The Bureau of Prohibition that acted as the coordinating entity for Prohibition enforcement bounced from one administrative umbrella to another, which resulted in a scattering of its official records, though this alone does not appear to account for the minimal documentation of enforcement activities.

Aerial Smuggling as Disruptive Discourse Aerial smuggling may have been an unintended consequence of powered flight, but it was most definitely not unanticipated. By 1906, European customs officials had already begun to identify aerial smuggling as a forthcoming problem in tariff avoidance.5 Though heavier-than-air

flight had yet to become commonplace, the press was anticipating its popular use. These concerns continued to grow through the decade so that by 1909, government officials in Great Britain were beginning to identify commodities well suited to aerial smuggling. Topping the list was saccharine at which had a $0.14USD/oz tariff.6 The United States began consideration of the problem soon after the Los Angeles Express newspaper opined that, "Tariffs may not be completely upset by aerial navigation, but smuggling is likely to become too easy to be interesting. Criminals will be able to work comparatively without fear unless the police also take flight."7 The Sioux City Journal argued, "With the advent of the practical airship the whole protective service is, so to speak, thrown 'up in the air.' Preventing smuggling over the border becomes a matter of keeping track of everywhere in Mexico, Cuba, or Canada."8 Romantic sentiments for the lure of aerial smuggling also emerged early in the development of the airplane. The Tombstone Weekly Epitaph waxed, "When our flying machine is completed, we shall go into the systematic smuggling business. We can carry light valuables by night, drop them down on a feather bed on the other side, load up with dutiable commodities and return before daylight, while the customs officers are shooting at lightning bugs under the impression they are aerial smugglers."9 The degree to which populist commentators were willing to proclaim the downfall of the tariff system with the emergence of tariff-avoiding aircraft highlights period concerns over economic protectionism.10 These concerns were not unique to Americans and aerial smuggling was part of a more expansive international discourse on the disruptive implications of aeronautical commerce that came to a boil in 1910.