New-York tribune., 1920-10-15
U.S.Cuard Used
In Liquor Raid
On Italian Ship
Customs Inspectors, Rein
forced by Cunners, After
Being Baked by Crew of
Dante, Get 800 Bottles
Skipper Aids in Search
Two Packages of Ostrich
Feathers Are Also Found
i'll Quarters of the Grew

display Of armed force, which later
proved to have been unnecessary. was
made at Pier 25, North River, yester-
day, when group of customs in
spectors boarded the Italian liner Dante
Alighieri to search for liquor.
The Dante. which arrived from the
Levant on Saturday, had plenty of
vines. ,cordials and liquors on board.
In that respect she was no different
from other European passenger YES
sells, all of which carry stock of nlco-
hollc beverages for the use of their
passengers and their crews.
On Monday a squad of six went
aboard to search in the quarters of the
crew for liquors believed not 70 have
been listed on the ships manifest. As
such they were subject to seizure. The
searchcrs got no further than the prom
enade deck.
Customs Men Marooned Aboard
The. crew, rescnting what they re-
garded as an intrusion, had the gang
plank hauled ashore, and the customs
men were marooned aboard. No effort
was made to enter the crews quarters,
and the squad climbed ashore over the
ships side by the aid of ropes. On
this occasion the master of the Dante
was not aboard, and the ships officers,
it is said, acted indfferently.
When the scarchers returned to the
vessel yesterday their number was
quadrupled, and with them came
twelve armed gunncrs of the Coast
Guard, the latter taking station on the
pier
The searching party led by Inspector
Albert r. Hokensen went aboard. They
were received cordially by the skipper
and his officers, who offered to assist
them and open up every Granny of the
vessel from stem to stern. The cap
tain explained that if he had been
aboard when the customs men visited
the ship on Monday there would have
been no demonstration of hostility on
the part of his crew.
800 Bottles Of Liquor Seized
After a search that lasted nearly
three hours the men found about 800
bottles of liquors that were not listed
on the ships manifest. These were
seized. Two packages Of ostrich feath-
ers also were found by the searching
squad.
The customs men say the Dante was
designated for special scrutiny be-
cause longshorcmen frequently have
been found leaving Pier 25 with a
bottle or two of liquor.
Nearly year ago the italian En-
bassy and the local Italian consulate
protested to the State Department
against the ransacking of Italian ships
in this port. II was maintained by the
Italian diplomats and by the officers of
italian steamships that liquor was part
of the ratons apportioned to the crews,
and it's distribution aboard ship was
neither a violation Of the Italian law
nor of the laws Of the United States.
They maintained that all ships under
the Italian flag lying in American ports
arc and should be regarded as the home
Of it's officers and crews, and that the
rights accorded Italian subjects by
Italy should not be disregarded by Off
cials in this country.
1t Is the contention of the Italians
that it is the duty of this government
to prevent liquor from leaving the
ship, but that it is a usurpation Of au-
thority to search the "homes" of Ital-
ian subjects aboard Italian liners and
confscate property on the assumption
that it is likely to be smuggled ashore.