Evening star., 1933-12-05
Special Dispatch to The Star.

Special Dispatch to The Star.
NEW YORK, December CNANA)
Rum row-that glamorous offspring
OF prohibition-Will die tonight. Rum
row has been put ION the spot" by the
bootleggers themselves.
1t Is only necessary to see these men,
to talk with them, to listen to con-
versation among themselves, to visit
the ships. TO know this is true. And
the writer, having just returned from
such a trip, believes 1t Is a safe and
accurate prediction that repeal means
UrQcrS nave gone OUT. from tle heads
quarters of the eight liquor syndicates
the coast that all liquor must be brought
ashore, all ships outside emptied IS
repeal becomes effective.
In Atlantic City and Cape May. two
of the principal rum-rmning bases,
agents are busy trying to get rid of the
skiffs at bargain prices. or to find
storage space for them in ship yards
for three or four months until the
public reaction to repeal and repeal
prices can be estimated as well as
whether resurrection" will b.
profitable.
Boats Cost 5000 to $4,000.
The term "skiff" is not an accurate
description. The boats are low, sleek
gray-painted monsters of the sea, from
40 to 60 feet long, designed and bull
by famous ship builders, and powered
by two or three huge engines which
send them through the water at 40 to
AS miles and hour fully loaded. Many
of them cost S25, 900 to 5000. And
these ships today are being offered for
sale for what they will bring.
The men talk freely enough, with the
attitude that Its all over now anyhow,
so why not?"
They have another fear besides the
fear Of no business. Word has been
passed along via the unofficial grape
vine" that on the day after repeal the
Coast Guard has orders direct from
President Roosevelt TO seize every rum
boat along the coast, in all ports
The Coast Guard denies such an
action has been decided upon. but the
runners" are convinced it is true.
Whatever may happen dating from
the effective hour of repeal, however,
rum row has continued active the last
few days, despite all the precautions Of
the Coast Guard, which has brought
into the New York-Atlantic City waters
whole fleet of destroyers and sub
chaSerS.
Riding the seas far off shore lie the
mother ships'-sleek 90foot Diesel
powered craft, which cruise around
waiting for their contacts" to arrive
all carrying from 1000 to 1000 cases
the last of the feet which has worried
the Coast Guard for years, unloading
from $500 to 5000 cases night.
Traffic ColIapses Immediately.
II, when Congress conveneS, 1t does
not set a too-high tax on liquor, which
would allow the bootlegger to continue
his heretofore profitable racket, it will
automatically accomplish the immediate
collapse of the billion-dollar illicit traf-
fic in booze.
This is the composite opinion eX-
pressed by members of the eight big
gest liquor syndicates in the country
which control absolutely, and have con-
trolled for years. the unlawful importa
ton Of liquor along the Atlantic sea-
board and which as this is written have
set their plans to withdraw from the
business.
1t used to be that any one with a
few thousand dollars could charter
ship, load it with liquor and sail to New
IlQt t0an customers VINO looked '1lr.
too fast a profit for the big fellows
to allow independents to share it.
Independents were squeezed out by the
simple process of tipping off Govern
ment agents and Coast Guards by
anonymous telephone calls
Thus gradually the entire rum-smug-
Cling business became concentrated
first into the hands of few partner
ships" and later into the amalgamation