Perth Amboy evening news. [volume] (Perth Amboy, N.J.) 1903-1959, 1920-01-15
'M0ONSH|NE' IS
FOUND IN HOUSE;
MAN ARRESTED
Included -Four Large Barrels in
Building in Prospect Street
FLOODED WITH WATER
Matter Will Probably be Taken
Up With the Revenue
Authorities

An illicit still with four large bar
rels, together with some moon
shine,'' was discovered by the local
<firemen shortly after IL o'clock tnfS
morning when they broke into the
house at 357 Prospect street. which
had caught fire.
William White. colored, the owner
of the house was y, aced under arrest
by Detective Joseph Gutowski and is
being he d in. the local Jail charged
with conducting an Illicit still. Ac-
ording to information given out by
Chief Patrick j. Burke. White was
stopped by the detective as the negro
was trying to- slip away from the
house. White dnrias moving any
thing about the still and said that
the house has been rented for the past
three weeks to New Brunswick.
man by the name Of Skowitz. White
declared he did not know the first
name of this Brunswick man nor
where he .lved. According to Whites
statement the man Skowitz had told
him he was going to move into the
building.
White gave his address as 313 Penn
street, but the police have learned
that there is no such number of that
street. the lowest being in the 500
class.
The fire is thought to have started
from the sti becoming over-heated
during the process of manufacturing
+he whiskey. No one was seen to
leave the house, however, the fire
being discovered when clouds of
smoke started to curl UP between the
side of the building and the roof.
An alarm of fire was rung in from
box Ga, Watson avenue and Smith,
street. When the firemen arrived
at the scene of the blaze the
flames had gotten a good start and
were beginning to work their way
through the front weather boards.
Most of the smoke, however. was
coming from a back window on the
second floor and the f1remen put a
ladder up to this and forced the
nozzle of the hose through the win
dow. Owing to the dense smoke 1t
was impossible to see inside the
room.
The firemen were told that the
house was not occupied, although
rented to New Brunswick man. In
spite of the fact that no one was
thought to be living there the fire.
men working in the back of the
house soon saw that some articles
were within the rooms.
When the flames had been eXt1n-
guished sufficiently to allow them to
enter and investigate four large bar
rels were discovered and the first
report was that sauerkraut had been
stored there.
AS the firemen went further into the
large room they saw a large copper
ovenlike affair with rubber tubing
running from 1t to several bott es.
The cry of BOOZE" "whiskey,"
"moonshine" and "a secret stilF' then
came from the lips of the firemen.
Word that an Illicit still had been
found in the house spread quicker
than had the fire itself and soon all
the firemen. police and others were
crawling up the ladder to the back
of the house. through the small win
dow and a hole cut In the side of the
building in order to get closeup
view of one of the stills about which
30 much is being heard nowadays. =
The house was of frame, two and a
half stories, and of peculiar structure,
there being no front door and only one
at the side. Only small windows were
to be found in the front of the build
ing while inside the rooms were small
and low ceilings. Once started, the
fire had no trouble in eating its way
through the old wood and making
good headway.
In the upstairs room where the
still was found there was a piece OF
carpet tied over the front window to
prevent anyone on the street from
seeing what was taking place there.
back of the house had shutter,
which was tightly closed.
The still, together with three large
sacks of sugar, bottles of the finished
product. pals of mash thermometers,
tunnels and other pieces Of apparatus
were all carted down to the police
station after their discovery.
The still is rectangular in shape.
about three feet high, two feet wide
and five feet long, made Of copper and
capable of holding about 100 gallons.
There was an apartment in the bottom
with a crate in which the coal was
burned to furnish the necessary heat.
A number of copper vessels, tunnels
and utensils, connected with rubber
tubing completed the outfit. Several
bottles, of varying size contained diff
erent colored and smelling liquid.
were also removed to the police sta
tion. When tested some of this liquid
burned showing 1t to be either pure or
nearly pure alcohol. Other tests fall
ed to result In the liquid burning.
Three large sacks Of sugar and
yeast strainer were evidence of the
fact that the operator of the still ex-
pected to do considerable work.
The contents of the four barrels in
the "distillery" consisted of mash.
thick. pink, soggy substance which
smelled of grapes.
Continued on page 81