Clarksville weekly chronicle. (Clarksville, Tenn.) 1873-1890, 1880-07-24
louisville letter to the N. Y. SUM-

~
the whisky frauds to come unde
the official notice of Gen. Bristov
when he was secretary of the treas
ury. The story has never beer
fully told, although hints of its mair
features leaked out at the time.
Mr.. BristOW was informed by {
prominent western manufacturer
Mr.. George Buchanan, of Louis
Ville--whO knew of the transaction
through his business operations
that whisky was being made anC
put upon the market i'll such guam
titles and at such a low price as Il
make the conclusion certain that i
had never paid the government tax
Therefore, under the stringent pro
visions of the law, it was equally
certain that government official:
must be parties to the fraud. Hon
est dealers found it impossible tC
compete with the manufacturers
and retiners of this irregular whisky
and they were crowded out of tht
business.
A very slight investigation salts
fed Mr.. Bristow that New Orleans
and st. Louis were the Localities
where large part Of these frauds
were perpetrated. 1t was certain
that immense quantities of whisky
were manufactured and refined in
the New Orleans distilleries, where
as everyone in the business knew
that the manufacture Of whisky in
that far southern city, remote from
the coal supply and from the mate
rial, was wholly unnatural. Yet
next to ST. Louis, New Orleans was
producing more whisky than any
other city in the United States; fan
more than Louisville and Frankfort
combined, which cities paid some
thing like one-fifth of the entire
revenue raised from the manufact.
ure of whisky. The New Orleans
manufacturers, although compelled
to transport their corn thousands OF
miles, were underselling their Ken
lucky competitors. Besides, this
development of New Orleans as a
great whisky manufacturing center
was very sudden. Three or fOul
years before no whisky was made
there.
With these facts before him the
determined to go to the
bottom of the matter. He knew a
gentleman, a former office-holder,
who, he believed, could master the
secret methods of the whisky opera
tors. This gentleman (Col. Burgess
Hunt, of Lexington, KY was asked
by the secretary to accept an ap-
pointment as supervisor of internal
revenue for the district of which
New Orleans is a part, and which
included Kentucky, Tennessee, Mis-
and Louisiana. Col. Hunt
accepted the appointment, and Sec
retary BristoW, not knowing whom
he could trust, for he was satisfied
the deeper he looked into the mat
ter, that government officials every
where were in the pay of the ring,
determined to keep the appoint
ment an absolute secret, so far as il
was in his power to do SO. The
ring, of course, learned of the re-
mOVal of Col. Hunts predecessor,
Cobb. The latter was q
North Carolina man, a brother Ol
Congressman Cobb, and himself an
officer, who had acted
after reconstruction with the repub-
licans.
Fully informed of what was ex-
pected, Col. Hunt left Washington
determined to go to the very bottom
of the iniquity. He knew that he
had difficult task, and that il
would be foolish for him to trust any
official in New Orleans, for he could
not tell who was honest and who
were participatOrs in the frauds.
Selecting a few personal friends
who, he knew, would take any ap
proaches by the ring as an insult
and would be likely to knock dOwr
man who made an open attempt
to bribe them, he appointed them
Weighers and gaugers. WhateVel
may have been the method adopted
by the ring to defraud the govern
ment, Col. Hunt knew that it would
bring up short against honest gaug
ers and weighers.
Having completed his arrange
ments, Col, Hunt left Washington
for New Orleans, his departure, in
fact his existence, being, as he sup
posed, unknown to any members Ol
the ring or to any government Off
cials excepting the few whom he
had himself selected. He reached
Jackson, Miss, without incident
and at that city changed cars, ThG
train was barely under way before
he saw gentleman standing by his
seat, and looking as if purpOsing tC
speak. ...a
At last, with much courtesy, the
stranger said:
"C0l. Burgess Hunt, l believe p
Col. Hunt was greatly surprised
He did not know the gentleman
and believed himself to be qn
known. He was prepared, however
to take advantage of everything
that might lead to the information
he desired, and so he replied:
"You have the advantage Of me
sir"
Seating himself beside Col. Hunt
the gentleman introduced himself
81 know you, Col. Hunt, through
mutual friends in Louisville" ht
continued, and added: 81 have {
private parlor car at the rear of th'
train. No one is there, and / hav,
some choice champagne. Will yoI
do me the honor to share my ca
with me?"
Col. Hunt at once thought therl
was some purpose In all this. WI.
this extraordinary courtesy ShOult
be shown him he could only &C
count for on the ground of his Off
cial position. He determined t
accept the gentleman's offer, ant
went with him to the parlor car.
Seated in the easy-chairs, with
bottle of champagne between them
the conversation became less formal
and at last the gentleman opene'
direct fire.
sI am" said he, "iqterested il
the manufacture of whisky in NeN
Orleans"
"Ah, indeed, }" replied Col. Hunt
"We know you, Col. Hunt" h