Harrisburg telegraph. [volume] (Harrisburg, Pa.) 1879-1948, 1918-09-27
rMOONSHINE WAS
. ON TAP IN N. Y.
Raid on Plant in Henry Street
Leads to Willett Street
House

New Iork.-Three queer looking
boilers nestled snugly on top of the
triple burners of a gas stove in the
basement apartment of the big tene-
ment at S12 Henry street when the
door to the apartment was crashed
in by a squad OF detectives from
Police Headquarters. The place WIS
empty of occupants, but the bubhl;nS
contents of the boilers were .;eizeG
and internal revenue agents who en-
amined the stun later said the police
had stumbled upon the biggest illicit
still the revenue agents ever had
seen in ,his part OF the country.
As the detectives got into the place
rear window slammed. so several
of them hurried to the yard. Halt
way up the fire escape they saw
a man, who refused to heed their
summons TO. halt. Two of the detec-
tives drew revolvers and fired. The
shots brought the man to a stop
quickly and he was placed under
arrest, charged with operating the
still. At Police Headquarters later
he said he was Louis Knell, labor
er. and gave his address as 50 Wal
Eut street.
Without waiting to take their
W lSp4lSI LSCh " llSdNAludllSl me
detectives led him around to the.
Willett street address. There they
reported finding dozens of bottles
OF alleged illicily distilled whisky
kimmel and other liquors which the
police said were the product OF the
Henry street distillery. In the Will
let street address they put Knsll II
a long period of questioning and oh
tanned from him, they said, infor-
nation that led them TO go to the
dingy three story building in the
rear OF $50 Ridge street.
The windows of the Ridge street
place were covered with boards and
burlap when the detectives got there,
and the doors were fitted with locks
on both the outside and inside.
One of the floors, the detectives
charged. was fitted out elaborately
as a bottling works, while the rest
of the building apparently was used
as a supply house, except for the
upper floor. where the detectives said
they found another complete still
set up. but not in operation.
Between the Henry street apatt-
ment and the Ridge street building
the police confiscated 500 pounds of
sugar. 500 bags of corn meal AMI
700 cans of molasses. Thirteen bar
rels of mash were carted out of he
tenement apartment and twelve rlore
barrels were found in the Ridge
street still. Hundreds of bottles,
some of them full and some appar-
entity ready to be filled were found
in both places.
Discovery of the Henry street still
was purely accidental. Detectives
Oliver, Finn. Hoffman and Cooper
went to the house hoping to find
there race of a man for whom they
were looking in connection with an
entirely different matter. When
they entered the basement hallway
they heard several persons walking
about in the apartment and knocked
on the door.
Immediately the place became
quiet. The detectives waited a few
moments and when their rapping
was not answered knocked again on
the door. Still no answer came and
The door was crashed in. The bar
rels of fermenting mash stood all
about and the flame in the gas Jet
beneath the boilers apparently mad
just been extinguished, for the
liquid in the boilers still was steam
ing hot.
Elell denied at first that he ever
had been in the basement apart
n ent, but the janitor of the place
told the police he had been a tenant
there for several months. Persons
in the ueighborhood said they
thought the men who occupied the
apartment, as we'll as those who fire.
ouented the Ridge street building,
were peddlers of nuts, because push
carts were seen by the neighbors be-
ing trundled away from the both
places late at night. But the neigh
bers also told the police that they
had seen boxes and bottles that bore
| nc labels also placed on the push
carts before the nuts were thrown
I in.
While the police were on their
: way out of the Willett street place
18th Louis Knell he set up the cry
/ of Thief" and caused a big crowd
I to collect. In the mixup that fol-
/ foged several of the bottles filed
! with LIQUID which the police allege,
| contained old of kimmel were brok-
| en- and their contents spilled. AsI
/ the police reached the street with
their prisoner one of the men in the
| crowd is alleged to have interfered
with the detectives and he was plac-
ed under arrest. He proved TO be
! Benjamin Knell, brother of Louis,
anisat first the police made a charge
against him of operating the alleged
Illicit still. When the Federal nu-
! th,rities wero summoned however,
/ th.v said Benjamin would be charged
m,reIy with interfering with the de-
| tetttyes