Public ledger. [volume] (Memphis, Tenn.) 1865-1893, 1875-05-28
g CROOKED" AND "STRAIGHT.o


The GreRt whisky Frauds in St
louis DiaeOversd-The Reason
Why Whisky Has Been Seized Ia
Memphis and other Cities-HOw
the Frauds were Perpetrated.
The recent seizure of small lots Of
crooked whisky in this city by the rev.
enue officers is explained in Bonfort's s
wine and liquor circular of the 18th Of
May. Secretary Bristow OF the Treasury
Department had discovered that crook
ed" or illicitly distilled whisky was be-
ing manufactured and sold in vast guam
titles in St. Louis, Chicago, Milwaukee,
Cincinnati, Louisville and other cities
of the West, which at once caused the
seizure Of more than thirty of the largest
distilleries and rectifyiRg houses in the
West. The whisky ring" had its head
quarters in St. Louis and from thence it
had its rami6cations extending in cir
Gle through New Orleans and New York.
1t was discovered by an examination
that four fiiths of all the liquors shipped
from St. Louis to New York were illicit.
For the three months about $500 barrels
Of this fraudulent whisky were shipped
by three ST. Louis houses alone.
The distillers have successfully got
their crooked" whisky on the market
in another way. They apply to the col
lector and receive tax-paid stamps, for
which they paid their full value. These
they place upon what would be called
straight goods, which are taken to the
rectifying houses and dumped. So far
the transaction is honest. The rectifer,
after dumping the whisky, removes the
tsx-paid and warehause stamps and re.
turns them to the distillers, the gauger
certifying that he has seen the same de-
stroyed. These stamps are then placed
upon fresh barrels filed with illicit
goods and shipped to New York, or
some other point, and no entries of the
transaction are made upon the books Of
the distiller, the only entry appearing
being the first shipment to the rectifying
house. They trust implicitly to neglect
and the difficulty Of any comparison Of
the serial numbers.
Another plan by which duplicate mum.
bers are used is to fill fresh packages
with Illicit spirits, and then place there
on barrel stamp and brand correspond
ing to the serial numbers of original
tax paid stamps, which have previously
been referred to as dumped and as
shipped to New York. In this way the
same serial number is used for three
transactions.
Amoug the boldest methods discovered
were, in few cases, where. certain lots
of spirits tax-paid were taken to recti-
fier's and dumped, and the barrels then
taken directly back to the distillery with
the stamps unbroken, and filled again
and dumped the second time within two
days. The dumping papers Of these
two transactions, with the same serial
numbers on the stamps and packages,
were fled only two days apart in the col.
lectors office, and yet thev were allowed
to escape all official examination. Some
cases were found where certain lots were
dumped and then re6lled and sent to
another recti6er's in the city and
dumped again, and the papers filed with
the Collector would have shown the du
plication upon the most casual examina
ton.
The last and one of the most prolific
methods Of fraud brought to light by this
investigation remains to be mentioned
Through collusion with the revenue off
GERS, these St Louis distillers have beer
allowed to ship generally double anC
often treble the quantity of spirits en-
tered on the stub of the stamp. The
stub-books of all whisky stamps issued
are returned to the offce of Interna
Revenue here. A comparison of some
of these books with the transcripts o
shipment1 received in New York dis
closed this trick, and brief examina
ton also disclosed the fact that it haC
been practised TO an enormous extent.
Another mode of selling illicit good
is to send package having the recti
fer's stamps upon it TO a dealer, say il
Charleston, S. c., and when the good
are used to have the same stamps re
turned and placed on fresh packages
filed and sent to the same dealers, with
out entries having been made upon thei
books. To render this practicable tn,
stamps, which are supposed to be put OF
with strong glue, and in reality pre-