
 boundless : 
 
 '* Byron, liere is a bunch of keys that your father 
 made me promise to deliver. Send him my compli- 
 ments and say that he ought to know that honesty 
 is the best policy, for he has tried both. You might 
 also tell the pious and oily old hypocrite that if 
 he ever attempts to speak to me again I'll stew 
 him in his own gravy. Good-day, Byron."
 
 THE BOCK PEARLS 
 
 All smugglers do not trade in the genuine. 
 Some have made more money from a handful of 
 imitation stones than they might have realized 
 from a peekful of the real articles. In the middle 
 of November of 1899 I rounded up a man who 
 had literally flooded the market of America with 
 imitation pearls. He was Ferdinand Bock, and 
 claimed to reside abroad, but I knew him to have 
 a big establishment in Providence, which was his 
 distributing depot for thousands of make-believe 
 pearls. 
 
 The duty on imitation pearls is twenty per cent., 
 and throughout America there are hundreds of 
 dealers in that class of goods. These are known 
 to be strictly honest in their dealings with the cus- 
 toms officials, and for several years they were in 
 a quandaiy to understand how certain other deal- 
 ers were underselling them. 
 
 Paris alone has more than fifty large manufac- 
 tories of unreal pearls, and this fact alone made 
 it difficult to ascertain the avenue of distribution 
 for those that were smuggled in. Attention was 
 
 483
 
 484 DEFRAUDING THE GOVERNMENT 
 
 finally settled upon Bock, and when on Sunday, 
 November 19, 1899, he disembarked from the 
 steamer La Bretagne I proceeded to locate his 
 baggage. Bock certainly looked anything but a 
 Go^'ernment offender. He pretended an utter ina- 
 bility to talk English, and said he was a wealthy 
 Frenchman who was en route to Mexico to visit 
 his brother. He was dressed most expensively, 
 and everything about him, even to his handsome 
 Van Dyck beard, was groomed with great care. 
 
 He was killingly polite, to use the line of an in- 
 spector who afterwards examined his luggage. 
 Had he ever heard of Providence? Yes, indeed, 
 and placed great faith in Him. The city of Provi- 
 dence? Never, It was a very appropriate name, 
 though. His baggage was at the disposal of any- 
 body in authority, and he would be delighted to 
 assist in making the examination thorough. 
 
 His vsuavity was as rich as his perfume, and both 
 nearly overcame the inspector. Common polite- 
 ness demands that the trunks of even a suspected 
 smuggler be examined with due regard to his feel- 
 ings. There is never any dumping of their con- 
 tents to the pier floor, as some imagine. 
 
 Piece by piece the personal effects of Bock were 
 gone through, every article being replaced in its 
 original position before another was touched. He 
 had three pairs of shoes tied up in as many parcels 
 in one trunk. Each jjair was tied heel to toe, upper 
 to upper, by the shoestrings that were attached.
 
 THE BOCK PEARLS 485 
 
 All were packed with imitation stones, pearls be- 
 ing the chief ones. 
 
 Bock had the audacity to say that some enemy 
 must have concealed the stones where they were 
 found. He called upon all the saints known to 
 church fame to witness the fact that he was an in- 
 nocent victim of some wicked, designing person. 
 When I searched him in a private room on the pier 
 it was to find a package of imitation pearls hidden 
 in the tail of his frock coat. 
 
 He also had several loose genuine pearls con- 
 cealed in the band of his high hat. He showed no 
 white feather even when I placed him under ar- 
 rest. When brought before United States Com- 
 missioner Shields he said that he was simply non- 
 plussed to explain how the stones got into his 
 shoes, coat and hat. The Commissioner did not 
 seem to be puzzled, however, and he promptly held 
 the man in twenty-five hundred dollars bail. 
 
 Bock took a train for Providence that same af- 
 ternoon. Subsequent investigation by Government 
 officials showed that he closed out his effects in 
 that city within the following forty-eight hours 
 and started for Paris, where he now lives. The 
 case has never come to trial and in all probability 
 never will. Some experts who looked over the 
 goods thought they were worth forty-five thousand 
 dollars. An official appraisement made their value 
 only six thousand dollars.
 
 486 DEFRAUDING THE GOVERNMENT 
 
 It is a notable fact that tlie number of imitation 
 pearls in this country and Canada has been greatly 
 reduced since Bock jumped his bail. His proiSts 
 must have been enormous.
 
 "WHY INFORMERS ARE DANGEROUS 
 
 Informers are dangerous because they are al- 
 most invariably insincere. Once in a great while 
 the truth comes out when the injured fly tells upon 
 the wicked spider, or when some revengeful soul 
 emits a blood-chilling howl of indignation. The 
 great majority, however, count thirteen to the 
 dozen and say many things they cannot prove any 
 more than do the detectives and special agents 
 when they have spent months investigating these 
 idle yarns. 
 
