Keowee courier. [volume] (Pickens Court House, S.C.) 1849-current, 1878-08-22
Illicit DIstilIers.

ln common Newspaper perlance this ex-
i preston includes al who have violated the in
ternal revenue laws in tho last five years,
whether by the manufacture or sale Of liquor.
Y IL is under this broad Specification that wo arc
to understand tho statements that hundreds Of
Millicit distillors havo delivered themselves up
and obtuinod tho clcmcncy Of tho Government
I for past offonces. In tho Sumo sense arc the
I statements that hundreds Of others have their
heads turned to Grcenvile and are 1ooking to
4 the United States Court room to obtain am
q nesty. In this way, too, must we understand
tho colored statement that kirkland would
&ask Governor Hampton to speak to these lave
breakers ut Puco's Gap, promising an audi
ence of fyo hundred illicit distillers The
lightest of these statements aro cxaggerations,
frauds concocted by fancy to justify the severe
and illegal conduct Of revenue officials. ThcY
look to tho justification of such acts as the
killing of Ladd and tho abuse and oppression
of unoffending citzons on tho ground of a
state of general lawlossness in tho mountains.
10 accept such exaggcrations Us truo would
I lead tothe conclusion that all of upper Oco,
nec, Pickens, Grecnyillo and Spartanburg was
20 oesspool Of rebellion and lawlessness against
tho Government. 1t would be an admission
that disregard and violation of law was the
5rale IN these sections and obedience to law
the exception. 1t would lead to the conclu-
sion that every creek and spring branch in
tho mountains was emboliahed by still and
boer stands and closely guarded by troup
of lnwlcss mountaincers. We do not wondor
that the Register is surprised at such state
OF things and can soc in it great justification
+ Tor the severe measures Of tho Government
\ Our people will be moro surprised to loarn
that our mountains have suddenly brought
forth an army of illicit distillers. It is unY
fortunately true that there havo been in the
upper counties few persons engaged in
8ilIicit distiling, but with us the number has
been truly few. Wo have beon at Walhalla
nearly ten years, and in that period wo doubt
if thirty persons have been brought before
tho United States Commissioner for Illicit
2 distilling. In tho last ivo years wo have
4 been next door to the Office OF tho Commits
y sioner, and have represented persons in his
+ court apd we doubt if his record will show
y warrants in five years for twenty persons
/ charged with illicit distillng. whilo wo will
60 farther and express an honest doubt
y whether he has sent up to court oight cases
for this offence in four ycars. We will &c
farther md oxprcss our opinion that thero arc
mot twenty stills in this county all told, idle
and running, lawful and unlawful. Gu,
great trouble with tho liquor business ha,
& boen the wagon traffic introduced from ad-
Joining States, which led to the sub peddint
got q few gallons by citzens of this county
Egon these cases were infrcquent and offer
consisted Of tho sale of quart or q few gal
lions by some one for q little profit. Th,
$tprosecation for these potty violations was oper
for five years from tho act, so that petty vic.
sss1ations through o long period implicated {
good number Of people who had really aban'
doned the business. When amnesty wa
& offered to all who would como in and plead
guilty, every ono in any way concerned fol
n five years felt 1t safest to confess and got
full clearance. This is what makes the nun
sgber appear large. We know very little o
Il other counties, but presume the same state 0
things, perhaps on larger scale, has existed
there. We have heard some Of our best oiti
s, ,zens express tho opinion tiiat there are no
elk stills in the county. Distilling here i
! rare indosd in violation of law, go is anything
4 like regplar retail dealing in violation Of law
al Sound the Alarm.
The Columbia Register, under tho abov,
fI.s<.k T. ccl H..