Evening star., 1923-07-11
CAPITAL ON ROUTE
Of RUM RING THAT
, PROMISES SAFETY
Florida Auto Dealer Said to
Back FIourishinJ Industry
That Includes D. c.
SELLS CARS, PROVIDES
DRIVER AS ASSURANCE
Explains How Appearance OF
Wealth and Local Tags Fool
Watchful Dry Agents.
BY the Associated Press.

ny the Associated Press.
CHICAGO. July 11.-Rum running
along the Floria coast has developed
into such a fiourishing industry that
some Florida automobile dealers sell
cars specially built to transport hq-
uor, furnish a negro chaufeur ana
guarantee safe delivery anywhere,
the Chicago Dali News declared to-
day in the second of series OF copy
righted articles describing rum rum
ming along the Atlantic seaboard.
The writer. who with bootlegger
named Terry" investigated rum
running along the Florida coast, de-
clared he had been approached by
such a dealer who believed the news
paper man to be a bootlegger and
described transportation methods,
particularly the negro driver.
THE secret is this" the article
quoted the dealer as saying: III you
buy a car from me l will supply
negro chauffeur who will drive you
through in style for $40 and his ex-
penses. Most of the northern rum run
ners, who try to take booze through
from Florida, make the mistake OF
driving the car themselves. They
are a hard lot, they wear caps and
sweaters, they don't shave. some chew
tobacco, they talk with their rs
spread all through their conversation.
4 southern cop can spot them as lar
as he can see them. II you take one
of my sedans and one of my chaur :
feurs, and simply loll back all dressed
UP in the back seat and let my chauf-
feur do your lying for YOU, l posi-
lively guarantee that you Will get oS.
To make assurance double sure,
take a pretty girl along to loll with
you in the back seat. In fact Tor
a trih!ng extra charge, l Will furnish
the pretty girl"
Graft Negligible.
The graft to be spread along the
ing, is negligible. - -
~ "A case here. i case there. to- g.
prohibition agent" he was quoted.
"A drink-a mere nip-here and there
TO a cop. There Is great deal OF
rivalry between Maryland and Dis
trict of Columbia in the matter OF
automobile licenses, tourists are sup.
jected to a great annoyance. II
would be well to carry license p!ate
for both when you start out: For
trifiing amount l can supply you
with these plates.
The dealer, the writer said. offered
bank references and other PROOF Oh
his reliability and integrity.
Prohibition is Topic
On the trip to Florida, the writer
declared, prohibition was the pre-
dominant theme of talk among pas
sengers. While passing through Ala
bama, where even the sale OF near
beer is prohibited, the writer said he
observed that eight of thirteen pas
sengers in the observation car had
pocket TASKS a ninth. who was from
Alabama, was trying to beg drink.
A Birmingham business man who
had been on a trip to Chicago declared
that Alabama Ticker is better than
anything you have in your liberal city
of Chicago with its thousands of
saloons" adding that Alabama is the
greatest corn Ticker state in the
Cnion," and estimating the 1923 crop
at about forty gallons to the acre"
Porters on the train on which the
trip was made, the writer declared,
were dispensing pint bottles of liquor
at every stop at $3.50 pint.
"Ill-advised bootleggers who try to
ship booze north by passenger train
give the conductor So per case to
carry the liquor" the writer said.
The conductor gets the money in ad-
vance. Before the train reaches its
northern destination the porters dou-
ble-cross the conductor for the booze
and sell it themselves OH the way
back"
Further. in reference to automobile
dealers selling special bootlegging
cars. the writer quotes one dealer as
promising to follow through on the
deal by introducing the prospective
rum-runner to prominent northern busi-
ness connections al tho other end.
"I give you my word of honor, sir,
the writer quotes the dealer. I'll
write you an Introduction to the
sales manager of our cars on Michi-
gan avenue. Chicago, who will take
you to the president of the bank with
which he does business. and they will
assure you that we are gentlemen of
Florida with cargo of whisky In
one of our cars every facility at our
command will be at your service to
assure your safe arrival"
The birmingham business man
quoted by the writer as lauding
kind he got in Chicago. He said he
got a quart through a bell boy for
"All told I guess I drank about a
pint" he said I'm not feeling ra-
tional yet I'm still uncertain and
subject to fits. I come from a bone
d,y state where theoretically we
not a saloon in Birmingham. We're
the mildest city in the Union"