Evening star., 1922-07-04
MOPP|NG-UP PHASE
OF MOONSH|NE WAR
Campaigns Against Illicit
Stills in Southern Mountains
Near Complete Success.
Special Dispatch to The Star.

Special Dispatch to The Star
BRISTOL. Tenn. July 4.-The war
against the moonshiners of the noun
tain country extending from the
CumberlandS of Kentucky to the
Smokes of North Carolina, today en-
tered the third, or mopping-up, phase.
with the advantage entirely on the
side of the prohibition enforcement
officers 1t is a quiet but very serious
little war. Little is heard of it out
side of the immediate localities
where it is in progress. But If it
results in complete victory for the
authorities, as now seems probable
the white mule industry of this Sec
tion will have been hit a serious. if
not fatal, blow And although quiet,
so FAR as outward demonstrations are
concerned. there has been a deadly
ferocity about the fighting that could
ne found only among men of the
sturdy. fearless character of those on
both Sides
The mountaineer has used his guns
pistols and knives freely to maintain
what he considers his absolute right
to dispose of the product of his corn
helds as he thinks best, while the
trained officers of the law. sheriffs
and deputies, have hacked up the i'm
ported prohibition officials in a man.
ner that has brought from the latter
words of highest praise.
Airplanes ns Pilots.
There has been a great difference
from the Gidtlme method of moon
shine hunting. The long -barrelled
squirrel rifles have been abandoned
In their place high powered repeating
rihes-in many cases some originally
designed to arm the American SOL
diers in France-have been used. Au-
tomatic pistols are substituted for
the cumbersome ".45." and even ma
chine guns, airplanes and the like
have been pressed into service by
the attackers. The airplaneS have
been used to spy out stills. the pilots
carrying an observer equipped with
high-powered fitldglasses, and the
machine guns have been used by the
raiders to spray the heavily wooded
slopes from which the owners of
stills have tried to pick off their
enemies.
The first stage found the moon
sinners openly plying their trade and
shipping thousands of gallons of their
product almost without hindrance to
northern distributing sections, using
high-powered automobiles for that
purpose. The second came two
months ago. when a selected force of
enforcement officials called upon the
various mountain sheriffs to assist
them in wiping out the industry
Since then there have been frequent
fights. The officers and the Illicit
liquor makers came together in de-
cisive and mighty combat Every
factor and fighter available engaged
In the fray. The hills became bloody
battle ground. The jails began to be
crowded with prisoners. many of
them caught red-handed at their un-
derground stills. The average block
ader has many of the qualities and
instincts of the bulldog and it re-
quired a crushing defeat to convince
him that he could not keep operating.
Enforcement Sentiment Grows.
Today the officers are mopping up.
They are bringing in the demolished
cause to leave them behind would
mean their repair as soon as the
mountains were vacated. If the noun
taineers had any organization they
might even now win out. as there are
many spots in the mountains that
are inaccessible except to those com
pletely familiar with the blind trails
that lead to them. But they are not,
and the sentiment of the communities
now is mostly with the enforcement
officials.
A few of the more prudent moon
sinners have quit. hidden their stills.
and are ready to live on the money
salted away when the game was good.
The great majority, however, had
spent practically their all to equip
themselves with modern stills and the
like. These are the men now being
put out of business. 1t is not hard
nowadays to buy machinery to make
whisky at figure less than half the
original cost But there is no mar
ket. The raiders have seen to that.
Meanwhile. the mountaineers are
waiting. If the mopping up is COM
plete, the making of whisky here is
at an end If the enforcement Off
cials stop before the work Is fully
completed and abandon the field, the
placid stream of white lightning will
resume its trickling down the gullies
from the mountains and soon will
wash away every sign of the early
victory won by the law enforcement
ofiicials. because laxity now by the
imported officials will have a de-
pressing effect on the local officials
who have assisted them in the work.
Copyright, 1922