Evening star., 1895-08-02

and a knowledge how to obtain the most
profitable results, the distillers, in fact,
were anxious to experiment under the new
regime. Hitherto it had seemed as though
each distiller operated Independently Of the
other--no concerted action-but now began
to appear local whisky rings. Each city Of
prominence had one, and subordinated to
it's mandates the small distilleries in out
lying districts adjoining.
Period of Rings.
Each ring kept itself aloof from the
other, and as time went on it was evident
that the influences which had formerly cor
rupted the service had again gained the
ascendency, and the whole business was
soon honeycombed with fraud. The system
of stamps was good one, but its misuse
by collusion left the government, as be-
fcre, entirely at the mercy of the distiller
and rectiier for under the rectifiers' stamp
Of ten cents per barrel the greater bulk of
stolen whisky was safely put on the mar
ket
after year Of operation under the
new regime the conservative Public
Ledger of Philadelphia, in an editorial in
it's issue of September s, 1863, remarked as
follows: 1t has been well known Tor TWO
or three years past that the combination
styled the whisky ring has been too
powerful for the ordinary appliances of the
law, too strong for the courts, TOO potent
for the government.
".There can be no doubt that through Its
opera tons the government has been de-
frauded of ore than slG0,Go, o,HW-perhaps
$3.50 Gpl. .0JA-and all of the deficit in the
revenues caused by these frauds had to be
made up by onerous taxes on useful pro-
ductive labor To accomplish such enor-
nous frauds crime upon crime had to be
committed. Threats, assaults, riots, b1i-
berry, forgery, perjury and arson are among
those which have come to light, and there
are perhaps many others which time will
vet unveil = = The ring has shown it
sol a G
potent in procuring immunity for those
who commit crimes in it's service as it is
pervading in having its tools. ernissaries
and agents everywhere from the floors of
Congress to the courts of Justice
ITO render results less uncertain and to
obtain accurate information of movements
to be made against it, the ring had It's
agents informed, by touch with high ofii-
GERS at Washington, who all unsuspicious
of the true purpose of the friendliness. un-
Willingly obtained and gave information to
the great detrimcnt of the service. Secret
missions were frequently known to the
ring before the officer reached the destined
Point of operation. Thus year by year the
great crime went on.
The Bristoyy Raid.
Benjamin H. Bristow was in 1875 Secre-
tary of the Treasury, John w. Douglass
commissioner of internal revenue and Blu
ford H. Wilson solicitor of the treasury.
To these three officers belong the credit of
planning the campaign of that year, which
laid out the whisky ring of that epoch, but
so fearful OF betrayal We're they that not
more than thee four others tand these
were they who We're to secretly collect the
evidence by which the ring was to receive
its quietrs) were taken into their conf
dence until the time of the gathering in of
the law breakers arrived. Fer two months
the secret agents worked night and day
almost INCREASINGLY, always on the street
watching receipts of material in distilleries
and disposition of whisky taken therefrom.
The evidence obtained. though voluminous
and complete in each case reported, showing
most extensive frauds, did not embrace
more than two-thirds of the establishments
under suspicion, for rumors began to float
and numerous signs gave evdepce the ring
was getting aware that the government
had learned its guilty secrets.
Hence Secretary Rristow ordered a
charge on their works. which was made in
force and simultaneously in three cities of
second class proportions on the 1lth day Of
May. 1919. Upward of fifty distlleres, rec
tify;ng and wholesale liquor houses were
seized and their owners arrested Those who
escaped the espionage of the secret agents
were subsequently brought under the law
by the confessions of the first parties ar
rested who received immunity from i'm
pr.sonment therefor. The second batch of
criminals taken served Il ja! sentence of a
few months. The ultimate settlement of all
these cases is of record in the archives of
the internal revenue Office. Many hundreds
of thousands of dollars OF property values
were seized which should have been con-
9emHed to the United States, but I fear
the astute attorneys of the ring secured
such liberal settlements with the govern
ment that the now dethroned infamous
eabal was able to hold on to much it had
stolen, and which it feared it was about to
lose One grand result was obtained, the
ring was a rope of sand Its power broken
it soon became wretched example l re-
peat, if 2.0oO Illicit stills have been captured
during the past fiscal year what may We
not expect if the tax on spirits is in
creased?"