Evening star., 1922-06-28
LIQUOR WAR AIDED
. BY SHIPPING BOARD
Prevention of Smuggling
Aim of Cooperative Move
by Government.
BY DAVID LAWRENCE.

The United States Shipping Board
has promised it's cooperation in the
campaign of the prohibition forces of
the government, to prevent the Snug
Cling of liquor from foreign countries.
The regulations issued by the Treas
ury Department permit the sale. out
side the three mile limit, of liquor
which is a regular part of the ships
stores, but they make it unlawful for
crews or passengers to carry intoxf-
cants ashore.
The problem Of smuggling On the
part of crews, however. Is one which
rivals in its enforcement difficulties
the stoppage of liquor traffic on land.
Unquestionably the crews of Ameri-
can and foreign vessels are plying a
healthy trade in foreign liquors.
Smuggling on an extensive scale has
been going on ever since the federal
amendment went into erect. HOW
can it be prevented? The task is
almost hopeless.
Force Insufncient.
The federal government hasn't enough
agents to search vessels or their crews
effectively. 1t takes long time to make
search of modern merchant vessel
and by the time agents would finish one
part of a ship it would be a COMPARE
lively easy matter for crews to trans
fer their liquor to another part. II
agents are stationed on the docks the
crew can put out small boats and land
at other points along shore. Nobody
BAYS much attention to the activities OF
a crew when the vessel is in port They
can come and go freely. In the case OF
American ships, the captains might be
penalized If negligence in preventing
smuggling is proved-this might easily
not touch foreign skippers who could
hardly be punished for something their
crews did in their own waters abroad
when the act of smuggling began.
The practical difficulties in the way
of enforcing prohibition are numer-
GUS, but few phases of the question
are as perplexing as the smuggling
Of liquor by crews. The Shipping
Board has written its managers and
urged them to do all they can to pre-
vent smuggling Of liquor, particu-
larly while the ships are In foreign
ports The Shipping Board keeps a
/! record of the liquor bought for sale
on board and seals up the intoxicants
when an American port is reached.
Any smuggling that develops usually
is in liquors privately stored on the
ship by members Of the crew.
An idea of the difficulties OF catch
ing a smuggler may be obtained by
the experience of the Shipping
, Board in stopping the traffic in mar
cotics. Nobody in the government,
no matter what his views may De
on liquor questions, can be suspected
!, Of a desire to let drugs come into
TTv,;< tod
orient. Yet the government has had
| its hands full IN keeping drugs out
of the United States Only last week
200 packages of narcotics came into
the United States through a Ship
ping Board vessel.
concealed between the electric
switches and the chief electrician
was arrested. There are SO many
places aboard ship which permit OF
easy concealment OF contraoand ar
ticles that the federal government
] force considerably to cope with the
Until Congress changes existing
tlaw American vessels will continue
| to sell liquor outside the three-mile
limit. but the prevalent opinion IL
that legislation will be passed sooI
prohibiting this. Nobody has devised
a way to prevent smuggling. except
by appropriating large sums OF
money for special agents to search
ships and their crews and passengers
Even If vessels touching American
ports are prevented from bringing
LIQUOR into this country, the SNUG
Cling by way OF ships touching
Canadian ports and then overland
across the border win continue until
more agents are employed to police
] the northern hordef.