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THE OREGON SUNDAY JOURNAL, PORTLAND ' SUNDAY j MORNING , SEPTEMBER 29, J9Q7 ' . ' t
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4 IV,
Business by Local Option and
Public Sentiment
J0 Ajj no Awri or read even
if he has never sampled it of
"moonshine" whisky, and of
its picturesque, lawless maker, the "moon
thwer"f For years the "moonshiner" has been the
Tiero of song, and story, a roughly romantic
figure,, appealing strongly to the popular im
agination, thrilling melodramas have been
"built around him; dime novels have been filled
tvith his adventures.
His readiness to die in defense of what he
has regarded as his inalienable right to pur
tue happiness and the nimble dollar by the
Uis filiation of "mountain dew," has won ad- .
miration for his wrong-headed heroism, even
from those who had no sympathy with his
illicit business.
But now, if the internal revenue men are
Hot "over sanguine, the "moonshiner" is near
the end of his career. In a few years, it is as
serted, he will be as extinct as the dodo.
With him will end as thrilling a serial
ttory of romance and adventure as ever passed
into hlsiory.
D
AVID A. GATES, chief of the national jovern-
ment'i laUrnal rTnue ipnti, believes that the
next ten yean will wltneaa the final paaslng of
the "moonahlner."
; ' Thla will not be, Mr. Oatea admlta. ao much becaua
bf the activity and devotion of the revenue men, though
these Qualities are unquestioned, as because of the
Change In popular sentiment In the regions where the
"taoonshlner" la making hla last stand.
Tact la, th "moonshiner," who has always heretofore
td th sympathy and tacit support of th communities
Ja which ha lived, la gradually being legislated out of
Kxlartanoe by those yry communities,
Th states which hare been hla stronghold are, one
atfter another, "going dry." They are discovering thatv
the liquor- question. In the rural districts at least, is In
xtrlcably tangled up with the negro problem.
; The country people are afraid of the drunken negro.
Outrages, which have aroused the entire South and re
sulted. In -lynching Innumerable, have been traced. In
nany case, to the mountain stllL
--For-lt--thera that the negro dives get their sup
Vllea, and It la "moonshine" that drives the vicious, loaf
ing negro of the country districts mad. 80 the people
have decided that the moonshiner must go; and, that
Jpelng th case, there Is very little doubt that he is going.
For mora than fifty years since Uncle Bam set hlm
fcelf seriously to the suppression of the mountain still
It has been war to the death between the "revenuer" and
th "moonahlner," and neither aid waa particular aa to
bow many deatha resulted.
4 . BACK TO WASHINGTON'S TIME
V Probably th first moonshiners, though the name had
'Dot then been coined, were those who fomented the
whisky rebellion In western Pennsylvania during the early
years of Washington's administration, a revolt that waa
pnly broken up when federal troops took the field.
. These were the only "moonshiners" for whose sup
pression an army has been called Into service, but there
fcaa been for years a sort of guerl'la warfare between
the makers of Illicit whisky and the armed revenue offi
cers,' which will only cease when the "moonahlner" Is
axtlnct.
He la In th class with the buffalo. In that he Is "dy
ing out," but with this difference that there Is no effort
feeing made to prevent It Game preservation laws do
pot extend to him.
: TMoonshlnlng" Is an ancient Industry, and It Is only
comparatively recently that It has ceased to be an honor
ftble on.
: r When our grandfathers were young men a great many
frf them owned and operated private distilleries. The
promiscuous making and sale of whisky was as honorable
and right In those days as the raising and selling of
bogs.
. Country gentlemen all had their stills. Each man
tnade as much whisky each season as he had corn to
apar tor, saved what he wanted for family use and sold
th rest at about 80 cents a gallon a grade of whisky,
y the way, that now costs from $4 to $6 a gallon.
t ..When the government forbade thla sort of "every-man-bis-own-distlller"
scheme, the better and law-abld-fmg
class submitted gracefully to the Inevitable. But the
gorest free lances, knowing little and caring less fon
law, took up the industry, which meant big returns tor
little outlay of capital or labor, and began the manufac
ture by stealth, generally at night end at secret places.
JEIenoe the term "moonshiner."
While there have been some illicit liquor manufactur
ers to the cities, the real stronghold of the Industry has
been In th mountains of Kentucky, Tennessee, Georgia
fluid the Carollnas.
: Th "moonshiner" is essentially a product of th hills.
