New-York tribune., 1922-11-16
Liquor Seized
On Alien Ships
Tied at Docks
Seamen ON One Boat Fight
Agents in Darkened Hold
When They Go Aboard as
Longshorenen After Jobs
Only Crews. Responsible
Officers and Owners Are Ex~
onerated: Motor Craft lie
TakenWith $50, ,OOOSiock

Raids were conducted on beard
ocean-gofng vessels yesterday by a
special service squad of the Customs
Service, nemberss of which were dis
guised as iongshcgemen, and ON four
of the boats sraausffauor seizures were
made. On one, the Princess May, a
7 British steamship moored at Pier z,
East River, the customs men had a
free-for-aii battle with the seamen In
the darkness of the ships hold, where
they found four dozen bottles of liquor
not on the ships manifest.
Ninety bottles o. liquor were seized
on the Argentine, italian, and twenty
two were taken from the Baracoa,
american. These raids marked the
first instance Of raiders boarding n
foreign ship at the cock TO make
seizures of liauor before any OF the
supposed contraband had been carried
ashore.
Given Jobs Unloading Liquor
W. w. Trumhull was In charge of
the men who boarded the Princess
May. Shortly before midnight, Trum-
bull and his men, wearing the rough
clothing of iongshoremen. began
patroIing the dock, letting 1t be known
that they were looking for Jobs. E. J.
Starce, one of Trumbulrs men, was
the first approached by q seaman,
Want JOB 2" asked the seaman.
yes" said Starce eagerly. "How
muchgi in it?"
Enough for q nights lodging at the
= best hotel in New York." replied the
seafnan.
What doing?" asked stsrce.
Uh, we gotta unload little liquor.
" H..
IS replying. Starce said he could get
2 couple Of other men, and he got Will
ltafn Mangin and Walter Simhsey, OF
the squad All boarded the ship to-
gether. They were followed by Trum-
bull. ~
The seaman led the way to. the hold.
where the other seamen were found.
TrnmbuH announced his identity as
goon as ne saw the liquor. The lights
went OUT There was rush. The
:. customs men were bowled over, Starce
received a cut oyer the eye. The liquor
was carried ashore under seizure. No
attempt was made to arrest the sea-
. mem who fed. sThe officers and owners
og7shis and ather boats on which seiz-
ures were made were exonerated from
alf knowledge of the presence of the
liquor on the ships.
Seamer individual Bootieggers
This form Of smuggling on a small
scale is reported TO have been engaged
: IN by seamen for some time. It en-
abies them to- swell their pay checks
by little light bootleg work on the
side, customs officials say.
The motorboat .Bijon, out of Free
port, L. T., with liquor valued at
rs $4,000 on, board, was seized when it
had been driven sagronnd at Jenes inlet
early yesterday siRbi ing The prohi-
bitien cutter Hahn spied the craft ap-
parently foundering in the heavy seas
IN the dim early morning light. The
Bijou was taken in tow to Freeport
under seizure.
1t was learned later that two men
lad been taken off the Bijou by a
ffeboat sent out by the coast guard
station. The cutter Manhattan was
sent to the coast guard station to take
the two rescued men to Freeport under
arrest. The Hansen, another prohibi-
ton navy cutter, was ordered out to
the threemjle limit to find the mother
ship from which the Bijou took her
cargo. The ship was not found.