The Steamer That Smuggled Opium in Sauerkraut Barrels

The steamer Walla Walla arrived at Seattle at 6 o'clock last evening from Port Townsend on her return from Vancouver where she had been on her regular run. The Walla Walla, as will be remembered, gave bonds to the custom house authorities at Port Townsend last Saturday that she would return by 10 o'clock Monday afternoon. The vessel was back in time and the bonds released, but the steamer was placed suddenly in the hands of a deputy United States marshal and she was allowed to proceed to Seattle without any effort at defense being made. It is understood that the vessel will today be libeled by United States Attorney White on a charge of being engaged in the smuggling trade.

One penalty of conviction of her owners or their agents on this charge, if proven, is confiscation of the vessel.

Maj. H. Mitchell, division superintendent of the Pacific Coast Steamship Company, was seen last night in reference to the charge against the vessel, and he said:

"A technical defense it is charged that the Walla Walla has been engaged in the smuggling business, in this manner: On Tacoma on February 12, she brought two barrels marked 'sauerkraut,' which really contained opium, consigned to J. Light at Ellensburg; and on her arrival of February 15 she brought three barrels marked 'skid grease,' containing in reality opium, consigned to H. Dark, Ellensburg. These were regularly shipped from San Francisco to Ellensburg, but they were located on the Oregon Railway Navigation Company's dock at Tacoma, two weeks after their arrival. These consignments appeared regularly on our freight manifest, but they were not on the coastwise manifest, and that, it seems, is what the charge is on."

"The fact that these two barrels of sauerkraut and three barrels of skid grease did not appear on the coastwise manifest is easily explained. The custom house authorities had never enforced the law requiring all articles of freight consigned from San Francisco to Puget Sound points, and on which there is no duty, to appear on this manifest, which you know is the one required to be kept by the captain of the vessel at the custom house on arrival at the port of entry; consequently, officers of all vessels have never made full returns on their manifest, and the customs authorities knew it. I have myself seen in the custom house at Port Townsend manifests containing the names of only about a half dozen consignees, when I know the vessel had had a full cargo, and so did the authorities. But nothing was said about it, because the law was practically of no utility, and its enforcement would be of no benefit."

"I don't see how the authorities expect to couple the company or its agents with the smuggling business. They said at first that these barrels had been shipped from Victoria, and then from Vancouver, but our freight manifest shows that they were from San Francisco, since the barrels were on the wharf at Vancouver two weeks after their arrival; why couldn't their contents have been changed? Every package that is shipped from San Francisco on our steamers might be opium for all we know. We have no right to break open the heads of every barrel of sauerkraut or skid grease that comes on board to see what it contains."

"We don't object to our vessel being libeled, because we have no fear of the outcome of the case, but we do object to the interference of our legitimate traffic, and the consequent inconvenience to our patrons. We expect, however, to give bonds for the return of the Walla Walla when she is needed, and we will make our usual trips."