T
he passage of the 18th
Amendment to the U.S.
Constitution outlawed the
manufacture and sale of liquor
nationwide, but statewide prohibition
was already in effect in Iowa and
Nebraska. In 1916, Iowa went dry
and Nebraska voters adopted a
prohibitory amendment to their state
constitution that took effect in May
1917. Enterprising individuals soon
learned how to profit by flouting the
law. The Dakota County Herald on
May 24, 1917, reprinted an article from
the Sioux City (Iowa) Journal reporting
the bootlegging then rampant in that
vicinity:
"When Iowa went dry January
1, 1916, bootlegging increased in
Sioux City. For the first few months
everybody who had a taste for this
profitable business indulged himself.
But when the police raiding squad
started its work the ranks soon were
thinned. The man with the clever
idea survived, and his unimaginative
neighbor was run out of business."
One unusual method for transporting
illegal liquor involved horse collars. "A
short time ago a number of metal horse
collars were shipped into Dakota City.
The collars are used only for heavy
draft work and in the artillery branch
of the army. The great numbers of this
kind of harness where there was no
apparent need aroused the suspicions of
the authorities.
"An investigation was made and it
was found that each collar contained
several gallons of whisky. Every horse
in Dakota county is now eyed with
suspicion."
The newspaper reported many
other novel hiding places for booze,
including pianos, ash barrels in back
yards, and dry goods boxes with false
bottoms. "One day one of the raiding
squad noticed that the gas jet in a house
that they were visiting was damp. He
opened the jet and applied a match. A
fine stream of ice cold beer squirted
into the air. A tank was found in the
attic which was connected with a gas
pipe to the sitting room on the first
floor."
Bootlegging continued even after
the 18th Amendment, banning liquor
nationwide, was ratified in January
1919. Nebraska was not one of
the 36 states (out of a total of 48
then) that later voted to ratify the
21st Amendment to repeal national
prohibition, but in November 1934
Nebraskans did vote to repeal the
state's constitutional prohibition by a
60- to 40-percent margin. ■
May 1, 1917, the first day of statewide prohibition in Nebraska.
Fred Bargemann's Saloon, Bancroft, before prohibition.
A Brief History
Bootlegger's Carnival
10 NEBRASKAland • APRIL 2015
By Patricia C. Gaster,
Nebraska State Historical Society
NSHS
RG0813-40
NSHS
RG3334-41
