The news & observer. [volume] (Raleigh, N.C.) 1894-current, 1905-04-12
FEED THE RICH DISTILLER AND
THE SHIRTLESS MOONSHIN-
Err OUT OF ONE SPOON.

Err OUT OF ONE SPOON.
The settlement of the case of j. L.
Caspar, the rich Winston-Salem dis
tiller in the Federal court for the
Western district on the payment or
eight thousand dollars and the costs,
points to one of the greatest abuses
ever practiced in any courts of JUS
tice
Distiller Caspar was charged in two
indictments with having defrauded
the government out of certain speci-
fed sums of money in the conduct
OF his whiskey business and the sale
of his goods. Through his attorney
he plead guilty to both indictments
and District Attorney Holton prayed
the Judgment of the court in one case
and asked that judgment be sus-
pended in the other on the payment
of the costs. Whereupon Judge Boyd
stated that he had a letter from Uni
ted States Commissioner Yerkes IN
which he said that he thought the
ends of justice would be met if the de-
PENDANT should pay into court $4,000,
and the costs. Whereupon the court
sentenced the defendant in the one
case to six months Imprisonment, the
sentence to be vacated upon the pay
ment of the sum mentioned in Mr..
Yerkes' letter. In imposing the SEN
tence the judge took occasion to say
that he did not approve of the method
of compromising violations of the law
by money payment. as that practice
meant that the rich man would go
free and the poor man suffer, but
that the case had been worked up by
the revenue department and there was
a statute which authorized that de-
partment to compromise cases on
money basis when only revenue was
involved.
Judge Boyd was right in the scruple
that he expressed. There can be but
small deterrent to fraudulent practices
when the chances of profit are so
great and the penalty SO small. Nine
thousand dollars is a considerable
sum, but it is certainly not more
than the amount of money which the
defendant through his plea of guilty
has admitted having fraudulently
Withheld from the government. In per-
uniting a revenue fraud to pay up
when caught, the courts are simply
encouraging violations of the law. 1t
is an open and shut game from the
point of view of the well-to-do dis
tiller. It is readily conceivable that
such an one might reason that the
profits in a long course of fraud and
violation of the law would greatly ex-
coed the fine that would have to be
paid for detection in certain specific
instances. The government has done
well if it runs up on one of these
shrewd gentry in one case. 1t cannot
hope TO detect them in all violations.
That is a poor punishment and
short sighted policy that permits the
criminal to say when caught how
much did you find out?" What the
government has traced the distiller
pays; the many undetected dollars
that he has accumulated by Illegal
means. he puts in deep pocket and
proceeds to recoup. 1t is poor bust
ness for the government. even if it
were not showing rank Partially
where it is least deserved.
The man who runs government
dstillery has at least implicitly en-
tered into a covenant to obey the law.
He is a Ecensee bound to good faith.
He is a man OF property of intelli-
gence. There is none of the excuse
of ignorance that can be bespoken for
the illiterate moonshiner. Yet the
man who should know better, who is
in every sense a deliberate violator
of the law, is let off with a money
payment that in the very nature of
things is known to be inadequate;
and the poor man, ignorant most fire.
quently guilty of but petty violations,
must pay the cost at the expense of
his liberty
Distiller Caspar, it will be noted,
was let down on the recommendation
of Commissioner Yerkes, he who re-
quet as the apostle of a decent Re-
puDllcan party. presumably, ne ng-
ured the amount for which Mr.. Cas-
par had broken the eleventh COM
mandmept and been found out; and,
possibly, he thought to proselyte him
into the decent ranks of the pie brig
ade by his Intervention in his behalf.
However, that may be, the practice
of putting justice up for sale-in set
ting a money value on crime-is a
dangerous and corrupting system
One spoon is good enough for all,
the rich distiller, and the shirtless
moonshineri