Jjla face Is rarely, seen in the market places. He is
convinced that his business Is not Illegal. He believes
thoroughly In his God-given right to make whisky, and
b regards It as an liunnKemuiu 01 his liberties aa un
American citizen to break lus still or lay the heavy hand
of taxation on the spirit which he manufactures. And In
defense of that right he is ready to die.
:.t BY MOUNTAIN STREAMS
At th. same time he realizes that discretion Is the
bUr part of valor, and be builds his still with a view
to concealment It mutt be where there Is water In
a&unaance, however, so he chooses a deep gully or ra
vine, or the banks of a creek running down a mountain
side the more out of the way, the more Inaccessible the
jitter.
As a means of livelihood the "moonshine" whisky
Industry U fairly profitable. It "requires little capital.
iL'he "moonshiner a' plant is, a a rule, simplicity itself.
An illicit .till can oe made as cheap as (10, with the
furnace built in primeval fashion of rock and clay, and
the "worm" adapted from a gun barrel. It may cost on
the other hand, a alga a a if me 'mooiit.nn.er lakes
urilcient pride in tils business. The usual investment
la. perhaps, 300 or S25U.
Uh stills ar crude affairs, of course, as compared
with the elaborate machinery of the big distillers. But
aa average sized still can be made to produce eighty
gallon, ot marketable whisky a week, which sells readily
U 81.14 or 8L30 a gallon.
. - 'i'hat weans an income of $S0 a. week from materials
costing about 830. " '
Seventy dollar a week would mean a princely Income
for those part. If the men worked steadily, but they
don't No "moonshiner worthy of the name would de
mean himself by working when he had any money in
hla clothe' Moreover, there ar time, when tber can't
work for lack of wat.r, and time, wh.n th.y ont work .Z-rt1 - iZ?ir t-tl-Tyzi 1-2?jSS??-ifF U X
for fear of th. "wwain," ' - f -ife'-J&l- Jflrn WSIK'Ml'VOSw
com, from the t!ll. colorless. It is moreover, raw T?JfV?"TV- dii- tH?7 1235 J V"? r lT-- -"-l ' rY J
i 2&2Ert j&V i '.e .
whoM throat bu dmb mad eallou to th bnrnln 72 'rlc 'Wii H 'WhT
fluid by long familiarity, or to th ngro loafw who C, -jpL llpJffl
6rfrfr tfy& 4ct"tj Jtrcrze Officer
cannot get It too strong. A little perhaps he sends to
tae towns, and sells to the negro divekeeper-and that
results In trouble and lawlessness on the part tt the
consumer. '
As to the class of men who have been "moonshin
ers" these latter years, they have been mostly a worth
less, thriftless lot, too laxy to raise cotton and seeing
no fan In farming.
The "moonshiner" of today Is not at all a romantic
figure. He la very much like any other denlsen of the
outskirts of civilisation. His clothing la poor and
scanty. A more Intimate acquaintance with soap and
water would be greatly to his advantage. A hair cut
would make another man of him, and a shave would
probably make him a stranger to his own family.
He is a desperate man, ready to die In defense of
what he claims as his God-given right to make
whisky, but, on the whole, preferring not to. He takea
no chances with life or liberty. '
At the first hint of danger. It Is fight or flight, ac
cording to clrcumstancea If It Is fight. It is fight to
a finish; and that, in times gone by, has not made for
length of days for the revenue agent
The "revenuer" is a good deal more of a hero In
his way thali the "moonshiner." He rides into the
wilderness, and sometimes he doesn't come back. . His
calling Is as dangerous as that of the soldier, and he
gets none of the soldier's glory.
If he la killed, his wife Is not pensioned by a grate
ful country. On the contrary, if any provision is made
for his widow and his fatherless children, it Is In the
form of a grudgng allowance which must be author
ised by special act of Congress.
He rides armed, of course, with the best and most
modern weapons, but he rides continually in expecta
tion of ambush, knowing that everywhere he Is
watched by hostile eyes, perhaps covered by hostile
guns; that the moment the "moonshiner" thinks his
still or his person Is In danger he will shoot.
Until the "moonshiner" shoots the "revenuer" may
not. By that time it Is sometimes too late. There Is
considerable advantage In the first shot, and that ad
vantage the rules of the service deny the revenue
agent.
He must wait for the other fellow to fire first (as
a rule, he does not have to wait long), but once fired
on, he can fire as often as he likes and as accurately
as he Is able.
Since 1874 fifty-four of the government's revenue
agents have been killed and ninety-four wounded In
When ConscicnceGrapplcs theGuilty Mind
H
rOW do you do, Mr. Brockett, do you
know me V
John Brockett, a farmer living
near Derby, Conn., looked up from his
dinner table one day and saw a well-dressed man
whose face seemed familiar.
