The farmer and mechanic. [volume] (Raleigh, N.C.) 18??-19??, 1906-08-07

Therefore the talk about the exami-
nations in 'fnger-quickne-s." IN the
ability to get q dead sight III a hurry
and fan the trigger six times in on.
second is Rough Rider gutf Of TIE
brand OF times when w got red II thu
face remembering thu Maine. IL
has q DOWNRIGHT sort Of a E~oOseyeltian
sound to say hat what the Govern
ment needs is not scholars but men,
to draw a picture Of rugged physIqurs,
square chins and steel-grey eyes squiut-
ing down u rifle barrel. But it Is
Christie portraiture, when applied to
q revenue agent or aimed at J. moon
sinner. The ordinary village cop, with
d hand like q ham and niger like a
bOulanga sausage, can do all the shoot
ing at moCnshiners necessary with a
: nickle plated t~hirty-eight tucked away
n a hip pocket ten folds deep beneath
=. blue frock and o~VercOat. The moon
sinner, unlike the tabled coon, does
not wait for any dead shot Croctet
to 'come down" when he gets the
fash of a shooting iron Like most
mortals he is at such a ONE in
cIined to consider all men dead shots
and his own shrinking person the
! largest thing in the landscape.
If the government wants a cal civil
service examination which would tx
anime, it might go into the detecttv2
/ business itself at the expense of the
ii III < O. IDI' 49, J.
an offer Of five dollars a month from
a IN of the secret service To let
the nliIl-branch road alone. might de-
veIop peculiaritieS unsupported in tine
, Would-be deputies. If there could De
some kind of inqulSitOrlal X-fay IN
vented whereby the effect Of a free
jug might be estimated With relation
to the permanency of a stil!, there
would be much developed in the inter
ests of the service. 1t is, too, of the
. highest Importance to know the liquid
capacity of the applicants. The use
of red liquor should constitute q black
mark. Contrary-Wise, the applicant
who can spell still and BILL ana
beer and 'slops'' should be put At
the head OF the list if he can swallow
White-Iightning out of q gourd without
a wink. The m~oonshiner is suspicious
of red Ticker. The way to his heart
! is by way of the palely amber coloted
"Schnapps'. Here is a point which
the Government should not overlook.
But where is the use of all thus
special examination, anyway? Long
experience with the revenue officer OF
the type that is supposed to knoW how
to shoot and to drink has made the
illicit distiller a master judge OF
human nature so far as he is concern
ed. Why not make the examinations
something unusual sure enough? Let
it be norated hat the Government
wants deputies who are full graduates
in entomology and botany. Make the
questions rigid SO that none but the
really competent may succeed. Ihcn,
in August, turn the whole high
proved. specialized crew into the
mountains to hunt for bugs and flow
! ers. Inevitably they would find the
stills. Surely would they walk upon
them unmoIested by the simple folk
who run them. There would remain
nothing but for Professor Hans Bug
ger to throw back the lapel of his
coat. disclose the star Of the republic
and the great red seal of the govern
ment, and the moOnShinerS would sur
render in disgust. They could clean
the coves of corn and make a glut
in the bread market in thirty days.
The Economy of the M~oonshiner.
! But right there, comes to the sur
face the fly in the ointment. The
revenue agents love the moonshiners.
a feeling which, not returned in full
measure. is at least often tolerated on
the other hand with a show of friend
ship. With the moonshiners, there
are deputies: without them, there
would be an official Wilderness. 1t
is in this fact that chiefly lies the ex-
ceeding cunning of the moonshiner,
the desperate character Of his reVengea
the crying need for the braves with
the fists of mail and the fingers supple
on the trigger.
In practice, it is better that q deputy
should drink deep and keep his feet
than that he should know how to
shoot. And a m~oOnshiner is no good
when he is dead, a meaSly victory
when he is caught and most in favor
when he can be several times "cut up"
With a waste of powder and romantic
additions to the literature of marrow
escapes in the service
There are tricks in all trades save
tina of the horse marine"
3,