The Wilmington morning star., 1943-02-06
BY WEsTBROOK PEGLER

WASHINGTON.-Thi is a sad story, mates
1t seems that our government, meaning to
raise few more jits to buy things to shoot
Germans and Japs with, decided last year
that anyone possessing any drinking liquor
with intent to SELL must declare the same
and pay a tax of 81 gallon and that the
proprietors of local rejoicery where the
beauty and the chivalry of our embattled cap
ital are wont to raise refined hell by night
reported that they had on hand 900 gallons
of spirituous refreshments.
The plant is called EN- Patio or, more com.
monty, The Ell Patio, and the props are John
Longo and Larry Kelly. Brother Kelly is
treasurer of the building fund of Local "a
Of the Building and Common Laborers' union
which has membership Of about 10000
Ninety per cent of them are colored brothers
AS routine matter, an inspector Of the al
cohol tax unit of the Internal Revenue called
to see if the stock on hand squared with the
amount declared in the return which was
900 gallons and sure enough, it seemed to-
But little later one of the operatives hap
pened to sniff the air doWnWind from The
El Patio, and went back for second look
finding among the declared merchandise
stacked in a roof off the business office of
the joint, about 300 additional cases or more
than thousand gallons beyond the stock on
hand at the first inventory.
This aroused the agents suspicious, so he
asked where they kept the beer, which was
just sly ruse because he wasn't interested
in beer and they told him it was in the cellar
So he went down to have peek, and there
saw wooden partition and asked what was
behind that. Mr.. Longo said there was liquor
behind that, the private property OF Brother
Kelly of the laborers union, bought as an
investment. But Brother Kelly was in Florida
celebrating labor's gains under the party Of
humanity and it couldn't be opened as Brother
Kelly had the key.
So the agents thought they would 60 to
the new headquarters Of local a. completed
early in 1941 at a cost of $135O00 to see if
someone there wouldn't have a key and while
around. Suting the action to the thought
they prowled the cellar OF the labor temple
and there found another similar PARTITION
made of tile. and asked what was kept in
there.
Union records said a kinsman of the
absent Hon. Bro Kelly but the agents dis
believed him because most unions don't keep
records. The janitor then opened 1t up and
Brother Kelly's kinsman proved to be in
error, for the contents of the hidden room
were not records but about 250 gallons more
of choice merchandise.
The agents then returned to The Ell Patio
iimmed the door of the room under the side
walk and took the stock into protective GUS
tody. Altogether they picked up for safekeep-
ing about 1000 gallons, OF which they found
no recorded declaration and they now began
to take a very serious view OF the case be-
cause the law provides two kinds Of penalties
running up to five years in prison and a
fine of IS ,OO0 plus confiscation and a penalty
of SO for each gallon illegally held.
These developments brought Brother Kelly
ba ck from Miami untimely and posthaste for
the value of the goods, alone, reckoned at
$40 600 is no trifle even to a prosperous
1,nioner with boomtown night club running
for him on the side He said the undeclared
goods was in no part either his or Mr.. Longo's
hut the property of his union, bought to ami
mate the $1,000 brothers at jollification to
be holden some time next fall to celebrate
the betrayal OF the mortgage on the Sl5oooo
home of local IA.
Aoainst that version, however, the agents
noust weigh the word of Mr.. Longo who said
Brother Kelly had bought the extra goods
found in The Ell Patio as personal invest
ment and the recorded fact that nearly all
Of It was ordered by Longo and receipted and
paid for by him.
It is not to be wondered that the agents
.ra sxeptcal for the union premises would
Mold only small fraction Of the brothers
aotbered for a mortgage-burning and on an
EVENINGS ration of about one case per broth
or # probably would be necessary to funeral
ize most of the merrymakers, a severe Dram
IN tho burial fund, and replace the tidy little
S1a5 OOO home Or, if the full membership OIL
~ O1O were to attend, the ration would pc
ahout one bottle each and it would be neces-
ean'1 ~ hold the ceremonies in Mr.. Clark
Cr;ffi+h,s ballyard In which case we mlgnt
80 ~ ,an1ace the whole city of Washington