Grant County herald. [volume] (Lancaster, Wis.) 1850-1968, 1878-12-26


pertinent at this time.
The testimony taken in The lnyesti-
cation of the whiskey frauds makes
frequent reference to them and throws
a good deal of light upon their "secret
walks and conversation" in the past
1t has been buried, however in a pom
derous Congressional document, and
it may be safely assumed that outside
of the parties Immediately concerned,
it has not been read by twenty citi-
zens of the State. Some disconnected
fragments of it were published in a
few papers at the time of the investi-
CATION, but these have been mostly
forgotten, and only a few persons
have now even vague impression of
its general nature and significance.
As 1t contains much that has an i'm
portant bearing upon the choice of a
Senator at the coming session of the
Legislature. we have concluded to
reproduce some of the more important
points of it, which relate directly to
candidates who now present them
selves for that office.
The testimony taken before special
committee of seven, appointed in
pursuance of resolution of the House
of Representatives to investigate the
alleged frauds on the revenue by the
manufacturers of high wines and
whiskey in st. Louis and Milwaukee,
is printed in full in No. 1876 of the
Miscellaneous Documents of the House
of Representatives, LIST session OF the
44th Congress. 1t is very voluminous
and we can only find room for a few
extracts from it. These we shall
select with view to showing the re-
lations which existed between the
persons who were defrauding the
Government and Messrs Reyes and
Carpenter, and, incidentally, to Illus
trating the political methods employed
by these gentlemen.
For the proper understanding of
what follows, these facts should be
borne in mind by the reader: In 1874
and 1875, Mr.. Reyes was chairman of
the Republican State Committee. Mr..
Carpenters term as Senator expired
on the 4th of March, 1875. By his
course in the Senate in championing
the so-called "salary grab," in sup
porting the measure known az the
initiation bill, by his attitude toward
the railroad lobby. and other causes,
he had lost the confidence of many
Republicans, and there was strong
and uncompromising section of the
party opposed to his reelection. The
leader of the Carpenter Republicans
in the State, next to their chief, was
Mr.. Reyes All his influence was
employed, in the autumn of 1874, to
secure the election of legislature
favorable to Carpenter. When the
Legislature met, in January, 1875,
Mr.. Reyes was the manager of the
extraordinary canvass then conducted
in behalf of Mr.. Carpenters return to
The Senate. An organized effort was
made to overawe the anti Carpenter
Republicans, on scale surprising in
extent any previous effort of the kind
witnessed in the State Madison was
filled with noisy and demonstrative
crowd c|amoring for Carpenters re-
election. They were summoned from
| all parts of the State. Any man who
was believed to possess the slightest
influence to secure additional Carpen-
ter votes, and was willing to DO such
service, could have free pass on the
railroads and expenses paid while at
Madison. The hummer element of
the party turned out in great strength
The landlords at the Capital never
enjoyed such harvest. 1t was cred
IDLY reported that the receipts of the
bar-room of the Park Hotel alone,
during the stay OF this crowd, who
went to impress upon the legislature
a sense of the deep enthusiasm which
pervaded the masses of the people for
Carpenter, reached $1,000. Reyes
was the captain of this motley host.
No man ever labored more zealouslv.
He was busy night and day. He
tawned and fiattered, he clustered and
bullied, he promised and threatened,
as he thought most likely to promote
success, varying his treatment accord
ing to the person with whom he had
10 deal. A canvass carried on in this
fashion OF course cost large sums of
money. One of Mr.. Keyes's active
lieutenants was Mr.. S. j. Conklin.
then internal revenue agent for Wis.
consin, and who subsequently ran
away to Canada when the prosecution
of the whiskey ring began vigorously.
Those who were at Madison at the
time of the Senatorial contest, will
remember his activity and his intima-
cy with Reyes and Carpenter. He
had, through Keyes's urgency, been
appointed to the Office he held the
June previous, Mr.. A. Z. Burpee, who
seems to have been a competent and
faithful officer, being removed to
make room for him, upon charges by
Mr.. Reyes, but which have never
been sustained. The duty of the
internal revenue agent was especially
TO watch the whiskey and tobacco
men and prevent them from cheating
the government. Samuel Rindskopi
was prominent whiskey man of Mil.
waukee. He had been "a Democra,
and took a conspicuous part in the
election of Taylor as Governor in
1873. In 1874 the Democrats nomi
mated him for Congress. but The
Government having begun a sui
against him for dealing in "crooked'
whiskey, no was compelled to with
draw from the canvass, and later, /,
seems, interested himself in helping
elect Carpenter Republicans from
Milwaukee county to the Legislature
RfNDsxorF's TESTIMONY.
| Here are few points from Rinds
kopf's testimony before the Congress
sional committee. He says that after
the suit was brought against him, in
1874, and before the election, Conklir
soften came to his home," and said
that if he (RindskopO would assist il
the reelection of Carpenter, and be
was reelected, that the suit should be