The Brattleboro daily reformer. (Brattleboro, Vt.) 1913-1955, 1922-06-29
ANXIOUS TO STOP
LIQUOR SMUGGLING
u. S. Shipping Board Prom
ises Cooperation With
Prohibition Forces
CREWS DOING GOOD
BUSINESS IN RUM
Not Enough Agents to Properly Search
Vessels = Easy to Conceal Liquors on
Ship Same Difficulty There Is In
Stopping Drug Smuggling
BY DAVID LAWRENCE.

/ 10y Ia III LA w INIl4NNTL.
| Especial Dispatch to The Reformer)
Copyright 1922.
WASHINGTON, June 29.-The
! United States shipping board has prom
ised its cooperation in the campaign of
| the prohibition forces of the government
| to prevent the smuggling of liquor from
foreign countries. The regulations issued
by the treasury department permit the
sale outside 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 intoxicants
ashore.
The problem of smuggling on the part
of the crews, however, is one which rivals
in its enforcement difficulties the stoppage
Of liquor traffic on land. Unquestionabiy
the crews of American and foreign vessels
are plying healthy trade in foreign
! liquors Smuggling on an extensive scale
| has been going on ever since the federal
| amendment went into effect. How can 1t
be prevented? The task is almost hope
| less.
| The federal government hasn't enough
agents to search vessels or their crews
/ effectively. 1t takes a long time to make
| a search of a modern merchant vessel and
| by the time agents would finish one part
| of ship it would be a comparatively easy
matter for crews to transfer their liquor
! agents are stationed on the docks, the
crews can put out small boats and land
at other points along shore. Nobody pays
much attention TO the activities of a crew
when the vessel Is in port. They can
come and 20 freely. In the case of
American ships, the captains might be
penalized if negligence in preventing
smuggling is proved-this might easily be
added to the laws, but this would not
touch foreign shippers who could hardly
be punished for something their crews did
in their own waters abroad when the act
Of smuggling began.
Enforcement Difficulties.
The practical difficulties in the way of
enforcing prohibition are numerous, but
few phases of the question are as perpleX-
ing az the smuggling of liquor by crews.
The shipping board has written its man
ayers and urged them to do all they can
to prevent smuggling of liquor, parucu-
larry 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
is usually in liquors privately stored on
the ship by members of the crew. An
idea of the difficulties of catching n SNUG
gIer may be obtained by the experience
Of the shipping board in stopping the
traffic in narcotics. Nobody in the gov
eminent no matter what his views may
be on the liquor question, can be sus-
pected of a desire to let drugs come into
the United States, especially from the
Orient. Yet the government has had its
hands full in keeping drugs out of the
United States. Only last week 200 pack
ages of narcotics came into the United
States through a shipping board vessel
The packages had been carefully con-
cealcd between the electric switches and
the chief electrician was arrested. There
are many places aboard ships which per-
nit of easy concealment of contraband
articles. The federal government will
have to increase its searching force consid-
erably to cope with the problem.
Expect Change in Law.
Until congress changes existing law
American vessels will continue to sell
liquor outside the three-mile limit but
the prevalent opinion is that legislatio
will be passed soon prohibiting this. a
for smuggling. nobody has yet devised q
way successfully to prevent smuggling eS
cept by appropriating large sums OF
money for special agents to search ship
and their crews and passengers. Ever
ii vessels touching American ports are
prevented from bringing liquor into this
country, the smuggling by way of ships
touching Canadian ports and then over
land across the border will continue until
more agents are employed to police the
northern border. Prohibition has its vir-
tues no doubt, but few of its advocates in
the government will concede that il has
been a welcome problem in the matter of
enforcement or that effective ways have
vet been discovered to prevent "bootIeg-
ging, which has for its main source of
supply the liquor manufactured abroad
and smuggled into the United States.