 The informer, nevertheless, feels satisfied that 
 he has done his duty and has filtered through his 
 system something that corrupted his blood for 
 some time. He has gotten rid of something disa- 
 greeable through the easiest of mediums — the ink 
 pot. His conscience "troubles" him, as a rule, 
 though if this same informer had his hatches off 
 there would be few to care to look at his cargo. 
 Yet his allusions to the doings of others are always 
 glove-fitting and generally as substantial as an 
 echo. 
 
 As the drummer said to his friend, so it may 
 be said of the informer, "He was kind of lonely 
 
 487
 
 488 DEFRAUDING THE GOVERNMENT 
 
 unless he romanced." The Government realizes 
 this as thoroughly as possible. Still, believing in 
 the old saw that a low opinion of a rogue's ability 
 is sometimes greatly to his advantage, the chief 
 officials in Washington demand that all letters, 
 anom^mous or otherwise, be investigated. 
 
 I know from experience how fruitless the major 
 portion of this "information" is, and I also know 
 that it makes poor fare and hollow cheeks for 
 those who hope to profit by it. It is only necessary 
 to cite several recent cases to demonstrate the 
 worthlessness of the "tips" furnished by the aver- 
 age informer. 
 
 In 1898, Major Williams, special agent in charge 
 of Paris and several other important points in 
 Europe, sent a report to the department that upon 
 the arrival in Hoboken of the steamer Pretoria 
 from Hamburg would be found two casks alleged 
 to contain brandy. The information which I after- 
 wards got orally from Major Williams was this : 
 
 He had been informed that a conspiracy was on 
 foot to bring into the Port of New York a large 
 assortment of jewelry mounted in magnificent set- 
 tings. He said that he had put a good man on the 
 case, and this official, who was not a Government 
 employee, however, had reported to him that he 
 had learned that a cooper was building to order 
 for a well-known diamond exporter of Amsterdam 
 two casks of peculiar construction. 
 
 The detective told Major Williams that he had
 
 INFORMERS ARE DANGEROUS 489 
 
 seen the casks delivered to the diamond exporter's 
 house; that a few days following this the casks 
 were taken from the house by an individual, whose 
 name was mentioned, and delivered at the railroad 
 station. The casks were jDlaced in the luggage van 
 and the train started for Hamburg, the officer fol- 
 lowing by the same route. 
 
 The detective saw the casks taken from the van 
 and placed in the hold of the ship, the associate 
 of the diamond exporter shortly afterwards de- 
 parting upon the train returning to Amsterdam. 
 The officer remained until the Pretoria started for 
 America. 
 
 A cablegram to Washington put the officials 
 there on their guard, and I, with several other offi- 
 cers of the Government, was instructed to make 
 an investigation. Under the treaty between the 
 United States and Germany it is specified that no 
 officer of the Government has the authority to 
 search a German ship without a special permit 
 granted by the German consul at whatever port 
 the craft arrives. We had no trouble in getting 
 this consent. 
 
 Five men searched every part of the Pretoria 
 from keelson to sun deck. The examination of the 
 officers', stewards' and passengers' rooms was 
 very exhaustive, as was also that of the quarters 
 occupied by the sailors and stokers. We then 
 went among the engines, had the boilers examined 
 and thoroughly looked into the coal bunkers. It
 
 490 DEFRAUDING THE GOVERNMENT 
 
 took two entire days to make the seareli, and we 
 had abandoned all hope when, finally, in a little 
 compartment in the fore peak of the vessel, used 
 as a store place for spare sails, we found two 
 casks. 
 
 We had been informed by cable that when the 
 two casks were brought to the diamond exporter's 
 house in Amsterdam the numbers 24 and 42 were 
 marked on either cask in white letters. When we 
 hauled out from the bows of the Pretoria the two 
 casks found there the numerals 24 and 42 were 
 seen on them. We thereupon demanded an expla- 
 nation of the chief officer, and this is what he said, 
 in plain English: 
 
 ''Scharlie, von of the Stewarts, he vas going to 
 celebrate his wedding anniversary on the ship, and 
 he asks permission to haf a liddle beer unt board 
 to take width him to treat his fellow-countrymans. 
 Und the other cask belonged to Fritz, who vanted 
 to celebrate the anniversary of his vife's birth, or 
 something, or perhaps it vas her death. There 
 vas nothing wrong about them casks." 
 
 An axe w^as brought forward by order of the 
 master of the shij) and we broke the casks into 
 staves. They were perfectly empty, and if they 
 ever contained beer, they were pretty dry when 
 we demolished them. The man who gave the infor- 
 mation evidently concocted the story out of whole 
 cloth. He probably conceived the yarn as a joke 
 upon the officers of the ship. We all felt very
 
 INFORMERS ARE DANGEROUS 491 
 
 sheepish as we left the Pretoria, and I could not 
 heli3 thinking of Kipling and his friend Mulvaney, 
 who said, " 'Tis not for me to interfere wid your 
 a-moors." 
 
