The Indianapolis times. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1922-1965, 1929-08-14

1 l.
coast states.
At this writing, Detroit is in thu
center of the spotlight on prohibi'
ton weaknesses. Only recently thu
newspapers throughout the countr!
have contained extended and luric
accounts of the great offensive
against rum smugglerS in the
neighborhood of Detroit.
Great Army Modified
The press reports tell of the
mobilization by the prohibition uni
at or near Detroit of hundreds o.
additional agents, investigators ane
super investigators to investigate
the. agents and investigators. The
published reports say:
ut was decided there should be
an immediate increase in the dry
army's three units. More auto
mobiles as we'll as speed boats
and cutters will be supplied, &C
cording to treasury prohibition
chief"
Then there are dispatches telling
of the assignment of twenty sever
more patrol boats to the west enc
Of Lake Erie and the Detroit river
including ten seventy-fve-foot fas'
boats carrying eight men each ane
rapid-fire guns.
But 100 or even 1000 additional
boats never could stop the leak a.
Detroit or any other border point
+ If they we're not used more efficient
ly and more honestly than prohibi'
ton forces have been used in the
past where liquor flows across the
border.
Certainly the beating of drums
and the issuance of mimeographec
threats of a great prohibition OF.
fensive' will not aid the government
forces in gathering evidence of the
kind necessary to convict the
leaders of the big liquor rings.
Rum Runners Not Afraid
The time to talk about "dry
drive" is after the evidence is gath.
cred and the defendants are il
court, facing sworn testimony o
the kind necessary to insure prison
sentences. Rum runners, ever
though some government men hav'
not yet learned it, are not scarce
when Uncle Sam hollers "boo!" Blu
they do begin to get nervous whe1
even a few of their number, ant
especially the men at the top OF thu
liquor ring, start on a long and eK
tended trip to one of Uncle Sam
boarding houses!
The present situation at Detroi
is by no means new to me. Thu
basis Of that self-congratulatory pa
on the back is a letter which wrot
to the attorney general more thai
four years ago, on July Is, 1928, t.
be exact.
The letter was written after I hat
spent several days in Detroit con
|
torney Cat that time Delos Smith
a young man of aggressive policies)
federal judges, special agents of tn
customs service, the United State
consul in nearby Canada, state pc
lice and special agents of the bureau
of investigation.
Tells of Detroit Situation
Here is part of what I reported Il
the -general-and please re-
member that the report was made
four years before the treasury de:
partment became aware, publicly a
least, of what was happening at De.
| troit:
I can not overemphaSize the
necessity of using every means at
our command to bring home to
the treasury department the need
of strengthening the customs pro-
lection against smuggling in the
| vicinity of Detroit. At present
there are tremendous quantities of
liquor, narcotics, other contraband
and a great many aliens, all COM
ing across the border at Detroit.
1t is a port of entry for illicit
struggled goods distributed in st.
Louis, Chicago, and other points
west. Smuggling is carried on by
railroad and by boat. This means
paying off" several men in the
railroad employ and one or two
customs inspectors. 1t will not be
difficult to get this evidence. 1t
is essential that an investigation
be pushed forward without delay
to uncover the defaulting railway
and customs men.
A number of customs men are
under suspicion. An able special
customs agent has no power to
control them. He should be placed
in charge and made to feel his
responsibility for results. He
should be given at least dozen
fast boats to patrol the river. He
should be given authority to in