Yorkville enquirer. [volume] (Yorkville, S.C.) 1855-2006, 1915-10-01
PASSING OF THE MooNsHInER

In view Of the frequent successful
raids Of the officers Of the law, it would
seem that it is about time that the
few remaining moonshiners who are
still trying to do business along the
North Carolina line in northwestern
York and northeastern Cherokee
ought to be able to realize hat it is
about time to change their methods
or quit.
There arc rot so many moonshin-
ers in the territory mentioned as there
used to be. The fact Is that the time
was when moonshining was quite
common throughout that whole terri
tory. That was during the first TWEEN
ty-five or thirty years after the civil
war, when the retailing of liquor was
legal throughout this whole section.
There were some revenue officers
about in those days; but as %intoxicat-
ing liquors were to be had lawfully In
almost any Of the surrounding towns,
1t was more or less difficult to trace
unlawful liquor. With the gradual
outlawing of the retail liquor business,
however, the m~oonshiner has been
finding it more and more difficult to
L1o LA eoAAASo $500
risky as to hardly be worth the trou-
BILE.
In spite Of the changed conditions
there are a few who will still take the
risk of losing labor, property and lib
erty for the chance Of a few hard
earned dollars. Just why they do 1t,
is difficult for the average citizen o I
today to understand. 1t Is for money
the poor fellows are working, of
course, and they evidently think this
Is a quick and easy way to get 1t.
Their moral scruples do not enter into
the proposition. They have none with
their fathers and g~randfathers before
them made liquor and they see no
reason why they should not make IL
quor TOO. They evidently reason that
since their father and grandfather5
were able to live selling liquor at SO
cents and 81 a gallon, they ought to
make money at $3.50 and SO a gallon.
The changed conditions do not seem
to enter into their calculations.
Where formerly everybody or al
most everybody in the battle-ground
section were patrons and friends OF
the moonshiners, now the moonshiner
is finding himself mere isolated. Most
of the people in his neighborhood have
reached the point where they realize
that there Is nc good for them In his
product. They are interested in try
ing to uplift themselves and their
families by means of productive indus
try, and they understand the de-
structiye and demoralizing effect Of
liquor on the labor to which they look
for assistance. They understand the
danger to which their boys are sub
jected in being surrounded by liquor
and the derelict victims Of drunken
ness, and they are no longer willing to
stand for a traffic that they formerly
winked at.
No sooner Is a makeshift of a still
in operation than all the derelicts for
miles around commence 1Ocking
there. It has become as easy to find
a moonshine still because of the kind
of people who go there as 1t Is TO find
the carcass Of q dead cow through the
gathering of the buzzards. And for
the reasons already stated the moon
shire still cannot be operated longer
than a few days before somebody
sends information to the officers and
alcng mn the sheriff and a posse.
In the old days, when a superior
class Of men were engaged in moon
shining, it was a common practice to
set up a still on some obscure little
watercOurse, keep the location secret
from everybody, aid quietly make
liquor, barrel after barrel, until a
large quantity was accumulated. Then
the wise old mocnshiner, having al
ready disposed of his liquor by con-
ccaling it in various places Of safety.
would dismantle his still and proceed
to dispose OF his liquor as he could,
generally a long way from the plac"
of manufacture. But there Is no moro
of that kind of thing nowadays. The
men who have sense enough to pro-
coed after this fashion have too much
sense to incur the risk involved to
property and liberty and too much
sense 10 risk the consequences Of pos
sible exposure.
To make moonshine properly and
proitably. 1t is necessary for the
m%oonshiner to have more or less secur-