THE WHISKEY RING FRAUD’ BY GRAYSON L. KIRK plague is advancing west. Ad- was privy to the whole affair. When per- vise our friends to leave the city.” fected, the Ring did include the Presi- “TThis cryptic telegram, sent from dent’s secretary, General Orville E. Bab- Washington, D. C., to St. Louis in May, cock; William Avery, the chief clerk in 1875, gave final warning to the great the Internal Revenue Office; General John Whiskey Ring that it had run its course A. McDonald, supervisor of Internal and that the government had at last de- Revenue for the district of Missouri, Kan- termined to put an end to one of the sas, Arkansas, Indian Territory, New most calloused frauds of the miserable Mexico, and Texas; numerous subordi- Grant administration. The Ring, an or- nate collectors of revenue, including espe- ganization of distillers and corrupt gov- cially C. W. Ford and Colonel John A. ernment oficials, had flourished for nearly Joyce of St. Louis; various local Missouri five years. Millions of gallons of whiskey politicians; and the owners of ten or more had been illicitly manufactured by reput- large distilleries and rectifying plants. J. able firms and dumped upon the market W. Douglass, United States Commissioner without contributing a cent in taxes to the of Internal Revenue, while not a member Federal Treasury. Millions of dollars had of the Ring, knew for years of its existence been diverted to the pockets of the thieves. and made no effort, until just before his It had been a great game while it lasted. dismissal, to take any action against it. The leaders of the Ring had believed Obviously, there was good reason for the that it would last. There was so much arrogance of the Ring. Few fraudulent profit that they had ample funds for brib- conspiracies in the nation’s history have ery. With this money they had so care- had such distinguished patrons. fully built up their organization that they Indeed, had Secretary Richardson, of the boasted almost openly that no force in the Treasury, not appointed an obscure col- government was powerful enough to lector of delinquent taxes named Sanborn, crush them. Their conspiracy did not rest the Ring might have enjoyed a long, if merely upon a corrupt bargain between not an honorable, existence. But Sanborn’s the distillers and a few underpaid revenue activities were so offensive that public ex- collectors, but ran across the country to posure, and a congressional investigation, Washington, through the offices of the forced both men out of oflice in disgrace. Treasury, and even into the White House The Ring was not aware of it, but Rich- where many of the Ring members had ardson’s resignation marked the begin- been led to believe that General Grant ning of the end. The vacant Secretaryship of the Treas- This is the fourth in the Thieveries of the Repub- lic Series. ury was filled in June, 1874, by the ap- 479 PRODUCED 2003 BY UNZ.ORG ELECTRONIC REPRODUCTION PROHIBITED 480 THE AMERICAN MERCURY pointment of Benjamin Bristow, a lean could show him how to conduct his in- Kentuckian who had the rare virtues of vestigation. personal integrity and a keen solicitude for honesty in public administration. Bristow 11 had not been in office three months when he became convinced that the revenues Bristow was delighted and immediately re- from the whiskey taxes were suspiciously plied, suggesting that Fishback come to small. Time after time inspectors were Washington for a conference. As a result sent out from the Treasury department to of this, Myron Coloney, secretary of the check the records of collectors and super- St. Louis Cotton Exchange, and commer- visors and to examine the books of the cial editor of Fishback’s paper, the Demo- distillers. And time after time the inspec- mat, received a special commission to be- tors reported that, as far as they could de- gin the investigation. This time, Bristow termine, all was in order. But the new had no intention of allowing the mat- Secretary did not dismiss the matter. He ter to slip through his hands, He knew still felt that something was mysteriously the character of the Grant political ap- wrong somewhere along the line, and he pointees, and in his entire department he decided to test his theory by a general shift, trusted only his young solicitor, Major transferring a number of supervisors and Bluford Wilson; one supervisor, Hunt; special agents, including those at St. Louis, and one special revenue agent, Yaryan. to new posts. Elaborate precautions were taken. A new The order was given-and almost im- cipher was devised and, as an added safe- mediately oAicial word came from the guard, all correspondence with Coloney White House to revoke it. Thereafter, was sent via a private citizen in