The Dillon herald. [volume] (Dillon, S.C.) 1894-????, 1911-10-12

establishment was set UP, ostensibly
Tor the purpose of producing maple
/ syrup. AS matter of fact the
product was sugar brandy, which
costs about 35 or 40 a gallon to
produce and which brings in an in
come of about $3.50 a gallon when
sold. This still was doing a whole
sale business when interrupted.
In July OF this year the revenue
men captured the most complete
moonshining" plant they ever saw
in the lot of a six-story building
IN Brooklyn, n. Y. The plant itself
mad never been operated, but it
was ready for business and the rev.
enue agents grabbed it lust in
Time Its promoters had been MAX
ing sugar brandy on a small scale
IN various shacks around BROOKLYN.
Inc men behind the game had been
hnown as poor men in the commun-
tles where they lived and it was
| Inls fact that led to the discovery
OIL the still. Having been eminent
~ successful in small way they
concluded to branch out and hired
She entire sixth floor loft of a large
ouliulhs' the only entrance to which
was by private elevator. 1t was
not, however, until these poor men
N 10y SuShI III
pound lots and have it delivered
to their unostentatious dwelling
houses and began to seek a mar
ket Tor large supply of their
plans and trailed them to the new
still. '4e ne"
Illegal Brandy Making in Chicago,
IN Ihlcago, a number of fruit
brandy concerns were running
block, that is, they were produc-
ing illegal brandy which reached
the market unstamped. The sys-
| tenn there was to register the still
tor a certain product, usually, re-
curing fifteen days to produce. In
stead of producing this product,
Ihey would employ materials fer
snelIlhS IN three days and get in
i've i've mashes' instead of one. On
thls kind of stills, the government
has ueen in the habit of using on
iy a gauger and no inspector, and
the trick was, therefore, only dis
covered by accident. Another plan
employed by the Chicago moon
sinners was to ferment the raw
materials at home and then smuggle
them to the still, where they could
De quickly transferred to a finish
ed product. The estimated loss Of
revenue on these plants in Chicago,
SO far as could be ascertained by
the government inspectors, was not
less than $4,000 year.
In the known "moonshining dis
trlct' in the South, where the in
uustry has flourished almost since
the Revolutionary War the dill
Sence of the revenue officers has
made new methods necessary. Wa
ter is an essential to the operation
OF the illicit still. Usually four or
live persons in a community are
interested in it's operation. The
copper pots and kettles and piping
mat are used in making moon
shlne' wh1skey are now hidden by
the moonshiners" in the rock near
tne scene of the base of their
operations. All the fermenting of
raw material is done at home in
hogsheads or boxes,or whatever will
nold the materials. Finally a night
is selected for the work and the
STUFF is hauled to AN agreed upon
place ON the bank of some creek.
Wnere 1t Is manufactured until day.
llght. The result is that no illicit
sIlll Is now operated in the same
pace. sometimes the output is as
hish as twenty-five gallons in a
single night, but the average out
eDN ~ SSh SdllOuS per IL.
This is divided up among the parti-
c1pants and sold in small quantities.
The growth of public opinion to-
ward prohibition in the South has
mad a decided effect on the penal
ties inflicted by Federal judges in
moonshining" cases. few years
ago 1t was difficult matter to get
a Jail sentence inflicted upon p
moonshlner." During a recent
term of court in Tennessee.
however, prison sentences were in
fllcted in almost 100 cases, and in
North Carolina twenty-six such pen-
aLties were imposed by one court.
lhis is the best record ever made
against the "moonshiners.
There is another side to moon
shlnlng, which shows how deeply
rooted the industry is. That is the
Vlgor with which the "moonshin-
ers' are willing to defend their in
dustry against interference. In
the fiscal year 1910, no revenue
agent was killed by the moon
sinners" for the first time in sew
eral years, although several were
shot, including three in one fight
In Alabama. This year, to date,
one revenue officer has lost his
life in North Carolina. This, how
ever is not the whole story. 1t is
no infrequent occurrance for the
moonShiners' to take dire Venge-
ance upon an informer after the
revenue officers have left a field
or operations, and possemen, some
times deputized by the revenue Of
Ulcers in given locality to assist
them make raid, have also been
known to lose their lives most
mysteriously at some subsequent
date.
There is one other known method
of combating this form of Grim
nallty than that now employed by
the bureau OF internal revenue. The
work of the men assigned to eX-
terminate the "moonshiners" is one
of eternal vigilance, which despite
the best efforts of trained men