Evening star., 1921-08-21

formed by it. According to the most
recent report they are as follows:
Duties of Coast Guard.
Rendering assistance on the seas,
removing floating dangers to naviga-
tion, extending medical aid to fish
ing vessels, protection of the Gus
toms revenue, enforcement of anchor
age regulations, quarantine. neutral
lty and navigation laws, protection of
game and fisheries in Alaska. enforc-
ing the sponge-fishing law and patrol
ling the Grand Banks for ice This
does not include the service rendered
to the Navy in time of war. when the
coast guard automatically becomes a
part of the Navy.
All those things can be done quite
! as we'll by the Navy as by separate
service. The Navy might even do
| some of these things better because
the Navy has more boats and more
men. There are 300-odd destroyers
now in the Navy and almost 800 OF
| them are tied up because there is no
work for them. A destroyer can go
through any weather that any YES
| sci can, as has been abundantly
shown. If the Navy takes the place
of the coast guard service. the young
er officers will be given sea training
that will make them better servants
| in time of war.
New Vessels Badly Needed.
If the coast guard is retained, then
its fleet must be largely rebuilt. Many
of it's vessels can be repaired, OF
course, but the repairs must be enor-
mouSly costly. In the latest report
the coast guard reported the expendi-
| ture of S3,26l.000 for new construc-
tion and 1857 goo for repairs. With
Navy full of idle vessels it has seem
| ed rather absurd to spend more money
| for more vessels. But the eXpendi-
| ture will be necessary if the coast
guard service is kept in being. The
time is approaching when to send
1 coast guards to sea in some of the
| old cutters will be approaching man
slaughter.
| There is but one point at which the
duties performed by the coast guard
may not be performed by the Navy.
That is in the assistance rendered to
| the customs department Boiled down.
that means in the prevention of hootch
running. There is no other smuggling
nowadays. except that of laces, and
diamonds, and pearls, and fine dresses
and the like, and all of that sort OF
smuggling is done over the piers in
New York and Philadelphia. Now and
then mystery ship" laden with va
rious lovable drinkableS, is reported
| off the coast. But SO long as that snip
| lies outside the three-mile limit the
coast guard cannot touch it, or has not,
with the notable exception of the Brit
ish rum runner, Henry L. Marshall, ana
when the dark night comes and the
mystery ship spurts for an inlet there
isn't coast guard cutter that can
come near her. So far as the preven-
| tion of whisky smuggling is concern
| ed, it isn't being prevented by any
high seas activities.
Why the Navy Is Barred.
| The Navy, with it's fast destroyers.
might be useful in this line. but ii
will not be permitted to be. The rea-
son is that the Army and Navy were.
\ by the foresight of our fathers, barred
from any interference in the enforce
ment of civilian regulations. Give the
Navy or the Army a chance to put a
sianism is just around the corner. The
high, well born officers of Germany
showed that They got themselves so
confused with the state that by and by
they were the state. With that sole
Exception, all the duties of the coast
guard can be quite as efficiently done
| by the Navy. And. as has been said.
the Navy has oodles of vessels. The
coast guard has but thirty-two sea-
going cutters, of which five are Eagle
boats. And Eagle boats should never
go to sea.
! The latest report shows that 1t cost
almost 100000 to run the coast
guard for the year ended June. 1870
Not all of. that will be saved by the
incorporation of the coast guard in
the Navy, for that is what the plan
now tentatively adopted is. But some
millions will be saved and il is by the
process of saving some millions here
and some millions there by the elimi
nation Of duplication that the commit
/ tee on reorganization hopes to pare
Down the high cost of government.