Temperance and Prohibition in Wilson

The Temperance movement was very active in Wilson in the years leading up to the passage of the 18th Amendment more commonly known as “Prohibition”. The Wilson Star regularly listed upcoming meetings and activities of the Women’s Christian Temperance Union commonly known as the W.C.T.U. Founded in 1874, the WCTU focused on women’s rights, educating the public on the correlation between domestic violence and drinking, health problems caused by alcohol, protecting children from the consequences of alcohol abuse and good citizenship. Locally, the Wilson chapter of the W.C. T. U. held meetings every two weeks. Usually the meetings were hosted at the home of one of the members and the topics discussed aligned with the national organization’s overall goals. Following are two such announcements from the Wilson Star:

At the next meeting of the W.C.T.U., which will be held at the home of Mrs. Benjamin Copeland, there will be a reception for the teachers of the public schools. Mrs. Arthur E. Loomis will have charge of the meeting and the subject for discussion will be, “teaching of Citizenship and Morals in the Public Schools.” Everyone is invited. Refreshments will be served. Wilson Star, Dec 8, 1915

Mrs. E. A. Alvers will entertain the W.C. T. U., Wednesday afternoon, June 20^th. The subject will be “How Alcohol Shortens Life.” And the leader will be Mrs. Ruby Bull. (sic) Wilson Star, June 15, 1917

One frequent explanation for the abuse of alcohol was that muddied and bad tasting drinking water was prevalent in America at the time. In addition to moral suasion, the W.C.T.U. did institute concrete methods to in an attempt to curb drunkenness. One of which was the erection of public drinking fountains throughout the country. The purpose of which was to discourage men from entering saloons. Despite their best efforts the W.C.T.U. was only partially successful in their goal. It wasn’t until The Anti-Saloon League came along in 1893 that any lasting success at banning alcohol became a possibility.

The Anti-Saloon League focused on one single issue, the complete ban on the manufacture, sale and consumption of alcohol. They used enormous political pressure to accomplish this goal by only backing candidates that supported their cause. One might make comparisons to the Tea party today. Those belonging to the organization were a diverse mix. There were doctors, pastors, eugenicists, Klansmen, liberal internationalists, business leaders, labor radicals, conservative evangelicals and liberal theologians. They did not care if their candidate imbibed in alcohol privately, only that he voted the way they wanted.

Meanwhile, the “wets” or those who favored keeping alcohol legal had an almost equal number of supporters. However, they did not have any real or appealing message and they were not nearly as well organized. Nor did they believe that a repeal of alcohol was ever a realistic threat. Some of the breweries did run advertisements espousing the healthy aspects of beer consumption in response to the WCTU and Anti-Saloon League but the effect on public opinion is unknown. Besides, other geopolitical forces were also beginning to influence the debate. As WWI dragged on, the “drys” picked up even more support as increased opposition to all things German grew. Up until this time, the brewing industry led by Adolphus Busch had enjoyed enormous political and economic clout but this disappeared during the war.

Still, despite all the well-organized and increasing opposition to alcohol it wasn’t until 1913 when the 16^th Amendment passed allowing the collection of income tax that the possibility of a full repeal of the manufacture and sale of alcohol became a viable idea. Up until this time, approximately one third of the federal budget came from the taxation of spirits. Armed with an alternative source of income and fear of the Anti-Saloon League, Congress passed the 19^th Amendment in 1919. The law took effect one year later on January 1^st, 1920. It lasted until 1933 when it was repealed by the 21^st Amendment.

The “drys” celebrated while the “wets” lamented the new law. Many folks worried that it would become almost impossible to quench their thirst for alcohol when it took effect. Their worries proved unfounded. As soon as prohibition became the law, an army of rumrunners and smugglers went into business to provide Americans who wanted to drink the means to do so. The northern half of the country with its open border with Canada and the Great Lakes became the geographic center for lucrative and sophisticated smuggling operations.

The majority of smuggling took place in the Detroit and Windsor, Ontario area, aided by the relatively short trip across the Detroit River. However, Lake Ontario and Lake Erie were also popular areas where smugglers operated, especially around Oswego, New York where illegal whiskey and ale found its way to Utica, Syracuse and the Adirondacks. This is not to suggest other towns such as Wilson and Olcott along the south shore of Lake Ontario were not immune to what was going on.

