Omaha daily bee., 1919-02-09
WHISKY RUNNERS
May USE PLANES
|. TO DEFEAT Law

Calleu Slin4 KICK, Kid, anC
"Flatty." so long and so exclusively
that they, themselves, have forgot
ten their real patromynics.
Who is Earl7
At present there is a question as
to whether Earl Beaver is Ear
DeaverP or Earl Billingsley," anc
It would take final decision of the
supreme court to arrive anywhere
near the fact.
One of the proposed laws also
provides that the names of all per.
sons violating the prohibitory laws
OF the state be filed with the COVER
nor and be made a matter of record
What number of comparatively in
nocent but adventurous persons
would be caught in the nett There
are respectable citizens of the state
OF Nebraska who violate the pres
ent prohibitory law in the same
spirit that small boy robs a water
melon patch If he is caught he
will pay the penalty with the same
sheepish, shamefaced grin that a
boy wears when found in mische-
vlous act. There is no lasting dis
@grace to it for it will soon be for
gotten. But the cold, implaeable,
stern perpetuating of his name as a
criminals in printed letters on inn
perishable records for his posterity
to see is punishment too dreadful
to contemplate. It has awful posi-
bilities for the future and is a ire
mendous possibility for pressure in
political blackmail in the present.
Barricade Roads.
Another law makes it legal for
the booze hounds to erect barriers
OF planks, boards, ropes, chains and
other traps across a road as a
means of capturing bootleggers. 1t
will be only necessary for them to
suspect an approaching car of being
part Of the bootlegging feet, to place
their barrier across the highway,
and, if necessary, hurl the occupants
into eternity. II is true innocent
persons might be manned or killed
in the process and their property
wrecked beyond repair, but if the
person or persons survive the ex-
perience he or she can have the sat-
isfaction of receiving an apology
from the "s1euths," in the way of,
Excuse me, please Pm sorry /
broke your leg, dislocated your
neck, and have torn off a yard or
two of your epidermis and have shed
a few pints of your blood, as well
as wrecked your car, but thought
you were a bootlegger."
Another law makes the govern
or custodian of all the contraband
liquor sliced as we'll as of all the
cars used for transportation that are
captured. The reason for this is
that former experience with the
"booze hounds" must have shown
that they could no more be trusted
with "hard licker," than the average
man. 1t has been shown that only
enough is saved for evidence, all
the rest fades away-simply evap-
crates. Samuel Roy McKelvie is a
safe man to trust it with but he will
certainly have multitude cultivat-
ing his intimate friendship when
he becomes grand keeper and Off
cial custodian of the booze.
This class of legislation is new
thing.
England, and other European
countries, since commerce began,
made the crime of smuggling, which
is nothing more than "bootlegging,"
one of special turpitude.
Under the maritime laws of Brit
ain at the beginning of the past CEN
fury the snuggler could be caught
and hung out Of hand.
No Jury Trials.
There was no trial by jury, not
even drumhead court-martial
provided by the magma charta or
military law for his benefit. If he
was unfortunate enough to be cap
tured, he was simply escorted to the
bow of the ship, fitted with rope
halter and swung off the yard arm
without even the solace of a God
rest your SOUL" from the chaplain
or the ships cook.
Of course the Nebraska legisla-
ture will not 60 to this extreme of
frightfulness in regard to the boot
logger, but it will make him a SUI
percriminal, if the laws proposed
are passed. And the bootlegger, as
a result will gain a reputation for
daring and a glamour of pictur-
sequences that will make him mod
ern Robin Hood, Jean Lafitte, Cap
tain Kidd or even Jesse James. The
hero of boyish imagination of the
future is logically a bootlegger
who may bear the monicker Of
whisky Jack"
Gus Hyers, chief booze hound
of the commonwealth of Nebraska,
seems to be student of Napoleon
ic history, especially of that part
which relates to the efficiency of
the secret police of the "first EN-
pire" established by Marshal |
Fouche. Through the Machivellian |
plots Of Touches agents, members
Of families were set as spies upon |
one another and the most terrible |
institution of espionage in the his
tory of the world was established
by him.
Tipped Off to Bootleggers.
Gus is trying out some of these |
methods. A number of arrests
caused by his department results !
from information conveyed by
neighbors who tip the department
off to the fact that a certain party
in certain rural neighborhood has
made a trip to St. Joseph or to
Kansas City on a certain day for
the stuff that cheers and inebriates
and is expected to return on an
other certain day. Hyer's booze
hounds. putting two and two to-
gether generally capture the man
with the goods.
How we'll he is organizing his
department is illustrated by the |