The Birmingham age-herald., 1923-07-23
RUM SHIPS DEVISE
 MANY WAYS TO AVOID SEIZU RE
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merely is typical of others of which we have authentic records, is that the colonial officials must have been fully aware that they were being inn posed upon
 It seems singular that any bank house could be drawn into such a relationship, although the utmost care was taken in drawing up the agreement to avoid any mention or liquor, and to confine the terms to unspecified commodities. It must De that bank officials who lent them selves to this business were of a sort who could satisfy conscience by a hair-line distinction, for they could hardly have been in doubt as to the nature of the actual transaction.
 Methods of landing smuggled rum on our coasts vary with localitles' due largely to shore-line conditions. Around Savannah, for instance, the northern practice of unloading at sea was followed for a considerable time. Then the miles upon miles Of 1ndented shore line, running up into deep creeks that could carry lighter craft far inland, attracted attention. Oper- ations shifted to direct landings in these hidden recesses. The snug glers know every twist and turn and sandbar, and it is comparatively easy to evade pursuit.
 Case or PurSu1t ht Scds
 But some of them have been cap tured. They lost thereby not only their contraband, but also valuable, high powered boats vital to their success. So an ingenious method of minimizing the risk to the power boats was devised A trustworthy report desc. Joe the new arrange ment as follows:
 The liquor was formerly trans ported to docks in small power boats; Iatterly transportation has been by small, flat barges toWed at high speed ty the small boats. The purpose or this Is greater capacity per trip and the ability to cut the towllne Tn case of pursuit, and abandon the ValueleSS SS barges with their cargoes, saving the power boats from capture and con fiscation."
 As storage places ashore for their cargoes, these southern rum-runners have devised system of under ground traps or vaults with the metal covers buried, when not in use. be- heath foot or two of soil. From these traps illegal liquor Is conveyed by night in motor trucks for rail ship ment in cars loaded with vegetables or other commodities bound north or west and destined to be Host in transit" en route.
 The situation is so obvious around the deep-water creek regions that one investigator has made this comment:
 Farmers who have not raised S1O0 worth of product in years have fine touring cars in their frame barns"
 In one southern tow 1t was charged that there existed a well-defined sys- tenn of official protection to the boot leggers which the government ought to repress. It was charged that when trains of machines laden with liquor started out, the first car carried no hut = men as passengers
 In case of attempted interception, the police escort pilot car rammed the machine of the intercepting pro hibition officers. Colliding is a traf- fic offense. Arrests and confusion have followed such collisions" In the excitement the bootleggers' cars behind have made their escape.
 (To be continued Tomorrow)
 In the upbuilding of the smuggling trade from the south to its present highly organized state with the "un- derwriters' fee" system of arranging credit and alloting profits, many de- vices have been tried out. Among these Is one which points finger of condemnation at certain banking institutions in American seaports.
 Americans in these cases were pre- pared to pay C. O. D. for smuggled liauor they planned to circulate In the retail bootleg trade. But they did not trust the skipper or ship owner with whom they dealt to the point of placing the money in his hands in advance; nor would he un- dertake the risk unless he had se- curity that he would be paid for 1t at the rate fixed In advance.
 If he sailed in and delivered his cargo and payment were refused or the rate cut. he would have no ap- peal to law. If the Americans paid in advance and he never came back, they had no legal recourse. In self protection both parties needed some method of guarantee of good faith. They were both outside the protec- tien of law.
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 Dealing With Big Banks.
 Some genius Of the underworld hit upon a workable scheme. The plan was based on the old trade custom of deposits in escrow. Arrived at satisfactory terms. there appeared at