CARGO THIEVES.

Taranaki Daily News, 16 July 1919, Page 3

CARGO THIEVES.

PLUNDER AS A FINE ART. SAN r FRANCISCO'S ORGANISED GANGS. The extent to which Australianbound ships are pillaged at San Francisco is extraordinary. During the past twelve months many vessels, steam and sail, have, on arrival at Sydney, discharged cases of rubbish, which, according to the manifest, should have been high-class goods. Tho ease of one vessel, the Juteopolis, says The Sun, is a typical one.

Captain Atkinson shipped aboard the Juteopolis at San Francisco were supposed to be cases of revolvers and pislals. The cases came intact from the warehouse, and from tiie time they reached the loading berth until they were tallied into the hold of the Jutcopolis there was no sign of them having been tampered with. The cases were stowed right !in the bottom of the ship, in such a way that it would have been impossible for anyone on the barque to have reached themOn arrival at Sydney, when the unloading operations had been commenced, it was found that some of the caßes were light, and the master and consignees thereupon made an investigation. The cases which should have contained the firearms were first opened. To the surprise of the captain it was discovered that the cases were empty, thieves having evidently completed their job before the cargo w"ent to the Juteopolis. '\San Francisco is easily the worst port in the world for thieving," said Captain Anderson. "There is more cargo lost there than in any other that I know of. One sailing vessel which loaded there recently lost £OOOO worth of cargo. In fact, almost every ship which comes out of San Francisco lias heavy liabilities to meet' after the thieving gang, which is organised, has finished sending out the goods."

SYSTEMATIC ROBBERY. Captain Atkinson's experiences are similar to those of other shipmasters which trade down the Pacific Slope. Generally speaking, the belief of shipping men is that thefts from ships at American ports are carried out by one of the best organised gangs on the waterfront. It seems that the plan is for the robbery to take place between the time the goods are earmarked for shipment and the finishing of the packing. Evidenco bearing this out was found in the case of the Juteopolis. The trick is not considered a new one, but it 13 carried out in such an audacious manner that even the superintendents of loading do not detect any tiling wrong. In the case where a package is shown on the manifest as weighing, say, half a ton, sand or rubbish is substituted for the original contents. In this way hundreds of ton 3 of cargo space is yearly lost.

CASE AT MAURITIUS. Even in Mauritius the natives have learnt the art of "handling" cargo. One of the most daring attempts on record there was in connection with Howard Smith's Cycle. The vessel loaded at Sydney a shipment of flour and a fencases of leather goods. The flour was to bo discharged at Mauritius and the other stuff was to go on by the vessel. The leather goods happened to be stowed almost on the bottom of the ship, and were surrounded by bags of Hour. The second officer went below and watched tho loading of the slings, keeping an eye on the laborers all the time. When the Mauritius section of the flour had been unloaded, some re-stowing of cargo was necessary, and the leather goods had to be shifted. It was found that one case was missing. All aboard the ship and on the wharf were positive that it had not been put ashore. The master then ordered a search below. In the hold where the flour was stacked there was nothing to indicate that the cargo had been disturbed since leaving Sydney, but the curiosity of one of the officers caused him to mill down one tier of the bags. To his surprise the case of leather goods was found stowed right in the centre of fhe stack. It was afterward)? learnt that the coolies had planted it there, intending to get it off at night time.

£30,000 IN A NIGHT One of the biggest robberies on record was tho loss of a full shipment of silk from one of the E. and A. Company's boats in HongETmg Harbor before the war. The vessel had as cargo £30,000 worth of silk. The stuff, when it went abroad, was carefully locked away, as is always done with silk, but one night pirates raided the ship unseen, and got away with the whole of the consignment. At that time Hongkong, with its hands of pirates, provided many stories of big robberies. .

Thieving from vessels in Sydney Harbor has grown to such an extent that the Sydney Chamber of Commerce has had to appoint a cargo vigilance committee, which will be entrusted with the task of finding ways and means to combat the broachers. Whether this move will meet with success remains to be seen. The belief on the waterfront is that as long as ships are afloat there will be organised thieving from cargoes.