The St. Louis Republic. [volume] (St. Louis, Mo.) 1888-1919, 1904-11-20

revenue officers and the raid and seizure
OF the whisky and then the courtroom.
Just why the moonshiners Of the coun-
state, IS q problem.
wherever there are corn and running
water there are the two essentials OF
whisky making. whose profits are rela-
lively The cost Of corn to tho
moonshiner. the only expense upon which
he has to figure. Is, on an average, 80
cents per bushel. A bushel of corn makes
three gallons Of whisky. This the
Sinner sells at 81 per gallon. thus making
e profit Of $3.50 on every busheI of corn
g rate that Is impossible to the licensed
dlstilier. whose Government tax alone Is
*l;lo per ~sailon-more than the selling
price Of HIS Illicit rival. But the possibii.
tiles Of moo1shining as a business do not
appear to be thoroughly appreciated ex-
cept among those shrewd Southern noun
taineers.
There Is On record on. case OF moon
shining out West, in Wyoming. This case
was discovered some three or four years
ago. TO the utter establishment of tho Rev.
enue Department. Upon investigation,
operated the still IN this far-away region
did not belong to Wyoming, but had Just
arrived there from his native State OF
Georgia
Many n various are tho methods used
by the moonshiners In the manufacture
OF their Illicit product. From a steam
plant, hidden in the canebrakes of Georgia
or tho elaborate layout OF some cave in
the mountains of Kentucky. to a milk
can In the cellar OF a Southern city, there
Is no lack of ingenuity among these dis
til!ers Of firewater.
Here is q STILL said Deputy Revenue
tured treasures of the Government In the
Revenue Departments Southern office,
Here is a stll hat takes the prize for
neatness and simplicity. Probably 1t didn't
cost Its inventor 10 cents to make 1t, but
that little still gave US an awful lot of
trouble before we ran It down-and to this
day we are looking for the man who used
to operate it He was one OF the daring
kind. For pure deviltry. as a joke on the
Revenue Office, he went by my name.
John Martin. and actually made and sold
MS liquor between Grant Parft and the
Soldiers Home in the city limits OF At
lanta.
For awhile It caused n great deal Of
confusion when reports came in that John
Martin was running a still ont there, and
always failed to locate his plant. This
plant was such a novelty in the history of
moonshintng that II puzzled US for a long
time. We knew that John Martin was
central revenue office of the State of
Georgia, but how he did 1t without any
visible apparatus was a mystery. At last
We found his little still, and the case be-
came q plain one right way.
A MODEST MOoNSHINBR
He used the smallest still. as we'll as
the simplest, that has ever been captured
by a Government officer. It consists mere
ly Of a quart milk can, with an ordinary
tin funnel for a cap. The arm and copper
worm running from the still to the 'iake
stand or condenser, is less than half an
r in diameter, while the condenser Is
nothing more or less than an old gallon
paint pot with the stains of the paint
sticking to 1t even now.
This little outfit, as we discovered aft
John Martin used to carry about
with him in a carpethag making his
changing the locality whenever it seemed
best for his safety. Of course he couldn't
make much liquor at a time. It takes
saiin1s Of sbeer, or mash, to
still could not hold more than a quart of
beer the capacity OF his run was limited
to a few drinks But he kept his little
pocket distiliery going all tho time. and
must lave made a fairly good living from
II. Although we ran across his apparatus
In the bushes. he was too smart for US
himself, leading US a chase over the hills
that none but q greyhound or L noun
taineer could keep up.
"That was moonshtniES on a small scale,
the smallest of which We have any rec
in the State of Georgia was 4 stun
run by a steam plant down in the cotton
fields Of Morgan County. 1t had a capac-
ity of about loo gallons. and when we
IL was turning out SeFelty-nvS
gallons Of whisky a day. 1t was operated
by a big steam boiler and literally coined
money for its owners. These consisted of
q wealthy probably men Of good
standing in the community. but as yet we
AVE not gathered sufficient proof to bring
any OF them to Justice.
"A moonshine plant of this kim is usual
ly operated as one of the legitimate in
Of the place, the negro hand
doing most of the work at the distillery.
negroes in these plantation raids are