Ruined the whiskey war in Brooklyn.

It looks like a storm swept through Brooklyn, the industrial area of vinegar mountain. Whiskey rolled over pebbles and gathered near the naval pier door. The alley is full of stones, coal and sawdust. Molasses stick to the street, and the air is filled with sour taste. The remains of about 20 illegal wineries were abandoned in the ruins, like an unfinished feast.

Not a hurricane or an industrial explosion. This is a raid ordered by the newly established IRS (the predecessor of IRS).

Two thousand soldiers have just attacked the nearby area, targeting the giant moon man who evaded taxes. Because the federal government could not accurately audit underground activities, it dissolved their activities. 1870165438+1On the morning of October 2, under the command of Colonel John L. Bloom, each battalion arrived by boat from a nearby fort. Led by the tax assessor, they left the Brooklyn Naval Base at 9 a.m. and marched through the narrow streets with rifles, axes and crowbars.

This is the latest in a series of raids in the whiskey war. Illegal brewing is so common and gangs are so violent that tax officials and police need the support of the army. The earliest "battle" took place in 1869 10, and 100. The veterans fought swords and shadows in an alley and found nine bodies. Its success enabled President hiram Grant to authorize a more powerful raid, using the army and navy if necessary. Two months later, at dawn, the next battle included 500 artillery, who landed on the East River by tugboat and wore national tax badges with white ribbons. They cut down the barrel and spilled the contents, and a stream of rum ran into the street. The bucket found underground was emptied. By afternoon, they had destroyed a still that could produce 250 barrels of spirits worth $5,000 a day.

This incident lasted for more than two years, but with the enforcement of its payroll by law enforcement agencies, the community was never surprised. In the attack of 165438+ 10, the army marched along Dixon's alley, only 50 feet away from the gate of the naval dock, and was hit by stones, bricks and iron bolts thrown from the window. Armed forces have dismantled some crude facilities with only a few barrels of mashed potatoes and industrial-scale shops like Whiteford, and Whiteford can produce 45,000 gallons of whisky every week. Somehow, the bosses couldn't find it, and they weren't intimidated. Two months later, when the army returned with about 1200 soldiers, death spewed out again. Even 187 1, 1400 soldiers invaded the area with only one bottle of wine and no prisoners. Apparently, the whiskey man gave a tip in advance.

Alcohol is legal, but it has to pay heavy taxes. In order to evade taxes, Brooklyn winery can earn hundreds of dollars a day. In order to finance the civil war, the federal government imposed a tax on alcohol for the first time since 18 17. 1862. A tax of 20 cents is levied on every 100 standard gallon. 1865- 1868, it soared to $2, equivalent to $30 today. (Now it is $ 13.50) which exceeds the market tax rate. According to a congressional report of 1866, the tax revenue is obviously unfair. This is also the incentive for fraud.

As Eliot Ness and other famous agents did during the ban, tax officials discovered tax evasion all over the United States after the war: an illegal brewery in an abandoned coal mine in Illinois; There are 30 thousand gallons of grape brandy under a shed in Los Angeles; The primitive still life of Maui. They smashed a bucket of mashed potatoes in a stable in Philadelphia and fought against the moonlight in a remote forest in Kentucky. To some extent, this is a struggle for the survival of the Federation. In fact, it is run by alcohol: alcohol tax accounts for more than 20% of its income.

According to the report, the tax rate finally decreased at 1868, and in the following decades, the tax rate ranged from 0.50 USD to 1.65438 USD. The lower tax rate actually led to an increase in income, but the brewers still felt that it was too high. After that, they didn't pay taxes until 1862, so they used to pay nothing. Easy to escape,

These bootlegging disputes show the struggle during the 50-year prohibition period. This should be a warning: taxing alcohol, like making it a crime, creates an underground industry. These tax rates are based on a flawed assumption that enterprises and inspectors are honest. Before the collection, legal wineries were retained, and almost all of them stopped production later. Small copper distillers are suddenly sold all over the country. The "vinegar" factory suddenly appeared. The local police looked at each other differently and let the FBI enforce the law.

Regulation is a joke. The inspector will weigh the grain per bushel and record the grain per gallon. There is a person who can't remember all this, and he can easily get compensation for miscalculation. Some inspectors don't even know how to confirm the proof of alcohol, and officials can't monitor the production of alcohol 24 hours a day, so licensed wineries often work at night and produce more alcohol than they claim. For example, in Manhattan, a West Side winery piped whiskey to a nearby building, where it was banned and awarded a fraudulent brand, evading taxes of more than $500,000 within seven months. In today's dollars, this exceeds $9 million.

