The sun., 1919-11-02
.BoOTLEGGERS KEEP
OLD TOPERS HAPPY
Are Doing Big House to House
Trade and POrter's Men
Can't Get En-.
SALOONS ARE SAHARAS'
Only Four Summonses in Last,
"a Hours-Ruppert Starts
Injunction.

Bootlegging is already a thriving in
dustry in dry New York. Saloon keep
ers and restaurants are obeying the
new law with lamblke docility. but the
festive bootlegger fits from house to
house and does a roaring business.
Federal officials charged with enforce
nent of the Volstead act admitted this
yesterday and at the same time con-
fessed inability to catch Mr.. Bootlegger
by the heel.
Secret traffic in hard liquor was de-
veloping rapidly even before Congress
OVERRIDE the Presidents veto OF the
wartime enforcement act. and since that
time IL has increased remarkably
L. Every neighborhood Is literally infested
with furtive agents of dealers that hold
considerable supply of whiskey,' wines
and beer. These runners have "A neigh
borhood list of families or individuals that
formerly patronized retail liquor stores
Their method is to call in person upon
prospective patrons, give the price list
OF booze and take orders They refuse
to do business by phone or by mail
They will sell only by personal order
and the stuff is delivered, disguised
nowadays as unsuspicionable parcels
after nightfall.
The prices quoted by these neighbor-
hood bootleggers average Sc a quart for
Vhskey of indifferent quality, so cents
10 81 for California claret already turn
iEg to vinegar Gas many householders
have discovered to their chagrin) and
81 to IS a quart for a poor quality of
gin. Nevertheless, the runners are TAX
ing more orders than their employers
care to FL In several cases runners
nave informed customers that the orders
must be limited to quart of whiskey
a week. a case of claret or a case of
beer.
BootIcggers Move Fast.
Revenue agents can get at Offend
Ing saloon keepers and restaurant keep
ers. Such dealers are fixed and sta
tionary. But the bootlegger is always
On the move, cannot be spotted by phone
or mail espionage and has the advantage
of possessing customers that cannot be
located to his undoing. This condition
of affairs was predicted long before the
war time prohibition act went into ef
feet on July 1 last, but bootlegging has
grown to proportions that were not an
ticipated even then.
The question, Where is the stuff COM
ing from?" is answered by two facts:
That many dealers with large stocks
they were unable to dispose OF when
they were forced out of business are
still selling surreptitiously or else they
have privately disposed of barrels of
whiskey, cases of wine and cases Of
beer to persons eager to profit by law
violation, and that a good deal of moon
shine whiskey is being made in New
York despite denials by revenue officials.
"Moonshne" Is not the word to use, be-
cause moonshine whiskey, though new
and raw, is decent liquor compared to
q great deal Of the poison that has
been distributed here in the past few
months.
Revenue officials In Brooklyn began
an investigation yesterday of reports
that certain drug stores in that borough
are compromising alcoholic beverages
and selling them to well known Gus
toners. and search is being made for
a dlspensary suspected of selling a
liquor containing wood alcohol. A man
not yet identified by the police was
picked up at Flushing avenue and
Broadway. Brooklyn, yesterday and
taken in an unconscious condition to the
Williamsburg Hospital. The doctors
found he was suffering from wood al
cohol poisoning. There had been indi-
cations for some time that good deal
Of liquor containing poisonous alcohol
was in circulation in the borough across
the East River
Three SummOnses Issued.
30 far as the saloon and restaurant
keepers were concerned there were just
three summonses issued in the past
twenty -four hours that charged violation
Of the Volstead act Two saloon keepers
In Manhattan and one in Long Island
City were served by revenue agents. One
of the Manhattan publicans had bottle
of Yarmouth behind his bar and the
other was selling 2.75 beer, so the agents
made affidavit. The Long Island City
victim also was selling war beer.
Harry w. Mayer. Chief Revenue Off,
GER, now in charge of enforcing the war
time prohibition enforcement act, said
last evening that r. survey made by his
men disclosed that so per cent. OF the
saloons of Brooklyn are dark. The Off
GERS were making a survey OF Manhat-
tan yesterday and last night. 1t is I'M
likely that they found a large percent
age of saloons closed. since the policy
Of the great majority of the 1000 saloons
in this borough is to keep their doors
open by the sale of half per cent. beer
or by means of small restaurant bust
ness until the ban is lifted or the courts
enjon against enforcement of the law.