Wood Alcohol First Blinds, Then Causes Victim's Death

1920

Authorities Alarmed by Increased Use

More than 150 persons are dead and scores are dangerously ill as a result of drinking poison booze in various parts of the United States. Wood and denatured alcohol, homemade stuff with "a kick in it," hair tonic, perfume and various other concoctions, drunk to alleviate the thirst that will not down, are blamed. In all parts of the country steps are being taken to put down the traffic in these death-dealing drinks and to warn the public against indulging in them. Dozens of arrests in big cities have revealed plans to ship the poison booze to small towns and villages, the men back of these plans being willing to risk killing fellow-men in order to reap a few dollars.

Investigation by the Federal authorities at Washington has revealed that existing laws are powerless to stop the sale of wood alcohol to those who may want it. Congress, when it meets next Monday, will be asked to rush new legislation that will put such restrictions upon the sale of denatured spirits that the death list which is becoming of such big proportions will not be increased by leaps and bounds.

Warning by Employers

Large employers of labor have been asked to warn all their men of the danger incurred in drinking stuff with "a kick in it." Most of the deaths and cases of total blindness resulting from drinking wood alcohol have been among the laboring classes, the people who were unable to put by a large reserve of booze when the country went dry last July.

Symptoms of poisoning by wood alcohol are vertigo, nausea, vomiting, headache, dilated pupils, delirium and unconsciousness, rapidly followed by death unless a physician is called immediately. If recovery takes place there is serious danger of blindness. Blindness has followed the taking of so little as five teaspoonfuls of wood alcohol and less than half a pint may cause death. There is no antidote to counteract the effect of this poison booze. Once absorbed into the system, there is nothing that can be done.

Started With Christmas Jags

The ravages of wood alcohol made their appearance the day after Christmas in towns in Massachusetts and Connecticut, where thirty-six persons died as a result of drinking booze that had been distributed from New York. At the town of Chicopee, Mass., eighteen persons, including one woman, died. Discovery then was made that great quantities of the booze had been shipped throughout the New England States for the Christmas trade. The shipments were traced to New York, where several persons are under arrest.

Federal agents arrested five men who are believed the heads of the gang which flooded five eastern States. The headquarters of this gang was in New York. A wine and liquor dealer, a druggist and an undertaker are among the prisoners. A saloonkeeper and his bartender also were arrested. Charges of murder in the first degree will be placed against the last two as a result of the deaths of four men from wood alcohol, the victims all being roomers over the saloon. Thirty-five persons have died from wood alcohol in New York since Nov. 1.

Twenty-seven deaths in Chicago are attributed to the same cause. One Christmas party resulted in three deaths, those of two women and one man. The man, a former saloonkeeper. was stricken while at the bier of his wife, who had died after being stricken with blindness.

—The Saturday Blade, Chicago, Jan. 3, 1920, p. 1.

"White Mule" Sign Lured Thirsty Ones

1920

Maude Was There, Also Something Else With a "Kick"

VINCENNES, Indiana, March 18. — "White Mule for Sale." Thirsty ones who heeded this inviting sign, tacked to the door of a stable, found a real, somewhat alive white mule for sale. Here's the story, as told by one of the Federal agents who aided the State prohibition enforcement commissioner in a recent roundup of whiskey peddlers in this section of the State:

A clique of bootleggers purchased an old white mule, scoured the animal up, placed him in a stall and then hung out the sign.

Those interested enough to inquire were "sized up" thoroughly. If in doubt, the bootleggers' representative on duty displayed the mule's good "points" and quoted a price far beyond reason. If the prospect looked "safe," his thirst was quenched.

Moonshiner's Remote Hideaway, Loot Discovered

Oxnard, California, 1922--

Henry Helmold Tells Finding Moonshiner's Santa Clara Shelter

Constable-elect Henry Helmond is already on the job, for yesterday he participated in the capture of a moonshiner's camp in the Santa Clara river bed, where a large amount of loot apparently stolen by the moonshiner, was found. Helmond said one never would have noticed the camp unless he had been shown the spot. It was surrounded by high blackberry bushes and other trees.