 On another occasion I was given the following 
 case to investigate. On one of the French Line 
 steamers there would be found a large consign- 
 ment of Dutch cheeses and that in the cheese con- 
 tained in case No. 1774 was secreted a large col- 
 lection of big diamonds. 
 
 There was no great trouble finding the case des- 
 ignated, and as there was quite an army of exam- 
 iners on the pier I borrowed one of the knives used 
 for samjDling and cut this particular cheese into 
 thin slices. The result was that we had to destroy 
 the best part of the consignment to make doubly 
 certain that everything was regular and that no 
 mistake had been made in cabling the case number. 
 
 AYe found neither diamonds nor anything else 
 that was precious, but the Government had to re- 
 imburse the owners of the Dutch importation. As 
 for the man who gave the ** information " to the 
 Government, he must be either suffering from 
 mental myopia, or was simply a hopeless, incor- 
 rigible and unmitigated story-teller. I am inclined 
 to the latter opinion. 
 
 Some "tourists" will betray their best friends 
 for the sake of a little gain. I recall an instance 
 which occurred in 1898. There was an undersized 
 chap named Jacobs, who came over in the steerage
 
 492 DEFRAUDING THE GOVERNMENT 
 
 of one of the Hamburg boats. I had seen him in 
 Antwerp several times and knew he was doing 
 business for a brother-in-law who was a diamond- 
 cutter in that city. It was about the time that con- 
 siderable attention was being paid to the coming 
 and going of steerage passengers, because the be- 
 lief prevailed that it was through this channel that 
 many smugglers used to travel. 
 
 Jacobs recognized me as he stepped from the 
 ship, and I called him over to where I was stand- 
 ing. I said to him: 
 
 "I want you to give me the jewelry and dia- 
 monds you have with you. ' ' 
 
 I had not the remotest idea that he was bringing 
 anything unlawfully into this country. It was a 
 mere guess on my part. He nearly struck me dumb 
 with astonishment when he pulled from his pocket 
 a package of pearls, which were immediately con- 
 fiscated and subsequently sold. 
 
 I thought I was through with Jacobs, but he 
 called at my home on January 17, 1901, and said 
 that he desired to lodge information against a 
 friend who was then coming to the country in the 
 steamer Campania. He told me that the man's 
 name was Joseph, that he was one of his best 
 friends, but that he wanted to make some money, 
 and that, while it was rough for Joseph, it was 
 still a business opportunity that he did not care 
 to lose. 
 
 This he told me as easily as molasses flows from
 
 INFORMERS ARE DANGEROUS 493 
 
 a spigot on a warm day in summer. He added that 
 he was leading an honest life and that in future 
 he wanted to be respectable. I never appreciated 
 the wisdom of the line, ''Ignominy thirsts for re- 
 spect," so thoroughly as then. I felt like kicking 
 him down the steps, but I had to do my duty, and 
 while I realized that his visit was as indigestible 
 as a doctor's bill after the death of his patient, I 
 had him make a statement in writing. 
 
 I gathered in Joseph when he came along, and 
 took Jacobs in charge, too, for safekeeping. We 
 made a complete search of both men, but nothing 
 dutiable was found. To this day I cannot under- 
 stand how a man even of the character of Jacobs 
 could attempt to deceive his best friend. In this 
 case Jacobs did not receive any reward and he lost 
 his friend. I can only attribute his conduct to the 
 love of gain. I know he was as greedy as a Rio 
 shark and less merciful. 
 
 I had no doubt, however, that Jacobs knew 
 whereof he spoke when he proclaimed that Joseph 
 was a smuggler. Joseph had told me that he was 
 not, that he was an honest man ; but, as I had had 
 my experiences with honestly dishonest people, I 
 looked upon what he said as mere chaff. To me 
 his promises were as valuable as an eggshell, and 
 I instinctively felt that his soul could find ample 
 space in a nutshell. 
 
 It was because of these convictions that I sent 
 to Europe a description of the man when, shortly
 
 494 DEFRAUDING THE GOVERNMENT 
 
 after, he returned to that side. I felt satisfied that 
 his trip here was an initiative one and that he 
 fully intended to return here, and no doubt bring 
 with him an importation of diamonds which he 
 would not legally declare. ^Tien he returned to 
 Liverpool he was shadowed from that city to Ant- 
 werp, thence to Paris, back to Antwerp and agaili 
 to Paris. 
 
