Big Still is Discovered by Sheriff's Men

 Marietta Daily Times, January 11, 1926

Well-Hidden Plant Had a Capacity for Large Output.

Clarence Allen, who was sent to the penitentiary two or three years ago after his conviction on a charge of operating a still on the McCann farm above Waterford, was re-arrested on Sunday by Sheriff Yarnall's men and will be returned to the state prison to complete his term of one to five years on the former offense.

Allen, after his release from the penitentiary, rented the Marshall heirs farm above Devol's Dam and last year was one of the successful truck growers of that section. He was an energetic and tireless worker and produced bumper crops with fine profits to himself and the owners of the farm. He and his family resided in the old Marshall homestead near the Masonic Park.

Recently there had been rumors that all was not right about the place, and on Sunday Deputy Sheriffs Way, Lindamood and Masters raided it and found a liquor manufacturing plant.

Hidden Under Ground

After moving a large pile of coal that they found in an open shed about 60 feet from the house, the officers found a trap door leading into an underground passage. They lowered themselves into the tunnel and followed it into what proved to be the largest and best-equipped distillery ever found in the county.

The cavern extended clear along one side of the old brick house that Allen has occupied, and a large still with special apparatus for cooling the output was found. Connections had been made with the regular chimney of the house.

Place Well Stocked

A large underground room was filled with mash barrels with the necessary heaters to keep the mash fermenting, and it is apparent that the plant could turn out great quantities of liquor. The officers found 850 gallons of mash ready to run.

Stored in the plant the officers found large numbers of five-gallon jugs and other containers. They gathered up several gallons of liquor, but the supply of finished product was not large. They found hundreds of pounds of sugar and many sacks of cracked corn and rye, all of which were seized. Several truck-loads of the contraband were hauled to the court house.

Allen had built his underground plant months ago, it was apparent, and the ground above it was covered with good, firm sod. The roof of the cavern was made of heavy planking and this carried about 18 inches of soil, all neatly topped with grass that apparently had been kept moved during the past season.

Has Years to Serve

Allen was committed to the county jail and a parole officer is expected to come to Marietta within a day or two to take him back to the penitentiary. He has about four years of his original sentence to serve.

There was every indication that Allen's outfit had been in use for months, a condition that explains many things to the sheriff and the police. Time after time they would get word that the Allen crowd had big supplies of liquor in the city, but their best efforts to trace it to the base of supply proved fruitless until Sunday.

"We know one or two of the partners of Allen in this enterprise and expect to pick them up without much trouble," Sheriff Yarnall said on Monday morning.

Accuse Two of Whiskey Manufacture

 The Marietta Daily Times, November 21, 1927

Two affidavits charging manufacture of liquor were filed before Judge David H. Thomas in common pleas court on Monday. They are signed by the sheriff and the men accused are William Devore of Marietta and Clarence Barnes of Beverly. Devore was arrested by the police on Saturday evening. Barnes is in the custody of the sheriff and will appear in court on Tuesday.

Devore was arraigned before Judge Thomas on Monday. He pleaded not guilty and waived examination. He was held to the grand jury and his bond was fixed at $500. He was trying to find bondsmen on Monday.

Barnes, who is employed by the traction company, was detained at Lowell on Monday but agreement had been made for him to appear in court by 9:30 o'clock on Tuesday morning.

These arrests follow a raid made some months ago by the sheriff's men in which they found a whiskey-making plant hidden in a barn on a farm owned by Barnes near Stanleyville. Ed Butcher already has been arrested as the operator of the plant and is held to the January grand jury. It is charged that Devore and Barnes were partners in the enterprise.

The still had been arranged under a "tin house" that had been built in the barn and over which a lot of oats straw had been piled. A cleverly arranged trap door led into the distillery from the barn basement.

Bootleggers Soaked With Heavy Fines

 Marietta Daily Journal, June 4, 1917

What appears to have been a general system for furnishing liquor to thirsty throats on Sunday is thought to have been broken up this morning by the arrest of six men, all charged with having sold and furnished liquor on the Sabbath day without a license. The men arrested were Ananias Archer, Charles Cutshaw, Ben Wiley, Harry Armstrong, Fred Audibert, and Ed Coulter.

The "system" was uncovered by agents of the state liquor license board who have been working on the case for some time. The agents are said to have visited the vicinity in which the operations were thought to be carried on Sunday afternoon and had no trouble in securing a pint of whiskey.

From appearances it looks as though Audibert was "the man behind the throne." When approached by the license agents, the men arrested are said to have readily consented to secure the whiskey and were but a short time in doing so. The store house in which the supply was kept appears to have been the cellar of the Audibert home on Fourth Street.

The hearing of arrested men is being held this afternoon. Ananias Archer was the first one arraigned, he pleading guilty to both the charge of selling on Sunday and selling without a license. He was given a fine, the minimum in both cases, of $225 and costs, with commitment to the county jail until paid.

Ben Wiley [Benjamin Wylie] was next arraigned. He was still under the influence of liquor and in his testimony to the court used some very strong and rather effective language. He at first refused to tell where he secured the liquor he had obtained for the agent and claimed that he did not sell the liquor to him. He later admitted, however, that he had been given a dollar and had returned with a pint of whiskey, which they took up an alley and "both had a drink." He was given the same fine as Archer and taken to the county jail to serve it out.