Yet he shook his head vagruely.
"I'm So and So," replied the man; "you re-
member I worked for you eighteen years ago."
"Yes, and stole $200," said Brockett. "The
police gave up looking for you years ago. You
have nerve to come back."
"Well, I've come to pay you the money," said
"Mhe man. He drew out a purse and placed bills
amounting to $200 on the table. Then the for
mer hired man explained that a number of years
ago be had been converted in Chicago, and had
got a position in a dry goods store, of which he
was now manager.
"I made up my mind to pay -ou, and saved
my vr So here you are."
UCH Instance, of the workings of conscience are
not rare. People who steal money, ride on cars
without paying fare or defraud others in any way
often feel a change of heart after many years.
unU go to the greatest trouble to right the wrongs they
perpetrated. v,
Interesting and uniqu. ar. th. little stories re
vea.au iu iutuuM oiuces, banking institutions, post
otucs and other places. The merest chances, the
death of friends, conversion, often cause people to re
member small and petty thefts. .Their conscience
burns, and then they, make restitution.
One would hardly think that the memory of steal
ing a free ride on a trolley car would worry a person.
The Intentional sending of a letter with less than the
required postage overlooked by the postmaster, would
hardly be regarded a. a mortal sin. Yet people often "
remember these things years after the occurrence.
Often it takes the heart a long time to melt Into
penitence. But as these little Instances prove, hearts
of the unjust often. Instead of becoming calloused, be
come more sensitive with the- passing of yeara
Some time ago General Passenger Agent Danley,
mm
81 M , ,11.
f N i r , L
fights with "moonshiners," many of them never seeing
the man who fired thi shct. This does not Include
marshals and deputy marshals who were killed In mak
ing arrests.
John Carver, a posse man, killed in a raid In the
Smoky mountain district, along the border line be
tween North Carolina and Tennessee, In 104. was the
last of the government officers to lose his life In such
a fight. -
Back 10 her home In Jackson county, Kentucky, re
cently went MVs. Adaline Rose, having been released
from Jail through th clemency of President Roosevelt
Her sentence of six months, coupled with a fine of $1000,
did not convince her that "moonshlnirig" was wrong.
She announced her intention of abandoning the pursuit
however, because the had become convinced that she
could no longer evade the "revenuers."
For seventeen years this woman acknowledged she
had been a noted "moonshiner" In the Kentucky moun
tains. Through her career there ran a thread of trouble
and tragedy. When her husband waa killed by a feud-
of the Chattanooga and St Louis Railway, received a
money order for 84.60.
"This is for the conscience fund," wrote the sender.
"Twenty years ago I stole a ride between Chattanooga
and Nashville, and the memory of this has often wor
ried me. At nights I think of this act of dishonesty,
and hope thjs will wipe out the debt"
Mr. Danley purchased a ticket between the two
points and had It canceled. Then he wrote the man,
telling him to be at peace.
Railroads often receive money orders of Just this
kind from persons who have stolen rides on trains.
"Sometimes these letters' surprise us," said a rail
road official. "The amounts in most cases are insig
nificant Sometimes people send In money for the fare,
of children whom they had taken at half ratea They
confess to telling untruth, about the age. and offer
restitution.
"Undoubtedly the conscienoe fund is a tribute to
the honesty of mankind. It Is a pity purlolners of
larger sums of money In banks and financial Institu
tions are so rarely affected by the same change of
feeling."
John C. Fetxer. receiver of the Milwaukee Avenue
State Bank, of Chicago, which failed through the ma
nipulations of Paul O. Stensland, received a check
from an Institution for $26.
The check came from the president of a college In
Illinois, who said that about a year before Stensland
had contributed this amount to the college library.
Inasmuch as the bank had lost through this man, the
president declared that he felt he would be doing a
wrong if he did not return the money. He said he felt
that it belonged to the creditors. -
CHARITY SCREENS DISHONEST Y
"It more men would follow this example," said Mr.
Fetxer, "many of the creditors ot wrecked institutions
would benefit It Is a fact that men engaged In dis
honest dealings contribute largely to charitable insti
tutions, for It does them good. It directs suspicion
from them and gives the reputation of being religious
and honest."
More than fifteen years ago Mrs. Martin J. Ervln,
of Klngwood, W. Va., lost her property for failure to
pay taxes. It was bought by a lawyer and politician
for $300. The man deeded the house to a young
woman, to whom he was engaged to be married. A
disagreement arose between the couple and the en
gagement was broken. The lawyer went to the Klon
dike, where he made a fortune, and the young woman
married a clergyman.