With its rural and relatively sparsely populated countryside, Wilson, was the scene of at least a few incidents of the illegal, exciting and sometimes dangerous activity of rum running. It was one of many preferred rendezvous points between Youngstown and Oswego. These areas would be hidden coves or land on the lake owned by a friendly farmer where smugglers would unload their cases of illegal whiskey and ale from Canada. Convenient east west roads along the entire south shore of the lake made for a quick, easy pickup and transport to Niagara Falls, Lockport, Buffalo and other destinations in Western New York. Searching for smuggling accounts closer to Wilson and the surrounding area yielded a handful of exciting stories. Most, found in local newspapers. Obviously, these would be unsuccessful smuggling attempts in which the smugglers and bootleggers were caught and the whiskey or ale seized. Much like modern day illegal drug trafficking, it is safe to assume during the early to mid-years of Prohibition the illegal contraband made it to its final destination. Later on, in the mid-1920s until repeal in 1933, a fleet of Coast Guard boats bolstered enforcement and dedicated men who took the job seriously and were not as prone to bribery like local police and customs officials were.

One of the earliest accounts of a liquor smuggling arrest in the Wilson area took place in September of 1920. The September 3^rd, 1920 edition of the Wilson Star ran a headline that read “Whiskey Seized near Wilson” “Cabin Cruiser Valued at $10,000 Captured by inspectors.” Apparently a small launch used by immigrations and customs officers was stolen from its moorings near Youngstown a few days earlier. Yes, smugglers were brazen and daring. It was while searching for the launch that customs inspectors, W.R. Baldwin and Frederick H Schenck came across a bigger prize, the cabin cruiser Acron lying at anchor of Wilson. Upon investigating, the two officers discovered and seized one hundred cases of whiskey valued at $10,000. The launch had been stolen to aid in unloading the whiskey from the larger craft which had experienced engine trouble and could not get into shore. Two men were arrested and charged with smuggling. They were identified as Charles B Brown, 36 years old, a clerk and Norman Menzies, 33 years old, a carter (sic) both of Toronto. They were taken to the Niagara Falls jail. The Acron was taken in custody by the United States Coast at Fort Niagara. The seized whiskey was transported to the federal building in Niagara Falls by Customs Inspector O’Connor. This successful capture and seizure was a rare occurrence in the early years of Prohibition. Customs inspectors and law enforcement were extremely undermanned and underfunded. Many were corrupt and “paid off” by smugglers and bootleggers. Furthermore, The Coast Guard had not yet deployed cutters and other ships to the Great Lakes to assist in stopping smuggling operations. On dry land it was sometimes a little easier to apprehend smugglers but usually more dangerous for those charged with enforcing the law. The following story of a successful patrol along Lake Road near Ransomville comes from the September 26^th, 1923 edition of the Lockport Union Sun & Journal.

The headline reads: “Two Men Arrested As Three Wet Trucks Are Seized At Ransomville” Credit for the capture of the three trucks and two of the drivers was given to special deputy, Burt Cothran and Youngstown constable, Gilbert Carter. The trucks yielded a total of 150 cases of whiskey valued of $12,000. It was while patrolling the Lake Road at a late hour; the two men saw the three trucks driving without lights accompanied by a large touring car with its curtains drawn. The car and trucks turned toward Ransomville and the patrolmen gave chase. Upon being noticed, one of the truck drivers attempted to force the pursuing patrolmen into the ditch:

Cothran stopped at the corner of the road to see in which direction the loads turned and, finding they went east, he followed and stopped one of the machines half a mile east of Ransomville, in front of the home of Leo Connors. The driver of the truck tried to wreck Cothran’s car by driving into it. The truck then turned down a blind road leading to a house where it was taken. (sic) Cothran and Carter pursued another truck and discovered it in front of H.E. Oentle’s hardware store in Ransomville. The third truck they overhauled near the Ridge Road. The driver, however, escaped. The men arrested were heavily armed, three revolvers and a rifle being taken from them. The drivers and their loads were taken to Youngstown. Later they will be turned over to the federal authorities.

