The morning call., 1891-07-21
LIFTING STAMPS.
1t Causes the Seizure Of the
Hayes Valley Brewery.
Fifty Thousand Dollars Worth Of Property
Confiscated-The Evil Said to Have
Been Widespread.

| The Hayes Valley Brewery, at 81 Grove
| street, owned by Bose & Jurgens passed
| into the care OF the Government last even
! ing. 1t being seized by four Deputy Col
leetors OF the Internal Revenue. acting
! under the direction of Collector John C.
| Quinn.
| The seizure was made for voist;on of
the law relative to stamp lifting, anG is the
| first ever made in this city for the violation
| OF that provision, and the first brewery
| seized for many years. The confscation
| was made by W. R. Lambert, Deputy Col
lector for the Second Division, Deputy
Collector j. Fl. Borland of Martinez and
Deputies ID. r. Jones and Joseph Costello.
| The case was worked up by Deputy Lam
bert, the leader of the party, and the value
| Of the seizure is In the neighborhood of
| $4,000.
The Hayes Valley Brewery was estab-
lished about eight years ago, and the frauds
now discovered are supposed to date
back as far as seven and half years.
| That this is true the Collector of Internal
Revenues intends to prove; also that the
crime OF stamp lifting has not been carried
on exclusively by the brewing firm, bnt has
become general thing among the log-class
| saloons.
| MUST STAMP EACH BARREL.
| The law requires brewers to file with the
| Collector the number of gallons breSed in
each brew and the placing of dollar in
| ternal revenue stamp on each barrel pro-
dnced. Bose 81 Jurgens have for years
filed as their report sixteen barrels as
! brew for each day of the week
! except Wednesday. Their stamp accounts
have been from 32j to 1888 each month !;
that is, they claimed they produced that
many barrels. The collector claims the
! harr in, bray
instead of 16 as reported, which would
make 5S5 barrels monthly. He also claims
many brews were made of which no reports
| were filed. 10 do this and place the beer
Of stamps; that is, taking them from a
barrel about to be emptied and carrying
| them back to the brewery to be put on
others This the collector expects to
prove conclusively. all thesevidenee having
| fallen INTO his hands, or rather Deputy
Lamberts hands, since last Friday when
an empioye divulged the firms secrets
STILL ANOTHER.
Bose aud Jurgens married sisters TO one
| Hoekamp. who, for four years, acted
| as driver and for the last Two and a
| half years has conducted bottling
| establishment next door. His place has
been secret is not in the directory and tn g
| fact of its existence where il is, is violation
| of a law which provides that no battling
| establishment shall be next to bravery
|
certain width must intervene. This en-
| pioye alleges that beer has been taken from
| the brewery into Hoekamp's place. bottled
and the barrels and stamps sent back un-
| Cancelled. he also claims Hoekamp carried
| on regular business of lifting.
When this evidence fell into Lam berps
| hands 10 investigated and found that at 731
| Brannan street is grocery and saloon run
| by Bose, where from eighteen to thirty
| barrels OF beer we're relieved of their stamps
| each week. These, like the many lifted in
| the second-class saloons south of Market
| street, were returned 10 the brewery. The
| method was simple. Instead of driving the
| spigot through the stamp at the end, 1t was
| driven into the barrel through small hole
| on the outside near one of the heads. This
| left the stamp whole. and it had but to be
| peeled OIL The law requires that stamps
| be pasted on with paste and Cancelled; but
| this firm put them on with beeT-foam. and
| they had bat to be made damp to be peeled
| off with The fingers.
FINDING THE STAMPS.
| When the raid was made last evening only
| the overseer was In charge. A hasty seurch
| was made. guided by one of the affidavits
| fled with the Collector. and q hat fail of
| Old stamps we're found in cupboard jast as
the eX-employe said they would be. They
| bore the evidence OF use and had evidently
| done gnod service. A more thorough search
will be made to-day.
When Collector Qlinn went home last
| evening he found one of the proprietors on
| the step waiting for him. He wanted tile
| brewery released on bonds. Negotiations
| will be resumed to-day.
The punishment for stamp lifting is five
| years or less imprisonment or 500 fine for
| each stamp lifted or both.