Nearly a year ago Mrs. Ervln received a letter
from thi young woman. Sh stated that th house
"S ' rr - Ml".
j4. 7ypic.fToajij'hioex
1st, she continued hi Illicit buslnesa Frequently she
stood guard with a Winchester rlfl whll th men sh
employed worked at the still In a -deep ravine. She la
non-committal aa to whether he ever shot a "revenuar,"
but says that the Idea of letting human blood waa al
ways repugnant to her.
But from present Indications It will oon b a oaa
of Othello's occupation gone. Th tat Legislature,
with, the people back of them, ar doing what th
revenue officer with th whol fdral govrnmnt
ffosf of tfc
&r& Crucfe
Afterv.
back of him has not been able to do. .
"The "moonshine" belt lies south of the Ohio river,
and Includes parts of Georgia, Alabama, Kentucky,
Tennessee, Arkansas. North and South Carolina and
Virginia. Mississippi, Missouri. West Virginia and
Floi da also have Illicit stills, but the traffic there haa
never amounted to much.
Georgia and Arkansas have had, perhaps, the great
est number of stills, and hav. produced more than half
the Illicit whisky made In the country. The Georgia
"moonshiner," however. Is a poor creature; his stills
are amall. he sells mostly to his neighbor., and Is not
particularly prosperoua
But one by one these state, in th. former "moon
shin" belt are going "dry." Recently Georgia de
clared for prohibition after January 1 next County
after oounty In Kentucky, Tennessee and Mississippi
was still la her possession, but she could not regard
the property as her own. It had been bought at too
low-a figure, she said, and she felt a wrong had been
done Mrs. Ervln. What additional amount would sat
isfy herT Mra Ervln replied that $300 would do. And
.0 the clergyman', wife sent a check for that amount
Sometimes conscience nag. at th. heart of the .mall
boy who surreptitiously steals .ticks of candy from
stores. Children are by no mean. Impenitent Some
time ago the secretary of the Board of Education ot
New Xork city received 20 cents' worth of stamps
from a lad, who signed himself "Reginald Smith."
PAID FOR MUTILATING DESK
He had been naughty on day, he' said, and bad
whittled at his desa with a penknife. He was .0
sorry, he assured the secretary, and hoped the amount
would pay for the damage he had done. Aa there waa
no address given, the secretary was unable to reply
that It would.
Sometimes conscience will make men do strange
things. It impels them not only to return money, but
often, when this Is impossible, to make confesslona
When Governor Folk, ot Missouri, got a letter from
a former member of the St JLouls House of Delegates,
confessing to hav. distributed $250,000 of boodle money,
he was rather am axed.
"I'll make a clean breast of It and feel cleared.".,
wrote the man. And then he told of the various trans-'
actions of the "combine," of how the money wsa raised
and distributed during ,a campaign.
There is a great fund of truth In the saw about
conscience making coward.. While walking along a
street In Atlantic City, John, Bowie, of Washington,
D. C., happened to look up and recognlxed the police
headquarter. Hi. heart cea.ed to beat for a moment,
and then, in fright he took to hi. heels.
A detective, standing on the steps, was attracted
by hla strange behavior, followed and caught him.
When the detective' questioned the man he broke
down and confessed that he was wanted on a larceny
charge In Washington. The crime had .0 weighed
upon him since Its commission that he had not slept a
night The mere sight of a police station filled nlm
With terror. t - .
A unique story of change of heart was revealed In
a petition presented to the License Court of Phlladel- .
phla for the revocation of a liquor license. Declaring
that he was opposed to impure liquors which were
manufactured, and that-he realised the evil, of the
liquor business. Matthew M. Farrell asked that hla
license to sell liquors In West Philadelphia be revoked.
As a result of hi. action, FarreU received letter, from -
all part, of th. country praising mm.
