New-York tribune., 1920-10-12
u. S. May Seize
Liquor Laden
Foreign Ship ps
Drastic Measures Consid-
cred to Break Up Alleged
Conspiracy Among Sail
ors and Bootleggers
Captains Aid i'm Traffic
Seamen Paid Nominal Wage
and Permitted 10 Snug
gle In Whisky as Offset

WASHINGTON, Oct. II (By The AS
sociated Press) Seizure and sale of
foreign ships violating American pro-
sibition laws is under consideration
by the Bureau of Internal Revenue as
"A means of curbing liquor smuggling.
Officials of the bureau were repre-
Sented tonight as seeing no solution
of the problem other than through in
voking libel provisions of the Volstead
act against ships bringing in liquor.
Evidence gathered by Federal en-
forcement agents was said to have dis
closed that masters of foreign ships
frequently conspired with their sea-
men to violate the laws. The supply
of alcoholic beverages, has been greatly
increased along the Eastern seaboard
by this means, it was said.
The bureau is understood also to
nave discovered definite connection be-
tween foreign seamen engaged in
wnlcn the smuggled commodity is mar
keted.
Foreign Complications Possible
The Volstead act provides specifi-
cally for confscation of vehicles Of
transportation employed in violation of
that law. Bureau officials were said
to feel that although foreign compli-
cations might result, they should take
steps in that direction in order to
control the traffic. No estimate has
been made of the amount of iquor
thus reaching American bootleggers.
DuJ oificials are agreed it has reached
large, proportions within the last six
months
Technically, foreign ships are within
jurisdiction of American laws when
lnsiae OF the three-mile limit. This
snakes them liable to confiscation at
any time contraband goods are found
on them. The belief was indicated
that seizure of a few ships would end
the activities of the seagoing boot
leggers.
Certain foreign ship masters are
alleged to have employed a unique
method of defeating prohibition The
reports revealed, it was said, that pay
OF seamen had been reduced to nomi-
nal amounts, and in some cases to the
amazingly small figure of 81 week.
instead OF more pay the seamen were
permitted to lay in stocks Of LIQUOR
IN foreign ports and deliver it in
American ports.
Whlie questioning of masters always
has brought denials, officials here were
declared to be confident of the ex~
lstence OF such conspiracy, since
the pay reduction has been made with
out protest from the seamen
900 Per Cent Profit on Scotch
case of record in the bureau was
said to show that foreign seamen on
one ship had smuggled through ap-
proximately 500 quarts of Scotch
whisky, purchased abroad for about 81
quart and sold here at more than $40
d quart.
Officials declared they were handi-
capped by lack of men in both the
customs service and enforcement corps
to deal with the large number of for
elgn ships entering American ports.
Quarantine officers, it was said, had
been unable to make the searches Of
ships necessary to catch all smuggled
liquor because of the time limitation.
and have admitted to Treasury officials
that they were poweriess TO cheek the
growing traffic.
Assistant Secretary Shouse, head of
both the Customs Service and the Bu-
reau of Internal Revenue said two
months ago that it would take an army
OF agents TO patrol the shore lines and
defeat smugglers whose methods were
declared to require the highest grade
OF detective work even at that time.
The present disclosures were believed
TO show such increasing boldness as to
require more drastic legal action