Volume 18 , Issue 14

NW Okie's Journey

Let us take a brief look into the bootleggers, gangsters and the evolution trial across America in the 1920's. Some might remember the 10 July 1925 Evolution Trial as the Scopes Trial.

Were there bootleggers' in your community in the 1920's through the 1930's? Is this the means that some people used to make a living in the depression years?

It was in The Washington Times, dated Sunday, 29 January 1922, page 16, we found the following headlines: "Bootleggers' War a Great Help To Enforcement of dry Laws" where 'Dog eat dog' was the motto. And vendetta had been in existence since the first day of National prohibition.

Found on Newspapers.com

The old adage concerning business ethics among second-story men and "honesty among thieves" had little or no meaning when applied to commercial relations existing among Washington bootleggers.

It would seem from many stories current in the best rum-running circles that it is always open season on the poor hootch vender. The most approved axiom among the fraternity is "dog eat dog" and "let the devil take the hindmost." Tales drift in daily of the guerrilla warfare that is ever in progress among the violators of the Eighteenth Amendment. The vendetta had been in existence since the very first day of the national prohibition, and would doubtless continue until the last drop of moonshine is swallowed, which from all present indications would point to a long campaign.

One of the greatest agents for the enforcement of the dry law was this bootleggers' war. It was almost impossible to read a paper back then without seeing an account of raids by federal, state or city officials, but few realized that the great majority of these were inspired by former partners of the raided or his business rival. The favorite pastime of the present day bootlegger was to frame a business associate. To get the money or the stock in trade of a fellow operator was not only profitable and ethical, but was considered a mark of high strategy and ability.

Back in the early days of prohibition there was a big suitcase business through the Union Station by embryo bootleggers who were working up a bank roll sufficient to purchase a car. These men made three or four trips a week to New York or Philadelphia for supplies and returned by rail with as many bags and suitcases as they could stagger under.

There was a chance of enforcement agents stopping them in the terminal if their suspicions were aroused by the quantity and weight of a passenger's baggage. For this reason the bootlegger passed his bags over to one or more of the ever ready red caps for the trip through the train. This proved to be a section of the "promised land" for dusky porters. They grew to know the regular "trippers" who always tipped them lavishly, and at the first opportunity they would lose themselves in the crowd of departing passengers and disappear. The bootlegger, arriving at the cab stand would find himself one porter and one load short. There was nothing for him to do but swallow his loss, as a recovery of his baggage would necessitate his identifying it, and to do so would spell disaster, to himself as well as the porter.

This "fade-away act," as it came to be known, was practiced many times in the Union Station here and in other cities. One bootlegger who had suffered a loss in this way made it a practice to show this prospective porter a bill none hand and a small automatic pistol concealed in the other palm. After asking him if he thought he could make a "through trip without any monkey-business he would tell him to march in front and keep marching." This insured a successful transfer.

We are all familiar with the fake barrel game where the customer was allowed to knock out the bung in a whiskey barrel and sample the goods for himself, only to find after the purchase has been made and the barrel delivered, that it contained a small receptacle directly under the bung hole filled with real whiskey and that the rest of the barrel was aqua pure. Although this had been practiced hundreds of times they still seemed to find trusting bootleggers who were ready to fall for the same old stuff.

An interesting variation of this trick was recently and successfully enacted here. A buyer was invited to a house and shown these ten-gallon bottles of what appeared to be the real thing. The bottles were corked and sealed with sealing wax. The bootleggers in charge of the sale invited him to pick out a bottle to be sampled. This was done. A brace and bit was produced and a hole bored in the large cork of the bottle selected. A rubber tube was next introduced and inserted in the hole, a strong suck on the outside end produced a syphon and within plain sight enough of the liquor was drawn off to be tested by a hydrometer. Examination proved it to be a bourbon of ripe old age and the deal was closed without further delay. The buyer departed with his purchase, only to find a few hours later that the had bought thirty gallons of colored water at a price considerably over and above its sea-level value.

A careful review of events during the sale convinced the buncoed bootlegger that the swindle had been accomplished by having one end of the rubber tube securely corked and the tube itself filled with real whiskey. It made little difference which bottle was selected for examination, as the sellers had told the literal truth when they said they all contained the same thing. Not every frame-up was worked out with such finesse. The wholesale bootleggers were prone to fall back on the roughest sort of "rough stuff" when their imaginations fail them.

It was nothing unusual for a bootlegger to approach someone he knows to be in the business and tell him a rich customer wants some "stuff." He explains that his stock was exhausted and that if the deal was not made at once it would be lost. He suggests that the second bootlegger make the delivery and pay him a commission. This was agreed to the the first bootlegger told the second to meet him with the whiskey in a given alley at a late hour at night where he would have his customer and the transfer from one machine to the other can be made.

The first bootlegger then rounded up his gang and they laid in wait for the second to keep the appointment. When he appeared the ambush was beautifully set, he was held up and robbed forthwith. If he or anyone he may have with him show fight, they were beaten or shot, for the latter day bootlegger was not afraid to use his gun, as the death roll of the enforcement agents clearly showed.

Bogus Enforcement Officers
Time after time conscientious and well meaning bootleggers had bought a load of the forbidden liquid, paid for it in coin of the realm, and inadvertently mentioned the course of their homeward trip. The man who sold the whiskey would immediately tip off his henchmen. They raced after the liquor-laden car, pass it, and wait at a secluded part of the road. When the hootch runner approached he was stopped, the crowd impersonating enforcement agents. They searched his car, find the stuff, and go through the motions of making an arrest. The poor bootlegger tries to beg off. He sees the enforcement agent waver, he pulls the sob stuff wide open, he tells them of the wife and kiddies at home.

Tears come to the eyes of the agents, their hard hearts soften, they tell him to dump off his load, to go home and try to lead a better life. If the bootlegger was fooled he does what they tell him. If he was wise they take it anyhow, and he is glad to get away with his shoes and his hat. In this manner the same load of whiskey would go a long way in a good cause.

And so the war went merrily on. Anything that you can "get away with" seemed to be the only rule of the game. There was little or no chance of a swindled bootlegger "squealing" to the police, but he would not hesitate to time off the dry agents when he decided that someone had "done him wrong." In the vernacular, this was known as "turnin' 'em 'round," and it had been the means by which countless successful raids had been accomplished. All of which may account in some way for the high cost of holiday cheer.

Good Night! Good Luck!
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