" hava TOt out liquor, and thy hava bn "y
countU that hav bn th partloular trongholda at
th -moonhlnra." Mor than halt of Taxaa.U 'dry.
though to b aura "moonshlnlna- ha nvr ba much
of aa Industry In texaa. In Alabama Is It unlawful
to Mil liquor aftr t o'cloctorln th ciu. or ttr
o'clock la th country tfUtrlota. North Carolina nt
Leglilatur will consider a prohibition law. Th aouth
wMtern part ot Vlrghila, th wlld..t part o tha atata.
th only part whr th "moonshln" haa flourUhao.
haa taken advantage of loal opUon to odry
It la admitted by aoutbrn jopla that th -ra,
questUo U at th bottom tha prohibition quaatlon,
for th criminal olas amonr th nro raoa la a prao
ttcally unoontroUabl lmnt whr whUky U par.
mUTnt rmarltabl featnr of all this anti-liquor 1
tslctlon la that It 1 not for th protection ot
lo much a. in th. Int.rt ot th rural t
th law doe not attempt abaolut prohibition, th
regulation, a to th tal ot Mlquor are much m6re
stringent In th country than In th towna Whw
local option axlita. It U not tha town that go dry".
It 1 th country.
In Kentucky, for Instance. whr th law 1v
,r,ry local community th right to pas upon the
liquor question, county attr county Is falling- Into
Una In Missouri hr ar only vn count!. In
which liquor can b. bought; In Tnn. thr ar
only thre. In th. latUr aUt it 1. algnlfloant that
NashvUle. M.mphU and Chattanooga the thr, Urgwt
clU.. ar. th. only point, which .till have .aloona,
PROTECTING THE HOMES
The most notorious "moon.hlnlng" district In th
Jk ih are known to b In th neighborhood of
rA trJ where th llauor law ar being framed
jir " iv
t&rA
left alone, at the mercy of the drunken negro, mad
dened by "moonshine" whisky.
And the people In these outlying counties, who have
always been ready to protect and conceal th "moon
shiner," to warn him of danger, and sometime ven
to help him in his resistance to the "revenuer," are
now th first one to glv th agent every possible
Assistance.
It I. that fact that is sounding th. knell of th.
"moonshiner," and that will in time make th revenue
agent, job something of a sinecure In the very region,
where formerly li was most strenuous.
Another factor In th. lnforcement of th law
agaln.t Illicit distilling in th South I. th faot that
ther 1. now a federal penitentiary at Atlanta, Oa.
Th. "moonshiner" who was willing to risk hla Ufa
rather than be sent to prison, and exchange 'for th.
fre. air of th.mountaina, the sweet freshness of th
hill, and forests, the close air of confinement In a
northern prison, had the Judge' sympathy.
Close confinement for a man of hi. class In a lo
cality to which h. was not acclimated often meant
death within a short time. But now that the Atlanta
penitentiary 1. complete. Judges do no hesitate to Im
pose a prison sentence on the "moonshiner."
It Is taken for granted that a soon a. hi. prison
term expires, the "moonshiner" will take up his old
pursuits. It Is simply as If h. had been away on a
visit He hold. It no .ham. to have served a term In
prison for "moonshlnlng." His friends congratulate
him on hi. return, and he prepare, to resume business
at tha old stand a. soon as he can get a new still. ,
Of course, even the most hopeful of th. Internal
revenue men doe. not anticipate tha entire extinction
of th. Illicit whisky industry In the Immediate future. 4
There ha. always been, and there always wiy be, more
or lea. of It In the big clties
New Tork doe. the biggest business of th aort;
but Chicago and Philadelphia have alway. their aeoret
tills In operation. In January, 1899, on. of th most
elaborate stills f ounJ In the experience of th revenue
office was raided In Gerraantown, Philadelphia. It oc
cupied a second-story front room, and fourteen barrel.
Of "mash" were found there fermenting.
However, this sort 61 Illicit distilling, a It I. car
ried on in cellar, and attic, of th city, 1. a very differ
ent affair from "moonshining." . It I. a. prosaio a.
aoap boiling and little or no danger attend, th. raids.
But the "moonshiner," the rugged, picturesque hero'
of the craggy mountain tide, with his primitive .till
hidden In the underbrush, first cousin to th. cowboy.
In th. estimation of th .mall boy, and next of kin
to the feudsman who, Vy the v way, has been found
both among th "moonshiner" and tender th banner,
of th. "revenuer" for th. sole purpose of lawfully
laying his enemy is doomed. "
Hla day 1. past because th people to whose tolera
tion he owed hi. existence have cea.ed to tolerate him.
They; no longer regard him aa merely a technical lawj ;
breaker, a rather-to-bVadmired rebel agalnt an -un-Just
law. but a. a serious menace to tbe entire com
munlty in that it fs from him directly or Indirectly . ,. :
that the negro element get. most of It liquor, under : ,
th Influence ofwhich It becom a hideous danger to.
th entlr community. .r'-1
"Moonshining" Is being uprooted In Ita own strong
bold, and by th work of its own people, SJ ,"
i
J