The Birmingham age-herald., 1919-02-20
C0L|AS HEARING !. SET FOR FRIDAY BEFORE CHARLTON
Interesting Incidents in Con. nectiOn With Capture of
 Big Illicit Liquor Stills

At a late hour last night no fur
 ther arrests had been made in con-
 nection with the raid of two 10O-
 gallon stills and the seizure of 500
 gallons of mash and 10 gallons of
 sscawn" whisky, found in the
 building of the Colias Candy com
 pany by Detectives Patton and
 McGilI Tuesday afternoon.
 The local officers, with W. O. Robbins, United States deputy collector of reve- nues, raided the place and placed under arrest Nicholas Colias, proprietor of the Colias Candy company, and a warrant on a charge of illicit dstiling was yes- terday sworn out for him before Ken meth Charlton, by Deputy Robbins, and Colias was later released from the coun- ty jail on a bond fixed at s1000
 COLIAS' HEARING
 Nicholas Colias will be given a pre- liminary hearing before Kenneth Charl- ton, United States commissioner, on Fri day morning at 10 o'clock. The hear ing of Colias was set for yesterday after noon, but was continued on the request
  not been able to talk with his client Cclias was placed under 5000 bond, which he made.
 Iaboring under the impression Tuesday night that they had captured only one still the officers were dumfounded yes- terday morning at the discovery of an- other only few feet away from the first one found.
 If developments reveal the fact that the real estate, valued at $50,O0o, is owned by the company, under the new prohi- bition laws the real estate combined with large amount of sugar, syrup, candy and fixtures in the building will be confiscated and sold, the amount of which the detectives will receive one fourth In addition to $50 paid them 1 by the county. The sheriff of the county will receive one-fourth and the city and county will receive the remaining one half
 THE CANDY PLANT l The "candy" plant as a whole resem- | bles wholesale distilling house and was only camouflaged by little candy mak- l ing Upon investigation yesterday DOT | tions of a still such as coils and worms were found hanging on the walls and stuck around in various places on every floor of the building. On the third | floor of the building, where mash was found ty the barrels, the windows were l uncovered, no attempt being made to hide the fermenting mash. Some of the | barrels which contained the seething, | irving shifting mash were built upon | rcliers so that they might be moved and the entire plant appeared modern and up-to-date. No partitions cut the ca ndy kitchen off from the distilling end of the work room. It was operated in | the open.
 In the basement, 20 feet below the side walk the boiler was situated. On the | first floor was the candy department and on the second floor stills as showr in the picture were located. Iron pipes run through the floors of each story | conveyed the steam to the stills and z secret pipe running down the back O. the building and into the sewer pipe conveyed the slop from the still, keep ing down the odor.
 PROSPECTIVE CUSTOMER
 At 9:So yesterday morning the telephone l rang and was answered by one or th' officers.
 Hello. Nick" said the voice, according to the officers, everything all right?' The officer answered in the a11irma tive and asked who it was.
 q ain't callin' no names over th' 1phone. Nick, but say, you know me; hav' you got gallons to spare this morn ing" :,
 "sure, old man. come right over." sait the officer.
 Within a few minutes an automobil rolled up, but seeing the crowd around the door immediately the driver fed tn gas to his machine and vanished, ant the officers are now at loss to knoV the name of the prospective buyer.
 Everyone who has seen the stills an' building declare the business was be ing done on the largest scale of an
 illicit whisky business ever conducte south of the Mason and Dixon line
 The property, it is understood, is owne'
 by Jebeles and Colias, who are extensV
 property owners in the city and who a
 mariners also operate bakery on tn Southside.
 GOVERNMENT STILLS
 Revenue Officer w. o. Robbins, wh helped make the initial raid on the place
 declared that it was the largest appa
 ratus of it's kind he had seen since tn
 bygone days of legal distilling.
 N"In fact" he said, both of these ar
 old government stills and how Colia
 got them is a mystery. He has. to a
 appearances, been running for about
 monShs.' -
 Photographs of the stills and the offl
 cers effecting the capture, were taken g o'clock yesterday morning. curiou crowd gathered about the entrance
 the building, which was under guar and key, when the photographers starte shooting" and at g o'clock, when tn f doors were unlocked for pictures or tn : ] still to be taken, there was quite rus r by the crowd to get in and see wns
 they had missed. for so long. But no one except officers and report CTS were allowed in the building. an officers had their hands full for miI ute keeping back the inquisitive- Tn still is situated on the second floor an after gazing thereon for few minute Revenue Officer Robbins cried, "Come oi boys, and I'll show you what they man it out off,
 No one declined the invitation, and a expectant line filed up to the third HOO