The Prince George's enquirer and southern Maryland advertiser. (Upper Marlborough, Md.) 1882-1925, 1922-05-05
MOBILIzEFLEETTO
OUTW|T DRY navy
Bootleg Ring, Backed by Wealth,
SmuggIes Liquor in Former
Submarine Chasers.
POSE AS NAVAL VESSELS
Already $s,o00,ooo Worth of Scotch
Has Been Rushed In From Bermuda
and Cuba-captan and Crew Tell
Wild Yarn of Pirate Raid.

New York. Customs officials an
nounced that they were working 10
smash a rich bootlegger ring which,
they charged, had modified a fleet Of
former submarine chasers to meet the
creation of Americas "dry navy"
Federal agents are working on the
theory that the swift craft that once
pursued German U-Boats and were
sold after the war, now are posing as
naval vessels, and, commanded by Off
GERS in the uniform of the Unitc1
States, already have succeeded Ii
running 100000 worth of rum into
the United States from Bermuda and
Havana
Announcement of the discovery of
the alleged smuggling scheme was
made after former submarine chaser
No 101, rechristened the Fidus, had
been nabbed in New York harbOr by
a police boat and customs launch after
she had passed quarantine and WAS
darling toward pier. Customs men
claimed they found aboard her nume.-
GUS charts, with marked landings along
the Atlantic coast and Hudson river.
No liquor was found aboard, and the
crew told hair-raising tale of having
had their cargo plundered by pirates
off the Long Island coast.
The ex-chaser, said to bear British
registry, was tied up at the Battery,
where she was held on a technical
charge that she left Bermuda without
clearance papers. Her captain, who
gave his name as John Kelly" ard
his crew of seven were taken to the
Custom House for a severe grilling.
After the examination, which was
attended by representative from the
office of the British Consul General,
Assistant United States Attorney Falk
said:
"Kelly wore the uniform of United
States naval officer. We have not as
yet made any charges against Captain
Kelly or the crew.
sit is understood that the Fidus
carried 100 cases of choice Scotch
whisky from Bermuda, and that is
what we want to find out. The vessel
failed to show on her manifest any
cargo, and after questioning by Gus
toms agents it was decided to take
her into port and question the crew.
Federal agents, who said they be-
lieyed the name John Kelly" fictitious,
and that the captains real name was
S. Stanley Clarke Of Brooklyn, inti-
mated that there was a possibility that
there might be. brought against her
captain a charge of wearing an ensign',s
uniform illegally. "Kelly," who claim
cd at one time to have served in the
United States navy, denied he was
wearing naval uniform.
"All had was cap that resembleI
an ensign's headpiece," he told re-
porters.
Kelly claimed to have been taking
liquor to Montreal for Bermuda wine
merchant who owned the craft when
pirates on another chaser stole his
cargo and manifest
The story Of the piratical raid off
Montauk Point was the greatest thriller
that had been brought into port in
many a day but customs officials
claimed to have detected points at
which the tale, as related by different
members of the crew, did not give.
Incidentally, one of the crew, Ray
Palmer. was alleged to be carrying
I. w. w. literature
Falk quoted the version of Chief
Engineer William Lockwood as fol-
lows:
"We were all below. This was about
6 o'clock. A bell was given us to
stop and we stalled the engines Next
thing we knew a gang of men, all
unmasked, swarmed down on us, and
pointing revolvers at us, backed us
into a small compartment in the engine
room and told us to be quiet"
They denied they had one of their
agents in the crew Of the Fidus, al
though one Of the seamen was
quoted as saying that "there was
Judas among u.s.