Rum-running Warning: You are not logged in. Your IP address will be publicly visible if you make any edits. If you log in or create an account, your edits will be attributed to your username, along with other benefits.Anti-spam check. Do not fill this in! ===The Rum Row=== {{Main|Rum Patrol}} McCoy is credited with the idea of bringing large boats just to the edge of the {{convert|3|mi|km|adj=on}} limit of U.S. jurisdiction and selling his wares there to "contact boats", local fishermen, and small boat captains. The small, quick boats could more easily outrun Coast Guard ships and could dock in any small river or eddy and transfer their cargo to a waiting truck. They were also known to load float planes and flying boats. Soon others were following suit, and the three-mile limit became known as "Rum Line" with the ships waiting called "[[Rum row]]". The Rum Line was extended to a {{convert|12|mi|km|adj=on}} limit by an act of the [[United States Congress]] on April 21, 1924, which made it harder for the smaller and less seaworthy craft to make the trip.<ref>{{Cite journal|url = http://stars.library.ucf.edu/ahistoryofcentralfloridapodcast/29/|title = Episode 28 Rum Runner|date = October 1, 2014|access-date = January 30, 2016|journal = A History of Central Florida Podcast|last = Kelley|first = Katie}}</ref> Rum Row was not the only front for the Coast Guard. Rum-runners often made the trip through [[Canada]] via the [[Great Lakes]] and the [[Saint Lawrence Seaway]] and down the west coast to [[San Francisco]] and [[Los Angeles]]. Rum-running from Canada was also an issue, especially throughout prohibition in the early 1900s. There was a high number of distilleries in Canada, one of the most famous being [[Hiram Walker]] who developed [[Canadian Club Whisky]]. The [[French colonial empires|French]] islands of [[Saint-Pierre and Miquelon]], located south of Newfoundland, were an important base used by well-known smugglers, including [[Al Capone]], Savannah Unknown, and Bill McCoy. The Gulf of Mexico also teemed with ships running from [[Mexico]] and the [[Bahamas]] to [[Free State of Galveston|Galveston, Texas]], the [[Louisiana]] swamps, and [[Alabama]] coast. By far the biggest Rum Row was in the New York/Philadelphia area off the [[New Jersey]] coast, where as many as 60 ships were seen at one time. One of the most notable New Jersey rum runners was [[Habana Joe]],{{citation needed|date=August 2013}} who could be seen at night running into remote areas in [[Raritan Bay]] with his flat-bottom [[skiff]] for running up on the beach, making his delivery, and speeding away. With that much competition, the suppliers often flew large banners advertising their wares and threw parties with [[prostitution|prostitutes]] on board their ships to draw customers. Rum Row was completely lawless, and many crews armed themselves not against government ships but against the other rum-runners, who would sometimes sink a ship and hijack its cargo rather than make the run to Canada or the Caribbean for fresh supplies.{{Citation needed|date=April 2009}} Summary: Please note that all contributions to Christianpedia may be edited, altered, or removed by other contributors. If you do not want your writing to be edited mercilessly, then do not submit it here. You are also promising us that you wrote this yourself, or copied it from a public domain or similar free resource (see Christianpedia:Copyrights for details). Do not submit copyrighted work without permission! Cancel Editing help (opens in new window) Discuss this page