The Portland daily press. [volume] (Portland, Me.) 1862-1921, 1892-05-21
LOOKED LIKE 4 GROGGERY.
Whisky, Gin, Wines, Bon Ton Punch
and Rum Brought into Court.
c. F. SWEET TRIED FOR KEEPING
A LIQUOR NUISANCE.

| Mr.. SWEET Said He Used whiskey for
Bathing Purposes and That as'He Never
Drank the Other Liquor Which was
Given Him Had Accumulated-Why
/! the sheriffs Thought Otherwise-A
| Sealed Verdict.
The court room yesterday looked like
| the storehouse of a wholesale LIQUOR
dealer. The aisle in front of the jury was
full of ten gallon kegs, bottles and jugs,
while the tables at the side of the bar
were ornamented with measures, bottles
OF wine, boxes containing corks, old and
new, corkscrews, tags for jugs, etc. The
collection consisted of whiskey, gin, an
| gelica wine, champagne, Mumm's extra
dry, Bon Ton punch, rum and claret.
| The occasion of this parade of intoxi-
cants was the trial of Charles F. SWEET
| for keeping at his express office at 430
Congress street liquor nuisance. These
| liquors with the vessels containing them
were seized by the officers at Swett's
| office one day last February. There
| were three ten gallon kegs, two full of
whiskey and the other partly full, "a chest
or case containing in each corner a quart
bottle partly filled with liquor, a box of
sugar in the center, with a compartment
holding the glasses and small bottle of
bitt ers, jugs containing different kinds o
liquor, empty jugs, bottles of gin, wine,
etc. These were not liquors in transit but
the most of the packages were broken.
Mr.. SWEET claims them as his personal
property. He claims that the twenty
five gallons of whiskey was for bathing;
that he is afflicted with chronic rheu-
| matism and has been using whiskey to
battle in by the direction OF advice of DR..
Charles o. Files for nearly year; that
for six months he bathed four times
day using a quart at a bath; later he
reduced the quantity to half pint at a
bath. The wine he claims was presented
to him by Boston liquor dealers with
whom he does business in the express
line; that he does not drink Intoxicating
liquors himself and therefore this is the
accumulation of years. He says he buys
cheap whiskey for bathing twenty gal
Ions at time because he gets it cheaper
in. that quantity. As to the case or chest
containing the decanters, sugar and
glasses, that came from his father, and
is in the condition now that it was when
his father died eleven years ago with the
| identical LIQUOR in the bottles as he left
it.
The government does not claim that
SWEET sold liquor by the glass,
or that he keeps drinking
house and tipping shop but that he dis
tributed it about the city by his express
teams to such customers as might order
it.
Among the things brought away by
the sheriffs was lot of tags upon which
| were written the names of persons and
the street and number. SWEET testified
| that they were all in his handwriting but
| one; that they were tags placed on jugs
which are returned to Boston free for
customers and the tags were afterwards
returned to him for the purpose of veri-
flying the way bill. 1t afterwards turned
| out that among these tags was one con-
tanning the name of D. Connolly, which
| the officers had taken from jug seized
| by them at the old Printers Exchange
| two days before the SWEET seizure, and
which SWEET, supposing it was tag
taken by the sheriffs with the others
from his Office, had admitted on the wit
ness stand to be in his handwriting. In
deed, it was evident to person not an
expert that it was the same handwriting
as the others. The jug from which the
tag was taken, sealed with seal
ing wax, unbroken, was brought
into court, opened in the
presence of the jury and found to con-
tain whiskey. Another piece of evidence
relied on by the government was the fact
that one of the large tunnels taken by
the officers was smeared with sealing
wax on the outside. And, by the way,
when this jug was seized at the Printers
Exchange, according to the testimony of
| the officers, the sealing wax over the
stopper was soft, showing that it had
but lately been put on.
Mr.. SWEET denied any knowledge of
the jug aud said he was not sure, after
learning where the tag came from, that
it was in his handwriting. He wouldn't
say that it was or was not.
The case went to the jury at quarter
of six and as they had not agreed at half
past six, the court adjourned with direc-
lions to the jury to seal up their verdict.
| +. W. Robinson, county attorney, tried
the case for the state and the respondent
was defended by D. A. Meaher.
The jury reached an agreement at