Pine Bluff daily graphic., 1920-03-07
MEXICAN LIQUOR
 SMUGCLEpS HAVE { REGULAR BUSINESS
U! s. Unable to Patrol Exten- Sive Border Care
 fully

Hidalgo, Texas, March 6.--United States customs inspectors on the Rio Grande border admit that few of the liquor smugglers who enter thi country from Mexico are captured Some of these officials say that prob ably nine out of ten Of the snug glers are successful in bringinf across contra brand liquors without detection.
 That smuggling of the native in- toxicants of Mexico, such as mescal tequilla and aguardiente, as well as wines. and considerable quantities of America manufactured whiskey ts constantly increasing and now amounts to an enormous quantity ls very evident
 As matter of fact all this part of Texas bordering on Mexico is prac4 tically as wet as it was before the prohibition act went into effect This does not mean, of course, tha' there is hardly town in the whole border region where bootlegging i. not carried on more or less openly It is easily possible for intoxicating liquors to be obtained in almost any quantity by men who "know the ropes.' The smuggling of these liq uOIS aCI0SS tHe hlO dIGifdS IS SuNl d profitable business that many men have gone into it in systematic way, according to statements of GUS toms inspectors.
 Smuggler Crosses at Will.
 It is utterly impossible to patrol the long stretch of isolated frontier day and night in such manner a would prevent the crossing these and other smugglers. By the tortuous course of the Rio Grande the dis tance from the mouth of that inter national boundary stream to Ei Pasc is approximately 1000 miles. The adept smuggler finds no difficulty in crossing the river almost at will.
 There are many remote localities along the border which are visited net oftener than once in two or three days by customs inspectors. There is stretch of the river extending from Del Rio far into the Big Bend region bordering Mexico for more than 75 miles that can not be pene trated except at the greatest hard ship and risk of life. In fact. litt.e effort is made to patrol that isolated part of the border. It is there that the smugglers are able to apply thel' nefarious vocation almost at, wiii
 1t is not in crossing the river that the smugglers are ordinarily detect ed It is while they are attempting to transport the liquors to the mora removed and interior towns of tho state where better prices prevail that they are usually caught. This kind of smuggling has become so great 1T volume that the customs inspector and peace officers generally nov make it a practice to search every suspicious looking vehicle they may come across upon the roads and trahf anywhere within a range of 100 mile. of the Rio Grande.
 Seize Thousands of Gallons.
 Thousands of gallons of mesca- and other intoxicating liquors have been found and confiscated in the border region during the last few weeks. Smugglers are arrested ant placed in iail at the rate of q score O. more each day. One of the largesi hauIs made by officers for somc time was that obtained by sJ. D White, United States Customs In spector; J. J. Edge and J. c Con gales. members of the State Range force, when the yoverhauied a wag onfnear Rio Grande City few day ago containing 378 quarts of mescsl Casimiro Naranjo, driver of the wag on. was arrested. These same off cers arrested 12 smugglers and tool possession of $50 quarts of intoXl eating liquors in six days.
 Have Regular Customers.
 An enormous profit is realized or liaslors that are successfully snug pled across and sold on this side c the border Mescal which can b bought in Mexico for 50 cents anf less gallon, sells readily in IeSa sS to S10 a gallon. There i5 cor responding increase in the price o all other kind of likuors that ar surreptitiously brought into thi' country from Mexico. 1t is asserte s that some of these Mexican smug < glers have built up. U regular trad on this side of the river. They te tail the liquor to established custc mers.
 Comparatively little of the liouo, that is smuggled from Mexico find it's way into the interior on accoun of the great demand for it that ex ists close to the Rio Grande. It said, however, several smuggter have found regular outlet in Sal Antonio for their goods.