Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1930-02-28

! travel transfers are available at the
end Of enlistment" one man told me.
The men seem contented with life
| at Cape May. which In Winter Is none
too exciting, few during their periodic
leaves going farther than Atlantic City,
Philadelphia and New York.
That they are jealous and alert to
duty is evident during trips such as
made and described earlier in this
series. Only the officers seem aware
of the possibility of encountering
smuggler; the men merely carry out
orders.
It il evident that the old rule about
q dollar-a-day man in Government
service being usually more dependable
and impervious to handling" than
others holds true in the Coast Guard
, as in the Navy, the Marines and the
Army. Tell a sailor, a Marine or q
doughboy to do a job, and he does it;
likewise the Coast Guard.
Difficulties arise, often Of stern ma
ture. Smuggling along the Gulf Coast,
for instance, is no child's play, no mere
matter of few cases of bootleg. There
has been evidence that aliens. such as
Chinese, being brought into the country
contrary to immigration laws, have
been weighted and quietly slipped over
board as the Coast Guard patrol ap-
preached. Those who will slip man
over the side to his death are not
exactly companionable to deal with.
Often he work Is discouraging, Capt.
William H. Shea, commander Of the
Cape May Use, pointed out. I'VE have
seen cases." he said, where seizures Of
men and boats with cargoes were made
only to languish for as long as two
years, while court delays allowed wit
nesseS to disappear, men to leave the
service and the guilty ones to roam at
will on bond.
I'VE have also seen boats, released
under q $4,000 bond, return to snug
Cling while awaiting disposition OF the
case.
One Hope Against Smuggling.
"Our only hope to eradicate liquor
smuggling Is to knock the profit out Of
it. If smuggler can land three or four
consignmentS Of contraband his outlay
is paid for and the rest is pure profit.
On the other hand, II we can capture
his speedboat and cargo or force him to
lie offShore until he gives up and goes
away, the victory is ours.
Rum Row has ceased to exist There
are no more lines of anchored ships out
side the limit. Some, Of course, will get
rid Of their loads. The coast Is long.
But we hope to make the whole thing
so improbable that IL will die out"
Guard most rigidly. Surplus Army and
Navy supplies, such as motors, planes
and parts, are used for building craft.
There were nearly q score OF Liberty
engines on hand at base 8, Cape May
One was being used In an amphibian
plane, while others could be put into
swift speedboatS.
An oil-distilling plant, which takes
discarded motor oils and refineS them
iV1A1 lsVD1~ De- mIr
the premises. There Is no loafing by
the men. Everybody has q Job, and
''it's his neck" If he fails.
And lastly, there is romance in the
Coast Guard. What more picturesque
duty could one want than transporting
the Governments floating court
among the frozen islands Of Alaska,
taking judge. attorney, bailiffs and other
officers to try cases Of capital nature
in the Arctic with the Northland, the
Haida or the famous cutter Bear? Or
warning transoceanic traflc Of icebergS
in the North Atlantic?
Then. to conclude, Just glance over
these condensed extracts from the
Coast Guards yearly log:
Two duck hunters In rowboat caught
IN pack Ice OF Buffalo. During freezing
temperatures, in snowstorm, C0-164
took them off,"
'Edsel Fords private yacht aground
on Hen and Chickens Ledge. CG-2e7
lowered a dinghy and after six danger
Gus trips took OF the whole crew. Later
the yacht was salvaged."
Fishing boat on FIRE in Tillamook
Bay. No FIRE extinguisher, fishermen
chopped hole In hull and sank her.
Later asked Coast Guard to raise their
boat"
Carried husband, wife and their