The Rock Island Argus and daily union. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1920-1923, 1921-05-04

hunting 1Of the pr0verblal needla
in the haystack. They are cons
cealed in the most unexpectes
places-in the ships coal bina IL
its lockers, behind secret panels. in
boxes labeled chemicals" ana
"olives" and even in the ships ven
tilator flues. During the typhus
scare recently a vessel was n.
amined from top to bottom Ana
nearly taken apart, according n
an immigration official, in order IN
find any passenger who might DOS.
sibly have avoided an examination
Then the announcement that tho
ships interior was to be gassed
was megaphoned about the decks
Only then did IL husky stowaways
creep out from hiding, preferrinp
detection to death. In some cases
though, the ships authorities have
not been SO considerate in announc.
ing current events, and stowavays
have been fatally gassed in their
hiding places.
How the Ring Works.
From the little that has been
learned concerning the stowavav
ring, it seems probable that thev
have c0nfederates on nearly every
ship leaving south European port
as we'll as on many leaving north.
European ports. In come instances
the stOwaway has been required to
bring his own food, but usually,
this is supplied to him while on
board. If discovered by those not
in the rings service, he is immed-
lately taken before the captain who
decides his fate. Sometimes the
treatment is extremely severe. He
may be placed in a pen and given
merely bread and water, or he NAV
be chained uncomfortably to a
post, but in most cases he is apt to
be put to work. Sometimes so
many stowaways are found on one
ship that the captain puts them
under lock and key-a wise precau.
ton since it has been discovered
that many OF them are desperate
criminals who have been encour.
aged by the police authorities to
leave various parts of Europe. One
captain keeps himself in excellent
physical trim by staging an ener-
getic fist battle with every stow
away brought into his Office. As a
result. very few stowaways have
recently appeared on his ship.
Occasionally, a stowaway gets
aboard without the aid of the ring
or the crew or anybody else, de-
pending only on his own ingenuity
to see him through. One such was
a young English lad of Is, who had
a round. cherubic face and wore
good clothes. In choosing his
quarters he selected the most COM
Portable ones he could find-name-
ly, the soft rug beneath the cap
tain's bed, where he got along very
nicely during the entire trip. In
the daytime he moved fearlessly
about the deck and chatted pleas
antly with the other passengers.
During the first day he had ap-
peared in the dining room and was
assigned to a table as politely a ii
he had paid his passage money. Not
until the ship reached this side and
the passenger list was checked,
was the young stowaway detected,
and then, so agreeable had he made
himself, that the passengers Clipped
in and paid for his passage across.
Women stowaways are much
more numerous than one would
suppose. They come boldly across
in all the usual hiding places, oc-
casionally disguised as men but
generally in their own clothes.
During the war women simply
couldn't be kept off the troop
ships, two of them even slowing
successfully away on a battle
cruiser. Since the war there is
the recent case OF a freighter which
put into a southern port with more
than fifty stowaways on board.
Heretofore, the treatment Of
stowaways on this side has been
rather lenient. They did not have
a great deal OF difficulty in snug
Cling their way through, and, if
caught, kind friends were apt to
come to their rescue or the autbori-
ties were disposed to give them
every opportunity to make good.
The new ruling, however, provid-
ing that no stowaway can be land
ed at an American port who does
not possess an authentic passport,
has put a decided crimp in the
stOwaway traffic. Ships are making
a careful search for unknown pas
sengers before leaving port on the
other side. as the carrying of stow
Always back and forth is not re-
munerative occupation. Ellis Is
land authorities already notice a
falling off in the stowaway bust
ness, and it is thought that the next
month or so will see its complete
cessation.