The Washington times., 1930-01-07

gers and Speakeasy owners spread
easily over officialdom to protect
countless other rackets and the
reign Of terror set in.
See Rum Runners
Ironically, the rum fleet, accord
ing to customs and coast guard
officials, stands directly off q
present impotent Coast Guard
base. The small Coast Guard pa
trolls see the rum ships cruising
about near northeast light off
Cape May--the most popular
rendezvous today for rum runners
and the smaller ferry" runners.
theoretically, the destroyers
from New London and Staten Is
land are supposed to cover the At
! lantic City and Cape May area.
4 but in actual practice. these Of
ficials say, they are never visible
even after district Coast Guard
stations send out radio alarms.
Runners Use Base
Today the inlet where the Coast
Guard base stood at Atlantic City
is a principal unloading place for
q fleet of ship-to-shoreS Srum run
ners, including fishing Smacks
which bring in cases hidden by
their odorous .camflouage.
Admiral Bi1ard's statement ex-
planning the elimination of the
base, read as follows:
THE Coast Guard section base
at Atlantic City was discontinued
October S, 1927. solely for admin
J istrative reasons. There is a
section base at the north end of
the coast at Cape May, N. j.
The Atlantic City patrol boats
we're transferred to these two
bases. Experience has shown
that the discontinuance Of the
Atlantic City base and the con-
centration Of forces at the other
two bases is good administration.
The change did not involve elimi-
nation of the patrol force on the
New Jersey coast"
When an Evening Journal rep
reSentative questioned Admiral
Billiard further on the reasons
for wiping out Atlantic City'S
main anti-rum defense, he de-
cIined to answer, intimating that
this statement had been approved
by the acting head Of the Treas
ury Department.
The present Coast Guard pro-
lection along the lower New
Jersey Coast, according to Of
ficialS:
Eight At Cape May
Cape May, section base No. 9,
eight boats {seven of the scant
fleet at this base were trans
ferred to the Great Lakes last
summer; Hereford Inlet Coast
Guard, l boat: Townsend Inlet
Coast Guard. l boat: Great Egg
Coast Guard. 2 boats; Atlantic
City Coast Guard. 2 boats; Little
Beach Coast Guard, 2 boats;
Bonds Coast Guard, boat; Balm
egat Coast Guard, boat. In
between these anti-rum stations
there are about as many more
lookout stations with clockerS
patrolling the shore line.
These Coast Guard stations
and auxiliary look-outS are SO
Strategically located that it would
be impossible to find a landing
place without coming under the,
supervision of one or more of
these stations.
Six Seizures
Nevertheless, the officials ad-
mitted, mere half dozen seiz-
ures were made during the past
year. The Evening Journal. in
hsubsequent articles, will show
how each of these few seizures
had curious circumstances at
tached to them.
The main landing place for
the liquor in the United States
on the day that this article is
published is lonely spot sew
eral miles north Of Atlantic
City.
The landing spot Is under the
shadow of the huge transatlantic
Tuckerton radio station WCI,
WGG, and VIC The tremend-
Gus towers Of this station, built
by the Germans, seized by the
United States, and subsequently
sold to the Radio Corporation,
are visible for many miles at
sea.
A lonely road from Tuckerton
winds down through the radio
station, crosses a bridge, and de-
baunches in several directions on
deserted Wells Island.
Aviators Scanned
There is but one inhabitant
on this lsland-a fisherman who
dWells in a tiny cottage beside
the bridge. and who comes out
to survey sharply every visitor
to the island.
One fork Of the lonely road
leads down through scrub under
growth to narrow strip of beach,
on Great Bay.
At this beach, there is a de-
serted, ruined farm house, used
by the rum-runners for shelter.
The road, which goes nowhere,
and is used by none but rum
runners, is heavily graded in
rough spots, with gravel and
small trees. Two saplingS carry