Great Falls tribune. [volume] (Great Falls, Mont.) 1921-current, 1922-09-02
THE MODERN SMUGGLER.

THE federal prohibition authori-
1 ties are responsible for the
statement that they know of at
least eleven different airplanes
which are engaged in smuggling
liquors from Canada into New
York City, and they want an air
patrol to catch the smugglers. They
already have a prohibition navy to
guard our coast against the whis-
key smugglers. That the prevent
alive guards against whiskey snug
Cling from Canada are inefficient
and do not prevent an enormous
traffic is quite evident from the
course of Canadian exchange. From
a discount of twenty cents on the
dollar before prohibition, the Cana
dian dollar has steadily moved up
ward until it reached par, then
passed, and is now quoted at a pre-
MUM. There is nothing in the Off
cial trade statistics between the
two countries to justify this steady
rise of the Canadian dollar. Accord
ing to the official trade figures,
Canada is still buying a great deal
more from the United States in
goods than we buy from her, and
the exchange rate ought to favor
the American dollar. But purchases
of whiskey and other wet goods to
be smuggled across the border do
not get included in trade statistics.
Evidently these purchases are large
enough TO swing the balance of
trade in favor of Canada and so
boost her dollar to a premium.
Most of this booze from Canada
consists of English and Scotch
liquors. 1t comes to us in all sorts
of ways, by boats in the great
lakes, by the Pacific and Atlantic
ocean, by automobile, concealed in
freights, carried on pack horses
through lonely mountain trails, and
perhaps occasionally through the
air.
The government is now spending
many millions of dollars every year
to enforce the bone dry prohibition
law. Every month sees more men
added to the prohibition enforce
ment force. To completely guard
twelve thousand miles of sea and
land frontier and then patrol the
air also would cost us as much as
it would to fight another war. Par
ticularly hopeless would be the eft
fort to guard the air day and night.
In fact, no n person would con-
template such a task. A fast plane
flying in the night and landing a
cargo on some lonely spot would be
almost impossible to detect, though
the cargo might be captured after
ward. However, there is n fac
tor in such illicit transportation
that makes it unlikely that it will
ever be largely used. The cargo
capacity of most aeroplanes is linn
tied. Those large enough to carry
a large cargo are expensive and
likely to attract a good deal of at
tention to their owner We don't
think air smuggling of liquors from
Canada or Mexico will be very pop
ular under present conditions. Lane
and water transportation is cheaper
and at present not so risky. Per
haps in the future the daring SNUG
sler will take to air transportation
for his wet goods, and if he doe:
it is going to be some trick to catcf
him, especially if he gets a silenceI
! on his motive power.
We have always had smuggling
where profits were large enough te
pay for the risk. The new tariff
bill, which has raised the custom!
rates to dizzy heights on many
kinds of goods that are neither
bulky nor heavy, will no doub'
cause an increase in smuggling
other goods than wet goods. Tha'
has been the experience of all othel
countries. 1t is also a curious fac
that for a hundred years and more
it has been hard to catch the SNUG
gler because the citizens who woule
denounce any other crime agains
the law often are in sympathy will
the smuggler and regard his un
lawful activities with a very lenien
eye, especially wber. they profit BY
them