 In the French capital the agent who was follow- 
 ing Joseph was taken ill with tj^i^hoid fever, and 
 before another agent could arrive upon the scene 
 to relieve him Joseph had disappeared, but not 
 until a number of valuable photographs of him 
 were taken by the agent and sent to this country 
 to show that the right man had been located and 
 jDhotographed without his knowledge. Joseph will 
 come along again, I imagine. Men of his calibre 
 usually become more courageous and less cautious. 
 Uncle Sam never sleeps.
 
 THE ANONYMOUS LETTER- WEITER 
 
 There is an unwritten law in the history of civ- 
 ilization that no attention should be paid to anony- 
 mous letter-writers. The average business man 
 makes short work of such correspondence. When 
 he receives a communication signed "Justice" or 
 ''Friend," or some other equally transparent cor- 
 respondence, warning him not to do this or that 
 or something else, he usually consigns the worth- 
 less and generally illegible ''document" to the con- 
 fines of a convenient waste-paper basket. 
 
 The Government invariably pays attention to 
 any anonymous letters that it receives, and in the 
 case of the Treasury Department these come by 
 the dozens every business day. All of the letters 
 are "investigated," and while in every ninety-nine 
 times out of the hundred nothing comes of them, 
 yet they are made the subjects of exhaustive in- 
 quiries both here and in Washington. 
 
 The majority of the letters touch upon smug- 
 glers and offer a wide scope to the imagination. 
 Some might be considered quite ludicrous if they 
 were not so seriously offered. Among those in the 
 service it is pretty generally known by whom many 
 
 495
 
 496 DEFRAUDING THE GOVERNMENT 
 
 of the letters are prepared and the purpose in 
 sending them to the authorities. In the majority 
 of cases the desire is revenge, but not a few are 
 intended as a means for a reward. 
 
 Partners who have quarreled have been known 
 to inform the Government of each other's weak- 
 nesses. Wives have "peached" ujDon their hus- 
 bands because they suspected them of wrongdoing. 
 A clerg;yTnan, high up in the circles of the church, 
 wrote an anonymous letter charging a pillar of his 
 church with being a professional smuggler. There 
 was not a word of truth in the statement, and the 
 minister afterwards admitted that he made the 
 accusation because the business man had criticised 
 one of his sermons. Business rivals, however, in- 
 dite the bulk of the "warnings" that are sent in 
 pen-and-ink sketches to the Treasury Department. 
 Here is one letter that occupied the attention of 
 five Treasury officials for six months : 
 
 Sept. 10, 1900. 
 To Whom It May Concern: 
 
 To-morrow the steamer Kensington, of the "Red Star line," 
 will arrive in New York from Antwerp. Sailed Sept. 1st 
 There is on board a man by the name of Max Carleton, a 
 Jew, who may now travel under an assumed name, as Carlton 
 is also an "alias." He is about 35 years of age, stout build, 
 medium height, dark eyes and hair, smooth, fat, round face. 
 When he left New York was not wearing mustache nor beard 
 of any kind, but he may have grown one since. Used to hang 
 
 around the Hotel, where, perhaps, he may be known. He 
 
 went to Europe, to buy a lot of diamonds which he intends to 
 smuggle in. Is clever, shrewd and tricky. 
 
 Look out
 
 ANONYMOUS LETTER-WRITER 497 
 
 With the exception that a man described as 
 above came in the Kensington as a passenger, 
 there was not an iota of truth in the letter, but it 
 took much time and money to discover that fact. 
 
 Equally shallow was the following "inside" in- 
 formation which an amateur Sherlock Holmes sup- 
 plied : 
 
 Brooklyn, N. Y., Nov. 8, 1899. 
 Mr. W. H. Theobald, 
 
 Care of Geo. R. Bidwell, Esq., 
 
 Collector of the Port of New York, 
 Custom House, New York City. 
 Dear Sir: 
 
 A few days ago I came to overhear a conversation between 
 two men, one of which was a neatly dressed Russian Hebrew 
 emigrant. 
 
 The latter boasted of having brought over to this country, 
 three or four weeks ago, a considerable quantity of jewelry 
 (diamond rings, watches, pearl-set chains, and last, not least, 
 four thousand carats of unset diamonds), and to have paid 
 duty but on a very small part of it. 
 
 On hearing this, I resolved not to lose sight of the man and 
 to follow him up. As a result of my subsequent tedious and 
 sagacious investigations I have since found out the following: 
 
 1. The man's name is " ." 
 
 2. He landed 3 or 4 weeks ago in the Harbor of New York 
 (by what line of steamers I could not find out). 
 
 3. After having for some time lived private in Delancy 
 Street, and being robbed there of 1,000 roubles and some jew- 
 elry, he moved to a hotel in Grand Street, N. Y. City. 
 
