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Prohibition years prove to be lawless for Lewistown
Dec 19,1993
George Mueller Oscar Mueller
Lewistown's most lawless years were not during older days of a century ago.
They were during the prohibition years of 1920-33 when the possession, making and drinking of
alcoholic beverages were outlawed by the federal government.
This seems clear from research done by Lewistown's George Mueller who is retired now after a
career with the federal weather service. He lives in the same house on Watson Street where he
was raised.
His father, the late Oscar Mueller, an attorney and Lewistown's mayor during prohibition's final
years, played a key role in ending the lawlessness that dominated the city in those hectic days.
"Whenever laws are made, there are always those to break them," George Mueller said a few
years ago in his report to the Outlook Club which he entitled, "Bootleggers and Crooked Cops."
And there were plenty of lawbreakers in Lewistown at the time.
"It seems like nearly everyone in Lewistown (during prohibition days) was making moonshine,
buying it, or having Canadian beer and whiskey imported," George Mueller said. "This practice
gave rise to the name 'Bootlegger Trail' between Great Falls and Canada"
Montana Magazine of November-December 1979 reported it was fashionable then across the
state to have some moonshine or home brew stashed away in hidden spots.
"There was more drinking of liquor by both young and old than before the passage of the 18th
(prohibition) Amendment," which seemed to be true all over the nation.
"There were numerous Lewistown residents, some prominent, operating stills in secret rooms
and basements," Mueller said.
"Next to farming, there was no single operation that had so many entrepreneurs."
Ingenious and unique places in homes were used to hide the illicit liquor such as trap doors,
secret panels, chimneys, stairways and other places.
The moonshine was either good or bad. Probably most was bad.
"One thing was sure. It was powerful. A number of deaths were recorded from drinking
moonshine."
Folks had a sense of humor about the quality of their moonshine, with many tests reported.
One was to put a finger in the bottle or jug for three minutes. When pulled out, if the fingernail
was missing, the moonshine wasn't a good buy.
Object Description
| Rating | |
| Title | Prohibition years prove to be lawless for Lewistown. |
| Creator | George Mueller |
| Other contributors | Lewistown News-Argus |
| Description | Mueller writes about how prohibition affected Lewistown, Montana. |
| Date Original | 1993-12-19 |
| Physical format | Newspaper article |
| Genre | newspapers |
| Coverage-date | 1920's |
| Publisher (Original) | Lewistown Public Library, Lewistown, Montana |
| Subject (keyword) | Prohibition; Oscar Mueller; Police; Moonshine; |
| Type | Text |
| Contributing Institution | Lewistown Public Library, Lewistown, Montana |
| Digitization Specifications | Canon MX310 300dpi |
| Geographic Coverage | Lewistown, Montana. |
| Digital Format | application/pdf |
| Rights Management | No copyright restrictions |
| Full text of this item | Prohibition years prove to be lawless for Lewistown Dec 19, 1993 George Mueller Oscar Mueller Lewistown's most lawless years were not during older days of a century ago. They were during the prohibition years of 1920-33 when the possession, making and drinking of alcoholic beverages were outlawed by the federal government. This seems clear from research done by Lewistown's George Mueller who is retired now after a career with the federal weather service. He lives in the same house on Watson Street where he was raised. His father, the late Oscar Mueller, an attorney and Lewistown's mayor during prohibition's final years, played a key role in ending the lawlessness that dominated the city in those hectic days. "Whenever laws are made, there are always those to break them" George Mueller said a few years ago in his report to the Outlook Club which he entitled, "Bootleggers and Crooked Cops." And there were plenty of lawbreakers in Lewistown at the time. "It seems like nearly everyone in Lewistown (during prohibition days) was making moonshine, buying it, or having Canadian beer and whiskey imported" George Mueller said. "This practice gave rise to the name 'Bootlegger Trail' between Great Falls and Canada" Montana Magazine of November-December 1979 reported it was fashionable then across the state to have some moonshine or home brew stashed away in hidden spots. "There was more drinking of liquor by both young and old than before the passage of the 18th (prohibition) Amendment" which seemed to be true all over the nation. "There were numerous Lewistown residents, some prominent, operating stills in secret rooms and basements" Mueller said. "Next to farming, there was no single operation that had so many entrepreneurs." Ingenious and unique places in homes were used to hide the illicit liquor such as trap doors, secret panels, chimneys, stairways and other places. The moonshine was either good or bad. Probably most was bad. "One thing was sure. It was powerful. A number of deaths were recorded from drinking moonshine." Folks had a sense of humor about the quality of their moonshine, with many tests reported. One was to put a finger in the bottle or jug for three minutes. When pulled out, if the fingernail was missing, the moonshine wasn't a good buy. Another was to pour some of the liquor on the fender of a car. If the paint started to peel in three minutes, it too was bad! LEWISTOWN Though quotation marks aren't used in much of the following, the material is all taken from George Mueller's report. Names of many of the people mentioned are often omitted because descendants, relatives or friends still live in this area. The decade of the 1920s, some 70 years ago, was commonly called the "roaring 20s." Lewistown may not have been "roaring" but the prohibition law was flagrantly ignored here, statewide and across the country. The Lewistown Democrat News (now the News-Argus) was full