SOFT   DRINK   PARLOR   LICENSE

                                               NORMAN  V.  KELLY

 

PEORIA, ILLINOIS:   Actually on September 8, 1917 our breweries and distilleries were closed because of the  LEVER ACT…which was a phony, religious, trumped up act perpetrated on America because of the Temperance Movement.  There was anti-German sentiment once America declared war on German April 6, 1917.  The act in plain English was a Conservation Act making it illegal to use ‘foodstuffs’ like grain of all kinds to make wasteful stuff like booze and beer.  It was to be a temporary act while the war raged on. 

 

We had a billboard here in Peoria that depicted 6-7 Doughboys running across a snowy field with fixed bayonets.  The caption read:  “They give their all will you send wheat?”  Well, hell, of course we would.  Truth is America’s farmers could not only feed America they could certainly feed our Doughboys.

 

The whole thing was the Temperance people, led by Wayne B Wheeler and his paid for senators and representatives in Washington. They had the Hun on the run in Europe and they meant to capitalize on it here in America. The anti-German sentiment was stirred up by the temperance rallies here in town and across the USA. They reminded people that the Germans in America were making all kinds of money on beer and sending it back to fuel the German war machine. Folks bought that BS and the Germans suffered physically, financially and mentally.  That closed most of the breweries in quick order.

 

Before the war ended Peoria and America were hit with the War Time Prohibition Act that made sure that the breweries and distilleries stayed closed.  Just another phony bill that appeared to be a Conservation act aimed at helping the war effort. A Patriotic act that helped America win the war. It was phony and again orchestrated by Wayne B. Wheeler and his puppets. It all worked and when the soldiers came back home to Peoria their jobs were gone, as well as their places to meet and have a drink. Good old religious idiots.

 

So On January 17, 1920 the great experiment in forcing a dry nation on its citizens began. Keep in mind the temperance people had been around probably since 1850, and Maine went dry in 1851.  By 1918, 26 states had gone dry and the temperance jerks were mad with success. They were doing God’s work and believe me it was going well.

 

All the jobs in Peoria connected either directly or indirectly with the making of alcoholic drinks were gone. I can tell you that was a sizeable number.  The thirty-five million in taxes the Peoria companies paid to the government was also gone. Think what that means when you remember that there were 6 or 7 hundred of them in the USA.

 

So when Prohibition began it was old hat in Peoria, Illinois. The folks here had adjusted and were surprised they could live and have jobs without the breweries and distilleries.  Those companies also began to produce different products, some bottling soft drinks, others making white vinegar, denatured alcohol and things of that nature. So people here did not dread Prohibition, what they hated was the loss of their taverns.  Most of our taverns were neighborhood taverns, combination saloon and restaurant and that hurt. Our taverns were meeting places for local folks.  Folks like the Italians, Irish, German and Lebanese that were the backbone of this great city.

 

                                              NOW   WHAT?

 

Not to worry Mayor Woodruff would soon help out the situation. He proposed that the 1.3 million the town was losing in taxes could be remedied. He made it clear that every tavern owner in town could apply for a Soft Drink Parlor License.  Now remember they could not sell beer, wine or whiskey, but they would be able to reopen.  Within a short time we had Soft Drink Parlors popping up around town, most of them previously taverns.  They sold food, had all kinds of soft drinks, like Coke, Root Beer, lime and lemon drinks and a lot of sweets. Of course that caught on quickly and just as naturally, they became fronts for illegal booze that poured into Peoria from Canada and every other country that had the ability to get the booze to America. 

Here is how it worked. First this was legitimate…the city got money for the license, and of course the normal taxes on businesses.  People were working, they gathered, they ate and the money began to flow.  It was good for Peoria and it was good for the country. Selling a shot of booze now and then wouldn’t hurt the Temperance folks…or would it?