The Great Seattle Opium Double-Cross

Victoria, Feb. 16—An interesting case will come up in the police court tomorrow morning, when the parties to a recent opium smuggling case will be disclosed. The suit is one in which criminal process is being used for the purpose of recovering a civil debt. Baker, the man who recently sent over $1,500 worth of opium to Seattle, sues smuggler Davis and Clarence Lane, to whom he entrusted the dope, for recovery of that amount. He alleges that what he gave the men was genuine opium, and not the molasses and sawdust compound which was seized by the customs officers in Seattle. The claim is that the stuff which was seized was substituted for the opium, and the genuine article converted into cash, which was not paid to the owners. Readers of the Post-Intelligencer will remember how, a few weeks ago, Chief of Police Myers and Deputy Collector of Customs McKenzie chased half the night after a young man from Victoria with a trunk. He went from one lodging-house to another, engaging a room at each place, but remaining only a short time. Finally the trunk, but not its owner, was found in the Brooklyn lodging-house. Instead of opium, however, the trunk was found to contain molasses and sawdust, and it was thought that the Victoria Chinese had swindled another unsophisticated white man. Later it was learned that Clarence Lane was merely a decoy, and that he had drawn the officers from the trail while a quantity of opium was sent through the city. Now it seems that Lane and his partner swindled their employer.