of reports on liquor raids by 1928. Its issue of Jan. 29 reported a raid at the Ann Hotel in Moore where a still and a lot of booze were seized. A famed Lewistown booze runner was caught in March near Terry by government agents. He had a special compartment in his high-powered car that carried a large quantity of booze which he was selling for $12 a gallon ... a lot of money in those days. The Lewistown paper reported that 200 gallons of whiskey were seized in a Great Falls raid. Burr Hill, a federal prohibition officer, resigned because of a lack of cooperation from the public. He called prohibition a failure because it was not backed by public opinion. Frequent raids continued through 1928. By 1929, Lewistown was not the clean, law-abiding town it is today. "By any standard, it was wide open" Mueller reported. The Lewistown Democrat News asserted in March that all rooming houses in the city were selling liquor and prostitution was rampant. In fact, the local newspaper owned the Day House, a former hotel, which had converted into a house of prostitution and was selling illegal liquor. There were no saloons as such, but there were numerous soft drink parlors and pool halls engaged in gambling. Three candidates filed for mayor in March 1929. They were Jack Briscoe, Oscar Mueller and D. J. "Pickhandle" Burke. Mueller said that if elected, commercialized vice would not be allowed. He was elected. The City of Lewistown had other problems too at that time. First, the water line from the Big Spring to the distribution system in town didn't have a single valve working. A year or two before, the city was without water for almost a week because of a break in the line. POLICE A major problem in the late 1920s was Lewistown's police force, Mayor Mueller said. They were not enforcing the law, and some were "robbing victims they arrested, besides assisting bootleggers." One of the men who collected money for protection was a lawyer "who had a regular rate of $50 per month for many customers. If they did not pay, he had federal officers raid them and fine them for selling liquor." One officer of the law, in addition to robbing some he arrested, would confiscate any booze found on them and sell it to certain bootleggers. One officer even operated his own still. Two or three retail establishments in Lewistown would sell the liquor for him. This does not mean all policemen were crooked back then. Most were not. Only two, and they were police leaders, were found guilty in 1930 and evicted from office. After taking office as mayor, Oscar Mueller appointed Ralph Anderson as city attorney. Federal liquor raids were continued, but the ones in downtown Lewistown were often unsuccessful as the establishments selling liquor were apparently tipped off ahead of time and the booze was moved across the street to another place. The Lewistown Democrat News, in its Aug. 10, 1929 issue, reported that prohibition had been called a "dismal flop" by A. C. Townley, the leader of Lewistown's anti-dry league. Mayor Mueller, who was also opposed to vice and card games such as poker, deuces wild and "spit in the ocean" being played for money, spent much of 1929 gathering evidence. He received a great deal of assistance in this, his son George said later in his report, with much of it coming from two FBI agents, E. E. Collins of Billings and a Mr. Sloan. The city attorney, because of the lack of action by some police officials, called one of them a "Mussolini" the latter being the dictator who then ran Italy. CHARGES FILED Fourteen counts were filed against one police official and 10 against another. Some of the charges, with names omitted: - On or about 1925 or 1926, a police official was guilty of misconduct in office and of conduct unbecoming of a policeman and of conduct such as to bring reproach upon the police force in that he did then and there take certain sacks of Canadian beer and certain bottles of whiskey which had been seized and ordered destroyed by order of the U.S. District Court and removed them to his residence. - In June 1929, Mayor Mueller had ordered the police, official to enforce city and federal laws prohibiting the unlawful sale and possession of liquor. The official had ignored the order. - A police official had ordered and directed certain members of the police force . . . not to enter pool halls, soft drink parlors and other public places in Lewistown while on duty and notwithstanding several of the places bore the reputation of selling illegal liquor. - In December 1929, a police official was guilty of neglect of duty by neglecting to take any action on a burglary at the place of business known as the Senate which had illegally possessed stolen whiskey. - In August 1927, after making an arrest, a police official took a man to the police station and made him pay $15 to him in order to obtain his release and did not deliver the money to the police judge either as a fine or as bail, and that he had never returned the money to the man. - In July 1929, a police official had failed to certify to the city treasurer a large list of businesses that had not paid city licenses. - In July 1929, a police official had failed to enforce Montana gambling regulations as ordered by the mayor in June. Punch boards and slot machines were being operated and he ignored enforcement of the laws. - A police official had failed to enforce Lewistown ordinances, state and federal laws, prohibiting the sale, manufacture and possession of liquor, gambling, prostitution and other laws. - A police official took sacks of seized Canadian beer from the police station that had been ordered destroyed to his residence. - An there was much more. MORE BACKGROUND Other background on the vice and corruption in Lewistown’s 1920’s reported by George Mueller (some names again omit¬ted) in his research of few years ago. For some time, the county attorney's office was used to store seized liquor but it became so full they couldn't keep it any longer and it was placed in the city jail - some in the safe and the rest in the women's cell. This