 4. He carries considerable jewelry on his person (in a 
 leather wallet), offering it for sale on any suitable occasion. 
 
 5. He has considerable jewelry at home. 
 
 6. But the main part of his importation, the 4,000 carats of 
 
 unset diamonds, are stored in the Bank, Grand Street 
 
 (East Side), where they emptied a whole safe for him, and 
 where he goes in and out all day. 
 
 Having acquired knowledge of all these facts, I fulfill my 
 duty as a citizen of this community by giving you, as the
 
 498 DEFRAUDING THE GOVERNMENT 
 
 proper authority, hereby information of my discovery for fur- 
 ther action. 
 
 I desire my name be Itept secret and to receive the full bene- 
 fit of such reward as may be provided by law or any Custom 
 House regulation for such information. 
 
 Very truly yours. 
 
 Until Nov. 30th at Street. 
 
 Thereafter at Street. 
 
 The subjoined is the contribution of a heart- 
 broken wife who was deserted by her husband. 
 This letter, like all the others, is reproduced with- 
 out any corrections or changes in construction. 
 The letter says : 
 
 Amsterdam, April 18, 1899. 
 Mr. Wm. H. Theobald. 
 
 Custom House, New York. 
 Dear Sir: 
 
 This is to advise you that Mr. and his mis- 
 tress, Mademoiselle , a French actress, will sail for 
 
 New York in a few days, either by the Lucania or the French 
 
 Line. I suppose Mr. will have some contraband diamonds. 
 
 and trust that a careful search on both of them will be re- 
 warded. Don't forget to look in the trunks or valises; the 
 stones may be concealed in the side pieces which carry the 
 loose frames. One Who Knows. 
 
 This is a protest from a professional ocean trav- 
 eler who had to pay biff duties on frocks and frills 
 which she brought in without making any declara- 
 tion. She says: 
 
 Mr. Theobald, United States Barge Office, New York: 
 
 You are a mean man. You took everything From me, and 
 
 there is & of No. — West Street that brought 
 
 in Forty dresses and paid no duties. Nab them. . 
 
 The "Honest Citizen" and "Patriotic Ameri-
 
 ANONYMOUS LETTER-WRITER 499 
 
 can" are star performers in the writing of these 
 letters, and one of these patriots became so dis- 
 gusted with a smuggler that he wrote the follow- 
 ing instructive letter to Uncle Billy : 
 
 Antwebp, 3, 8, '99. 
 W. H. Theobald, 
 
 Costum House, New York. , 
 
 Via England. 
 
 N. Y. North America. 
 
 On board of the Red Star Steamer Kensington is a person 
 on board with some bottles with Essence to make some liquor 
 
 in America, his name is or the , something like 
 
 that he come from Beveran waas Belgium and is going to 
 Seattle, Wash. He like to smuggle that stof, for a person from 
 
 Seattle by name , that person make some liquor 
 
 himself without to pay license for it, that person Mr. is 
 
 a saloonkeeper in Seattle, and make all different drinks in 
 liquor without to pay license. When some people come to 
 America they bring some stof along for him to make it. 
 
 Yours truly, 
 
 ONE America N. 
 
 The writer of the next letter must have gone to 
 the same school that "one American" graduated 
 from. He has this to say about a neighbor : 
 
 New York, 7, 19, 1900. 
 Mr. Wm. H. Theobald, 
 
 Dear Sir: I think it is my duty to inform you, that the 
 
 Violinmaker Mr. of Third Avenue near 55555 (55th?) 
 
 Street, Manhattan went to Germany to buy some old valuable 
 Italian Violins and other musical instruments. He will with 
 the help of the stuarts try to get them in without paying duty. 
 He did the same last year when his wife was in Germany. She 
 brought several old Violins along without paying duty. Most 
 of his Stock he gets this way, as a part of the Stuarts are 
 musicians and he is well acquainted with them. Chances are 
 that he himself went as Stuart to save expenses. I hope this 
 information will help you. A Businessman.
 
 500 DEFRAUDING THE GOVERNMENT 
 
 The next letter is from a journalist of the old 
 French school, who wanted to do some traveling 
 at the expense of the solid taxpayers of the United 
 States, but the authorities did not i^lace much faith 
 in his promises. In his two letters the journalist 
 remarks : 
 
 Dear Sir: 
 
 I enclose you an envelope with my address. Send me your 
 answer as soon as possible this afternoon. I will get it in 
 Nyack to-night or to-morrow morning and will immediately 
 come to New York to see you. 
 
