News and citizen. [volume] (Morrisville, Vt. ;) 1881-current, 1922-08-23
Kelley Gets Booze
But Rum Runners Escape in Leaden
Rain
A Special to the Rutland Herald

celebrated episode recorded in his
tory as the Battle of Bennington
were honored in a spectacular man.
ner on the anniversary of that oc-
casion shortly before two o'clock
this morning on a highroad near the
Waltham-New Haven town lines
There were all Of the settings of a
pageant surrounding the sortie made
by federal prohibition agents in a
round up Of a cargo of about 400
bottles Canadian beer, about five
cases of Canadian liquor and two
motor cars. Two frightened rum
runners were still running at last ac-
counts, but they had deserted their
motor car and cargo.
While the citizens of Vergennes
were indulging matter dinner sizes
tas, about nine o'clock last evening.
Federal Prohibition Enforcement
Agents Frank L. Eaton of Water
bury, James M. Kelley of Morrisville,
Erie R. Holmoes of johnson and
Gerald R. Petrie of Island Pond made
an official visitation to the Ancient
City and from that time on things
happened with about the same rapid
ity that a strip of celluloid is run
through motion picture camera.
Find Beer in Car at Hotel
Agents Kelley and Eaton, while
preparing to book reservations at the
Stevens house, discovered an auto
mobile, bearing the Massachusetts
registration 130,277, containing
about 400 bottles of Canadian beer,
in garage belonging to the hotel.
The revenue men making the find
communicated the fact to their asso-
ciates, Petrie and Holmes, and word
was sent to the office of the federal
prohibition director in Rutland. At
1855 a. m. the head of the field
force of prohibition agents in YER
mont, Frank A. Lewis, arrived from
Rutland with a search warrant issued
by United States Commissioner
James P. Leamy of the Marble City.
Thirty minutes later the malt bever-
age was on it's way to Rutland, the
cargo being distributed in three
motor cars.
The calvacade left Vergennes a
few minutes after the clock struck
two and the real thrill of the night
came about an hour later on stretch
of graveled road fringed with red
dening sumac, chicory and golden
rod. A crescent moon added the
finishing touches to the stage soon
to become animated.
Because the oliver" unit of the
Volstead caravan failed to function
and Jagged behind the rest of the
outfit, Chief Lewis halted the party
to await the arrival of the tardy
automobile. Beneath the stars, while
the good people of Waltham slept
and dreamed not of the wiley boot
logger and rum-runners, Walter and
John Larzaz of Ware, Mass, operat-
ing a sedan carrying about five cases
of popular brand of Canadian "red-
eye" traversed the winding road on
their way to the Land of the Goldfish,
peopled with thirsty ones. Walter
and John suddenly met up with
Prohibition Director Bert S. Hyland's
squad beside the road
Rum-runners Bullet Proof
The men driving the booze-leden
car had only about one chance in a
thousand to escape but they took it
and, after stopping at a signal from
the enforcement officers, the operator
of the automobile stepped on the
gas and threw caution to the winds.
The machine jumped like a jack rab-
bit and the spatter of bullets from
the pistols of the revenue men for a
moment sounded like requiem for
rum runners. The Larzaz brothers
car sideswiped Agent Lewis ma
chine, jumped like frightened wood
chuck, lurched into a roadside ditch,
careened-then stopped. The Massa-
chusetts men literally rolled out of
their machine and sped away from
the hail of lead rained from the auto
MATES of the revenue men. The
Massachusetts car was added to the
calvacade which proceeded on its
second lap toward Rutland
A member of the government
party was sent ahead to get in touch
with other agencies in an effort to
affect the apprehension of the Larzaz
brothers as the prohibition depart
ment is anxious to detain the men,
both of whom figured in a spectac-
ular wind-up of booze-running ex-
petition on June IA at Sand Bar
bridge, when the men, with another
brother, ran their motor car into
Lake Champlain in a futile effort to
escape arrest.
Then to add another touch of real
ism to the events of the evening,
Agent Lewis car collapsed on the
road after it climbed the long hill
leading from New Haven Junction to
Middlebury, spring breaking. This
necessitated transshipment of cargo
and it was nearly eight o'clock this
morning when the eonfscated cars
and liquor reached Rutland.
Walter Isham Owned of Beer?
For months it had been an open
secret that liquor was being trans
ported over the Vergennes- Waltham-
New -Middlebury road and the
events of the last "a hours were the
elimination of plans laid, it is said,
by the revenue agents to capture the
rum-runners. Though official con-
firma tiOn cot1ld NOT ho cac,trad ~ ic