Democratic Sentinel, Volume 19, Number 16, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 26 April 1895 — A Smuggling Scientist. [ARTICLE]

A Smuggling Scientist.

A Berlin periodical has the following: In 1805 Humboldt and Guy Lussac met in Paris to pursue their investigations as to the compression of air. The two men of science found it necessary to obtain a large number of glass tubes. These were very dear in France at the time, and the enormously high* duty forbade their introduction from abroad. But Humboldt was nothing daunted. He ordered the tubes from a German glass works, and instructed the manufacturer to close them up at both ends and affix to each a label with these words, “Deutsche Luft’’ (German air). The air of Germany was an article which did not appear in the tariff, and the custom house officials allowed the tubes to pass, and they were thus delivered free of duty into the hands of the two men of science.