The times dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1903-1914, 1907-12-20
WH|SKEY men MAY
ORGANIZE TRUST
Report 7 hat Virginia Dis.
tillers Are to Go Into
Holding Company.
NEW FRAUD CASES
SOON TO BE HEARD
Conservative Estimate Places
Government Loss at 100000.
Disclosures at Danville Re-
veal Moonshine Tactics
in Licensed
Plants.
Especial From a stan Correspondent. j


Special From Staff Correspondent
sDaNNlLLE. VA. December l9.--Ee-
ports that practically nil the distillers
lereabout had formed or are, forming u
hol1ing company lacked official verif.-
ca ation here to-day. The admission. how.
ever. that the liquor dealers, terrified
by tho recent disclosures and the fear
of wholesalc prosecution, had en-.
ployed acores OF the ablest lawyers
in this section 10 defend them the ex-
pense OF which was To be shared by
all alike, seems to be tho basis for the
trust Idea, the object OF which is to
provide general protection for those
on the run. Except for the fact that
District Attorney Moore was sent To-
work. the Federal court would still be
In session. But in the early spring the
distillers will walk back to the bar.
according to conservative estimates
they have trimmed Uncle sam gut uf
$2G0.00O.
With es per cent. OF the counties Of
North Carolina under prohibition, manv,
distillers from that Statet,' ave crossed
over the Virgir.ia line. and in the Fifth
Congressional District they arc rs
thick as the proverbal hops. Some OF
them conduct business honestly and In
order. Others who realize apparently!
that they cannot make fair profit
nfrer paying the government tax.
have found that the government was
easy enough &c defraud II the game
was properly worked. and wbila they
paid the tax on a part of the output
they sold thousands OF barrels by
adopting the roonshine plan. That
accounts for the activity OF grand
turies. Then again. It is common talk
tina. the whiskey trust Is aiding the
government, being anxious to get ri'.
OF a class OF coInpylition which cam
not be easily controlled However. tie
most interesting gossip around Dan.
Vile concerns the probability of the
passage OF a State prohibition law ~
Jnr uary as . natural sequence OF this
crooked work. All of these things. COM
bIned with the FEAR OF prison stripes
makes tEe festive Christmas time oat
Wi,hout comfort to those who supply,
the bibuIous with the product OF the
corn. .What are you going TO do IN
Rtcn,nondr' was frequently asked to-
day. Conservative people point ou.,
however. that the fight OF the uniteu
states on those who nave fsiied W
keep within the law Is not an arsu-
mcnt for prohibition. Danviile. for In
stance licenses about twenty bars.
cfnr.inc each dealer s7c0. and re-
o,trinx all 10 close at P. NJ The re-
suit. II is said. is even better at times
Than when the town was Without So
looms. But that has no bearing on the
wholesale trouble
Mig Trust Doesn't Want rhe'n.
.-The whiskey trust does not want TO
u I've Virginia Dealers said a
well informed citizen to fepresen-
,a,iye Of The Times-Dispatch. Il! can.
not contro, the output or the price. ~
,annot force all to be honest. Win
,hesa neople out of the way the trust
.so,,Id have easier sailing, especially
when the trading territory is being
cut down by the enactment OF prohlp!,
ton laws have often heard II sa.o
TIA, few years back, when rish,'
cous wave was sweeping over Nol.h
Carolina, the strongest ally OF the tenn
nerance element was this very same
trust. It might be a good thing. TOO
it IL should support and aid the gov
ernment in this hight here"
when distllier is required to make
four gallons OF liquor out OF one oushel
q. corn. 1t appears as If his profit might
be enormous. But 1t is not he must
buy meal; he must pay the tax hlrs
agents and employees to help MN. ana
spend a good round sum for his plant.
The tax alone is almost as mucn as
his selling price. which means little
or no profit. To get rich the unscrupu-
lous ones must cheat. The simplest
plan, therefore. is to pay the tax on,
say. twenty-five Of every 100 gallons
and '.noonshlne" the seventy-flve. That
is the common practice. The flimsiest
sort OF records have been kept. II was
charged that one dealer had sold more
than thousand gallons, made from
only thirty bushels OF corn, the tax
seemingly being based on the corn
ol,n- ,NSi $taxy tn,
nobody is able to figure on the cash
assets OF the 9distillers, but once they
face prosecution they come out With
socks filled with real gold and offer
any amount to keep away from jail.
And so 1t goes from year to year.
Cloak Of Protection.
Whether tho holding company's main
idea is to buck the trust or whether It
Is devised as a means ofprotection Is a
6ebatable question. II formed forthe
latter purpose alone 1t would hardly
work satisfactorily. as tho ak of the
law must fall upon the man to whom
the revenue license was granted. and
who must he held criminally responsi.
ble for the evil conduct Of his plant,
II could. however. be used as a cloak
OF protection In SO far as it would
operate as tho legal branch OF the busi,
ness. which Is to say. It would assure
every dealer IN It the promise OF help
IN time OF trouble. That the trust
policy already prevails to some extent,
At least, was shown at the recent trial
here, when It was found that one big
stock holder IN the Dry Fork Distilling
Company was financially Interested in
the Caspar concern. The profit earn.
1ng feature, lis claimed would ndt
appeal to all Investor where the bust,
I ness had to be fairly managed. IN
other words. the returns would be small
and meagre3if the legal tax is paid on
every. gallon sold.
The Charge that most ofgthe distil.
leries are 4 cross between lawful
concern and an outlaw joint is not
relishcd by tho higher class Of ,,eonle
engaged inAthe business. But that talk
Is frequently heard. The whole Industry
lContlnued on Second page.)