E. L. Gardner of Saticoy had been robbed Saturday and while trying to figure out who committed the robbery, he traced some footprints to the Santa Clara river bed, near the Saticoy bridge. He learned that someone had a camp in the river bed, somewhere, so decided to hunt for it. With Pete Donion, and Constable Helmold they searched for a long time. Undersheriff Sullivan also went with them. They searched for a long time among thickets of trees and blackberry bushes before Sullivan spotted the corner of a tent just above the top of a blackberry bush. He saw the small bit of tent after the party had been attracted to the scene by a strong smell of liquor.

Arming themselves with revolvers the party expected to engage in a hard gun battle, but when they came upon the tent no one was there. Possibly the moonshiner had heard them approaching and made a get-away.

Around the tent were found two barrels of mash, which were broken up. Many bottles of "jack-ass brandy" were found and several large five-gallon bottles of recently manufactured booze were found, and smashed. Much of it was thrown down a well the moonshiner had dug in the river bed.

Constable Helmold found a large lard pail. Taking off the lid he noticed what he thought was lard, but on closer observation, found it was cotton. Under the layer of cotton was found two gold watches, in cases. 12 other ladies' watches, a pearl necklace, a pair of dimaond earrings, some gold lockets and much jewelry. It is believed that the articles were stolen from places here. Three valises filled with clothes also were unearthed, besides two good overcoats, two guns, a revolver and some school books stolen from the El Rio school. In some of the books the name of Charles Grubb is written.

So far as is known, no trace of the moonshiner has been found. Men from the sheriff's office are making every effort to find a trace of the man or men who operated the place. That probably only one man was living there recently was shown by the presence of only one cot, covered with army blankets. The tent, cot and blankets had evidently been stolen from some store selling army goods.

--The Oxnard Daily Courier, Oxnard, California, November 28, 1922, page 1.

Man Fined on Bootlegging Charge, Arrested Next Day for Same Thing

Chehalis, Washington, 1913
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KING SHIPMAN FINED AT WINLOCK ON BOOTLEGGING CHARGE – ARRESTED NEXT DAY – IN COUNTY JAIL.

King Shipman, a Winlock character, was arrested Wednesday in that town on a charge of bootlegging. He was arraigned before the Winlock police justice, pleaded guilty to the charge and was assessed with a fine of $20 and costs. Thursday Shipman was arrested on a similar charge, this time being taken to the county jail in Chehalis, where he will be dealt with by the county authorities.

--Daily Chronicle-Examiner, Centralia, Washington, August 16, 1913, page 2.

Successful Raid

Wednesday, March 24, a posse of eight, composed of U. S. Deputy Marshal W. E. Garrett and U. S. Deputy Collector U. G. McFarland, of Middlesboro, Ky., Billy Tucker, of Pennington, Gap, Va., and C. H Redmon, Wilson Lewis, Arnold Hoskins and Mays, of St. Charles, Va., went over the Cumberland main range from St. Charles to Day's Branch of Crank's Creek of Martin's Fork, in Harlan county, Ky., captured Joe Setser, destroyed a copper still of 105 gallons capacity, several hundred gallons of mash and beer.

Setser and Joe Napier were tracking the posse in the snow with guns in their hands and were only discovered by the posse when the location of the still was nearly reached and a distance of about 150 yards separated the parties. Members of the posse hid behind trees and squatted in the snow until Setser and Napier were close at hand when Setser was covered and captured. Napier kept up a running flight, during which about twenty-five shots apiece were fired, and escaped. Two others, Hiram Day and one Duncan, were taken, but later released.

Joe Setser was taken to the Pineville jail and held on $1,000 bail for the next term of the U. S. Court at London, Ky.

U. S. Revenue officers have heretofore kept clear of the locality of this raid on account of the difficulty of getting into it and of the stubborn resistance of the moonshiners.

--The Pinnacle News, Middlesboro, Kentucky, April 1, 1915, page 1.

ARLINGTON MAYOR SAYS CHASING HONEY BEES, RABBITS AND BOOZE IS TOO MUCH

Offers $25 for Evidence That Will Convict Bootlegger in His Town.