The winery formed a criminal gang, connected in the city hall, and lived like a king. As described in * * *, Brooklyn Winery sounds like an actor in a martin scorsese movie:

Almost all wineries wear "headlight" diamond earrings, which are as big as Fuehrboeter and have dazzling luminous intensity. From time to time, I will see the winery owner wearing a gold watch weighing half a catty. The chain on it is long and heavy enough to hang a ten-year-old boy on his heel. The bigger the watch and the heavier the chain, the more they like it ... every alcoholic's wife and daughter sparkle with diamonds.

Moonlight clan and their cash will almost certainly enter politics. Allegations of corruption have reached the White House. 1875, the private secretary of President Ulysses S. Grant was accused of taking part in bribing tax officials of a large whisky group operating outside St. Louis and Chicago.

United states secretary of war William W. belknap was mired in corruption. He was impeached for dereliction of duty. Nast cartoon, 1876. (? Bettmann/CORBIS) As the busiest port in the United States, new york is the center of all kinds of trade, including moonlight. Newspapers often report the discovery of distillers whose daily output exceeds 100 gallon. Breweries are basically small factories. The New York Times wrote that in the basement of an old church on East Broadway in Manhattan, a two-foot-high opening led to a room 30×40 feet high. "It's full of huge black pork chops and barrels. In the red light from the fireplace, long black hoses protrude from the still life tanks on the top of the head and the soles of the feet ... the soul keeps flowing from the neck of the still life worm to a receiving basin.

Nowhere in new york has this job been so openly ignored as Brooklyn Fifth District or Vinegar Mountain. Adjacent to Donghe Wharf and Naval Shipyard, this is a rugged and crowded area. /kloc-small apartments and townhouses inhabited by a large number of immigrants in the middle of 0/9 century. This community called Irish Town (one third of the population was born in Ireland) also includes many British, German and Norwegian residents who work in local factories and warehouses. Immigrants bring a love for drinks; 1885, in the heyday of this community, among the 666 retail stores, 1 10 were pubs, mostly pubs. In turn, this may attract the special attention of * * *, because other groups can eliminate their concerns. Many words in the growing prohibition movement are aimed at immigrants who drink water like Irish Orls.

"People won't wonder why Ireland City was so lively and full of fighting power in the years after the Civil War", which can't help but remind people of Brooklyn Eagle a few years later, when the prohibition movement had gained greater appeal. The new york Tribune said: "For the whole block, this is a land full of illegal whisky distilled liquor and rum preserves." . The alleys of small towns in Ireland are filled with the smoke and distillers of wineries, which are hidden in basements or abandoned shacks built for quick burial. Wineries often play cat-and-mouse games with inspectors. With the help of spy systems and neighbors around curious strangers, they are rarely caught. Street gangs, smugglers and thirsty sailors support illegal industries and use waterways to promote commerce. Rum and whisky are transported back and forth on the east coast; Some dump trucks even have wineries. The crowded seashore makes it easy for people to ship without being found.

Leaders are all smart people, such as John Devlin, who is a notorious leader and started his career in the naval shipyard. It is said that Devlin tried to extract 20 cents from a gallon of whisky nearby, which is said to have corrupted the whole tax department. In the real underworld fashion, he was shot by his brother many times, and his brother was tried in 1868.

The reason is that he was accused of operating a winery without a license and defrauded * * * 700,000 US dollars within 6 months. He claimed that he did submit a license of $65,438+000, but the supervisor ignored it. Devlin thinks that he "should not be responsible for the carelessness of others". Devlin was eventually fined a ridiculous $500 and imprisoned for two years. Eagle said, it seems that someone stole a million dollars, but was sued for not buying a boat ticket. The purpose of this experiment is to set an example for brewers. After spending a year in Albany prison, Devlin was pardoned by President andrew johnson.

The fatal shooting of an Irish tax official aroused public anger, and Devlin was suppressed only after * * * took tougher action. After the last devastating attack, its distillation industry was basically destroyed.

These days, the neighborhood is much quieter. However, the whisky manufacturing industry returned on 20 12, and the Kings County Brewery also came. Bourbon brewed from organic corn is more precious than the famous Irish rum, but it may also be different. The ghost in the neighbor's house will be in high spirits: the brewery is in the navy yard.