JANUARY 16 2009 MARKS PROHIBITION’S 89th ANNIVERSARY

 JANUARY 16 2009  MARKS PROHIBITION’S 

                      89^th ANNIVERSARY

                                 NORMAN V. KELLY  

 

As a Peoria historian I feel I would be remiss if I didn’t point out the anniversary of the Great Noble  Experiment that began January 17, 1920 all across this great land of America. Prohibition became the law of the land with the passing of the 18^th. Amendment to the Constitution of the United States.

 

Since my books on history include only how it played in Peoria, I must take you back to 1917, because that is when Prohibition really started with our relatives and folks here in town. Believe me when I tell you that by the time January 16, 1920 rolled around folks in Peoria considered Prohibition “old hat.”

 

The year 1917 was a wonderful time to be living in Peoria, what with the population close to 76,000 folks, good job market, wonderful schools, a rich park system and great downtown shopping area, Peoria flourished. Peoria grew like no other town along the Illinois River because of our breweries and distilleries. The local farmers had a sound market for all of their farm production and the old river city was the center of everything from Peoria to Chicago, and from Peoria to Saint Louis.  For entertainment of every kind imaginable, Peoria was the place to be. That all changed shortly after America declared war on Germany, April 6, 1917.

 

The Temperance people whose lifelong dream was to close every tavern, brewery and distillery in America jumped on this rare opportunity. Men of German descent owned most of the breweries in America, which made them an easy target because of the anti-German feelings in America. Temperance groups throughout the United States brought a major campaign against their beer making conglomerates. They reminded Americans that these Germans were sending ‘all that money back to help the war effort in Germany’. Ridiculous, but it worked.

 

In short order 5,500 men from Peoria went off to the War. Many of them were employed in the distilleries and breweries and expected to have their jobs back when they returned from the war. That never happened. President

Woodrow Wilson and the lawmakers, pressured by very influential Temperance people, especially Wayne B. Wheeler, decided that now was the time to remind America that they were in a war. Laws were passed under the guise of helping the war effort.  In reality it was all just a part of the Temperance movement.

 

The LEVER ACT became law on August 10, 1917 and the distilleries and breweries were forced to shut down by September 19, 1917.  You heard me right, 1917, not 1920. Keep in mind that at this time twenty-six states in the United States were already dry.  The Lever act was a food and fuel control act. It said in plain English that it was illegal to waste grain on alcoholic beverages.  With no raw materials, the distilleries were forced to shut down.  But here in Peoria, the ‘Alcohol Capital Of The World,’ the loss of those jobs was devastating. Along with our breweries we had Clarkes, Woolners, Corning, Atlas and Great Western distilleries.  Peoria grew head and shoulders above all the other river towns because of these large distilleries, and their shutting down did not bode well for Peoria’s future.

 

The Lever Act outlawed the use of grains in the production of alcohol.  Now the Temperance groups had America right where they wanted her on the righteous path to being DRY.  The next step was to proceed with God’s work and move on to amending the Constitution to permanently close down every saloon, brewery and distillery in America. That was their goal and as they saw it the root of all evil was alcohol.  Rid America of alcohol, and a wondrous and glorious peace would prevail over the land.

 

Here in Peoria the only thing that saved our town and kept it from becoming a ghost town was the war.  Peoria produced hundreds of different essential products for the war in a number of small factories. Fortunately, many Peorians were able to find work mainly because of the absence of the 5,500 men in the army.  They certainly did not see the Lever Act coming down the Pike, that’s for sure. Peoria area farmers were among the hardest hit as well. For 67 years Peoria was the best market a farmer could ask for. Farmer groups went to Washington to tell the Congress that the American farmer could easily feed this nation and her men overseas, but all that fell on deaf ears.  The under lying agenda, forced by the temperance folks, was not to be denied. Prohibition was going to save America and nothing could stop the Temperance movement. After all they were ‘doing God’s work.’

 

The Temperance people were not satisfied with the Lever Act because it was just too temporary to suit them. After all, once the war ended, and the Doughboys came home, they would want their jobs back in those decadent distilleries and breweries.  So, the pressure was once again applied. Here in Peoria billboards and anti-saloon rallies reminded the folks that our fighting men needed our help. Doughboys depicted in ads showed them running over a snow packed field with bayonets fixed. The caption read:  “They Give Their all Won’t You Send Wheat?” What’s a patriotic Peorian going to do but agree with that sentiment? That’s all they needed to convince Congress to pass the Wartime Prohibition Act. This law really had teeth in it and here is the joke. It passed on November 21, 1918…the war ended on November 11, 1918. The bill has many pages but to summarize, it simply said it was illegal to sell any distilled spirits. So it finally became obvious to the folks in Peoria that the ban on whiskey was on its way to being permanent.  For once they were right.

 

The next step for the Temperance movement was to get the 18^th. Amendment passed. With very little debate the United States Senate and the Congress passed the 18^th Amendment, which would later be known as Prohibition.  The bill was then sent to all 48 governors for rejection or ratification, allowing seven long years to get the job done. It took 13 months and 8 days for the bill to get the approval of three fourths of the 48 states.  The bill was passed and approved and became law on January 29. 1919. The law of the land was now Prohibition to take effect on January 16, 1920. The Temperance folks needed one more act to pass and that was the Volstead Act. This bill would allow the United States Government the power to enforce the Prohibition Act in the United States. That bill easily passed, but was vetoed by Woodrow Wilson. His veto was quickly overridden and the Volstead Act became law on October 28, 1919.

 

The Temperance people were happy, now all they had to do was sit back and watch The United States head down the righteous path they had made for Americans to follow. Surely peace and prosperity would follow.  Wrong!  What followed were thirteen years of the most violent, lawless years in America’s history.  But that’s another story, a story of perpetual violence, corruption, murder and mayhem, which became part of the Roaring Twenties.

 

Editor’s note:  Norm Kelly is a retired private investigator who has written  8 books on Peoria, available in the Peoria library. Comments or questions to  norman.kelly@sbcglobal.net