The Washington times., 1919-05-04

the description received from a Bal
timore officer. CThis, by the way. is
one of the schemes by which the
Washington police learn of the leav-
ing of Baltimore of a booze-laden
carr
The car is held up. The driver is
asked to show his license. While one
officer is examining the chauffeur5
license, another scrutinizes the car,
No liquor..'
Have Laugh on officer.
And So, Ride On.
The driver and his passengers. if he
has any, have the laugh on the police.
They resume their journey to the
Capital.
Then for. the bootlegger! 1t is an
easy matter for him to go out by troll
ley, locate the quarry, and return with
a quart or so. This is getting to be
one of the popular tricks OF the boot
leg trade.
Then. again. the decoy system has
tproved effective in many cases. Two
automobiles are necessary. One car
! ries a load of liquor, the other does
not
The dry" car goes in front, with
/ the wet" car in the rear. In some
cases while the officers have been CIV
ing the dry" car the "once over"
their attention thus being held by a
fractions driver, the wet car makes
either a chance dash across the line.
or turns about, and returns to Balti-
more; or, makes another attempt to
get into the city by a more devious
and circuitous route.
Detectives on watch at the local
railroad stations realize that booze is
filtering through via suitcase, trunks,
etc. But they have had to be cock
sure they could make a case before
they dared make an arrest
Harness Belt Another
Means of Invasion.
Another successful ruse of the boot
logger has been the use OF a harness
belt-simiIar in make to a cartridge
belt. 1t is adjusted to the waist. The
belt has compartments. each of which
holds a pint of liquor. In this man
! ner a bootltgger can smuggle in six
pint TASKS of liquor without any trou-
bic. One of this type of bootleggers
has been captured at Union Station.
He is now languishing in Jail
Another successful ruse has been
the use OF the automobile tire cas-
ings. II is a simple matter to put a
dozen or so half-pint TASKS of whis-
key into a tire casing, attach it to the
rear or side of an automobile and
drive with it into the District.
Because the police have no power
Of search. they cannot stop the car
and examine the tire suspected Of
carrying the booze.
The hot water bottle, which has
proved so effective ruse in some
bone-dry districts, has been pressed
into service here.
When John Logan, residing at 1897
Ninth street northwest, alighted from
Washington, Baltimore and An
napolis car the other day, two detec-
tives slapped him on the shoulder
4 hot water bag was strapped on
each shoulder, each bottle containing
4 half gallon of whiskey.
Leaves His Shoes A.
Guarantee of Return.
Here's another OF the ingenious
methods OF the bootlegger in selling
his booze:
Several days ago one OF Major
Pullman's policemen stopped a sus-
pected bootleggcr and ask him if nc
knew where a half-pint of whiskey
could be bought
Sure" said the bootlegger. "Itn
cost you ST.
The money was given him, and he
started to wo away.
Let us go with you," said the cop,
how do | know you're coming back"
We'll you. can hold my shoes"
said the bootlegger. as he handed the
cop shoe box. The cop waited near
ly half hour, expecting to trap the
negro. But the bootlegger failed to
return. Becoming suspicious. the cop
opened the shoe box. Instead OF find
ing shoes. he uncovered a half pint.
The-Ea+Se- funeral procession, with
the hearse and coffin filled with
liquor, that has proved an effective |
Fuse in some dry cities, has not yet, !