It was later rumored that the touring car which had protected the trucks, was captured near Lockport, and that it bore a Monroe County license. Lockport Union Sun & Journal, September 23, 1923

On October 25^th, 1925 The Lockport Union Sun and Journal published a story with the heading, “Hedley’s Launch “MoonMoth” Burns in Wilson Harbor.” The Moon Moth was described as a gasoline launch owned by Edgar Hedley an attorney from Buffalo and brother of Kenneth Hedley of Olcott, New York. Most readers will recognize the name Hedley and its long time association with Olcott harbor operations. On this day, Hedley and two companions were on the way from Port Dalhousie to Rochester where they intended to put the boat up for winter storage. They developed engine trouble and put in to Wilson Harbor where they tied up to the east pier. Shortly after tying up the engine caught fire and the boat was quickly engulfed in flames. The three men aboard escaped unharmed but the Moon Month was a total loss. The article stated “The loss is $10,000, fully insured.” What is interesting here is the last two sentences of the article which states; “The Moon Moth is the craft seized by the government authorities a couple of years ago, it being charged the launch was used for rum running purposes on Lake Ontario. Later the boat was returned by the government to its owner.” This is not to imply that Hedley was involved in the practice rum running. Stealing privately owned boats for illegal transportation of alcohol was common during prohibition. The incident does fuel speculation and add to the colorful, interesting and sometimes elusive history of rum running in the Wilson area. As prohibition dragged on and authorities became better at enforcement more events made the news such as the following story from the March 22^nd 1928 edition of The Buffalo Courier Express:

A boat carrying 800 cases of Canadian ale ran aground one mile east of Wilson was unloaded and the ale stacked on shore. Acting on a tip from one of his deputies, Fred Faery, Sheriff James A. Campbell, and three other deputies went to the scene and found a crowd of twenty rum runners who had just finished unloading the cargo. They fired several shots in an effort to halt the crowd and managed to arrest five of the rum runners.

The crowd of men assembled near the mountain of ale, saw the approaching police officers and with the exception of Harrigan, all of them fled.

To halt the fleeing crowd, the deputies grabbed their revolvers and fired several shots, but this apparently had no effect except to augment the speed of the alleged rum-towers. (sic) Whereupon, the deputies started in rapid pursuit. After a spirited chase, four additional men were in their custody.

The 50-foot motorboat that had been carrying the contraband was about 100 feet from shore and badly damaged by the pounding waves. It was not known how long the boat had been grounded. However, Sheriff Campbell reasoned that it must have been a considerable time, for one of the men arrested told him that they had fished the ale out of the water after the boat nearly had completely sunk. The craft was described as almost a wreck.

The five men arrested were taken to the Lockport jail for the night. Sheriff Campbell said they would be arraigned this morning before United States Commissioner Delaney of Lockport.

The ale was turned over to the customs men, who dispatched a crew to the place to remove beverage. It is not known what became of the damaged motorboat. Incidents such as this led to smugglers inventing ever more ingenious ways of delivering their product to market and remaining one step ahead of the law. In his book, Booze Boats and Billions, C.W. Hunt describes one of such method and references Wilson in doing so:

Sometimes smugglers coming over from Canada to unload would be unable to get close to shore because of rough conditions or perhaps having received a tip that the area was under police surveillance. When this happened, a simple but very effective method of making a delivery was used. The whiskey was removed from its wooden cases and repacked into potato sacks and unloaded about a mile offshore. A line was attached to each sack with a half-hitch knot and a bag lowered every twenty-five to fifty feet. The “rum line” would be attached to all the bags so that in finding one bag, the smugglers found them all.

Later, when conditions were favorable, the smugglers would return and drag for the rum line. Instead of using grappling hooks which tended to snag on rocks and ledges, old propeller shafts or similarly shaped objected were used. A line was attached about a quarter of the way from one end. This is then dragged at right angles to the set of the rum line. If the propeller shafts catches on something it simply upends and carries on. When the shaft tangles the rum line, it draws to the surface and the potato sacks are hauled aboard. This was a popular method used by fishermen-smugglers at the western end of Lake Ontario in and around the area of Wilson, New York (Hunt 257).

In conclusion, it would be reasonable to say that rumrunners, bootleggers and local farmers who owned land along the lake did operate in the Wilson area during the Prohibition era. How extensive the activity was is inconclusive. We only have evidence of those that were caught. Successful smugglers obviously would not advertise their activities. The smooth shoreline east and west of the village did not have as many hidden coves and other hiding places as other parts of the lake such as near Oswego. However, on the favorable side, customs officials, and those charged with enforcing the law were concentrated in Youngstown, and along the lower Niagara River. In addition, as mentioned earlier the good east west roads along the south shore of the lake made for quick overland transportation to Niagara Falls and Buffalo.

Submitted by Francis Gallagher

Wilson Town Historian

Bibliography of Works Cited,

Hunt C.W., Booze Boats and Billions: Smuggling Liquid Gold, (Toronto: McClelland & Stewart, 1989)

Wilson- Wilson Star

Niagara Falls- Niagara Gazette
Prohibition. Directed by Ken Burns & Lynn Novick. 2011. United States: PBS, 2011. Television