Omaha daily bee. (Omaha [Neb.]) 187?-1922, 1919-01-05
BIG TASK FACES
c. HyERS, STATE
BOOZE AGENT
Former Lancaster County
Sheriff Serves Notice That
BootIegging Must Stop
in Douglas County.

or a bone dry" Nebraska, vet he
says it can and will be done, using
methods which he has devised and
put INTO practice in Lancaster
county.
! Bad Luck to Sample Goods.
During the last IS months there
nave been cases where adventurous
bootleggers of the Jess Eckford
4 type, who have come to grief and
have abandoned the traffic, not
through successful police methods
/ SO much as to lack of discretion on
the part of the bootleggers and an
/ overindulgence in the merchandise
they peddled, which has caused &C
,ldents that have brought them into
the limelight of notoriety and has
proved their undoing.
Prosecutions, under the law, are
confined mainly to the unfortunate
stranger within our gates, who
brings in few TASKS Of whisky in
grips or suit cases and are caught
by the members of the morals squad
at the depots. The majority of these
are not peddlers.
1t is true that some bootleggers.
whose work was so coarse and lack
ing III hnesse as to suggest the cum
ning OF the ostrich, which imagines
It's whole body concealed when it
hides its head in the sand, have been
captured and put out of business.
Then, too, there have been fortuitous
and accidental circumstances which
have revealed the clever cunning of
expert bootleggers.
The cleverest of these have never
been identified, although they have
lost valuabl cargoes.
There is the case of bootlegger
who shipped in over a thousand gal
Ions Of fine whisky and brandy. all
of which was contained in FIVE and
l0-gallon kegs, concealed in barrels
of maca.oni. The spirits and mac
aropi were seized by the police and
The liquor went to the military hos
pitfalls of Omaha, while the food
product .was sold for the benefit OF
the police relief fund. Neither the
owner nor consignee was ever
identified.
Curious Discoveries.
Most of the shipments OF whisky
by freight have resulted III grief
because of the vigilance of the
Western Weighing association, a
traffic organization maintained here
for the classification of freight ior
the benefit of shippers. 1t is not a
police organization in any sense OF
the word. In its activities it ha;
occasion to investigate packages OF
freight to see that the contents are
in accord with the classihcations OF
the freight bills. Overweight Of the
contents may cause suspicion anc
lead to Investigation. Some cur ons
discoveries have been made. Liz.
uors. cordials, fine wines ant
whiskies have been found concealec
within the plump abdomens of gi
gantic Teddy Bears, toy Newfound
land dogs, mounted on wheels, ant
large enough for child to ride.
Kegs of whisky have been foune
in large cans of lard, in boxes o
starch and even in cases containing
shipments OF Bible and other re
ligious books.
These are reported to the fedora
authorities. Most of these ship
ments have been for private con
sumption and not for trafficking,
Human nature is the one big thing
that Mr. Hyers and his co-laborer'
in the moral vineyard will have t.
cope with. In most every instance
they will find themselves working
alone for it is seldom that informa
ton or help is volunteered by disin
terested parties that will lead to thu
detection and prosecution of Thu
class of crime.
Men who are, in all other respects
law abiding and law enforcing citi
zens. guard closely and sacredly TIL
secrets of the bootlegger. They ma.
know the routes and the means tn
whisky bandits employ in delivering
and distributing the:r contraband
They may have the telephone mum
bers of the whisky runners, but the,
never cheep to the officers OF tn
/. law.
1t is the exception to the rule tina
the ,drunkard brought up in polio
: court will peach" on a bootlegge
and tell where he got his liquor
even though the law guarantees hin
immunity from fine or Jail sentenc
if he gives this information.
In l8 months there have been onl.
two cases in the Omaha police cour
where such information has bee
given out of the hundreds of case
tried.
Hard to Get Evidence
In the north part of Omaha Their
is a certain establishment that ha
been under police suspicion TO
many months. Police know that
large volume of contraband liquo
is sold at the place daily. The mol
ais squad has made raid after raj
on the place but have never yet pro
cured a particle of evidence. The
were at the place New Year nigh
when dozens of thirsty and disar
pointed customers lined up outsid
the doors waiting until the raid wa
over and the police came out empt
handed. 1t is related when the coas
became clear that the disappoint
ment OF the gang was converted int
mental and liquid joy.
On account of its bulk the drinl
:lg public is deprived of beer fc
there is no profit to the bootleggt
for smuggling it in. Occasionally
though, favored patrons are SUI
piled with a case or two, althoug
there is now complaint of the qualit
customers saying it is no moi
potent than. the near beers, and NJ
near so palatable.