Nashville union and American. [volume] (Nashville, Tenn.) 1868-1875, 1874-05-05
DOWN AMONG THE MASH TUBS.
Extensive whisky Frauds I'm New Or
Ieans-The Adventures OF a Cinein.
natl Detective.

natl Detective.
Cincinnati Commercial, Mays.
The news by telegraph from New
Orleans and Washington. and by the
New Orleans papers. on the subject of
the whisky frauds IN that city has
been meagre. 1t is only generally
known that Government detectives en-
tirely unknown to the Collector, Su-
pervisor and other officials of New Or
leans, went down there and discovered
that frauds against the internal
revenue, in the manufacture and sale OF
whisky, were perpetrated almost open
ly under the eyes and noses of the
Government officials there. In the
stamp business the fraud was so big as
to be funny. They were not content
with using stamps twice. They used
them so often as to wear them beyond
recognition of the plates that bore
them.
1t is intimated that even this bare
faced fraud would not have been in
vestigated had not the distillers of the
West urged upon the authorities at
Washington the rank outrage of the
thing. The New Orleans market was
underselling this in whisky after the
distillers there had paid for the trans
portation of the coal and corn and
everything else used In this vicinity,
and that, too, after throwing two thirds
of their slop into the river. Speaking
of slop, reminds MS of the joke IN the
District Court of the United States
down there, in the bonding out of
these places lately, after they had been
seized. Judge Durell (Kellogg's
Judge) was ON the bench when the plea
was brought that the Government could
not Cypress certain industries and
charitable institutions; that slop from
these distilleries was fed to some cows,
and that the milk of those COWS went
to charitable institutions. Whereupon
Judge Durell bonded them out
But our idea IN this writing is more
particularly to speak of the adventures
of the detectives, among whom was
John T. Hogue, Of this city. They
found that the distiilers had simply run
things to suit themselves. The Collec-
tors Office was merely their meat. The
ID oil INV anu, anu WIS dUStul
In Washington. He is spoken of as a
very "high-toned gentleman" but una
bic to look after the details of his Office.
The First Deputy and acting Collector,
Major Wills, appeared 5ewildered at
the exposures made. He said there
had never been any agents there before
who appeared to make any thing like
such an investigation as this. Had the
detectives not been betrayed, they
would have caught three more rectifers
and another distiller. 1t SENS that
Gen. Emery had received a dispatch
from the Secretary of War, in ci-
pher, ordering him to furnish
whatever troops these officers might
want to assist them in making the seiz-
ures. This was before he knew of their
presence In New Orleans, and he had
unfortunately not been cautioned to say
nothing to any but these men. AS no
one applied to him the day he received
the dispatch nor yet the next day, he
became uneasy, and being anxious to
render every assistance In his power, he
went to the Deputy Collector of Gus
toms, and asked him confdentiallyi if he
knew of any revenue agent In the city
who would need the assistance of
troops. He said he did not; but he
took General Emory to Supervisor Cobb,
the very man the agents did not want
to know anything about them. Cobb
did not know of the presence of any
revenue agents under special instruc-
tons. General Emery, seeing his mis-
take, put both Cobb and the Deputy on
their honor not TO say a word about the
matter. This occurred at 2 P. NJ,
and before P. NJ. that day every dis
tiller was advised Of the telegram and
all commenced cleaning up to re-
ceive the agents. thinking they had
not yet reached the city. Having
been advised of the disclosure, the
agents concluded to act that night.
They did so, catching three out of the
four distillers. They found that one of
the distillers was not contentwith steal
ing whisky before it got into his bond
ed warehouse, but that there was not as
much In his warehouse as there ought
to be by 137 packages. He and the
gauger actually took whisky out of his
own warehouse without reporting it
stealing from himself.
Shortly after the descent Mr.. Hogue
was brutality assaulted, In street car,
by three DULLES of the whisky ring.
They belonged to HammOnd's distil-
lery. They jumped into the car after
him, walked to where he was seated,
and Immediately commenced beating
his head and face. The first blow stun
ned him, and then he was knocked in
sensible, and did not recover conscious
ness until he found himself beng
sponged off in drug store. The men
were arrested.
The agents who did this work in New
Orleans arc now ,1r,obine, into tbinOS IN