Albuquerque morning journal., 1922-06-26

pootlegglng, beginning with tho
smuggling of the liquor across to
the United States from Mexico
were given yesterday in an inter-
view with experienced prohibition
agents. The substance of the in
formation is as follows:
The liquor which is brought into
Mexico usually comes from Canada
through licensed Canadian whoie-
salers. The greater part of the IL
Quor comes out of Canada, al
though much is manufactured liz
Juarez and other Mexican towns.
The whisky that is made in the
Mexican distilleries is aged in oaS
barrels that are charred inside to
prevent the tannic acid in the wood
| from entering into the whisky. II
| is common belief that the charred
walls of the barrels serve primarily
to color the liquor. This, however.
is not the case, and while the H.
quid spirits do take tint from the
charcoal, its main purpose is to
keep the acid out.
Crossing the Border.
In the procedure of getting IL
quor across the border, the (usual=
| ly) American customer arranges
with the Juarez distributor to buy
so many cases of whisky at prices
ranging from $50 to SOS per case,
or tequila as low as $40 per case.
The wholesaler will absolutely
guarantee the whisky delivered on
the other sideofthe river for an
additional sum. depending on the
quality of the spirits. Twenty dol
lars per case for insured delivery
is common price.
The favorite times for getting the
"bootles" across the river are
shortly after dark, or very early in
the morning, just before dawn. The
contraband liquor is carried to the
river bank by burros. There it Is
distributed in sacks. A Mexican
takes two sacks, each holding a
case of whisky, and wades, waist
deep, across the river, after the
"feeler" for the party has crossed
and secuted the other side of the
river. Provided everything is all
right, the whisky is carried across
and placed into the waiting auto
mobile of the original party of tho
first part" He then proceeds
SWlltlN anu tAptltlg w dNOid 'ii~
officials. Each first class rum
runner" knows the "hot" zones,
where officers are in abundance.
and the "cold" zones, where the
sailing is clear. If it happens that
the "hot" zone is unavoidable, the
bootlegger chooses. usually. early
morning to break through it.
Feeler Sent Out.
In a large party of rum runners.
feeler car Is sent ahead of the
ether cars to warn the followers
liz anything looks suspicious. The
leading car travels with its spot.
lights turned backward and up
ward. The other cars follow a,
about mile and a half interval.
If the "feeler" scents danger, he
switches off the spotlights. The
rear cars Immediately duck into
the brush at the side of the road,
and cache their liquor: or some-
times they stop, awaiting further
signals, If the scare Is a false
alarm, the first car signals "coms
ahead"
Ingenious Booze Tanks.
Among the various interesting
devices for carrying hooch is a
novel gasoline tank with three COM
partments. The center ore con-
tains twenty gallons of gasoline.
The two side compartments hold
seven and half gallons of whiskey
each. The liquor is poured In
through small holes at equal dis
tances from the ends Of the tank.
The holes are concealed by metal
bands that fit around the entire
tank and appear to be permanent
braces.
Often the bootlegger operates
quite openly. In one case a truck
laden with boxes marked 'mer-
chandise" was halted and the cases
opened. The result was the discov-
cry of large quantities Of liquor.
Again, agents found an ingeniously
arranged trunk with a 20-gallon
tank containing whiskey. The tank
was strapped in the center OF the
trunk in such a manner as to sus-
pend it. It was then packed around
with blankets. When the baggage
smasher gave the trunk a shove,
much to his astonishment II con-
tinued to move for a short distance.
The trunk had swung and carried
1.-THE lighter trunk with 1t.
Secret compartments are ar
ranged within the upholstery OF the
cars. or even inside the camping
kits on the running boards. Al
though morphine and opium are
often carried inside a spare tire.
liquor rarely is. Only n very small
amount OF liquor could be carried
in this way.
The Smugglcrs' Island.
The chief difficulty in Suppress
ing the violation Of the prohibition
law is found in the international
smuggling. At Ell Paso an island
which formerly belonged to Mexico
has been left an actual part OF the
United States by the changing
course of the river. The land, how
ever, is still under the Mexican
flag and contraband can be placed