Oxford Democrat., 1884-09-02
ADAY WITH TnE suERIFFs.
ESroRciNo rnr LIQUOR Law n roEIL,Np
HE, nu tr uARErS's cOSCtrsioSs

ur, pr ir vAEErS's c0SctrsoSs
on Invitation OF The deputy sher.f., W.
lolued them In their round OF ofOpcrAtions Tor
one dAy. our readers will understand that
there ATE three of these oilcers wholly de-
voted % the task of enforcing The iquor
law. They start forth usually every mora
ing. sometimes with warrants which have
been taken out on complaint, bat more
commonly ol thelr own motion under the
general Instructions pertaining 10 their Of
Zee. Knowing thoroughly every place,
they are AZ 20 loss where % 20. Mount
ing their wagon, which was supplied with
tools for opening doors and kid Tor
loading barrels. We drove rapidly down
Center ID Fore Street. A. We drew near
The latter, We saw several small boys that
seemed 10 have been on the lookout, rum
ing and giving signals al two or three
doors that somebody was coming. Alight-
ing AZ one OF the most notorious of the
"Open saloons, the two ofilccrs rushed In,
aud following them We found ourselves in
the ssbar" For moment We were stArtl'
ed. Here was the counter, with glasses
and shelves and rows OF welifilled decant-
ers. yeritAble liquor saloon indesii Ihs
sherifs however, seemed quite AZ home
took down bottle after bottle, bat foun q
eolored slops. Not drop Of liquor could
be found on the premises, In bar, OF closet,
or cellar, or yard, or Out1ouse. We eau
hear witness that the search was thorough,
FOR We saw Il with our own eyes. Just a.
we len, a man told the officers that per
son with two bottles had escaped out Of The
place a few moments before they came.
Mounting the vehicle again, We drove
no DanfOrth street. and 4 little above
state, perceived the same signals a. before,
two girls speeding along the sidewalk 10
give the alarm. The flrst place entered was
A dwelling house which has oten bsen yis'
visited successfully, but this time without
results. Near by was a small grocery,
with a saloon In the back apartment Here,
too. were the counter, the glasses and the
handsome well.nlled decAnters, but no H.
quors. The stable Ia the rear, however,
was more productive. Several bottles were
nshed out OF heap OF loose straw, aud two
or three NOR from the reoesses OF an old
clothes press. Uuder a pile OF kindling
wood, a crack In the iOOr invited investi.
cation, which revealed q newly made cavi.
~ underneath, containing a barrel OF ale
with Its splgot connected BY piece OfhOse
with a cock lust out side ofthe underpinn-
ing wall. An alarmed cry Of There, he's
| found ~" Was heard from q group Of slat-
ternly women and dirty urchins a. the bar
rel Was rfted from It's hiding place aud De.
posted In the wagon. which now rolled
away 10 the sherifs lookup with tube snd
bottles accompanying.
In the afternoon four more places were
visited In a similar manner. three Ofwhich
were ofthe same pattern of"open saloons,
with fttiugs and furnishings like those sl.
ready described. All OF these had the de-
canters OF colored fluids A. decoys. Al
one. there was standing behind the bar a
large essk nearly hlled with q mixture OF
water and kerosene. favored with chloride
of lime, Into which pail or sprinkler
Nigh, In case OF imminent danger be in-
stantly drowned, leaving no tell-tsle smell
10 betrsy the contents. In another place
was an open chute. or hopper, leading down
10 vat filed with ragged stones In the
basement beneath. All OF then had some
arrangement for the instant destruction OF
Jugs or bottles In hazard OF capture. The
fruits OF this Afternoons work were sever
Al bottles OF spirits and ale, a pail partly
| nlled, etc Amer we left them. another raid
brought In stIll another barrel OF ale.
II was hardly an average day In results,
only three seizures" having been entered
In the record, whereas A. many A. eight,
ten or twelve have not unfrcquently been
made. when there are only two or three
bottles, no account Is often entered, but
they are smashed by the officer on the spot
or poured down the Official ''hole" without
ceremony. This Is TO avoid the cost In