New Orleans Republican. [volume] (New Orleans, La) 1867-1878, 1875-05-14
"CROOKEDc WHISKY.

successful capture of the thirty two distil
leries of st. Louis, Chicago and Milwaukee
that have swindled the government out o.
at least Sl.2O0.0OO annually 1t appears
that the work of discovery has been going
on over eight months, and has been con
Quoted by a very limited number of officers
So powerful was the ring known to be, that
Secretary Bristow did not dare to trust even
his own Office. The internal revenue bu
reau was kept IN ignorance. no hint Of the
matter being given till everything was ripe
The management of the details of the
affair was given to Treasury Solicitor
Bluiord Wilson, ard its success is
officers he coniided IN. OF these Colonel
elmer Washburn, of the secret service bu'
reau. and Supervisor Fulton were among
the most interchangeable when everything
had been made ready, but Colonel z. B
Hunt, the new supervisor for Kentucky,
Alabama, Tennessee. Mississippi ard Louis
lana, with Special Revenue Agent II. 7.
Yargsn. were the only ottioers of the De-
partulent who we're fully aware Of what the
Secretary and Solicitor Wilson were doing.
A queer story Of an attempt to bribe the
former is told, showing perfect knowledge
at that time on the part Of the distilars of
what was going OF.
so perfect was the system Of the ring for
obtaining information that Secretary Bris
tow and Solicitor Wilson changed the
cgpher, and when the proper time came
took the further precaution of not having
the dispatches come to the Office OR be
transcribed there The movement vas
made n the middle OF last week, by teie-
officers of the treasury and of the intern al
revenue Office, and on Friday evening the
following gentlemen left for their posts
with orders to make seizures:
Supervisor Hawiey, of New York, with
Special Agent Yargan as his chief assistant,
left for St. Louis.
Supervisor Sutton, Of Philadelphia, left
for Chicago, where Colonel Elmer Wash.
burn chief of the secret service division,
co-operated with him.
supervisor Alculi VI lUWd, iutt tIlt
well-known special agent. Mr.. Brooks, Sr,
and made the seizures at Milwaukee.
The disclosures made at Chicago were
worked up by Colonel Washburn.
The different methods of swindling had
all been discovered before this and some of
of revenue officers was apparent merely by
their eXistense. In st. Louis much, if not
nearly all was performed by two editors,
Messrs. George M. Fishback and Myron
Colony of the Democrat who received a
secret commission. All distlllecies were
watched By two men each who were chang
ed every night. Notwithstanding this they
were discovered and beaten in open day.
few first class shoulder bitters substi-
tuted stopped this, for the police showed 40
inclination to prevent the outrage.
In order to avoid the government precau.
non. requiring amounts produced and
shipped to balance. the distillers
must make purchases of the same
amount Of regular tax paid whisky, gener-
ally from out the city. This done, they then
'end a lot of Illicit whisky to their rcctitiers
without stamps, and dump it. They then
pretend to have taken the lot purchased
light TO the rectitiers, and to have dumped
hat, and this purchase and dumping is en-
cred on their books. The purchased lot is
eft IN store until accumulations of business
ave ohlierated clear traces OF it, and then !
! IS sold.
This fraud requires coliusioa with reyenua |
Ulcers, and Special Agent Yargan discov
red fraud of 800 barrels by Bingham &
'rothers. Duplicate. and even tripiicate
ITS have frequently been shipped. Four
fths OF all the liquors shipped from St.
ouis to New York was Illicit. About $500 |
arrels were shipped by Ulrici Teuscher
nd Bingham & Brothers. Dstilers also
ut stamps on straight" goods, send them
the recilfer~who returns the stamps in
ct, the gauger certifying they have been
estroyed. They are then put on .'crook-
/ goods, no entry made. and sent to New
ork. The chance Of escape is the difficulty !
comparison of the serial mum bers.
Another plan by which duplicated num-
RS are Used is by filling fresh packages ,
lth Illicit spirits. and, having placed
ereon barrel stamp, and branding upon
Q barrel the serial numbers of original
K paid stamps. which have heretofore
en referred to as dumped and as shipped
New York. and thus using the serial
mbers for these transactions. Another
not to use the glue of the stamp the
st time. but tack it on.
officers in the districts to which said
DDS are shipped have no means of de- 7
ting these frauds. Goods upon their
% appear straight. and if they are seized T
!, case IS referred 20 St. Louis revenue
GERS.
Among the bOldest methods of all discoy. N
d were few where certain lots of
cits tax paid. were taken to a rectifer's
dumped, and taken directly back to
distillery with the stamps intact, filed a,
in and dumped the second time within ! Ia
} days. The dumping papers of these Of
} transactions, with the same small G.
nber on the stamps and packages, were ca
d only two days apart in the collectors Pl
,e, and yet they were allowed to escape D.
official examination. D.
M
ut the last method discovered was the Dc
iest, simplest and probably the most NJ
titable. 1t was simply shipping more D.
sky than the stubs of the stamp called Pa
Fer instance, four entries show tax -;
1906 gallons By the stub, and l7,727 gal
J were shipped under the stamps. Six
ers show l2,277 gallons by the stub and Il
q shipped, Six others SO93 by the th
D and lS,446 shipped. The st. Louis