The Indianapolis times. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1922-1965, 1929-08-08

ton Of Bimini In the British Yves
Indies, and headed toward tht
Florida coast.
On boarding the boat. the coast
guard commander, Sidney c. San
derlin, found one James H. Alder
man in charge, with Robert n
Weech aboard, together with twenty
sacks of liquor. Of the coast guard
boat crew. only Sanderlin was
armed. He searched Alderman 1ol
weapons and found none.
While the coast guard crew was
transferring the liquor from the
small boat to the coast guard boat
Sanderlin started toward the pilot
house of the patrol boat, where his
wireless was located. and Alderman
followed him. A moment later the
coast guard crew heard shots ano
saw Alderman, an automatic IN MS
hand, take a step OF two from the
pilot house door and shoot at a
member of the crew named Lamoy
The shot struck Lamby and ne
fell into the engine room. No one
saw Alderman shoot Sanderlin; but
Sanderlin was found
dead on the floor of the pilot house
killed by a bullet which entered the
right side of his back, passing
through the heart and coming out
of the left breast. Lamby died
four days later in a Florida
hospital.
Held at Bay with Gun.
Alderman. the bootleg runner
then lined up the remainder of the
coast guard crew and, menacing
them with his revolver, said that
he was going to get the rest OF
them. He then directed his own
Weech, to get the liquor
back aboard their boat, tear out
the gas pipe of the patrol boat, and
set it afire.
Alderman told the patrol crew
that he was going to throw them
overheard one at a time and shoot
them, and that they might as well
say their prayers, because they
were all going to hell and they
would need them.
Meanwhile, he had obtained two
more revolvers from the pilot house
and had given one to his associate
Weech. so that the prisoners were
covered by three guns. A few min
utes later Alderman glanced down
the hatch to see what Weech was
doing with regard to the motor,
Taking advantage of his momen-
tary inattention, the surviving men,
bers of the coast guard crew rushed
toward Alderman and he began
He succeeded in shooting
one of them through the shoulder
and head and in killing another.
the others overcame him
and later captured his associate,
I have outlined the facts in this
case to show what vicious criminals
are in the bootleg business, and
the risk of his life an agent runs.
Duty to make Arrests.
It is the officers duty to make ar
rests. The law gives the arrested
man every presumption of limo
cence and much legal protection.
But he must go peaceably with the
officer to the nearest
for hearing. Resisting
an officer is a serious offense. 1t
has been such ever since govern
ments were established.
tt has been the duty of all sworn
of the law to bring in their
prisoners dead or alive" That has
always, since the days of Black
stone, been regarded as vital to
protection of society and preserva-
ton of the state.
In dozens of cases, hundreds in
fact, arrested bootleggers are resist
ing with force and with guns Of
fcers of the law who have the legal
right and the duty to make the ar
rests and are discharging that duty
lawfully. In no other class of cases
has there been so much resistance
to officers.
Every day, in some part of the
United States, men are arrested by
state and federal officers for bur-
glary, robbery, arson, mail robbery
and other crimes for which the
penalties are much more severe thar
those imposed for bootlegging. YET
there is no such resistance to the
officers as in bootIegging cases, sim
ply because the men arrested know
that they will get no public or news