The Washington times. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1902-1939, 1924-07-12
j. s. OPENS NEW
4 WARON RUM
RUNNERS
Heavily Armed Marins Patrol
Starts Four Months In
tensive Campaign
By. ROBERT s. THORNBURGH
International News Service.

HlenL Dy Assistant secretary OF the
Treasury Moss, in charge of inter-
nal revenue operations.
A big per cent of the bootlegging
liquor operations in the United
States are made possible by illegal
importation of whiskey, according
to Secretary Of the Treasury Mel
lon, who believes that the amount
of wet goods manufactured in this
country, or withdrawn from Gov.
eminent warehouses, forms
negligible part Of that dispensed by
Illicit vendors.
For this reason the Treasury will
begin an intensive drive against
smuggling.
Since July / the customs marine
patrol, organized April as a tenn
porary expedient to check illegal
importation Of liquor and mar
cotics, has been withdrawn to over.
haul and refit boats and equipment
and to augment it's personnel.
1.-THE brilliant achievements of
the patrol during it's brief exist.
ence have commanded the admira-
ton and received the commenda-
ton of citizens and officials who are
aware Of what it has accomplished"
Assistant Secretary Moss declared.
To "Surpass Record"
THE patrol goes back into action
determined to surpass it's previous
record. Advantage will be taken
of this brief period to give the per-
sonnet muchFneeded rest. as this
force has worked without rest or
relaxation, almost continuously,
sometimes several days at a stretch,
since the first week in April"
Explaining the operations Of the
marine patrol, Secretary Moss said
that it had been engaged in the
detection and prevention of liquor
smuggling in the coastal zone along
the Atlantic between New London,
Conn; Montauk Point, Long Island,
and Atlantic City, N. j., co-operat-
ing with and experimenting the
larger activities of the coast guard
in this area"
Moss said that 1t had first been
| intended to disband the special pa.
! trail June 80. but the success of it's
operations had decided officials to
| continue the work for at least four
more months.
During the three months thirty
vessels valued at $160,000 have been
| captured by the patrol. Twelve
| thousand five hundred cases of Ii.
quor were captured.
Moss said that liquor valued at
| $280,000 is now on the rum fleet off
the eastern coast and that it's com.
mercial landed value" would be an.
proximately 100000.
| The special patrol made $50 ar.
rests, collected $37 900 in fines, has
| ITO prisoners not yet tried and cost
for operation $3.50 between April
/ and June 30
Equipped With Guns.
During the ten days of its rest
the coast guard has assigned to
| special duty in this area a number
Of suitable vessels, equipped witt
| rapid-firing guns, manned by prop.
| erly armed crews and prepared to
cope with any operations of the rum
| runners.
The rum fleet is still up to nor.
NAL strength, according to customs
and coast guard officials, who said
| that the chief danger point is in
the vicinity of New York harbor.
Smuggling Of rum is continuing
and probably cannot be COPIED with
to the greatest degree Of efficiency
until the naval destroyers and hun
dreds Of smaller craft under con-
struction for bringing the coast
guard up to ''liquor war strength"
are completed late in the year.
The last Congress appropriated
$14,000,000 for increasing the
strength of the coast guard upon
representations of Treasury officials
that heavy augmentation of the
fleet was essential If the Govern
ment hopes to successfully battle
| the rum runners
Contracts for the new ships, con-
sisting of cutters, speedy power
boats and smaller craft, have al
! ready been let to shipyards on all
coasts. A number of destroyers,
transferred from the navy, are be.
ing overh auled and sAecially
equipped for the rum war, in the
Philadelphia Navy Yard.
At the office of the United States
Coast Guard, a war map of the
| eastern coast, showing the daily To-
cation of the rum fleet, s4s main
tanned. Officials are able. by daily
radiograms from the anti-rum fleet,
! to determine to practical Ger.
tainty the amount of liquor and
number Of smugglers lying off the
ALIdnLlC coast.
The new customs patrol will
make a valiant effort to hold the
rum runners in check until rein
forcements possible with the new
| coast guard fleet are ready for
action, probably in December. The
customs patrol, is equipped with
| fast vessels, which are able to
! cover a vast expanse of water in
the nations dooryard.
To Blockade Coast.
When the new coast guard fleot
is ready it's units will be distrib-
uted over the Atlantic coast, in the
danger zone between Cuba and
, Florida, along the Gulf Coast and
along the Pacific. Undoubtedly
the heavy concentration will attack
the rum runners on the Atlantic.
Officials declared that the coasts
Of the United States would be
blockaded almost as effectively as
were the shores of the Confederate
States during the civil war. In
that period the blockading fleet
was charged not only with prevent.
tons and other "accoutrement lie
stop illegal expectation of cotton.
which the Confederacy desired to
sell and for which Europe was
pleading.
The customs service, in addition
to its campaign on the water, is
distributing reinforcements along
the Canadian border to stop tourist
smuggling of liquor during the