Evening star., 1935-11-24

Treasury officials, has proved absurdly
inadequate for the simple reason that
high-powered, rum-running boats can
seek shelter from this short distance
with utmost ease in an hours time
or less.
The innovation Of Nationwide
radio network as means of guarding
our borders is natural outcome of
the establishment, less than six
months ago, at few West Coast sta
tions. of small individual receiving
and transmitting sets designed to flash
messages up to so miles.
These tiny land sets tie-in imme-
diately with powerful seaplanes car
rying voice and code radio equipment
of the Coast Guard, thereby making
our borders well-nigh entry-proof
against all types of smuggling. Par
ticularly Is the new radio network
important close by the Pacific Ocean.
For our West Coast, literally speak
ing, is the narcotic coast. Large-scale
smugglers there have long been using
every conceivable method of slipping
their illicit merchandise to our shores.
In establishing the new seacoast
limit Treasury heads pointed out that,
despite prohibitions demise, at least
40 vessels are known to be engaged
regularly in liquor smuggling. Their
alcohol cargo alone caused Uncle Sam
the loss of over $54,o00,000 last year
in customs duties and almost $22,-
100000 in liquor taxes. And yet the
year before only six smuggling ships
were known to be operating along our
East Coast.
In justification for presidential au-
thority to establish customs zones SO
miles off our coasts, the Treasury
informed congressional leaders in a
confidential report that England at
one time established them 300 miles
Of her coasts.
PROHIBITIONS death virtually
knocked out liquor smuggling
along our borders. But, as a result of
this, veteran Smugglers. in a frantic
effort to continue making big and
quick money in keeping with their
extravagant mode of living, have lately
gone in for the sneaking in watch
cases, wool, foodstuffs and other mer-
chandise whenever high enough prices
prevail in this country to make such
smuggling highly profitable.
Hence the obvious necessity for
strictest surveillance of our borders
and the crying need for the swiftest
communications system known to
modern science.
Besides the network of radio sta
tionS, another of Uncle Sans major
rivets in Tightening up his anti-smug-
Cling armor is the new airplane patrol
Of the Coast Guard. This spectacular
feet of flying boats, although in op-
Grafton on a small scale for many
years, lately has been stepped-up to
the last word in efficiency and per-
fornance.
Today something like 40 Coast
Guard airplanes, more than half of
them of the latest design, and some
capable of top cruising speed of 215
miles per hour, are in operation. This
Is almost twice as many as were
utilized last year. Since the Fall of
1884 the number of Coast Guard air
stations has been more than doubled.
A new station at Salem, Mass, replaces
the old one at Gloucester, and there
are also three new ones at Biloxi,
Miss; st. Petersburg, Fla, and Fort
Angeles, Wash. Another station at
Charleston, s. c., Is ready for con-
struction bids, while the large one at
Cape May. N. j., built in 1926. is under
process of complete renovation. In
addition there is a new substation at
San Diego, Calf, which shortly will
be expanded into a regular unit, and
an air detachment (but not officially
d station) at San Antonio, Tex.
Typical station equipment includes