The Pensacola journal., 1920-03-10
|MARASSOWlNED
CASKS while STORED IN JAIL To
AWAIT SUPREME COURT DECISION
Seized After Prohibition Law
Was Enacted but Had Been
Intended for Italian Ship.
WINE TURNED TO VINEGAR
Negro Irusty Found Carrying
Wine Away in Buckets by
One of Whittaker's Force
(sy JERRY sroppAap.,

NOW 1T came to pass in the days
when Van Pelt was sheriff in r,scan,-
oia' that there was no prohibition in
the land. And a certain woman OF
Pensacola had seven barrels of wine
and the name of the woman wa,
Marasso.
AND 1t came to pass in 1918 that
prohibition law was established in the
land. So. therefore, in the first month
OF 1919 the sheriff seized the seven
barrels Of wine and the wine wa.
placed IN the jail in safe place. so
that prohibition should remain in the
city.
NOW the wine was intended for A
snip which was to come from ox-a,. tha
seas, from the land of ItaIy. and tbs
Wine was to delight the crew thereor
80 the woman took counsel with bar
lawyer and besought the Judges ~
the supreme court that the wine he
returned to her. And after hearing tla
woman, and her lawyer the Judges
held counsel among themselves. and
IL came TO pass that on a certain day.
being Monday, they said TO the sheriff
or Escambia county: Go return the
wine TO the woman, for She has heep
unjustly dealt with" And the sheriff
said: Surely, we will return unto her
that which we have
And when the woman received the
wine-being just woman--she ex-
amined the casks in order that she
might know If the wine was stin
therein And she lifted UP her voice
and cried: Behold. the wine is gone,
Two casks are empty. In two the wine
has turned to vinegar and water. /
dare not look in the others.ts
Now, 1t came TO pass when knowl-
edge of the woman's woe had gone
abroad in the land, that a certain
newspaper man sought out Sheriff
Whitaker and said: Where is the
wine?'' And the sheriff answered.: ct
is now about three weeks since a GER
tain Ethiopian, a trusted prisoner i'm
the jail, was discovered CARRYING
buckets filled with the wine, and on
being discovered the trusty fled and
the centurion OF the Jail pursued the
Ethiopian and by force OF arms bound
him.
And this sheriffs name was Whit
aker. And the name of the centurion
was Btack. ana the name or the DriS-
oner was Will Smith.
Now, the sheriff said that the pris-
oner had told him he had been taught
by certain deputies and prisoners how
to obtain the wine from the casks.
And that having obtained it he and
the other prisoners had become drunk
thereon.
And so the newspaper man went to
the former sheriff, he who had been
sheriff when prohibition had entered
the land. And the former sheriffs
name was Van Pelt.
And the former sheriff said: II
know not of it. The wine was there
when I left the Jail, for I lifted rne
casks and found them heavy. and
when / shook them they seemed TO
be full But 1t has since come to my
ears from the new sheriffs deputy
that a certain trusted prisoner was
captured leaping from window with
a bucket of wine. And this prisoner
said that he had taken the wine from
the casks.
Now, the name OF the womans s law
yer who took counsel with the judges
| so that the wine might be returned,
! was Beall. And the lawyer says: The
woman has been unjustly dealt with.
Her wrongs should be righted- She
| should receive seven casks of good
wine or value thereof.