The western sentinel. [volume] (Winston-Salem, N.C.) 1887-1926, 1890-02-20

lumber of small distilleries is situated.

number of small distilleries is situated.
So great was the haste to get the new
| ly-chosen men in place that many of
them were on duty before they had
received their appointments or com
pletel their bonds. They knew moth
ing about the business for which they
had been chosen, and to the defe ct OF
incampetency they added the ofense
of bad reputation.
The result was what might have
been expected. The distilleries were
put to inconvenience, their proprietors
were greatly /harassed. and many
complaints were sent to the Collector,
accompanied by evidence of the in
competency of his subordinates, as
well as of their dishonesty The Col
| lector did not remove them. The as
sumption is that he could not do so
without : violating compact with
Ewart. As the dishonest and incom-
| petent men were retained, the result
was that some of the distillers were
compelled to suspend operations and
even to go out of business 1t was
| the cause of the ruin of several distil-
| leries.
One instance of the oppressiveness
| of the incompetent and dishonest Off
GERS may be cited to illustrate state
of things that prevailed soon after
Eaves came in. The law provides
that distillery shall turn out a
minimum amount of spirits from a
specified quantity of grain. Some
times the grain yields more than the
minimum All must pay the tax.
TIE new officers, men of bad habits,
and with little regard for oaths, kept
a lots of loafers about the distilleries
and issued "free" spirits to them for
immediate consumption. This was
not only robbery of the distiller, but a
fraud upon the Government
The eagerness of some of the "heel-
ers" to obtain employment is illustrat-
ed by the stories that are told of their
going to distillers to implore them to
continue operations, with the assur-
ance that if they did they would be
afforded opportunities to defraud the
Government. 1t is even asserted, as
a matter of actual knowledge, that in
one case the storekeeper represented
to the distiller that he had instruc-
tions from the Collector to pursue just
the course that he was following. In
credible as it may seem, this report is
current, and it is believed by great
many persons to be true. 1t is receiv-
| ed with as little hesitation as the 9TH
er report that, for his Endorsement and
| influence, Ewart received from Collec-
tor Eaves, in addition to the contract
to appoint such officers of the district
! as the Representative might select, a
large sum of none, and promise of
i much more to be raised from the
salaries of the officers when appointed.
With this story goes the report that
Ewart is to be Ienominated for Con-
gress, and that he is t., be re elected if
it takes half of the salaries of all the
officers in the district.
Ifit be true that Collector Eaves is
instructing his officers to afford op-
portunities to the distillers to deprive
the Government, of taxes, it would not
be matter of utter astonishment.
When he was Deputy Collector un-
der a former administration it was
found that illicit distilleries were
fourishing under his administration
until such men as Agent Chapman,
now of Atlanta, Ga and Capt. Abe
Bryan, of Trap Hill got after them.
Capt. Bryan was an Old Union soldier,
and for many years was in charge of
the special force Of Deputies in the
western part Of the State. He did
more service than any other dozen
men to suppress illicit distilling in the
State, but has been denied any recog-
milton by the present administration.
Was it because he was 80 active and
because he was reported to have des-
troyed an ILLICIT distillcry in Eaves'
"baok yard"s
There Is disbursed In theI,iistriot In the
course of each year in salaries between
three and four hundred thousand dol
lars. That is the largest amount ex-
pended in that way in any district in
the United States 1t can be readily
seen that there is abundant opportun-
ity for Combine" among politicians.
who see in the district an easy way to
collect large political assessments
for political and personal use. The
United Stases Senators who are re-
| quired to "advise and consent" to the
appointment of the man ought to be
extremely careful before clinching
any bargain that may have been
made to degrad the service to. such
base uses as it appears to have been
put to. 1t was only after the most
heroic efforts had been made some
years ago that the practice of mulct-
ing employees was broken up It did
not prevail under the last administra-
tion, and 1t would be scandaious to
the Republicans and to the President
If it should turn out that he had been
made party to the restoration OF
practices thst the Republicans of
North Carolina admit were not per-
mitted by their adversaries.
All the prominent Republicans in
the district are denouncing Ewart for
his shars In the business. and they do
not believe they can secure u renom.
ination, except through the efforts of q
corrupt revenue ring. As for a re-
election, that is absolutely out of the
question. He will be beaten by sew
.eral Thousand votes, and among those
who will oppose him will be many Of
the Republicans VIII, were most active
in securing Eaves' appointment, and
| who are now the loudest In demanding
to be relieved from the corruption and
sppression of his rule.