The Rock Island Argus and daily union. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1920-1923, 1920-08-31

- ! soclh1e0 spot 4 ! wooded
hcl1oW II ~ vssy henrt Of the city
- literally = ~ SHADOW Of the
rnor mAnsloa today stands the
Snno1 den d w1nk might b termed
~ hcqno q IL k1ng o. the moon
0h1nero q this enfiTe community.
Only one man w. caught in the
~ made late Monday svsning By
~ CAiof Tom Cox md 0mcsrs
II Coz and william Dehlke.
6av1n Rodonovich. formerly q
R0wanss, was held TO the federal
oJand jlry by United States Com
MISSIONER +. p. Sinnstt mAer
~ bond this morning The
fg1oonsr admitted to have lived IN
~ house and to have operated the
mi. Evidence ct the den would
0om 70 show that Rodcnovich, or
III friends, are Of religious ma
1eo, A bible, numerous religious
SoRks and pictures OF Christ ana
pist0r Russell were found.
Possibly nowhere in the United
0fates could there be found .
Ssoonshine den the proportions and
direct surroundfngs OF which. re-
gnrdless of the nearness OF the pre-
.tentious Huber estate, 80 closely
resembles the word pictures drawn
~ eminent descriptive writer's
81 the picturesque location and
aans Of moonshiners in the Blue
Ridge mountains Of Kentucky.
,tsTnere Is evidence In abundance
ahnt the den has been In operation
~ . year and perhaps longer.
Location Only Protection.
The very location Of the den,
prohebly erected solely for the
purpose Of making monshine wnis-
~, was its best protection. New
nrtheless, it would seem almost i'm
nossible that an outfit Of such
huge proportions, and which must
have turned out thousands OF gal
Ions OF corn whisky. could have re-
NAMED undetected for so long.
However, that It did goes without
saying, and the very boldness OF the
thi1g was the long shot that the
moonshiners without doubt held Is
thoir winning card.
Police Hunt Whisky Fountain.
Raids after raids have been made
toth by the police and government
aennts ON moonshine dens in Rock
I0lAud, but the source OF the moon
chine supply seemed to be little
affected, which was . pu1zler for
the ofhcials. Stills were found in
prjyate homes adm in house boats
and destroyed. Huge wine presses
we're found and hundreds OF gal
Ions Of "dago red" wine. but boot
isggers seemed always to be able
70 dispense all the moonshine they
oould ind buyers for. The au'
thorities sought for the unknown
fountain, but seemed to get NJ
s place, while lesser dens were mos
tupes easily located.
A Glimpse Of Kentucky.
All the time the biggest moon
0hine den probably in the history o
Illinois, remained concealed an.
Deyfectly serene in the very heart o
Rock Island. The spot il in q hol
low about two blocks south and |
little west Of the Huber mansion
aAA u streets and avenues were Gu
through would be about wher
Eleventh avenue and Twenty-sixt
street would intersect. The loca
Uon and outfit is as perfect as
a earthquake or ice slide. such q
a10 read to have occurred durin
he glacier period, had moved b
Il the Blue Ridge mountains, moor
aAinA den and all, and set it dow
- Rock Island, ready for bushes
On m east hillside directly abo,
: hollow running north and sout
y md turning east and west arouI
N he front of the house, stands
&Ans house boarded up and dow
= with cleats over the cracks. II
structure rests ON o rock found
0on set in the hillside, the found
ton forming . cellar blind /,
three sides against the hill, b
without obstruction on the "a,
where . door opens into It uprigl
Ia the cellar are stalls for sever
horses and the distilling outfit. On
0ide II . wagon. Harness VI
found but there were no horses.
20.Gallon Still.
The still was . 20-gallon copp
effhir heated BY q gasoline stoy
Alongside sat q 52-gallon BARR
through which ran, slanting fro
Top to bottom, straight copp
piDe. through which the distill
NQlor passed for condensation, Il
barrel being filled with water 4
thle purpose. Where the pipe eE
efged from the barrel below flow,
Q stream of corn whiskey as lar
- . lead pencil when the place VI
yAi6ed late Monday evening.
On the main floor Of the hous
- largo open room with . sml
portion partitioned off for . kite
=, was the living quarters. On Il
Noet is q small shed In which we
1nund five barrels containing q
eAllons Of corn mash. A numb
q gallons Of finished product we
/ aleo found.
Used Sugar and Molasses.
Both sugar and molasses we
ooed for fermentation Of the cor
~ tits the empty tins and n
eAnoe Of molasses cans and emp
+ o1oar sacks that gives the clue
~ immensity Of the poonshiner
4 operations. Ono sack was full
I empty lo0-pound sugar sacks. Al
4 Otaef sack was full OF the lids 0
q one-gallon molasses cans a
n6eniAA ntnnd f3vA huDn hnvAa n