WOMEN SMUGGLERS.

Taranaki Daily News, 23 August 1930, Page 22 (Supplement)

WOMEN SMUGGLERS.

BARGAIN-HUNTING INSTINCT. (By Compton (Tames.) Some women smuggle as naturally aS thev powder their faces. Usually they confine their attentions to purely . feminine articles, but. as a recent case in the courts proved, they are not .- averse to running a cargo of wme when ’Sits —«*» - rr ““' 7 - the desire arises partly out of the bar* sain-huntina instinct. After finding a wreat bargain abroad, ■ it comes very , hard to pay heavy duty, wly.ch will make the “bargain” no bargain at all but a very expensive purchase, b utile to quote its ridiculous price to admit*, hm friends, when the later admission of heavy duty has to be made.. Ihe possrbilities of getting the article through, the Customs are tentatively weighed. ’ Women .smugglers , rely very considerably on their sex. Bright eyes and an appealing smile will, they think, distract the official’s attention. jhey forget that Customs men are proof against feminine charms. They may be susceptible in their first year of service, but after that, they become callous. Then a»ain, the smugglers think, men are so stunid. It will be perfectly epsy to fool them at tho port. Only nebes-. sary to assume an air of candour and frankness, and they will chalk the lug< ga-e without looking at it. Unfortunately, the douaniers invariably look inside the suiteases of all women who are refreshingly candid and frank. They know that open countenance,, that disarming smile, as well as they know) their A.B.C. , , . And, of course, runs the smuggler 9 train of thought, if I am caught,, the punishment is only a finej Everybody, concedes that there is nothing shameful in dodging Customs duty, any mor®, than there is in cheating the railway 01$ avoiding income tax. In smuggling, a in other things, there is all the difference in the world between success and failure. In court, after tho magistrate has delivered certain cutting remarks,. ■ the opinion that there is nothing shameful in smuggling is felled to the ground, and the smugglercss feels herself to be a very shameful creature indeed. It would be very unfashionable 0' leave the dejected -woman smuggler without a little comforting psychoanalysis. Women smugglers are not wholly responsible for their crimes. The prime cause is their subjection to' laws which they did not help to make. For centuries women have never appreciated the relation of public business to -private affairs. They have regarded all laws as silly,- and no. Ja.wt as affecting . them personally. This ■ attitude win change gradually. When women bocome fully conscious of their new position and its attendant responsibilities, thev will begin to have more respect for the, law. ‘ f