The Rock Island Argus and daily union. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1920-1923, 1921-12-19
Frederick Hask1n's letter /
Tie Trail of the White Mule.
ispeesal correspondsnee Cd = ArEus.l

I others whose business takes =
into the sparsely settled ssetf.s-
have found this out. The vorl
all sorts of government fea
ficers has been crippled bv tbs =.
| picious attitude of the natives ~
the biological survey, in lis -
of trapping predatory anil
finds that its first and most din
task in a given region is 10 20
vince the natives that the trans.
are not looking for stills m
veterans bureau in its rouud-un !,
men who were entitled to CONNIE
sation met the same obstacle
The stills seem to have first ma
| tiplied within the mountain -
tons, and then to have slowly crss.
down into the valleys near -
cities. There have ALWAYS hasa
few moonshine stills in the pt-
Ridge mountains near Wssbi,.
ton, but now there are a burs,ss
in the woods along the Potons-
river for every one that was bIf
den in the mountains 10 years a.
The men who operate these s,iH,
are for the most part Of the mops
tain type. 1t seems to be In,
ally true that the mountainear -
romance has come down from II,
wooded heights bringing his an n
liquor-makihg with him.
Rise of MOuntaineer.
And in coming down phvsieaIz
he has gone up socially and fBsr.
cially. That lean, hawk-noss3
sockless man has become 4 pros.
porous fellow with a good car and
a bank account. Many a mountaIs
boy and girl is getting a better e5B.
cation and better food and clotha,
by reason of prohibition. Tbers
are no more staunCh supporters If
prohibition than, these artists Of he
white mule. 1t has been a boon 10
them. They are back Of the Anti.
Saloon league to a man.
There are risks, of cOurs. but
they cannot be great. In the cities
the police frequently arrest boot
leggers, but in the wild rursT
neighborhoods, where white mule is
made, the local officers are seldom
hostile. In fact, it is not unusual
to find the sheriff a part owner q
a still and the local stoTekeeper
supplying the sugar for a share OF
the profit, and in some cases even
the preacher has been known 10
partake of the labOTs and the prof.
its of the venture In a word, the
whole neighborhOod is pretty sure
to be in cahOOts, and the way Of
the stranger there is apt TO be hard.
1t was published not long ago that
the prohibition enforcement de-
partment was sending a hundred
men into Appalachian region to
comb out the stills" Probably a
thousand could not have done the
job.
Meantime the market for the
product steadily Wideus. 1t has al
ways been used largely in the
southern cities, such as ChsEta-
nooga and Birmingham. and the
moonshiners found a ready market
in those places as soon as prohibi-
ton went into effect. Washington
has also been steady user Of white
mule 70 "a long time. New York. Il
is said. is just beginning to acquire
a taste for it, but the market there
is growing. despite the competition
of imported stuff. Moreover, white
corn whisky, while a terrible thing
at it's worst, is by no means IN
paIatable at its best. There is no
reason why the mOOnshiner's field
of activity should not widen, as be
learns how to cater to the better
trade.
Perhaps next this infant indus
try will have its lobby IN Washing
ton. and will cooperate with the
Anti-SaloOn league for legislation
TO prevent the importation Of
liquor. White mule is 100 per cent
America, so it must be good.