Iowa County democrat. [volume] (Mineral Point, Wis.) 1877-1938, 1883-11-16
In the History of the Disgrace
full Whiskey Ring.
Recalling an Episode of the
Hayes Counting-in
Business.
And Abiding to Cheap Compro-
mise of Big Judgment.
Uncle Sam a Loser by S46,0
A Promised investigation.

l. 10y olhC1O, ulS1oC DN LIS
trict Attorney Leake before Judge
Blodgett yesterday brings up chapter
in political history that has never
been written. During the days of the
whisky ring steals J. P. Freysinger
& Son ran a distiliery at Milan, H., a
town six miles from Rock Island.
They were one of the many firms COM
posing the whisky ring, and when the
operations of that. organization be-
came known the proofs that the Frey
singers had defrauded the government
out of large sums due as internal rev.
enue were clear. The distillery was
contiscated, and the United States Sc
cured additional judgments against
them for SAC, 900. For this amount
their bondsmen were liable.
The Freysinger's bondsmen were
George Wagner, brewer, and Peter
Fries, wholesale liquor dealer, both
residents of Rock Island and both
wealthy men. Their liability seemed
clear and there was no legal way to
escape it. So they hired j. NJ Beard
sley, a Rock Island attorney, gave
him $50, 600 in cash and told him to
go to Chicago and see if he could not
compromise the case. Beardsley is
well known all over the State of Illi-
nols. lie is the present postmaster of
Rock Island, a member now, as he
was at that time just referred to, of
the state republican committee. He
has been for years the chief factotum
of John a. Logan, and wields more
political influence than any man in
h.,t hDrl Df +1n TOT t.
known famlliarly as "Jim" Beardsley,
and vicariously as major jim" On
account of his political associations
alone was he chosen by Wagner and
Fries To conduct their case, and they
would have employed better lawyer
had they had any hope of winning by
legal methods.
Beardsley came to Chicago with
$50, 600 in his pockets, willing to pay
the government that amount if his
clients could be released from the re-
mainder of the judgment, and he came
into the Grand Pacific hotel on that
mission early in December, 1877.
There he ran into
A CURIOUS CONGREGATION.
1t was near the middle of the Tilden-
Hayes presidential contest, and the
wishing statesmen" were there con-
gregat"-l "?nar f. tclrII1 .ha,r fo.oc:;. oxo;,o.
Oliver P. Morton, John A. Logan,
James A. Garfield, Long" Jones,
Colonel Babcock and all the lesser
lights. When Beardsley appeared he
was hailed with delight.
Jim, you must come with us to
louisiana" major, you are just the
man we want" and similar express
ions, entreaties and requests were
showered on Beardsley from all sides.
But, gentlemen, l can't CO." ex-
postulated the entreated one. Il
have important suits now pending in
the United States courts, and to leave
them would prejudice my clients in
terests"
Bother the suits. Well get them
continued" argued the visiting states
men.
Beardsley would not consent to a
continuance, he wanted more than
that. "These suits must be fixed, "
he said, "if you want me to go to
Louisiana"
Then they told him to wait until
next day. During the nis ht United
States Attorney Banks was seen, and
in the morning this proposition was
submitted to Beardsley. The cases
were to be
TAKEN OUT OF THE COURTS
and intrusted to a revenue officer
named Miller-he is so far lost in OBJ
livion that his first name is forgotten
and he was to examine into them
de moro, Notwithstanding the fact
that judgments had already been en-
tered, and report on them. Whatever
that report was both parties were to
accept it as final.
would Beardsley accept Miller's
arbitration" Beardsley looked into
the faces of his questioners and de-
cided to go to Louisiana. He would
abide by Miller.
In Louisiana his services were val
liable. He discovered
ELIZA PINKSToN,
and her pathetic story and its effect
upon the sympathetic souls of the
Louisiana commission, was Boards
ley's contribution to the history of
that contest. Whether it was his by
right of discovery or invention has
never been discovered, but his most
intimate associates incline to the lat
/ ter opinion. In the meantime Miller
was working on the case of the United
States against Freysinger.
| As already related, judgments for
| SIC, 900 had been secured against Frey
singer, and the only question in the
cases was, are the bondsmen better
than the electoral commission? Miller
went back of the returns. Simple
revenue agent that he was, he pro-
ceeded 10 set aside the findings of the
UNITED STATES COURTS,
and decided that Judge Drummond
had been altogether wrong in his rul-
ings. He reported that it was true
that the Freysingers had manufactur-
ed great deal of whiskey on which
/ they avoided the payment of taxes !;
but, on the ether hand, he discovered
what no one, and not even the
Freysingers, had ever known before
that in some mysterious and indefina-
BILE way they had paid the govern
ment too much on some whisky on
which taxes had been collected, and
decided that if the Freysingers would
pay the United States 81 the thing
would be square. 1t was needless TO
say that the 81 was at once paid, and
the remaining $40, ,999 which their
bondsmen had originally expected to
pay, was taken back to Rock Island
This remarkable finding of Revenue
Agent Miller was accepted by District
Attorney Banks without question:
The Judgment of 81 was entered on
the court dockets and marked ''satis-
fed and the United States retired
from the contest
LOSER By $40, 600,
but Beardsley had gone to Louisiana
and Eliza Pinkston had been discov-
cred. The case was ended, and for
seven years nothing was heard of it i;
but recently the treasury officials at
Washington woke up to the
fact that there was something
rotten in Denmark Coming into
Office since the date of the events mar
rated, it is probable that they were
totally ignorant of the reasons lead
ing up to it: but the records Of the