NEARBY HISTORY

S.C. DIDN'T TAKE TO PROHIBITION, BUT LEARNED LESSONS FROM ERA

ENFORCEMENT WAS LAX AND LED TO TAXES ON NONALCOHOLIC ITEMS

In 1919, the 18th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution made it illegal
to sell alcoholic beverages. The amendment was the result of the
coming together of many factors. Churches, especially the Methodists,
had long preached temperance. There was the Women's Temperance
Crusade, and the number of women teaching in regular schools as well
as Sunday schools had greatly increased. Women saw alcohol as
destructive of family values.

Most of the U.S. breweries were owned by Germans, who lost influence
in politics with U.S. entry into World War I against Germany. In large
cities, Protestant Americans were upset with saloon-based political
machines dominated by immigrants.

South Carolina did not ratify the 18th Amendment. Back in the 1890s,
Gov. Benjamin Tillman had imposed a state-owned and managed distillery
system on the state. It was not effective. And there was another
factor working against South Carolina's acceptance of Prohibition --
also known as the Volstead Act. Drunken violence accompanied by
disorderly conduct is a behavior often labeled "social disorder
crime." Almost every law on the books only addressed property crimes.
Drunken men on the streets of small towns were a common sight.

But one lesson that Prohibition taught was that if a product (i.e.,
alcohol or a drug) is banned, it will appear illegally in a more
potent form. Homemade liquor, popularly known as "moonshine," had a
higher alcohol content than other alcohol ordinarily had, and was more
dangerous to consume.

John Hunter, Lancaster County's legendary sheriff, in January 1924
wrote letters to all the area's newspapers begging folks to badger
their representatives to pass laws "prohibiting the sale of extracts
and paregoric medicine in large vials." He said that quarts of Jamaica
ginger, vanilla and lemon extracts were being sold that were as high
as 93 percent alcohol. "I have heard of some old whiskey drinkers
saying that they did not want any more whiskey as long as they could
get paregoric to drink."

Two months later, the sheriff's men found a big batch of liquor in
downtown Lancaster. They opened the three-cornered quart bottles and
began pouring the whiskey directly into the sewer in front of the
courthouse. The aroma drifted over the area and a crowd began to
gather to watch the "heartless" work of the officers. "A number of
suggestions were made by the thirsty as to the best way in which to go
about retrieving `just a little for sickness,' but none were put into
practice."

Judges (even federal judges) and juries weren't much inclined to
punish violators of the Volstead Act. If found guilty, the fellow
would be given a minimum fine and no jail sentence.

One officer said he knew of a bootlegger "worth thousands of dollars.
He owns a dozen or more automobiles ... operated through employees,
some white and some black ... the owners of the cars we catch merely
charge such mishaps up to profit and loss and go on with their
business." The cars were mostly Pontiacs and Buicks.

Six years after the Volstead Act was passed, there was enough public
pressure to do something about matters to cause the S.C. legislature
to take on the task of crafting an enforcement act. But after a while
there were so many amendments and changes that the end result placed
taxes on soft drinks (1 cent tax on every 5 cents charged on soda
water, ginger ale, Coca-Cola and lime cola). Added to the list were
ice cream and sundaes if sold in a drug store.

While they were at it, the legislators also placed a tax on golf
sticks and balls, fur coats, any type of cosmetics and 1 cent on 3
ounces of tobacco or snuff.

The "Great Prohibition Experiment" ended in 1933, but the taxes on
luxury items remained.

Louise Pettus is a retired Winthrop University history professor. Her
column appears Sundays.