The Mena weekly star., 1921-04-14
SHERIFF COLLECTS
 IS GALS. HOOCH
Round of Suppressed Excitement Started When Someone Stole Boot
 Iegger's Supply of Moonshine
 That Now Rests in Still Cell.

There was wailing and gnashing of teeth, smiles and laughter and tears ana cheers all mixed up on the south side of Mena Thursday morning, the particular expression depending upon how the expressor felt about tko raid upon the moonshine, conducted Wednesday afternoon by Sheriff Thornton and others.
 There's a whole lot to this moon- shine tale that isn't officially known, and possibly lot of that never will Dc known except to the few informed ones that are keeping mighty close mouthed about it. But there is one sure thing, Sheriff Thornton has 36 half gallon fruit jars all filled with a high class distillation of corn juice, and to make sure it is safe, he has it locked up in steel cage in the coun- ty jail
 How much the sheriff didn't get is matter of mathematical calculation and all the calculators don't figure alike Sheriff Thornton himself es- inmates there were 30 gallons in the original shipment and knows he has official charge of Is gallons. A num- Der of empty fruit jars have been found, and a few more are known to have been broken, and it is believed the others not accounted for have been safely hidden away for future reference.
 According to information gathered from official sources and otherwise, some poor hard working bootlegger trying to make an honest living has been grossly imposed upon. There is also belief that some of the enter prising manufacturers of white mule have either combined to form 6 trust, or attempted to glut the Mena mar ket, for 50 gallons is some shipment of moonshine for this locality.
 The best authorities agree that the manufactured of the headache maker brought the hooch to Mena under cover of darkness and sold it to one af Mena purveyors of illicit liquor. Who this particularly person might be has not been officially revealed as yet. But as the Southsiders who are next Co the goings on in their neighbor- hood, put it, somebody, also unknown
 and unidentified, got next to the con- signment of moonshine and stole it away.
 The thieves, whoever they may or ] hereafter be, are said to have hidden the stolen hooch in a barn on DeQueen
 street, where Jesse Philpot had been I keeping team, but which had not been used of late. The fruit jars were carefully hidden in the manure under the long manager and might have es- | fo1 IOnO fIpao lf | ether Seuthside residents who like
 noonshine, and are not averse to stealing it, had not located the cache | thru accident.
 Here's where the wailing and gnashing of teeth takes the stage. The purchaser of the lie.er from tine original maker found out where tiie ! thieves had hidden it and found that the thieves were also victims of other | thieves. He himself couldn't prevent
 the thieves from stealing the stolen llquor and he couldn't very we'll com l plain because that would have ex- posed his own transaction in contra
 band stug. So he is reported to have
 sweat blood as he thought of the loss of money and effort. 1t is unofHcially reported the stuff was worth S6 half | gallon jar and 36 jars is enough to :, make fellow sweat some. The activity of those who are said
 to have been stealing the booze from those who stole it from the bootleg ger is said to have become so bold as | to attract attention of those who be- lieve in the enforcement of the prohi- bition laws. Some one notified Sher- if Thornton and he promptly investi- gated with the result that 36 jars of white mule were found and promptly taken to jail The prohis then gave the cheers.
 To those who saw naught but hu- nor in the frantic effort of the boot legger to save his iiiegai product from Ithe energetic thieves, there came
 smiles and laughter, for it is funny
 what some men will do to get little liquor.
 No trace has been found of the orig inal maker of the moonshine but it is l nossihle that arrests of others con- r n