 To deliver you this gang which rob United States of thou- 
 sands of dollars each year. I only want two things. 1st. My 
 ticket to Montreal and back. 2nd. My passage to Europe by 
 way of the Azores Isles. I do not want money. You will pay 
 me tclieii the gang is in your hands. You will get it this after- 
 noon. Do not fail to send me your answer quickly. If you 
 do so I will have the gang in your hands in 4 weeks. They 
 are 2 men and 1 woman and they smuggle by ways you are 
 not at all suspicious. Truly yours, 
 
 The following is by the same writer as above : 
 
 New York, 26th September, 1900. 
 Dear Sir: 
 
 I would like to have an interview with you about smuggling 
 jewellery here. I am up to a scheme which, when found out, 
 will prove you that I can be of great utility to you. I am 
 French — 31 j'ears and about 6 months here in United States. 
 Since 1894 I have come here about twice a year and am thor- 
 oughly acquainted with United States, knowing it from New 
 York to Rocky Mountains and from New Orleans 1o Duluth. 
 My last travel I went back from New York to Paris in March. 
 I found my clue when I was in Paris in June. I came back 
 here in July and I have in view a gang which have extraor- 
 dinary successful. Now I propose to enter your service, I 
 do not ask to be paid. The only thing I ask is to have free 
 transportation when I am in United States and free trans-
 
 ANONYMOUS LETTER- WRITER 501 
 
 portation on the Ocean steamers — that's all — you will pay me 
 when the smugglers are caught. I speak and write the Span- 
 ish language thoroughly that's how I came on to find out that 
 smuggling scheme. Now I will tell you that I come here twice 
 a year for two things. 1st. I am a journalist. I write on 
 International politics in the French newspapers — I wrute too 
 the Spirit of Times on the French running and trotting races. 
 2nd. I buy here trotters to export to Europe. I have done 
 these two business for 6 years. I am waiting to see if I can 
 see you. Yours truly, 
 
 (Signed) . 
 
 The would-be informer, who is a true-blooded 
 American, and who knows the English language 
 only as a landlubber knows the ship 's ropes, is the 
 author of this important document : 
 
 Sir: I am araerican Citizen and I will do not the other 
 Stranges peoples Cheat us My duty Me oblige to let you know 
 which Cheater the U. S. by Secret Contraband the man is it 
 cne Syrien have one store and one other store in Mon- 
 treal Canada. This man make her Business in this Way. he 
 order her goods to come from Paris france to Montreal Can- 
 ada and ther he pay duty Very Cheap and then he express her 
 goods to the boarderings of the untied States and then he 
 took the Said goods and giving to the Cariage Man and the 
 Cariag Man in the nighte time he Carry them With other dif- 
 ferent things eggs and other things lik that in many Barrel 
 and the goods Mixed With Them So the goods entre in united 
 States in the Way of the desert. 
 
 respectfully yours truly, 
 
 AMERICAN Brother in land. 
 
 Another honest citizen who could not bear to 
 see the Government robbed was responsible for 
 the following communication : 
 
 New York, July 17, 1900. 
 Mr. Wm. H. Theobald, 
 
 Sir: I beg to let you know that a man by the name of — —
 
 502 DEFRAUDING THE GOVERNMENT 
 
 something as a steward or chief waiter or an employe for the 
 
 steerage passengers on board the French steamer will 
 
 arrived next Sunday. If you observe the man you will have 
 the better case of smuggling ever known in the United States 
 in regard to jewellery, diamonds and everything. It may be 
 that the man does not desembark the day of his arrival the 
 said things as he is rather clever or used the service of an 
 accomplice woman now in New York who will visit him on 
 board, or a man. The man is about 40 years old and known 
 on the pier 42. A Good Citizen. 
 
 The next letter was sent to the Government 
 through a special messenger, who made a journey 
 of several hundred miles to see that it fell into 
 proper hands. It was written on church paper, 
 and says : 
 
 Mr. , of Omaha. In Europe buying Diamonds has his 
 
 ladies friends from Omaha bring them through the costum 
 expected back latter part September from hamburgh likely 
 will have Mrs. from Omaha bring them. Justice. 
 
 It does not require the services of a mind-reader 
 to discover the purpose of the next letter. It was 
 written by a woman, and told as plainly as though 
 stamped across its face that the author had at 
 least a speaking acquaintance with "the legiti- 
 mate wife and three children" mentioned in the 
 communication, which is here attached : 
 
 Superintendent of Custom House: 
 
 Very important to read for the Officials of the Custom House. 
 
 Allow me to call your attention to the arrival here of one 
 
 Mr. , calling himself Brown also: — who lived lately 
 
 in London No. . This man in arriving was the bearer 
 
 of a quantity of smuggled jewels and diamonds. In fact he 
 had gone to Europe with the avowed object of smuggling 
 goods on his return.
 
 ANONYMOUS LETTER-WRITER 503 
 
 Ttfe man is a Swindler and a cunning Scoundrel speaking 
 all languages but born in Germany. He came in this country 
 for the first time about 3 years ago, with a woman of bad 
 repute for which he has left his own legitimate wife and three 
 children in the most abject misery in Belgium. He has lived 
 
 here about two years in New York at where the 
 
 woman he was living with was shunned by all honest people. 
 
