Evening public ledger. [volume] (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1914-1942, 1922-08-17


On those exciting occasions we
,,sd. and usually toward the end Of
ths story we learn that the United
States Coast Guard Cutter So and
80 or the Surf Boat Such and Such
has set off in the direction Of trou-
BE. We have pictures Of gaunt,
vind.scarred men in cilskins push
ine boat through mile-high comb
er,, of gunners lashed beside their
pleces, shooting lines through tor
rent SO thick that one man cannot
nee another on the decks and not q
single sound can be heard above the
thunder of the seas.
On such occasions only Is the
coast guard likely to get portion
Of its due from our imaginations.
Between times we-at least those
Of US who live inland-are likely
10 associate it vaguely with the
customs house or, somewhat apa-
thetically, with the prohibition
PATROL
The fact is that the work Of the
coast guard has little or nothing to
do with the collection of customs,
and only in the most incidental way
with prohibition.
1t is true that if a ship from the
West Indies attempted to land a
cargo of boxes marked "Scotch
Whisky, Handle with Extraordinary
Care" on the beach alongside a coast
guard station the crew would
very probably be put under arrest.
For part Of the coast guards job
Is to enforce the maritime laws Of
the United States, and rum snug
Cling is serious breach Of one Of
them.
But the primary phase Of its job
Is the protection of lives and prop
erty at sea. 1t does not, as is so
popularity believed, "comb the coasts
tor rum-runners," nor chase rum
smuggling yachts up small creeks.
That is the job Of patrol exten-
sively and expensively maintained
BY the Bureau of Internal Revenue.
The exploits Of the coast guard
against rum smugglers-or snug
glers of anything-have been neg
ligible.
Property SaUed SeUen Times
Size of Appropriation
In time of peace the great problem
Is with nature. To circumvent
nature if possible, or if not to
repair the damage she has done.
Last year the property salvaged by
the coast guard counted up to more
than S67000,00O, sum nearly
seven times as great as the appro-
priatlon for it's maintenance.
This takes no account Of the
passive side Of it's accomplishments,
OF the human lives delivered from
'he deep, nor of the great mission
ry work, such as among the
natives Of the Alaskan hinterland
ana the fishermen who cruise off the
newfoundland banks.
VI This last phase it Is we'll to speak
Here' Every one knows that cruise of
New England fishermen may last two
months or longer; that the life of
"ese fishermen is an extremely rough
.he' and that one who may be hurt or
.a'i III is likely to have a hard time Of
H.
frequently in fixing the lines the
.snermen get the hooks gouged into
~elr hesh. AS often there are acci-
vents which cause them to be cut by
'ae'f own cleaning knives. Very often
me ". result is serious infection. which
nheslected may necessitate an amputa-
'"' ana there are probably more one
,esHed or one-armed fishermen who hnYo
'0St their limbs in this way than those
VINO have had them bitten off by sharks.
Every fishing season during recent
'ears hospital ship from the coast
Suard fleet has cruised among the fish =
hs poats. The doctors and attendants
S'no aboard every ship, cauterize and
sandage the wounds Of the fishermen
Sa remove to their own ship the more
iously injured and those who have