The news & observer. [volume] (Raleigh, N.C.) 1894-current, 1905-06-03
Furnishing VIOLATORS IN THE
STATE OF WILKES.

ternal revenue laws and the contempt
for the State temperance laws have
reached their high water mark in ''the
State of Wilkes county, as that great
county is called. There are no better
people in the world than you will find
in Wilkes county, but political and
other conditions have conspired to en-
the manufacture of whiskey. All the
internal revenue officials and all the
county officers are Republicans, and
many of them thought they could OBJ
tain party advantage if the Watts law
could be violated with impunity. SO
arrogant were some revenue officials
that they thought to silence criticism
and destroy the right of free speech
by a murderous assault upon Mr.. r.
A. Deal, editor of the Wilkesboro
Chronicle. That attack served to
arouse the good people of the county
to the lawless spirit which controls
certain officials and violators Of the
law who are in a conspiracy to make
Mr.. Deal was hitting near home, we
copy the following item from the
Wilkesboro Chronicle:
During the court last week. a
miller Swore that a blOckader for
whom he had been doing some grind
ing came to his mill and he asked him
HON much meal he wanted to haul
back. The blockader replied None
today. The revenues have informed
me that they are going to make a raid
in a few days and / must be ready.
In another case the attorney for the
defense in asking for a continuance,
stated to the court that the revenues
started his client in the business. Why
don't the revenues give 'em the black
eye?'
Editorially. referring to the evident
purpose of the revenue officers higher
up to smother an investigation, the
Chronicle says:
'ThoSe revenue experts who dared
an investigation i'm the court house
here some time ago seem to have
taken a stand on the other side Of the
question. Why not demand an inVes-
tigation and get it 2"
But they cannot evade a rigid in
vestigation. If Yerkes and Company
go into the embarrassing business, as
seems to be their purpose, an appeal
will be made to President Roosevelt
to clean out the crew of conspirators
and put men in the internal revenue
service who will have no secret I'M
derstandings to give protection to
friendly "moonshiners. If President
Roosevelt will not give the people of
North Carolina "a square DEAF with
reference to illicit liquor making, Sem
ators Simmons and Overman will de-
mand a Congressional investigation,
for the conditions are unbearable. The
conspiracy between moonshiners. and
revenue officers has done great injury
to a large section of the State, and
the Wilkesboro Chronicle truly says:
"Wilkes has an unsavory reputation
away from home because such repu-
tation is based on the doingS and cor
rupt political transaction of the poll
teal shysters and blockaders. We
have some of the best citizenship in
the world 1t is time that all such
good citizens arise and demand that
the reputation of our county be based
upon their conduct and not the con-
duct of the lawless."
Judge Boyd, Federal Judge for the
Western District of North Carolina, is
doing a great service in rigidly en-
forcing the law when Yerkes does not
interfere to protect a notorious vic
lator thereof. In the Federal Court
at Wilkesboro last week Judge Boyd
sentenced seven leading blockaders to
iail. That's the medicine for that
gentry AS long as they are permitted
to pay fines, no matter. how big, they
will go on with their business in col
fusion with the baser revenue officials,
and in a short while make enough
money by continuing the illegal or
dishonest practice to pay off the fines.
1t is only when they are sent to jail,
as well as fined that "the punishment
fits the crime" No money penalty
greatly troubles them for they go on
with their Illicit stilling and can make
as much money as the judge can i'm
pose by fine. Judge Boyd has learned
this and he is in almost every case in
Guiding a Jail sentence in the fine i'm
posed. He "tempers mercy with JUS
tice," but does not permit a mawkish
sentimentality to destroy justice. The
Wilkesboro Chronicle has story of
one Of the most troublesome cases be-
fore Judge Boyd in the Wilkesboro
court. 1t will interest the whole State
and is aS follows:
1.-THE most interesting case and the
one which attracted the most atten-
ton during the Federal court here,
was the case against w. W. McEwen.
Jesse McEwen and Fillmore Forester.
They did not resist a verdict of guilty
and the evidence showed that some
body in the matter was guilty OF
lrather bold and defiant violation of the
| law. These men are of the best fami-
| lies and have borne good characters
outside of this matter of violation of
| the internal revenue laws. If the
truth were really known, others
higher up would have the burden of
guilt to bear.
"These men were sentenced on Fri
| day morning, and the scene was pa
thetic. Before passing sentence upon
these men, several witnesses were eX-