The Duluth rip-saw. [volume] (Duluth, Minn.) 1917-19??, 1918-12-14

IoASOs V"CACAS dOA 10 OSAAO'Su w
have made a profit Of $500 on that
deal. ...
AS a consideration for buying
McKercher cars at more than orig
inal cost, it is alleged that the
new owners were given the right
to run big consignments of block
ade booze through Duluth to the
Mesaba range.
The previous issue of the Rip
saw told the story Of ten automo-
biles leaving Iron River one GER
tain Thursday night, loaded with
$4,000 worth Of whiskey, headed
for the Mesaba range via Duluth
and piloted by Murphy's maroon
Marmon car.
Now comes a story about w. NJ.
Prindle's old Locomobile. He in
formed Col. Ford that he could
have a commission of 5000 if he
sold the old boat for $4,000. He
made a sale to McKercher at that
price. The buyer was a man who
has the reputation Of being a
dealer in blockade booze, contrary
to dry regulations in Duluth and
st. Louis county.
In due course the new owner of
the old Prindle boat called on the
Prindle agency for insurance. The
employe having that matter in
charge recognized his employers
former machine. :...
| "What did you pay for that
cara" he asked. > ~.
"Three thousand dollars,'' was
the prompt reply.
A man near the Incline railway
was arrested for. blind-pigging.
He declared that the booze found
really belonged to a roomer who
improperly kept it on the premises
against the wishes of the man Of
the house.
Only a few doors from that
house, at No. 617 West First St.,
one Davich is reputed to keep a
blind pig and to freely sell booze.
One informant alleges that AS high
as 80 cases Of booze have been put
into that house at one time. It
event is alleged that Eli Ratkovich,
Austrian king Of the blockade run
ners and blind-piggers, has made
that house his Duluth headquar-
ters more or less. The hustling
Eli has been ace high with Nc
Kercher and that, perhaps, has
been why the Big Chief raided one
place but never touched the Da-
vich home nearby. @..' -.
Cannily and cunningly, Nc
Kercher trusted his favor to Serb
ians, Croatians and other Balkan
Boys for the reason that they keep
their own counsel and cleverly
claim not to talk English if caught
at illegal acts.
It is alleged, by the way, that
Eli Ratkovich used his pull with
McKercher to have his booze
bearing automobile overhauled
and repaired by a city employee
in the police garage in the city
hall. 1t is not impossible, too,
that the tank of Ellis old boat
was filled now and then with city
gasoline.
Then there's a startling story
about a protected syndicate of
blind pigs. This syndicate was
,, somewhat broken up some months
ago by death and cold feet. But,
as the story goes, one chap who
wished to make money and who
was inveigled into renting quar-
tiers and taking out a soft drink
license, became alarmed when he
found that an employe was freely
and boldly vending booze. The
Rip-saw's informant says that Nc
Kercher slapped the young man
on the back and said: "Me boy,
everything is O. K. Nothing will
happen to you"
Those five protected blind pigs
are alleged to have been located
along Superior street between the
police station and Twentieth ave-
nue. w. It is quite an interesting
game to guess where they were.
Early last summer a private de-
tective secured big bottle Of
booze in a West First street hotel.
When he took it to Nc
Kercher, that Glengarry Scotch
man squirmed and twisted, chewed
his cigar and fairly sweat, SO great
was his alarm and excitement.
Finally the Big Teller told the
chap to see if he could. get another
bottle. In a very short time he
showed up with a second bottle.
That was too much for McKerch-