Bonners Ferry herald. [volume] (Bonners Ferry, Idaho) 1904-current, 1920-10-26
Nab BOOZE
AT EASTPORT
WHISKEY SMUGGLERS USE GUNS
no NTmIDATE MEMBERS OF
FREIGHT TRAIN CREWS
SEVERAL ASSAULTS REPORTED
Whiskey Being Brought Into u. 8.
In Sealed Cars.

A second large capture of LIQUOR
was made at Eastport last Friday
night, the confiscation being made bv
Deputy Collector of Customs L. III.
Young, who took % cases Of whiskey
from a box car. The booze was
brought here Saturday night, In
charge of Spencer Lewis, U. S. GUS
toms inspector, and placed in care
of Sheriff Dunning.
The operations of the men who
make business of smuggling whiskey
from Canada into the United States
at the port of Eastport, is making life
miserable for the officials at the bor-
der town During the past few weeks
the members of the train crews of the
Spokane International and Canadian
Pacific railways, have been threatened
and intimidated by the bootleggers
and things have come to such a pass
that the car inspectors now refuse to
make night inspections unless ac-
companied by armed guards. Recent
ly five men jumped onto a train clerk
in the Canadian Pacific yards while
he was inspecting a seal on car.
Another railway employee was held
up by three men on his way home
from work.
Last Friday night the bootleggers
went to extremes and while a car in
spector was repairing a certain box
car man came along and stuck a
gun under the inspectors belt, telling
him to leave that car alone. The man
told the inspector that he had lost
two shipments of booze and that if he
lost this one someone would get his
The car inspector returned to the
station and reported the matter and
when the train was eventually pulled
over to the American side, Mr.. Young
opened the car and took charge of
the whiskey.
The whiskey had been placed in
what is called an ''in transit" car. "In
transit" cars are sealed at Portal, NJ
Oak, and are not supposed to be
opened again for inspection If the
seals remain intact. The bootleggers
have been able to take out the stay
bolts on the doors of these "in transit
cars place their whiskey shipments
inside and replace the door without
breaking the seals and so were able
to get their shipments past the gov
ernment inspection officers.
The stay bolts of the car in which
the whiskey was found Friday night,
were loose and it was while the car
inspector was repairing the bolts that
he was accosted by the man with the
gun.
There were five or six men in the
party guarding the shipment of booze
that was taken Friday night and it
appears that many threats were
passed concerning what would be done
to the railway men in charge of the
train who were blamed because the
U. S. officials had been advised of
; the location of the whiskey A G. p.
Ry. freight conductor was struck in
} the head with rock just as he left
the restaurant on the American side.
The men who make the inspection
, of the trains before they are taken
across the line, finished their work
under the protection of an armed
, guard.
Eastport officials state that large
amount of the whiskey being brought
, into the United States from Canada
, is taken from the G. p. Ry. freight
| cars when the trains stop about a hall
] mile north of Kingsgate and is car
ried across the line in packsacks and
} again loaded on the Spokane Interna-
! tional Ry. freights at a point a short
ways from Eastport. 1t is believed
that the % cases secured Friday night
was only small part of the shipment
, being made.
The audacity of the whiskey SNUG
glers has brought their operations to
the attention of officials of both the
! Canadian and American governments
and it is probable that steps will be
taken to at least handicap the future
! efforts of the smugglers.