Charles Cutshaw was arraigned on the charge of furnishing liquor. He pleaded guilty, but on the advice of C. C. Middleswart, local member of the county liquor license board, he was treated leniently by the court, because of the fact that he has an aged mother dependent on him for support. His fine of $200 was suspended during good behavior.

The fine of $225 of Harry Armstrong, colored, arraigned on two charges, was also suspended during good behavior, but he was made to pay the costs of the case. It is understood that Armstrong had been disposing of the liquor at the hotel where he is employed.

Audibert, when arraigned, pleaded not guilty to both charges placed against him. His hearing was held before Mayor Hovey. Audibert claimed that the whisky found in his home Sunday, some 12 pints of it being found in the cellar, was given to him Saturday night by a bartender, whose identity he refused to disclose, to be kept over Sunday.

Audibert has been suspected of bootlegging for some time and his tale did not ring true. His steadfast refusal to tell the name of the one giving him the whiskey made the case strong against him and he was found guilty, being fined $225 and costs, with commitment until paid.

Ed Coulter was the last of the six to be arraigned. He also pleaded not guilty, but little trouble was had in proving the charge against him. He was given $225 and costs with commitment until paid.

Find Mash At Porter House

The Marietta Daily Times, December 15, 1922

An early morning raid conducted by Sheriff Roberts and the Marietta police at the home of Glen Porter on the state road in Warren township, just east of Tunnel hill, unearthed four barrels of mash and proved to the satisfaction of the officers that they had turned up another moonshine plant of considerable proportions.

The house was dark when they arrived, but they aroused Mrs. Porter and were admitted.  She told the officers that her husband was out skunk hunting and the presence of a goodly stock of fresh pelts about the place convinced them that the story was true.  They searched the place and found about four barrels of rye mash, some in the cellar and some in an old granary.  They procured samples of the mash then dumped the contents of the barrels.

Word was left with Mrs. Porter to have her husband come in and surrender at noon on Friday, when he was to be taken before Mayor Sandford.

More Than Smell Needed To Prove Man Guilty of Bootlegging, Court Says

The Marietta Daily Times, December 8, 1922

That it requires more than the sense of smell on which to convict a man of bootlegging, was the statement of Judge David H. Thomas, in common pleas court on Friday, when he intimated that he would over-rule the verdict of Mayor Sandford in the case of Frank G. Peters, convicted last summer on a charge of dispensing intoxicating liquors at his Front street cafe.

Peters was arrested by the police when they raided his place, and found what they believed to be evidence of liquor.  Peters was behind the bar at the time, and is alleged to have beat the police to it by turning over a glass of whiskey into the sink.  The police got the empty glass and declared there was sufficient corn liquor sticking to the sides of it to prove that Peters was selling corn.

When the case came on for trial before Mayor Sandford, the fact that the glass gave off a strong odor of whiskey was the chief evidence introduced by the police and on the strength of that the mayor found Peters guilty.  An appeal was taken, and it was argued before Judge Thomas on Friday morning.  Asa Ward and Everett F. Folger appeared on behalf of Peters, while City Solicitor Ogle defended the mayor's action.

While Judge Thomas expects to review the record of the case more fully, he stated informally that it was apparent that Peters has been convicted more on his past reputation than on real facts, and stated that it was apparent to him that for the first time in cases of this sort he would be called upon to reverse the finding of Mayor Sandford.

The case of Harry Needs, who was convicted of operating a moonshine outfit at his home in this city, also was argued on error, B. E. Guyton and Everett F. Folger representing him.  This case also came from the court of the mayor, and the appeal was opposed by City Solicitor Ogle.

Find Still Well Hidden In Cellar

The Marietta Daily Times, December 8, 1922

Fred Kesselring, who conducts an auto repair shop on Greene and Second streets, and his aged father, Sylvanus Kesselring, of Sand Hill, are in the county jail awaiting an arraignment before Squire O'Neill on a charge of illicit manufacture of corn whiskey.  They were arrested at noon on Friday by Sheriff Roberts and Chief Putnam and it appears that the officers got their men "with the goods on them."

There have been complaints for several months that all was not right at the Kesselring home, which is located on Cow Run, just back of Sand Hill, and on one or two occasions in the past the sheriff has searched the place but without results.

On Friday morning, several Sand Hill boys were out hunting and were ordered off of the place by Mr. Kesselring.  Their suspicions were aroused and the boys persisted in investigating.  When they became too insistent to suit the old gentleman, he grabbed up a club and smashed a 5-gallon jug that had been secreted in a sack near the hog pen.

The boys smelled the fumes of whiskey, and one of their number hurried to a telephone and called the sheriff.  The other remained on watch, and the officers made a hurried run to the place.  They had a search warrant and began a systematic search.

Knocking off a 2-inch oak partition in the cellar, they discovered a tunnel that extended back under the other part of the house, and here they found a secret cellar, all roofed over and covered with dirt so that it could not be detected by anyone on the outside.  In the cellar, the officers found 8 barrels of mash, a 6-hole hotplate, a coil and other equipment, showing that it was one of the most complete distilleries yet found in the county.

The officers brought the owner of the place to the city and then arrested the son.  According to the sheriff, both father and son have signified their intention of pleading guilty.