The Portland daily press. [volume] (Portland, Me.) 1862-1921, 1896-03-14
HIDING PLACE FOUND,
Liquor Deputies Had a Long and q
Hard Search.
BUT WERE REWARDED FOR THEIR
LABORS.

And Unearthed One of the Most Cunning1y
Devised Schemes Ever Constructed to
Defeat the Prohibitory Law-It Was in
the Old Pat McGIinchy Place on Fore
Street and Was Triumph of Yankee
Ingenuity,
You can hunt all night and all day
tomorrow" and all night tomorrow night
ana you won't find it if you ever do"
was the remark that was made to the
liquor deputies as they stood in the old
Fat McGlinohy building, on Fore street,
opposite the Portland Company, at about
half past seven last night, by MI. Charles
Richards.
Mr. Richards is a car penter and good
one, and as designer of scientifically
constructed hiding place for beer calcu-
lated TO elude the vigilance of the en-.
forosrs of the prohibitory law, stands at
the very head of his profession. For
years and years the most cunningly con-
struoted hiding places built for Portland
dealers in the ''ardent'' have borne the
hlchards trade mark D just tell an Off
Ger that the place he is about to raid is
fitted out with the Richards para
pbernalia and ne knows at once that it
Will require all his skill and shrewdness
to discover
THE FOUNTAIN SOURCE
of the beer in that particular place.
But even the cunning Of the Richards
construction fell victim last night TO the
detective work, cold chisels, ,jjmmies and
crow bars of the sheriffs, and hiding
place was urearthed. 1t was no discredib
to the inventor, for g. more ingeniously
devised and we carried out scheme for
hiding beer never existed in the state of
Maine.
For twelve long gears the old Nc
Glinchy place referred to has stood un oo-
cupied and slowly and steadily orumbling
to decay. Some months ago the carpen-
ters took the place in hand and work has
been carried on steadily until a little over
week ago when the repairs were con-
cluded and the place blossomed out once
more with all its ancient glory and pres
tlge as full fedged rum shop and for a
week past it has enjoyed good and eve er
Increasing patronage. Its triumph was
short llved-and now it Is a wreck once
more and all the ingenious planning a nd
labor of months is thrown away, for last
"oPEN sESAMER"
TO the most necessary part of a prohibi-
tion saloon, the hiding place.
A few days ago Deputies Firth and
Plummer made a visit to the saloon in
question. but by the time they got inside,
the inner room, past all the watchers,
they found nothing but collection of
Innocent ginger beer bottles and q GUAM
tity of poor cigars. They were not satis-
fed though and resolved to TRY again.
The reputation of this new secretive pro-
duct OF the Richards skill had gosE
abroad and the deputies were determined
to unearth it, IL possible. But how to
do 1t That was the question tha5 puz-
zled them. The cellar was the key to
the situation. If they could but get into
that cellar, under the shop, unbeknown
to the men above them, there was hope
of success-and they did just that-just
how no bodyEknew, but they got in and
for an hour they stood there in the dark
and listened to some highly edifying COM
ments on their respective personalities
from the men above.
1t began to grow tedious but patience
is always rewarded and it was as in this
case. About they heard a man come in
up stairs and call for three quartsof beer.
Then came what they had been waiting
and shlvering there an hour for--a man
started for the cellar to draw it. AS the
man with a lamp started
DOWN THE CELLAR STAIRS
the sheriffs crouched down behind the
chimney, with bated breath and watched.
Down the stairs cam& the bar TENDER
known as Frank Hunnewelll and hav-
ing descended to the foot, set his light
down, reached under the lower stairs,
touched a spring and the tread of the
stairway lifted up on a hinge as prettily
as could be and in the studding was
beautifully slowed a@ay a faucet. He
turned it and the gol den ale gushed
forth. He filled his can and was on the
point OF replacing the spring when Depu-
ty Firth, reached over his shoulder, TOOK
the can and said, "Im much Obliged" :"
Was Mrs Hunnewell surprised? Well
just little-he could not have been
more so had a ma n suddenly appeared to
him from the grave. His exclamation