Intemperate Spirits: Economic Adaptation during Prohibition

171 Pages·2019·3.502 MB·English

by  Alice Louise Kassens

Intemperate Spirits
Economic Adaptation
during Prohibition
Intemperate Spirits
Alice Louise Kassens
Intemperate Spirits
Economic Adaptation during Prohibition
Alice Louise Kassens
Roanoke College
Salem, VA, USA
ISBN 978-3-030-25327-1 ISBN 978-3-030-25328-8 (eBook)
https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-25328-8
© The Editor(s) (if applicable) and The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer
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For April
A
cknowledgements
My first book would be impossible without the constant support of
my husband Michael Enz (and our patient dogs Millie, Lily, Macy, and
Zoey). Many others deserve recognition and thanks. My mother and
sister championed me through this effort and all that came before it.
The editors (Elizabeth and Sophia) pushed and encouraged my fascina-
tion with Prohibition from idea to product. Roanoke College and Dean
Richard Smith granted time to write through a one-semester sabbatical
and Chair Sharon Gibbs happily promoted my efforts over the last few
years. The librarians and support folks at the Library of Congress were
instrumental in gathering needed resources, while the Newberry Library
in Chicago graciously provided information and a map of gangdom.
Piper and Elizabeth provided last-minute, yet crucial, help from the
Roanoke College Library. Clifford Thies and participants at the Virginia
Association of Economists and the Eastern Economic Association gave
valuable feedback on various drafts. Katie Edwards and Kevin Oakey
served as excellent research assistants. Shannon Anderson, Michael Enz,
Justin Isaacs, Catherine Kassens, Kate Kassens, Todd Peppers, and Yana
Rodgers generously read chapter drafts, providing excellent feedback. A
paid newspapers.com account provided invaluable stories and informa-
tion. Finally, Cristina and Pinar kindly provided laughs, stimulating con-
versation, and running route and restaurant tips on my research trips to
Washington, DC.
vii
c
ontents
1 Introduction 1
2 Targets 27
3 Violators 71
4 Line Tip-Toers 117
5 Enablers and Hypocrites 129
6 Conclusion 151
Index 161
ix
l f
ist of igures
Fig. 1.1 Absolute per capita alcohol consumption,
US gallons (1785–1940) (Source Rorabaugh, 1991) 5
Fig. 1.2 “Temperance movement” versus “prohibition”,
1760–1939 newspapers (Source Data from newspapers.com,
analysis and graphic by author) 6
Fig. 2.1 Size of the United States brewing industry, 1865–1915
(Source United States Brewers Association, 1979) 28
Fig. 2.2 Market adjustments to changes in supply and demand
(Source Author generated graphic) 31
Fig. 2.3 Gallons of wine consumed per year, 1856–1945
(Source Peninou [2004], graphic by author) 57
Fig. 2.4 Wine, beer, and spirit consumption, 1850–1919
(Source Hyman et al. [1980]; National Institute
on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism [2014],
graphic by author) 59
Fig. 2.5 Acreage allocated to wine grapes, 1919–1930
(Source Peninou [2004], graphic by author) 63
Fig. 2.6 Napa Valley harvested tonnage and price/ton
(corrected for inflation, smoothed) (Source Napa
Valley Agricultural Crop Reports [1921–1933],
graphic by author) 63
Fig. 3.1 Per capita pure alcohol consumption for beverage
purposes, 1921–1930 (Source Warburton [1932],
graphic by author. Estimates from alcohol input
data and death rates from alcoholism and cirrhosis
of the liver) 76
xi
xii LIST OF FIGURES
Fig. 3.2 Four periods of alcohol consumption, by type
(Source Warburton [1932], graphic by author) 79
Fig. 3.3 Estimates of annual national expenditure on alcoholic
beverages ($millions), 1921–1930 (Source Data
from Warburton [1932], graphic by author) 81
Fig. 5.1 Example labor market (Source Author generated graphic) 132
Fig. 5.2 Popularity of the 18th Amendment in 1922 and 1926
(Source Boeckel [1926], author generated graphic) 134
Fig. 5.3 Traditional prisoner’s dilemma (Source Author.
The years used are selected by the author
for illustration purposes) 144
Fig. 6.1 Productivity and alcohol consumption (Source The data
for the figure is taken directly from Warburton [1932].
The per capita alcohol and beer indexes were not available
for 1920, so the author estimated them as the average
of 1919 and 1921 and calculated the correlation
coefficients using the completed set of data) 154
Fig. 6.2 Regression plot, productivity, and beer consumption
(1899–1927) (Source Data from Warburton [1932],
regression analysis, and graphic by author. The blue
dots are the coefficient estimates. The blue lines
are the 95% confidence intervals. The red line at zero
is simply a dividing line between positive and negative
values for clarifying purposes only) 157
Image 1.1 Must these go down a drunkard’s grave in order
that we the streets may pave? (c.a. 1915–1919)
(Source The American Issue Publishing Company,
Westerville, Ohio, Library of Congress) 3
Image 1.2 In war in peace which needs it most? (1917)
(Source The American Issue Publishing Company,
Westerville, Ohio, Library of Congress) 10
Image 1.3 He wants the revenue—Is the game worth the bait? (1917)
(Source Deball [1917], The American Issue Publishing
Company, Westerville, Ohio, Library of Congress) 14
Image 1.4 American Federation of Labor Prohibition demonstration
(1919) (Source Library of Congress) 16
Image 1.5 States adopting Maine Laws (1851–1855) (Source Author
retrieved data and generated figure) 19
Image 2.1 Refrigerated rail car (Source: Reefers shorty Anheuser-Busch
Malt Nutrine ACF builders photo pre-1911, 1911) 39
Image 3.1 Moonshine production process (Source Kassens, 2019e) 83
Image 3.2 Cow shoes (Source Library of Congress) 85
LIST OF FIGURES xiii
Image 3.3 McCoy’s first run, Nassau to St. Catherine’s Island,
Georgia (Source Kassens, 2019d) 89
Image 3.4 East coast bootleggers routes and Rum Row
(Source Kassens, 2019a) 91
Image 3.5 Map of organized crime in 1920s Chicago
(Source The Newberry Library [Allsop, 2004]) 105
Image 3.6 Juice grape racket process (Source Kassens, 2019c) 107
Image 3.7 Industrial alcohol to cover house (Source Kassens, 2019b) 111
Image 4.1 Prescription forms and stubs for medicinal alcohol,
1933 (Source Cassie Nespor, Curator Mednick
Medical Museum [Nespor, 2010]) 120