The miseries of a mayor have seldom been more picturesquely described than by J.W. Ruble, mayor of Arlington, Fayette county, Iowa, in an open letter published recently in the Arlington News in reply to a letter from the W.C.T.U. asking him to enforce the liquor laws.

A mayor's duties include not only hanging around the alleys looking for bootleggers, says Ruble, but also keeping men from beating their wives, seeing that the boys and girls don't fall off their sleds, and catching wild chickens, rabbits and honey bees.

Ruble further says that there is no bootlegger selling booze in Arlington "that I know and am sure of," and he offers $25 reward for evidence leading to the conviction of any liquor vendor.

Ask Pledge Fulfillment
The letter from the W.C.T.U. is as follows:

"Mr. J. W. Ruble, mayor of Arlington. Dear Sir: We, the members of the Women's Christian Temperance Union of Arlington, respectfully request that you fulfill your pre-election pledge, that if elected you would clear this town of bootlegging and selling of intoxicating drink, and put an end to the disgraceful disturbances that accompany drinking habits and customs -- that you would certainly enforce the law touching these things.

"We are making this request as citizens who have the good name of our city at heart, and are deeply grieved that there should be any occasion for people to give Arlington a bad reputation, or for there to be any condition that would cast a hurtful influence on our young people."

No 'Leggers He Knows of.
To this letter, signed by 34 women, the mayor replied:
"In answer to the above petition I will have to say that there is not a bootlegger selling booze in this town that I know and am sure of. I also know that there has been less booze sold in this town in the past year than in any one year since the act of prohibition was passed, and what is drunk here comes from out of this town.

"I doubt if there has been consumed or drunk five gallons of booze here in the past year; and to show these good ladies of this noble society where and how I stand, I will pay out of my own pocket $25 for evidence that will convict any bootlegger selling in this town.

Mentions Sheriff.
"Your whole society supported and voted for a sheriff in this county. What has he done? Not one of you voted for or supported me when I was elected as mayor and now you come asking to be helped out from under this great booze curse that this whole government can't stop; you expect a poor little mayor of a small town that can't even support a town marshal to do the business.

"I will also say that Arlington is one of the most peaceful and quiet towns in this county. The greater part of the signers of this petition I personally know, they are as good old grandmothers as ever lived and nine-tenths of them have not been on the streets this winter. How many of the above signers have seen one intoxicated person in the past year? You would have to answer, none! but still you say this is a bad town. Now, I want to ask the good old ladies of the above petition if it is not a fact that you have one or two most meddlesome members who have nothing else to do only gad around and stir up trouble. Some people hate themselves and all around them, and it is too bad such people have to live.

His Duties Many.
"I want to state more fully what the citizens, or some of them, expect of a town mayor; I have been called on to stop men from misusing their wives, stop children from using profane language, see that they go to school, some want me to furnish clothes for them, see that chickens don't run at large, see that the weeds are cut, that water runs in a natural course, sidewalks cleaned off, see that kids go home from school, catch all honey bees flying at large; if a kid loses his sled I am called on to hunt it and expected to do it; one lady, a good old soul like most of the above signers, came to see me about catching a rabbit that was running around her place, said it might eat up her berry bushes. I have been called on to kill dogs. Some people think a town mayor should hang around some back alley all the time, and if he did that they would report that he was after some other man's wife.

But He'll Hang On.
"What I have mentioned is just a small portion of a mayor's work; of course he gets big pay and must do something, and I am going to stand it until the women get to expecting me to haul their kids to school on a hand sled. I have been asked by the most of the ladies that have boys if I wouldn't keep my eye on them when they were on the street riding bobsleds, hitching on automobiles and such like; of course I do. Now if I should say one cross word to one of these boys their mother would cuss me only as a woman can.

"Any time any citizen of this town wants to file any information for drunkenness, or any other just cause, get out and do your duty and get this $25 that I have offered. Don't expect your mayor to do all your dirty work."

Comment: Handwritten on the article, it looks like "Did Jim do all this". No source or date, but on the flip side is a Hills Bros. Coffee ad that is Copyright 1929.