Washing- Bristow must have been sure of two ton. things; that corruption did exist, and that The Coloney-Fishback method of in- the ordinary channels of official action vestigation was in itself comparatively could not be used for ferreting it out. simple. With the help of a small clerical Wisely enough, he decided to confide in force and Yaryan, the one trusted agent, almost no one, even in his own depart- who was ostensibly in St. Louis to in- ment. While he was casting about in the vestigate delinquent railroad taxes, they early months of 1875 for a method of at- began to check railway bills of lading in tack upon the problem, he had a stroke order to secure accurate figures of the of rare luck. One day a stranger called amount of liquor shipped out of the city at the Treasury and gave him a letter from by the various distillers and rectifiers. G. W. Fishback, proprietor of the St. These totals could then be checked with Louis Democrat. Fishback, who had sent the sworn returns upon which the manu- the letter by way of a friend because he facturers had paid taxes. The difference, knew the regular lines of communication except for the relatively small quantity could not be trusted, informed the Secre- consumed within the city, would represent tary that he knew of the existence of a the extent of the fraud. gigantic organization to defraud the At the same time Coloney and Yaryan Treasury, and volunteered his aid in estab- sought to fortify their case by posting spe- lishing proof. If Secretary Bristow would cial secret watchers near each distillery to secretly send a special agent, Fishback check movements of grain and whiskey. PRODUCED 2003 BY UNZ.ORG ELECTRONIC REPRODUCTION PROHIBITED THE WHISKEY RING FRAUD 481 These watchers soon reported that, con- Similar stealing was apparently going on trary to law, all the suspected plants were at Milwaukee, Chicago, and other points receiving grain and shipping whiskey dur- where distilleries were operating. ing the night, and that nearly all of them Armed with this information, the Sec- continued in operation throughout the retary gave orders to a group of special night hours. Treasury agents to proceed at once to Despite the elaborate plans of the in- St. Louis, and to seize the distilleries, their vestigators, the Ring soon knew that operators, and the revenue agents who had something was up. Fishback‘s hostility obviously connived at the falsification of was well known, and his trip to Wash- tax returns. These agents were “the ington had been observed. Failing to se- plague” referred to in the telegram of cure information through the regular warning. Ten distilleries-all of them sup- Washington agents, the Ring had sent a posedly reputable-were seized and the special emissary to the Capitol, who pre- government laid its proofs in the hands tended to be a private citizen who knew of the district attorney who set his entire of the Ring and desired to cooperate with office staff at work upon the huge task the Treasury in exposing it. Bristow nar- of preparing the cases for the grand jury. rowly missed being taken in by this ruse. As far as the public knew, the Ring had His suspicion having been aroused by been taken by surprise in a swift and the man’s curiosity concerning govern- dramatic coup. ment plans, he managed to put him off Naturally, dl of this made excellent without revealing what he proposed to newspaper copy. “A Gigantic Ring Ex- do. Later, the Ring discovered the watch- posed,” flamed the headlines of the New ers at the distillery gates, and learned of York Tribune. For days, columns were the railway shipment investigations. But, filled with accounts of the seizures, and by this time, it was too late to cover up. speculations as to the possible extent of the The harm had been done and the evi- frauds. It was a stirring time for sensa- dence could not possibly be concealed. tional news reporting. The air was filled The Ring’s only hope then lay in forc- with rumors of the whereabouts of ing Bristow’s hand. Officials hurried to Charley ROSS,child victim of the most fa- Washington, but, while the White House mous-and unsolved-kidnapping plot of was not enthusiastic about the investi- the time. The Beecher-Tilton trial-in gation, relations between the President which Henry Ward Beecher, foremost and Secretary Bristow were such that in- divine of his generation, was stridently de- formal pressure could not be used with- fending himself from lurid adultery out further arousing the already growing charges-was drawing to an inglorious suspicion of the Secretary. Clearly, the fat close. And now, to the long succession of was in the fire! governmental scandals was added the As Bristow had anticipated, the results whiskey disclosures.