At one time there was some hope that the men might submit the whole matter to arbitration, but this seems doubtful.
Another report about the use of the X rays in the French Custom-House has reached us.
This time the rays were applied to thirty packages which had arrived by parcels-post. It took but fifteen minutes to examine the whole of these packets, and their contents were discovered without the necessity of breaking a seal or untying a string.
The amusing part of the story is that the thirty persons to whom the parcels were addressed had been asked by the officers if there was anything dutiable in them, and all had replied in the negative.
The confusion and trouble were therefore great when forbidden articles were found in twenty-seven out of the thirty packets.
The French officials are very strict about such matters, and enforce heavy fines for attempting to bring things into their country without paying duty on them.
The senders had had no idea that the X rays would be used on the packages, and had arranged them so that on opening they would appear to contain nothing dutiable.
One basket was labelled fruit. Had it been opened in the ordinary way the officers would have found nothing but apricots and plums, unless they went to the trouble of emptying the whole basket out—a thing that is seldom done. When the X rays got to work on this packet a pair of patent-leather shoes was revealed, hidden away amongst the fruit.
Another bundle was labelled, "Specimens of clothing—without value."