The Caucasian. (Clinton, N.C.) 188?-1913, 1905-06-15
PROCEEDINGS IN
FEDERAL COURT
a FlAeaAsT FAlluRE Or STATE Off.
GERS 70 EnFoscE the WATTS
Law.

4 SeaxAhorhood Diss1isry Operated b.
wake Cosnfy Near tbs SHERIFF. HOSE.
Church Msabers Wee stocshoaders-
Other Cases Disposed OF In FEDERAL
Court.
Federal Court has been in session
In Raleigh for several days and
many violators Of the law have been
put behind prison bars, and still
others to follow. The most sensa :
tional case that has been before the
Court was one from Cedar Fork
township, Wake County. The evil
dence In Cour. showed that neigh
borhood blockade distillery had
been in operation about six years
within q short distance Of Sheriff
Pages home, and that the opera
tors talked about their still on Sun
days at Sunday-school. Yet it re-
manned for the Federal officials to
bag the crowd.
The following is an account Of
the case as taken down by q repor-
ter of the Post:
s.The fact that a sneighborhOod'
blockade distillery has been in op-
Grafton for three years past In one
of the most thickly settled sections
of Cedar Fork township came to
light yesterday in the federal court
and elected sharp criticism from
Judge Purnell, who said in passing
judgment on the offenders:
This case is proof of what the
newspapers have been saying and
what is generally reported, that the
state officers will not enforce the
Watts law. Here was distillery
operated for three or four years in
the township where the sheriff
lived, surrounded by consta bles and
magistrates whose duty it was te
enforce the state law, and yet not
one of them took any steps to break
up the distillery which, according
to the testimony, was talked at the
|Sunday-schools, churches and othe1
meetings of the township and seems
to have been notorious. And yet
they left it to the federal officers t.
break up what is a nuisance to any
community. This court is not callet
upon to enforce the state law but i
will enforce the federal law
The judge then sentenced tn
prime movers in the scheme to fou
months in Jail and fines Of 500 an(
costs each, and their hirelings an(
and stockholders to thirty days ant
800 each and costs.
The evidence showed the remark
able state of affairs the distillins
eeSSttat bad Heen hEHgght il RRSoF ftSR
brought into the Cedar Fork neigh
borhood and operated by hin
through the two negroes, Dan Jone
and Andrew Shaw. The testimony
was that whiskey was not distilled
for sale but only for consumption
by parties having distilling done
Anyone who desired and woult
take as much as one dollars worth
of stock in the distillery, this beine
to make him personally liable as
distiller. could carry meal and have
it distilled into whiskey, paying the
two negroes so cents bushel fol
operatingthe distillery.
Each of the men implicated il
the case made statements to the
court, acknowledging his connection
with the distillery and appealing
for mercy.
Several Of the men testified thai
the existence of the distillery was
generally known, and in answer to
the question by District Attorney
Skinner as to whether sheriff and 9th.
er county officers knew of it, said it
was generally talked of in the neigh
borhood, at Sunday school, church
and other public gatherings. An
drew Shaw, one of the negro opera
tives, testified that several of the
church members Of the neigborhood
had stock in the distillery in order
to have the whiskey made for their
personal consumption.
The men i'm plicated and sentenced
in the cases are: J. Henry Watkins,
Sidney Moring, J. Cephus MCGEE,
James w. Watkins, Sidney Wat
kins, hrcellus Moring, Joe Arnold,
Dan Jones, George Stone, Andrew
Shaw"
Other Cases Disposed Of In Federal Court
George McDermid, Moore county,
case continued to Deem
Der term.
Marshall Howell, johnson county;
,ci ia dismissed.
Alonza Cox, Wake county; re-
;ailing; pleads guilty. judgement
upon payment Of costs.
Alfred Warren, Wake county;
Illicit distilling; pleads guilty Judge
nent 80 days and pay 500 and
0sts.
Bud johnson, Johnston county,
beaded guilty Of working at an IL
Icit distillery. Judgment suspen-
ended upon payment Of costs and |
no If 31nn