The Washington times., 1929-04-25
Congress Agitated
Over Gun Play in Dry
Law Violation Cases
BY GEORGE r. HOLMES

Congress SHOWED signs today of
becoming irritated over the rough
and.ready use Of firearms in prohibi-
ton enforcement.
Congress is dry, sternly so politi-
calIyy but the increasing number OF
Incidents wherein enforcement
officers have been too quick with
their trigger-fingers has started a
backfire of public sentiment whicn
is daily making itself felt in the
form Of protests from constituents.
Even dry congressman are sensitive
when their constituents begin to
complain.
The U. s. Coast Guard and Gus
toms Patrol are coming in for severe
criticism on Capitol Hill
1t began with the shelling and
sinking of the Canadian schooner
I'm Alone 200 miles at sea, 1t in
creased when shGts were tired at
the Norwegian fruit boat Juan;
when the waterfront at Miami was
raked with machine-gun fire; when
Stuyvesant Fish's yacht was boarded
in New York Harbor. and the latest
episode, the Shelling of the Amer.
lean coal collier. T. A. D. Jones,
hasn't helped matters any.
Protests Continue
The Treasury Department has en-
deaVored to Sooth ruffled cOngres.
sional feelings by announcing that
.the officer responsible for the
machine-gunning of the Miami water
front has been forced out of the
service. But even that hasn't stilled
the protests going up from Capitol
Hill.
Even so suaVe and eVen-tempered
legislator as Senator Hiram Bing.
ham (R.D of Connecticut, raised his
voice today to caustically crittctse
the nervous triggers of the U. S,
Coast Guard, winch in the past six
weeks have got the State Depart.
ment into difficulties with several
foreign countries.
apparently said Bingham. in
condemning the shooting at che
collier Jones. these Coast Guards.
men enjoy shooting very much as
small boys do. They like to hear
the noise. One shot nearly killed
the mate on the Jones.
Liners May Be Next
IF vessels can be held up en-
the high seas and shelled. then
there is no reason why European
liners should not come in for similar
treatment. Everyone knows what
would follow an incident. Of that
kind"
The State Department is being
embarrassed exceedingly in the for
eign incidents" Great Britain,
France, Canada and Norway now
have protests lodged with the de-
partment over the shooting of
their flag-ships by jealous Coast
Guardsmen.
Incidentally. the department will
make public tonight the notes that
have passed between Washington
and Ottawa in the I'm Alone case,
in which the schooner was not only
sent to the bottom, but a French
citizen was killed. These notes en-
brace some $4,000 words of protest
and reply.
Don't Like Work
The State Department with con.
siderable reluctance has been
forced to defend the I'm Alone sink
ing, but officials there have made
it clear they have little stomach
for the task.
AS serious as the present Incl
dents" are. the State Department
lives in almost, daily fear that
overly-zealOus Coast GuardsTnen
may at any time be to- quick on the
trigger in the case of a passenger
vessel and create a real ''incident."
The case of the I'm Alone, which
was admittedly rum-runner, has
proved knotty enough, without
counting any more flagrant cases.
To that end pressure is being
discreetly brought to bear on the
Coast Guard to weed out Of the ser.
vice those men who display tsO much
twitehing In their tE&EsE-fiAsS