The gold leaf. [volume] (Henderson, N.C.) 1881-1911, 1895-06-06
THE MOONSHINER AND HIS
ENEMIES.

The MODNSHlNE AND HlS
ENEMIES.
Our Raleigh correspondent is too
hard by half on the moonshiners. He
stated week or two ago that one half
or two-thirds, or some such proper
ton of the crime of the State can be
traced TO them. That won't begin to
do. Again he SAID in yesterdays
paper that at the recent term Of the
Federal Court at Raleigh they put up
corn liquor in water buckets and drank
it out of tin dippers and that "their
children drink this beverage from their
earliest years" These statements are
obviously overdrawn. 1t is said, too,
that the sinners are very sensitive to
newspaper criticism. We cannot &C
cept that statement either. The
sinner is sensitive about nothing
least of all about newspaper criticism,
for the reason that he can't read. We
regret this prejudice of our esteemed
correspondent against the moonshi-
ners. A year or more ago he pro
nounced their product "vile' and
said they put concentrated lye in it in
order to make it "take hold" The
purest and best liquor in the world j.
North Carolina moonshne, after II
gets age on ia condition, however
which its admirers hardly ever PER
nit it to attain.
We must have more charity for the
moonshiner. OF course he is >lpi,-
tor of the law but when he see, 'hc
pensioners and the protectlonis,a rull
ing the leg of His Uncle wh-n nv
sees hi. neighbors, the Dukes, dct>ng
the antitrust laws of State and nation
when he sees pretty much every bod,
trying 10 get some advantage OF The
government, 1t Is not altogether un-
natural that he in his ignorance should
reason that while these things go or
he ought TO have the right to convert
part Of his corn crop into sowpa~
and in strictly private way put it or
the market. If DIR. G.. w. Blacknall
of Raleigh, is to be believed-and
there IS no more truthful man-Presi
dent Cleveland himself is not wilhou
degree OF sympathy for this class 0
people, for it was DR.. Blacknall, who
while deputy collector, came upon :
moonlight establishment on the road
side and told the proprietor that HI
had just been 10 Washington and Mr.
Cleveland had said to him that it wa
alright for the boys to make a littl
run every now and then, but that the
really must move back 4 little fon
the road.
The moonshiner is Z man of sor
rows. His still is Small-so as TO b
easily portable-and if he had an un
interrupted business he could not d.
much more than make buckle ant
tongue meet owing TO his capacit
being SO limited But an uninter
rupted run for any length of time
something unknown to him. 9Th
revenues" keep him pretty constant
on the jump and twice year the Fed
eral judges make life burden to him
DO you ask, why doesn't he quit tn
business Why don't you quit bat
ting your eyes2 He can't. He is tn
victim Of an hereditary nhrmty con
tlrmed by habit. Some years ago
citizen Of Charlotte interfered in
row which did not concern him AM
came near getting the top of his hea'
blown off. While the doctor was re
placing the skin which the bullet ha
plowed off his scalp one of his friend
asked the patient what he had to d
with 1t, anyhow? He replied: "Notf
ing i'll the world but whenever | Sc
disturbance going on | am compelle
to take hand am just built tina
way That is the whole story; it
all IN the way man is built.
moonShlner Is built to do a moon
light business. Put him in Jail an
it isn't worth while to quarrel with hir
When he gets out he will 90 at
again and will keep at it until he fna
ly turns his moccasinS 10 the sum-
Charlotte Obse,rfr.