The New York herald., 1922-12-10

our own drinking. Liberty rum was
made to sell, not to drink
(. The runners held a consultation and
decided that quick and large as tho
profits might be they We're neither
quick enough nor large enough to
warrant killing the business for. So
$500 cases of Liberty rum were still
bobbing up and down in the winter
seas off Fire Island Light last week.
May be there, for all Of that. The
Great South Bay booze smuggler is no
altruist, but he is a good business
man.
Near Islip there IL large estate
owned by a woman of great wealth
and high social position. From her
grounds there is large private wharf
extending into the bay and to which
Ter yacht is tied now and then. One
night not long ago she was motoring
through her estate when she ap-
preached the private wharf. 1t was
after 9 o'clock and quite dark. A
great hustle of industry was noticeable
on the wharf. A battered motorboat
was made fast to the dock. Men were
lifting cases out of the boat and piltng
them on the shore. =,
: They were coarse men, indulging In
coarse language. The lady observed
the Juror for moment and then told
her chauffeur to take her to the
house. When she disembarked from
her motor she said to the chauffeur:
Henry, please go to the wharf and
tell those men that have no par
ticular love for the Eighteenth
Amendment myself and that do
not object so much If they do unload
their liquor on my wharf. But do
want them to stop that terrible curs-
ing. I'm sure 1t isn't necessary"
I 'Ma'am,| said Henry. you'll have
to excuse me. Down at the wharf amt
no place for a colored man just now
especially a colored man who tells
those gent'men to stop swearing. No,
ma am, excuse me, please. The money
1 gets for driving this car don't make
T. worth while taking no such
chances"
The lady sent for the watchman.
Oddly enough he was i'll in bed. al
though he had been in excellent
physical trim couple of hours earlier.
Then she sent for gardener who was
Scotch and unafraid. He carried the
orders to the rum runners on the
wharf.
What did they say?' asked the
lady. who had not been thrilled so
much for years.
''They said they apologized and to
thank you, ma'am."
Ten days ago an earnest worker
in the cause Of world prohibition de-
livered a speech that was broadcast
by radio. He talked intelligently about
the evils of intemperance and uttered
statistical proof of the truth OF his
remarks Thousands heard him or
could have heard him had they kept
the transmitters open.
Here for the first time this pro-
hibition propagandist learns that in
his far flung audience was the crew
of at least one rum running steam
ship that was, at the time, five miles
off Oak Island Life Saving Station.
Besides the crew on that ship there
were twelve booze smugglers who
had gone out from Great South Bay
to sample the stuff the steamer of
fered for sale.
Wise Purchaser Samples
The Goods All Along Line
All along the coast Of Great South
Bay you will find testing stations. At
various points you will find rum
from one to one hundred cases Of
whisky to you at the drop OF the
money. But the wiser purchaser does
not rush In saying:
Here are $1,000. Throw twenty
cases Of Scotch into the truck you'll
find at the door," .f
No. he asks for a sample Of the
goods for sale. He Is shown the orig.
inal cases. He selects therefrom a bot
tle--any bottle that he chooses-and
has It opened. He takes a nip and X
he likes It he buys from the stock he
sees before him. II he doesn't like it
he moves on to the next testing sta
ton. or. the next or the next. In other
words. he selects his stun. II he IL
wise, as carefully as the intelligent
rum runner selects his from the SOW
eral steamers that lie on the coast
offering bottle goods. -
Good whisky sells quickly. For ex-
ample, there was Norwegian ship
of Fire Island four weeks ago. 10
had fetched $4,000 cases Of Atherton
and Cedarbrook rye. The whole lot
was taken off by small boats within
four days. A British schooner ar
rived off Oak Island with 1000 cases
of Scotch from Canada. It got rid Of
the 1000 cases in thirty-six hours.
A French schooner from st. Pierre,
Miquelon, appeared with $500 cases
of Scotch and rye. The runners took
that in forty eight hours.