Perth Amboy evening news., 1921-09-13
SEA OF RUM AND FEDERAL SPOON
BY Frederic j. Hnskin.

WASHINGTON, Sept. 13.-That public SEN
timent in the United States 10 SIS per cent. OPP
posed to prohibition, and that under &. these
circumstances it would take a fair-sized stand
ing army to enforce it, is the statement OF one
Of the officials who is charged with That oner-
These men of the Bureau of Internal Revenue
fell like the prince in the fairy tale who was
handed a spoon with a hole in the bottom of 1t
by an old witch, and told that he must dry up
the ocean with this instrument as the price OF
his liberty.
Others of course, say that a much larger per-
centage Of the population really favors prohi.
bitioD and that the future VIII see ,bs srest
change is necessary. and the men who are Try
ing to enforce the law are especially convinclns
along that line. They do not pretend TO pc en-
forcing the law more than a few percent. Inere
are enormous sources of contrapand liquor
which they know all about and have never at
tackled because they have not the men. They
make no ~pretense of combating the small retail
bootlegger. He is left to the local police II tney
care to bother him. The government goes aIter
the big fellows, and it can only go AFTER a lie"
of them. r.,
the anti-narcotic law to show the difficulty OF
enforcement. Despite the fact that the prop
lem was infinitely smaller. the number OF OF
tenders a mere fraction OF those lnvolVeo IN
bottlegging, it was found impossible to enforce
the antinarcotic law until public sentiment for
it had been aroused by publicity.
Public sentiment Rules.
The same branch of the government-the Blu
reau of Internal Revenue--is charged with the
enforcement of the Harrison Act and the VOL
stead Law enforcement. This is being pattern
ed after the experience secured with drug laws
for MANY years past. But unless congress ana
the people of the United States are wiiins u
put up many millions of dollars, IL VIII De d
long day before this country really IS dry.
Except for the fact that drinking is Tar more
common than addiction to drugs, the emiorin,
ment of the Volstead Law would be easy IN
comparison with the drug law. Enough NOR
phine or cocaine to kill a dozen men can pe
hidden easily about a mans or womans ciotn-
ing without the chance of attracting Afternoon
The ordinary dose of either given by a pnysl-
clan to a non-addict is a quarter or nan gram.
and hiding hundreds of five-graln taplets is not
The necessity for keeping the contraband IN
as small bulk as possible has resur.ed dis az
beer and handling only whiskey and gin. E.eIS
modern means of transportation is prousnt III.
NAV in moving the stuff into the country anu
from city to city. The price when couiu pc sI-
cured for a thousand gallons OF peer IL hot hoSH
enough to tempt the bootleggers, but on a tnou.
sand gallons OF WhlSkey OF Gram ~
can make a small fortune.
The Bureau of Internal Revenue is aware OF
n,anv avenues of entrance for liquor from cana
do Rooze is now regularly brought into the
country in airplanes, the points OF lahuIns liz
many miles away from the boraer ; o a. 20 from
slsnicion. The extent of the rum running IIoiLi
the islands bordering the South Atlantic Goass
is well known also, but the money provloeu u
enforcement of the law has been too small inus
far to make any serious oeht Al lux
of these rum runners.
A large part of tho business or en1orce1nete
has to do with moving liquor about from CITY ~
citv on forged permits. officers questioning tne
movements of big quantities OF hanor. anu a.
tempting to seize it. have Deen narentIv bona
fde ownership of the shipments, and apparent.
" perfect but actually forged permits 10 moNe
specified quantities from one place 10 Fonged
Wr,ch of this LIQUOR sold and moved on forged
permits Is obtained from distillerles which ~
flouting the law. du, amend-
mont and the Volstead law is the utterly con-
scienceless money-mad brand OF pooeaesS vh,stav
does not take the trouble to get real WhisMeS
NJ even make a substitute containing pure gram
alcohol, but puts together a concoc.ion ~ th;s
ing the deadly wood alcohol. a Ni utt,e more
terrible dose means blindness, and a nttle ~
means certain death. The newspapers evoonS
day contain accounts OF deaths fese,tiniss tbere
drinking this poison, but II IS ouenser Of this
stuff has received more than the penalty pre-
scribed by the Yolstead law. AS a m 4h,s kind
fact. a bootlegger knowingly selhns 'h' N"N
of stuff is guilty Of plain muroer.
Government Hunts Big Game Only.
The Bureau of Internal Revenue is not goims
after the little fellow, the retainer . o. BECAUSE
Of anv sympathy with him or his machina'iuhs
Peeardless of their personal views III tlo 70
ject, the officials OF this bureau he drv law,
and thew do that to the limit of their iuhos ~
capacities. Knowing it Is Impossible TO go altel
every ~violator, it has been found necessary 70
leave the smaller offender to be dealt with by
state and city authorities, and concehtrate ~
tention on the wholesale liquor manipu,ator. e.
A fIving squadron has been organized, ana IS
moved from city to city to try and nreaK up rnn
bookkeeping systems. Recently TINS sq9autot
made important arrests in Baltimore, ana Went
from there to New York. Some arrests Will pc
made. but Baltimore Is not dry nor VIII New
YORK be. Revenue officials know this, put pug
y way at their Jobs as hard as they can. knowing
that confplete success can be theirs only When d
| preponderant percentage of public opinion IS IN
favor of hard and fast enforcement OF the ory
amendment. p,roa,
The attention of the Internal Revenue Bureau
is directed toward the rum smuggling along '
Atlantic Coast, particularly from the small Isl
ands LAYING off the Southern states. Inc pronise
Of some action in the near future against these
smuggling bootleggers has been maze, ana a. ~
rcsts may be looked for sometime during the
autumn. 1t is admitted, though, that Win ny
thousands of natural harbors along the Souen
Atlantic and Gulf Coasts. not a great oeal can
he accomplished. A few of the Dig operators
NAV he caught, but there will be scores reaaS
TO step into their places, attracted by ths p ~
fortunes which may be made quickly In TINS IL
Rirht now the situation is seen by ofhcials
about in this light-the United states mas wv.
Ionr coast lines, filled with tine harpors iot
small boats, it has several thousand miies "
border. and liquor will continue TO come N v,
al sides lust as long as people want II ana pay
for II. Only reversal of popular sentiment CAL
drv nm the American ocean OF rum.