 She calls herself by the name of . This man has then 
 
 gone to Europe with the purpose of bringing back here another 
 poor woman to be delivered to a life of shame and live him- 
 self by that shameful trade, and in the same time to smuggle 
 in all he could. He has arrived here Thursday the 21st inst. 
 coming probably from London but he had sojourned before 
 that at Brussels and Paris. He bragged in arriving here to 
 have well succeeded on either side of the Ocean. I cannot 
 give his exact address but he can be found frequently at a 
 
 man named , . This latter man being 
 
 his best friend and also a Jeweler of his trade. These two 
 individuals should be watched for many reasons, those espe- 
 cially concerning the Customs House. There are many jewels 
 yet in their possession. Accept my salutations. P. S. — If later 
 I find out the address of the man I will communicate it to you. 
 
 Nor is there much mystery as to the identity of 
 the writer of the following, which shows in every 
 line of it the spite of a business rival : 
 
 St. Olyshouse, Canada, Oct. 30th, 1899. 
 Customs Officials, 
 
 New York. 
 Dear Sir: 
 
 Hereby I let you know that Mr. of has gone 
 
 to Belgium, to buy goods for himself, and his brothers, who 
 are tailors, to buy goods and defraud the Government of Du- 
 ties by hiding said goods in coarse sacks, which themselves 
 would be enveloped in worthless bed blankets, passing thus 
 as undutiable bedding goods. For the last three years, they 
 have thus imported more than $500 worth of material and did 
 not pay a cent of Duties and not even the freight, as they 
 were many and divided the baggage in such a way that no 
 attention was paid to them by the Customs officials (the same 
 being concealed in bed spread, while inside valuable goods
 
 504 DEFRAUDING THE GOVERNMENT 
 
 were hidden. Moreover, the parties above mentioned, are in- 
 ducing travellers taking the same route to help them uncon- 
 sciously by assuming the ownership of such "Goods Stuffed" cov- 
 erlids, which, after passing the Customs, unnoticed are turned 
 over to the smugglers. These smuggled goods are so well ar- 
 ranged that it is difficult to detect the fraud, unless warned. 
 The above mentioned party has started for Belgium, about 
 the middle of October to buy about one thousand dollars' 
 worth of goods and has a return ticket, which implies that 
 he intends to return shortly. Besides he receives a dollar a 
 day from a Cattle dealer to feed the animals on board (which 
 is no doubt a blind). He may return immediately, or may 
 delay a few months. He is a short man, about 30 years of 
 age. He has the intention to continue smuggling, if success 
 attend his ventures, and to enlarge upon the business. He 
 and his brothers are now selling goods under cost. I hope 
 you will do your best to Seize the coming goods, and notify 
 the other Custom Houses, where the goods might be smuggled 
 in, as I am not certain which way he may come back. 
 
 Yours truly. 
 
 A reputable druggist sent the subjoined letter 
 and afterwards told the officials that the man in 
 question used to make forty thousand dollars a 
 year bringing stuff unlawfully into the country. 
 When asked to go on the stand and testify in the 
 event of the man's arrest he refused to do so. The 
 letter reads : 
 
 Mr. Wii.ltam Theohald. 
 
 Care Custom House, New York. 
 Dear Sir: 
 
 A Hebrew named that has gone abroad on a regular 
 
 trip to buy contraband goods in Europe. 
 
 The goods will probably be taken into port in disf/uise. They 
 are rubber goods. They will come in the shape of candies, 
 cigarettes, or perhaps of some new devise to fool the Customs 
 officers. 
 
 Watch for him in about 5 — 6 weeks. He will then return.
 
 ANONYMOUS LETTER- WRITER 505 
 
 Mr. B. the good friend of his, does the dirty work of helping 
 him smuggle in the goods in some strange guise. An ap- 
 praiser must be involved to get them through, as their false 
 invoices are notorious. Look out for B.'s work. He may clear 
 goods for him before he returns himself. Certainly look out 
 for any goods consigned to 
 
 Avenue, Druggist. 
 
 either his name or his address, as they may be consigned to 
 a fictitious name. I think he has left here on the Steamer 
 "Grosser Kurfirst." 
 
 Confidentially yours. 
 
 The four letters which follow are more to the 
 point, and in each instance are known to have been 
 written by those who were financially hurt by the 
 persons of whom they complained. The letters 
 are given without further introduction : 
 
 Rotterdam, June 26, 1900. 
 William H. Theobald, Esq., 
 
 New York Custom House, New York. 
 Dear Sir: 
 
 I must call your attention to the following facts, that the 
 
 house of & Sons of Rotterdam sends chemical scales and 
 
 balances to Messrs. & Co., Ltd., No. — East Street, 
 
 New York, that they enclose insides the glass balance cases 
 
 diamonds, that they sent with last steamer named 11 
 
 cases, marked 
 
 Note. — (Here is drawn a diagram showing the style of 
 marking.) 
 