proved unsatisfactory as liquor was stolen from it by fishing it out through the window by the alley with a stick and loop. The police official then had a storeroom fixed with shelves to store the seized booze. Only he had the key to it. No record was kept of the contents of the storeroom for about eight years as the official didn't get along with the police judge, Fred Skalicky. On the evening of the day the two police officials were suspended (Feb. 3, 1930); Mayor Mueller visited the storeroom and found it full of moonshine, empty bottles, corks, stills, etc. When charges were filed, one of the police officials immediately filed a complaint against the police commission composed of Marvin Traywick, chairman, Charles L. Covell and Hiram H. Hampton and the mayor. It demanded that Traywick not be allowed to preside over the hearing. He also made "libelous statements" against Mueller which were published in the local paper. The hearing began Feb. 13, 1930 in Carpenter's Hall and ended Feb. 15, 1930 with one evening session. Women groups mobilized to attend the hearing and praised Mayor Mueller for enforcing the laws. The prosecution was done by city attorney, Ralph Anderson. Although there was proof of many robberies, only one was put into evidence. The police force had arrested a responsible citizen, Stanley Anderson, on a traffic charge, which he denied, and took from his person $386. After a lot of abuse, they finally returned to him the sum of $86. This was verified by a responsible witness, Ed Yackley. Other members of the police force used as witnesses were John L. Griffin, William Lane, Andrew C. McKnight, George Reimer and also the police judge, Fred Skalicky. George Reimer told of arresting a man for having a load of 14 cases of Sunny Brook whiskey. It was not destroyed despite an order. Instead a police official took it home in his car and offered some of it to Reimer. Probably the most damaging testimony was that of A. C. McKnight. He testified that under orders he helped a police official take 36 cases of seized beer to another one's house. He also was ordered to help take 85 quarts of Canadian whiskey to a police official's home. John Griffin testified that he was ordered by a police official to lay off the liquor traffic. Burr Hill testified to seizing a truck load of 30 cases of Canadian beer enroute to Lewistown from Coffee Creek, and of numerous other raids in which he had confiscated stills, beer, whiskey and moonshine. Dan Corcoran told of making one raid behind the police station and seized a still, beer mash and Mueller said that if any alderman ran in defense of one of the police officials and was re-elected, he would immediately resign. The two police officers were found guilty by the police commission on March 13, 1930, by a 2-1 vote and were evicted from office. One of the two officers didn't give up easily. He ran for alderman in April with Mayor Mueller the issue, but he was defeated by W. F. Foshag. In May 1930, the former police official filed suit in district court for reinstatement on the force alleging a conspiracy between Mueller, Traywick and Covell of the police commission. The court upheld Mueller and the police commission, but in November the ousted officer filed an amended complaint. It was dismissed in a final order of the court. Thus, George Mueller concluded a few years ago on his study of those early days, "the Lewistown experience in practical politics came to an end and the city began to clean itself of vice and corruption." |
| Local Identifier | SC 5.14 |
Description
| Title | Prohibition years prove to be 1 |
| Type | Text |
| Digitization Specifications | Canon MX310 300dpi |
| Digital Format | application/pdf |
| Full text of this item | Prohibition years prove to be lawless for Lewistown Dec 19,1993 George Mueller Oscar Mueller Lewistown's most lawless years were not during older days of a century ago. They were during the prohibition years of 1920-33 when the possession, making and drinking of alcoholic beverages were outlawed by the federal government. This seems clear from research done by Lewistown's George Mueller who is retired now after a career with the federal weather service. He lives in the same house on Watson Street where he was raised. His father, the late Oscar Mueller, an attorney and Lewistown's mayor during prohibition's final years, played a key role in ending the lawlessness that dominated the city in those hectic days. "Whenever laws are made, there are always those to break them" George Mueller said a few years ago in his report to the Outlook Club which he entitled, "Bootleggers and Crooked Cops." And there were plenty of lawbreakers in Lewistown at the time. "It seems like nearly everyone in Lewistown (during prohibition days) was making moonshine, buying it, or having Canadian beer and whiskey imported" George Mueller said. "This practice gave rise to the name 'Bootlegger Trail' between Great Falls and Canada" Montana Magazine of November-December 1979 reported it was fashionable then across the state to have some moonshine or home brew stashed away in hidden spots. "There was more drinking of liquor by both young and old than before the passage of the 18th (prohibition) Amendment" which seemed to be true all over the nation. "There were numerous Lewistown residents, some prominent, operating stills in secret rooms and basements" Mueller said. "Next to farming, there was no single operation that had so many entrepreneurs." Ingenious and unique places in homes were used to hide the illicit liquor such as trap doors, secret panels, chimneys, stairways and other places. The moonshine was either good or bad. Probably most was bad. "One thing was sure. It was powerful. A number of deaths were recorded from drinking moonshine." Folks had a sense of humor about the quality of their moonshine, with many tests reported. One was to put a finger in the bottle or jug for three minutes. When pulled out, if the fingernail was missing, the moonshine wasn't a good buy. |
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