Evening star., 1924-03-23
BY HERBERT COREY.
NALLY one good deed for the rum
runners. Not a voluntary good
l1.ol .-,,A m. - - -

INALLY one good deed for the rum
runners. Not a voluntary good
deed, true. They do not acquire
merit by it. But it is a good
dead for all that. Because of their illici,
activities the coast guard-the oldest,
proudest, most spotless service of the
United c-ates governments to bt
doubled in size.
Lord knows we've wanted these boats
long enough. the coast guardsmen say.
The rum-runners may blame them
selves. They got too coclsV. They have
been snooping in cargoes under the
eyes of helpless officers of the law,
mounted on antiquated old wash tubs
that wallowed sidewise like crippled
crabs They permitted themselves ges-
lures of derision. They bought and paid
for some of the prohibition enforcement
officers. so that they might land whisky
where they pleased. The matter became
Il national scandal.
International syndicate.s went into the
RUNNING business, confident that Uncle
Sam would do nothing to hinder them.
From twenty to fifty vessels are forever
at anchor just outside New York, beyond
the twelve-mile limit. Fifty-siX new
boats have been added in the past few
months The government of Grand
Bahama built bonded warehouses to ac-
commodate the whisky smugglers. st.
Pierre. MiqueIoa, has become the most
prosperous colony of France.
What are we going TO do about it,
-.
Well, there were two obvious things
to do The first was to throw a monkey
wrench in the gears of that rum fleet.
The second was to stop whisky peddling
or shore. The anti-rum unit undertook
TO head off the blockade runners at
sea without much success. They did
catch a boat now and then. but Il fast
launch is paid for by the profits of two
or three successful voyages. The court
GocketS are so crowded with rum cases
that blockade runners hardly come to
trial!
They just walk in. thrown down a
hundred dollar bill for bail, and forget
about it, n court official told me the
other day.
HeinfOrcements for Coast Guard.
Evidently RUNNING could not be stop
ped while that fleet was in being. But
maritime activities are no part of the
prohibition units duties. strictly speak
ing Its job is ashore. The enforce
tnent of the customs laws is one of the
thirteen ma jor purposes the coast guard
is presumed to have, but il was helpless.
Its ships were too slow to catch a rum
mrr The bottle fishermen could run
circles around its cutters. Further. its
principal duty is to save life at sea.
Interpositiou between the bottle and
an unhallowed thirst comes away
down in the list.
Therefore Congress Is now con-
sidering the Winslow bill, by the
terms of which twenty deStroyers
Will be united from the Navy docks
at which they are now rusting and
turned over TO the coast guard.
That means that the guard can go
out TO sea and sit down with the
fleet. When it sees something it
does not like il can take steps TO
have that particular thing changed
The chances are the price of scotch
will go up. In addition to the de-
stroyers fifty or so fast launches will
be turned over to the coast guard.
Then the slippy little boats that scoot
out to the rum fleet under cover of
night may find themselves block ed
off. The traffic between enforce
ment officers and the runners will be
ended.
1T is the pride of the coast guard