Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1930-02-26

up with SmuggleF In daylight" We
observed. Not unless he has been de-
layed by the weather and has had to
anchor" said the skipper But mostly
We don't see them during the day.
Sometimes. when the water is calm,
we just drift, unless ordered to patrol
somewhere"
Summer, the men said, is most pleas
ant on the patrols. Then, lying on deck,
for when things are shipshape only
one or two men are needed-the crews
enjoy a yachtman's life, and only
Willie, in the galley. suffers
1T gets powerful hot down here"
he said.
Come below. I'll show you the equip
ment," said Cutler. From a small
cubby room aft, which opened into
the quarters where Mac" and 1 spent
the night, the bosn brought forth
Lewis machine gun with several car
fridge clips.
These boats are capable of only
about Is knots, or around Is miles an
hour" he said. so when we spot a
suspicious boat and want to look her
over we fire a shot across the bow if
she fails to heed a signal to heave to.
If she wants to give fight, or run, we
have the machine gun to show them
we mean business
Arms and Ammunition.
There also were quantities of am
munition for the one-pounder, an auto
matte pistol for each of the crew, hand
cuffs for possible prisoners and various
other equipment convenient in the
handling of recalcitrant suspects.
According to the Coast Guard Of
ficers, there is little trouble once a
suspect boat is ordered to heave to.
The patrol runs alongside lines are
liquor, dope, aliens. or any other con-
traband is found, the crew of the cap
tured boat is brought on to the patrol
and put under guard, and the patrol
reports by radio to the base, with the
result that either she tows her prize
in. or the standby patrol, sort of
substitute held in readiness for emer-
gency, goes out to take charge of the
captives
The standby boat also answers emer-
gency help calls. if patrol becomes
helpless in a sea or something else
goes wrong. Likewise, the radio COM
munication makes it possible for pa
trolls to rush to each others aid. Thus,
should a suspect succeed in eluding one
patrol others will be summoned until
several are circling the area.
This method was responsible for driv-
ing a recently captured Smuggler to
shelter on the lower New Jersey coast,
where other Coast Guardsmen, antici-
pating his destination, were waiting for
him on shore. Although the crew es-
capped, the boat and contraband were
captured and sent to customs head
quarters in Philadelphia
We next went through the engine
room. observing the especially designed
Sterling Coast Guard motors, which, To-
Gated amidships, drive the boat through
the water The minimum of strain is
put on the small craft by having these
engines SO placed. They are beautiful
machines, and the engineers take great
pride in displaying their various adj
vantages
Oil and gasoline are obtained by the
Government from the lowest bidder
Gasoline is bought for about 1874 cents
a gallon, oil for "a cents a gallon. The
boats are protected against fire by an
efficient sprinkler system which re-
leases gases. A tank containing 1000
gallons of gasoline provides fuel for a
cruise of about TOO miles.
The only steel in a patrol boat is in
the bulkheads. The CG-l12, like all the
others, is otherwise made entirely of
wood
We were again nearing Cape May.
To the south could be seen the beached
Mohawk, Clyde liner which was run
aground while on fire several years ago.
The wreckage of an old wartime con-
crete ship, just off the Point, was also
pointed out.
When things like that begin to hap
pen we all get orders to rush to the
rescue" an officer told US. Chasing
smugglers becomes secondary when life
and porperty are in danger" Both dere-
licts are grim reminders of battles in
which the men of base took part.
Having received permission over the
radio, Cutler put into the inlet to send
US ashore. There was no more chance
to see a smuggler that night than the
previous one, with chances that the sea
would be even rougher and the night
correspondingly so, Cutler added, so dis
erection overcame our valor. We went
ashore, first resigning the log and
noting that for nearly "a hours we had
been on the briny deep.
Land felt mighty good under our feet.
Next (final chapter: Running down
smugglers only small part. of Coast
Guard duties.