The New York herald. [volume] (New York, N.Y.) 1920-1924, 1920-11-08

cannot waste their time on small Try.
In the second place, they insist they were
tricked too often when prohibition was
young by runners who used to sent pilot
hsh" with inconsiderable cargoes out
ahead Of valuable cargoes in order to
give the enforcement agents something
to arrest and thus get them on the road.
Track of the Dummy Truck.
In the beginning. too. there was the
device of the car--or truck as II used to
be then-with it's lights out and an air
Of mystery about II. and which used to
be sent on ahead when a worthwhile
truckload was about to take the road.
The dummy truck. with several dozen
wooden cases upon II would roll into a
town, turn suddenly on Its main street
and go out OF It again. The forces of
the law, new at their business, would
pursue II into the open country and
bring It to standstill there, and its
driver, holding them OF as long as he
could by talk. would finally submit to a
search Of his vehicle and himself. Some
times the truck would be found to be
laden with fruit or other country produce.
sometimes only with empty boxes. In
the meantime. not very far away, an
1t would be speeding on It's Illicit way.
There appears to be also some appor-
tfonment of territory and of Transporter
ton routes by the runners who use YER
mont as their sluiceway. They do not
care for newcomers into their domain
and take various means to discourage
them. Undesired runners have been
beaten up. their car tires cut and their
presence disclosed to the authorities
and their cargoes seized. Two adven-
turers from Ohio brought their talents
into Vermont about the middle OF last
month, but are unlikely 20 try the field
again.
One OF them had money. the other. or
SO he imagined. brains. They spent a
week in a good hotel while the gifted
one of the two went about and made
acquaintenceships according to his
lights. Finally arrangement was made
by which liquor costing $4,000 in Canada
was to be sent on its way into Ohio In
a freight car. concealed under layers
of apples The Ohioans, sure that they
had the home end covered. paid $4,000
spot cash and wrote the number OF q
freight car In a memorandum book
About a week later word was sent them
that the car containing their liquor had
been seized. 1t had, but the consIgness
learned considerably later that the
liquor in 1t was slight In quantity and OF
small alcoholic content. And they be-
lieve with an abiding faith that the
same men who short weighted them
duly Informed the law to cover their
trickery. Probably they are right, but
they have no redress in the world and
their $4,000 Is gone.
Little Fry Driven Ont,
OF late there has been considerable
activity in Vermont and in New Hamp-
shire adjoining 1t in the way of sup
pressing retail selling In small towns
and running down humble distillers who
have been making moon whiskey in the
hills. This custom makes desirable COM
motion in neighborhoods, discloses the
law at work and, 1t Is said, BY the
cynical. drives the little chaps out OF &
market and industry in which they are
regarded az undcsirab les. But the main
stream of runners is disturbed only oc-
caaionally. Even then when driver
and car are taken the cargo Is almost
invariably small and the car slow and
of an old model. The law, speaking
on this, says It is doing the best it can.
The knowing wink the other eye, say
that 1t Is too bad SO many booze cars
are so fast.
AS to the southern counties of both
States. 1t can be said that only small
proportion of the strong drink that Is
brought into them stays in them.
Nearly all of 1t is destined for the fac
tory and mill towns of Massachusetts.
The mileage Of New Hampshire on the
Canadian border Is little. while that of
Vermont is long. Also the New Hamp-
shire line is steep country and the roads
none too good for booze running. So
nearly everything coming over from
Quebec passes over Vermonts frontier,
proceeds south to somewhere below the
region about Montpelier and from there
turns either to the right or left toward
Massachusetts.
And from Massachusetts there is
tossed back TO the Green and the White
Mountains bitter complaint about the
bad whiskey they send. Sunday morn
ms magistrates, sitting In the Mas5a-
chuseits Industrial towns, insist. like
their brethren up in Vermont insist. that
half the men who come before them for
intoxicntion are more drugged than
drunken. That their almost invariable
story Is that they took few drinks of
and that chemists who have Analysed
the stuff that Is pouring down from the
Canadian line say II ~ getting worse
from week TO week, and that the samples
that have come under their notice for
the purposes of their latest tests are
little better than SO much cold poison.
1.-THE third In the series win be pub.
Iished tomorrow and VIII deal with