The Brattleboro daily reformer. (Brattleboro, Vt.) 1913-1955, 1921-03-01
GET
RICH IN CANADA
Whole Community Opposite
Detroit Is In Liquor
Business
MUCH BOOZE
FLOWS OVER LINE

Conflict of Authority Among Officers III
Canadian Towns and Attitude Of Pop
uIati0n Make Effective Enforcement
Impossible.
WINDSOR, Ont, March 1.--Somc one
has described the boundary between
Canada and the United States as the far
flung bottle line Although Windsor
has achieved an international reputation
as the headquarters of ''bootleggcrs' and
''rum rurDcrs." there are bands Of whis-
kew smugglers at various places along the
st. Lawrence river. and along the boun-
Diary between Quebec and Vermont the
runners do great and profitable business.
But windsor has pre-eminencc in the ex-
tent of the traffic, the ingenuity and
audacity of the illicit traders, and the
huge profits they have realized.
No more favorable situation for such
n traffic could be conceived What IS
called the border extends a distance of
40 miles from Stony Point to Amherst
burg, along the Detroit river, Lake st.
Clair and the st. Clair river For much
OF the distance there are flats covered with
reeds and a maze of channels, iagoons and
small islands on which are the hUts Of
fishermen. The river is only 500 yards
wide. which. as has been said. is merely
"a buzz and leap for u launch which
goes 30 or 90 miles an hour. as do some
Of the boats engaged in the traffic.
Along many miles of the water extent
Detroit and its thicilly populated suburbs
of Crosse Point, River Rouge NyandOtte
and Ecorse. Many Of the houses are
built out over the water on piles. with
lighthouses underneath. It is estimated
that in Detroit and its suburbs are over a
million people. Further south is Toledo,
as thirsty as the communities along the
border, while in all these American CEN
ters there IS large foreign population.
ON the Canadian side Is the city of
Windsor. with the towns of Walkerville,
Ford, Sandwich, Ojibway and Tecumseh,
with q total population of over 10000,
all under separate municipal governments,
each Jealous Of its authority, and each
with its force of police. Behind is a
country district of which license officials
at Windsor declare 90 per cent of the pop
ulation are engaged in "bootIegging.
The conflict of authority and the atti-I
tude of the people in this part of Canada
have made any effective enforcement OF
the law a sheer impossibility. As one Off
cial said: The public mind is democrat
ICED. The pepole have no respect for the
present liquor law, nor would they have
for any other liuuor law. They seem to
think that boOtlegging Is patriotic duty.
They say it brings in American money.
and they emphasize the war debt and the
depreciation of the Canadian dollar as an
excuse or justification Of their operations
The ferries crossing the river are used
by the petty SnUggicrs, who wear bottles
next to the skin or under the skirts. or
for those who have motors. with secret
chamber under the wind shield or double
bottom.
One American official who has devised Il
wonderful screwdTiver said: 4 find that
even the screw heads of the false bottoms
are painted black Hundreds of AmeTi-
can cars cross the river night after night.
Where do all the American ears go?'
has become q parody of the song. Il know
who" t." Hes 90 in the winter time
Many OF these cars when returning are
stopped by the officials and the occupants
forced to stand on the dock while the
search for liquor Is prosecuted. In a
summer cottage not long ago an officer
discovered nine barrels of beer, all tapped
and the pumps ready. 4 young French
Canadian woman who appeared in court
at Windsor had 100 bottles of beer, and
u was explained that the supply was fer
"A party of friends
The magistrate suggested that the sup
ply was excessive, but the lady said gra
cjously and insinuatingly, "Oh, no; not
too much for party like mine"
In 4 stretch of seven miles along the
Sandwich road are eight roadhouscs. The
signs read: Fish and chicken dinners,
frogs legs, meals at all hours of the day
and night All those places receive the
vigilant attention of the police. Along
the river are frame cottages, which rent
for $3.50 for two months in the summer.
Many of the residents Of these cottages
have fast launches which are used for
more tnan pleasure riding on the river.
The "Fum-ruuners' and ''bOOtleggers''
have telephone systems and storing posts
and Il force Of spies and agents far better
organized. as the license inspectors admit.
than the provincial and municipal police
Ecorse IS the most notorious distributing
center of all the suburbs of Detroit The
launches under cover Of night ply through
the Rouge and Ecorsc marshes. The back
Yards Of the houses are on the river and
many a humble dwelling is i smugglers
depot. Many of the runners wear rubber
boots. Silently the launches slide into
their berths and silently their cargoes dis
appear.
In roadhousc one said casually to an
old darky, You seem to have nothing ex-
citing around here" The darky chucEled
Better stick round he said. things
don't begin till l.. Between II and 6 is
the time"
Another man questioned said: '1Fhev
have Just loaded an automobile across the
street But ! amt telling anything No.
sir. You might have your house burnt
down. y woman living in 4 shack has
= fast launch, and at her credit in one of
the banks is S133.000. every dollar Of
which represents the profits of 'rum-run-
ming
4 TOD ,H,, i