, 1891-02-12
AN INFAMOUS PLOT.
Diabolical Attempt of the
Western Whisky Trust
To Ruin the Establishment of
a Competitor
A Government Guager is
Offered $4,000
To Blow Up the Concern
With Dynamite.

CHICAGO, Feb. ll.-If the stories told
by the agents of the national treasury
department, now in this city, are true,
one Of the most diabolicai OF dynamite
plots, involving a great loss of life and
property, has been discovered and its con-
summation prevented just on the eve of
its being put into effect. The Western
Distillers and Cattle Feeders Association,
better known as the whisky trust, is a cor
poration with a capital stock of $35, OOO,-
900, and controls the price OF high wines
throughout the country, as it controls all
of the dlstilleries, with two or three ex
ceutions. The most important dIstillery
outside of the combination is that of Il.
Ii. Shufeldt, in this city, and it was
against this concern that the plot was ar
ranged. TIE exposure OF the conspiracy
occurred this morning. George j. Glib
son Of Peoria. ILL.,, arrived at 6 O'Clock,
and, on the complaint Of the solicitor gen.
eIal, on the part of the treasury depart
ment, who came here from Washington
for the purpose, was arrested as he was
aliRhting from a carriage at the door of
the IjIand Pacific hotel. and hurried
across the street into the government
building, where he was locked up. The
arrest was made as quietly as possible,
and the fact was not made public until
some hours afterward.
The charge LAID at GIbson's door is
that he offered Government Guager I. s.
Dewar, who is on duty at Shufeldt's
dlstlllery. a bube to blow up the distillerY
with dynamite. Solicitor Hart tells the
story OF the plot. He says Gibson opened
communications with Dewar some time
ago, telling him at first that the Shuffcldt
concern was in the way and that they
were trying 10 get it out OF the way.
Finally he offered Dewar $40, 900 and
then increased the offer to $25. 900 to
blow up the concern. Gibson told him
he had a dynamite machine that could
be exploded between two large tanks, re
leasing and setting on fire a sea of alcohol.
There wuuld be plenty of time for Dewar
TO get away, and he was the only man who
ojuld place the ma5hine. because of the
fact that as government guager he had
access to all parts OF the building. Glib
son lied, u said Hart. WHOM he told De
war the machine would not 20 off until
he had time u get out, for it would have
exploded at once, killing the man who
placed 1t before he could possibly get
away, thu destroying the only evidence
against the trust people, and at the same
time saving TO them the $25. 600 bride"
Ia addition to the destruction of Dewar
and the buildings, the success of the plot
meant uuouestionably the death of $50
men working in the place. As | say,
Dewar, under oar instructions, went the
length OF the conspiracy to the point of
doing the diabolic deed, and when Glib
son was arrested he was waiting uneasily.
expecting to hear of the explosion and
the destruction OF all those lives and ali
that property. We AVE IN our posses
sion all the evidence to substantiate De-
wars story. The dynamite machine, let
ters, contract between Dewar and Gibson,
in fact, everything. The case is practi-
cally over 50 far as our department is con
cerned. The case is made.
Have you any evidence u show that
others besides Gibson we're implicated in
the c0nspiracy2'' Hart was asked.
Gibson is secretary OF the trust, and
while we nigh reason that he was not
alone in this, and that somebody higher
up in the trust vas the responsible party,
we have not a but of evidence tending to
implicate any one else. Every thing we
have points to Gibson and to no other
person. The machine and the materials
to make it effective and the i~nculpating
documents we're in a satchel which Glib
son carried at the time of his arrest"
Some unknown person who had knowl-
edge of the conspiracy warned the owuers
OF the distillery on Monday of the dan
ger that beset them. and of the fixing of
the date for the explosion for yesterday
or today, and they were carefully
guarding the premises day aud night Two
previous attempts which were attributed
to the whisky trust, but not proved,
were made to DESTROY Shufeldt's distillerY
with dynamite. One of them occurred
two years ago last fall. Detective Dan
Coughlan of the city police force was de.
tailed on the case. aud it was while at
work IN it that he made the acquaintance
of the little German, John P. Kunze.
Both of them we're afterwards tried for
completely in the ASSASSINATION OF DR..
Cronin. Coughlan is serving a lite e n
tence for the crime. but Kunze was &C
quilted.
This afternoon Gibson was taken before
United States Commissioner Hoyne and
released on $40, 900 bail. He declined to
make any statement in regard to the mat
ter,