 Containing Chemical Balances and weights that somewheres 
 must be enclosed a couple of Brazilian diamonds in a small 
 paper box it will be well for you to investigate this business 
 thoroughly formerly they have packed them along with Riders 
 in a paper box also insides the slides of the Mahogany cases 
 where the windows go up. The value of the diamonds is Fl. 
 323,40 fiorins. Anonymous.
 
 506 DEFRAUDING THE GOVERNMENT 
 
 New York, June 27th. 1900. 
 Mr. W.Ar. H. Theorai.d. 
 
 New York. 
 Dear Sir: 
 
 I will call your attention to the fact that a party of ladies' 
 tailors left for Paris on the Auguste Victoria, the 2l3t inst. 
 with the intention to import Triraminfjs for Dress Makers' 
 purposes and also Jewels. They have taken their wives with 
 them for that purpose. As a citizen of the U. .S'., I will call 
 jour attention again to keep a close watch on these people 
 as they will return the latter part of August with the same 
 Steamer Auguste Victoria. The name of the Ladies' Tailors 
 are as follows: 
 
 (Here is given a list of five well-known ladies' tailors.) 
 Yours very respectfully. 
 
 This letter is sent from . 
 
 Mr. Wu. H. Theobald, New York, July 10, 1900. 
 
 New York City. 
 Dear Sir: 
 
 I will call your attention that a small store does business in 
 
 diamonds under the name of Bros., at No. Avenue, 
 
 and their business consists in smuggling Diamonds from Eu- 
 roi)e to this country, being an American citizen and believe 
 that this kind of transaction ruins other business men, I call 
 your attention, to the fact that one of these brothers, Mr. John 
 
 went abroad with a family of the name of , with the 
 
 intention of smuggling $50,000 worth of diamonds. 
 
 Trusting you will give this your attention, I remain. 
 
 Respectfully, 
 
 P. S. — The cities they will visit is Paris Antwerp, and to 
 allude the Custom House here, they may return through 
 Canada. 
 
 Sir: Mr. and Mr. are in this city with the Hope 
 
 Collection of paintings, purchased by them in England. They 
 have been bought at very low prices, and entered in the Cus- 
 tom House very low. In that way, they will defraud the U. S. 
 Government of considerable duties. If you will look into this 
 matter, you will find much truth in it. 
 
 Yours resp'y, One Who Know.s.
 
 ANONYMOUS LETTER-WRITER 507 
 
 It must not be inferred from the above batch 
 of correspondence that everybody who writes to 
 the department or to the Custom House is abso- 
 hitely reliable as to facts. The number of letters 
 that come from persons of peculiar ideas and 
 minds are many. Here is a sample from Colorado : 
 
 Denver, Col., Nov. 13, 1900. 
 Mr. Theobald, 
 
 Special Treasury Agent, 
 
 New York City. 
 Dear Sir: 
 
 The diamonds belonging to the Maximilian and Carlotta 
 crown and necklace, etc., belong to me. I am Sherman's 
 daughter of the (War history) of 1860 — and I am to-day as 
 I was then, the President of the United States. Preserve those 
 diamonds as the government owes me something for past 
 impertinence. Yours very truly, 
 
 Miss M. E. K., 
 
 Post Office Box , 
 
 Denver, Colorado. 
 Supreme Court of the United States. 
 
 During September of 1901 an old lady, very 
 neatly attired and, from all appearances, quite 
 respectable, called at the Custom House and 
 showed me a letter signed by one of our deputy 
 collectors who held office in 1861, recommending 
 her to the Appraiser of the Port. This old lady 
 wrote fully fifty letters and mailed them to me 
 within the first month after we met. In the ma- 
 jority of them she called my attention to the claim 
 that she had in her possession a number of letters 
 signed by the Pope; that this high dignitary had 
 sent her a barrel of diamonds in 1861, that they
 
 508 DEFRAUDING THE GOVERNMENT 
 
 were fraudulently withheld in the Custom House, 
 and that while she had made many efforts to re- 
 cover them during the many intervening years, 
 she had not been successful. 
 
 I doubt very much that the aged woman will 
 ever get them, but she evidently has not given up 
 hope, for her letters come as regularly as the din- 
 ner-hour. The correspondents of the Government 
 are certainly persistent, if not altogether truthful 
 and accurate, and personally I am of the opinion 
 that there is frequently more sense in what the in- 
 sane ones write than is contained in the pen efforts 
 of many others. 
 
 THE END 
 
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