Evening Republican, Volume 18, Number 231, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 30 September 1914 — GET PORTABLE STILL [ARTICLE]

GET PORTABLE STILL

Revenue Men Seize Moonshiners’ Tiny Outfit in Ozarks. Weighing Only a Few Pounds, It Often Was Carried From Place to Place by On< Man and Hidden In Wood*. Springfield, Mo.—" Old Tuxedo,” the wandering still of the Ozark country moonshiners, claimed by nobody but zealously guarded by many friends along the Big Creek valley in Texas county, has been captured by James Case, deputy internal revenue collector, and arrived in perfect condition In Springfield. * The still, which ultimately -will be sold at auction, was located by Case after a quiet search of several days, hidden under a bushy fence row near Hartshorn, Texas county. For several year* the officers have been' trying to locate the old stilt It wa* familiarly known to the residents of Texas county in the little region where the moonshiner* had operated, but all were equally Ignorant of its whereabout*. The reason for their ignorance, the revenue officer* learned, was that "Old Tuxedo" remained but a short time in one place. The arrest several month* ago of Pete Barton, indicted by the federal grand jury on a charge of making whisky without a license, caused a halt in the moonshine business in the vicinity of Big Creek and gave the officer* a hint that Barton might have been the latest owner of “Old Tuxedo." A fermenter had been found in Barton's place by the revenue officers, but he had stoutly maintained that he knew nothing of the whereabouts of the noted still. Deputy Collector Case camped in the vicinity of Big Creek for a few days and let it be generally known that he was there tp stay until “Old Tuxedo" was found. Men who had

been engaged in the making or selling of whisky showed signs of fear and offered to aid the government officer to find the plant. After numerous conferences the still’s location was made known to the officer, and following the directions of his Informers, Collector Case soon discovered the little “booze” maker in a fence corner. It was covered with shrubbery, but was not damaged. The old still is believed to be the most perfect specimen of the moonshiners’ art that had escaped the revenue officers. Without a flaw, excepting one place where the “worm” has been repaired, the still, cap and worm are in perfect condition and could be put to use immediately by an experienced moonshiner. The famous littls still weighs only 56 pound*. It consists of a copper boiler about a* large as an ordinary wash fob. On top rests the copper cap, through which the steam of the whisky or brandy mash passes into the condensing worm before it is changed into “corn juice” or apple brandy. The manufacture of whisky or brandy 1* not difficult and 1* inexpensive. The completed product can be sold for 30 cents a gallon. It may be made from sour meal, apple or peach vinegar. The still ha* handles on each side df the copper boiler and might easily be moved from place to place by one man-. It 1* not more than three feet high, and could be concealed entirely in a patch of weeds.