New-York tribune., 1922-02-07
Biggest Still in
City Since Dry
Law is Seized
Two Held When Agents Find
2OO-Callon Plant Said TO
Have Been Used TO Treat
DenaturCd Grain Alcohol
Explosion Rocks House
Man Injured, Child Blown
From Fathers Knee, Block
in Uproar After Blast

IhC seizure OIL inc biggest illicit St1Il
ever operated in New York, found in a
sub cellar Of livery stable at 33 Perry
Street. was among prohibition enforce
ment Developments yesterday.
Chris Fortman. chief enforcement
agent. learned of the existence Of the
still several days ago and put a squad
on the case, including Agents Einstcin.
Smith, Msnnix and Barry. Einstcin
and Smith went to the stable, wearing
ovcralls. and hired out as crooms to
care for the fifty horses stabbed there
For four days they worked grooming
horses before they located The still,
which was two stories underground.
Yesterday they phoned headquarters
and the raid was made
The still was Of zoo gallons capacity,
feeding a smaller one Of thirty gallons
capacity, and was used, according TO
the agents, to twice redistill dcnatured
alcohol from toilet preparations. This
double rcdstilling process was intend
ed to extract scetonc and other poisons
from denatured grain alcohol The
process Is regarded by government
chemists as dangerous one. The
still cost $4,000 to install.
No mash was found, but there was
found $50 gallons of rcdistilled alcohol
The agents arrested Leo letter.. 55
Morton Street, as the owner. and q
stableman, c. Demarco. who lived on
tho premises. Eight others found hid
ing behind bales Of hay, IN the managers
and at other places, were taken before
United States Commissioner Hitchcock
and questioned. The practice of per
mitting the sale to BARRIERS Of ten
gallon cans of toilet water with out
permits is to be stopped. it was said
following the raid
Basement Still Enplodes
One man was injured. sixteen fami.
hes were thrown into confusion, all of
the windows III . five-story tenement
at 235 East Twenty sixth Street were
broken and IN entire block was thrown
IN an uproar shortly after o'clock
last night, when q still in the cellar of
the building exploded.
Patroman Edward Powers. of the
East Twenty second Street station, was
passing the Maternity Hospital block
distant, when the explosion occurred
He turned in q FIRE alarm and rushed
into the building. He met several cx-
cited women carrying children.
In the cellar Patrolman Powcr RS
found Carl Gabbcrt, sixty-cicht years
old, mechanic, the alleged owner of
the still. He was lying on his face
on the floor of ono of the two small
rooms of his apartment The wreck
age Of a machine. which tho police al
lege was q still, was all about him. He
WAS taken to Bellevue prisoner.
Child Taken to Hospit
On the second floor of the wrecked
building lived the family of John Mil
Ter. Miller had his year-old son
on his knee in the kitchen. where Mrs.
Miller was preparing supper. The cx~
plosion lifted the tot off his fathers
knee. and he narrowly escaped landing
on the stove. He was removed to Belle
vue Hospital, where surgeons said ne
was suffering from shock
squad Of six agents arrested
Second Street, Bethlehem, Pa and
Irving Huber. q chauffeur of the same
town, and seized truck containing
six barrels of whisky yesterday at a
garage near Allen and Ridge streets
this city. 1t is charged the prisoners
are members of q rum-runninr ring
operating between Maryland, Pennsyl
vania and New York.
The matter of the issuance of a
permit for the withdrawal of 900
cases of whisky from the warehouse
Ct the Hill & Hill Distilling Company
for delivery to the Progressive Drug
Company. 1888 Park Avenue, which led
to the clash between Prohihitinn n;