jul 1, 1919 - Prohibition hits Milwaukee

Description:

Prohibition went into effect on July 1, 1919, and the drought was rendered permanent (or so its supporters thought) by the Eighteenth Amendment and then the Volstead Act. In the last days of June 1919, saloons, private clubs, and liquor stores sold off the last of their stock, and nearly every adult male went home, reported the Sentinel, "with a mysterious paper-covered package under his arm."

On the night of June 30, Prohibition Eve, police arrested thirty revelers for public drunkenness, and a solitary horn-player closed the Schlitz Palm Garden with a soulful rendition of Taps. The Milwaukee Journal compared the scene downtown to New Year's Eve.

Prohibition's local impact was, first of all, economic. In the national consciousness, Milwaukee without beer was as unthinkable as Detroit without cars. Brewing had never been quite that central to the city's fortunes, but it was definitely big business. In 1918 Milwaukee was the home of 9 breweries with 6,540 employees and an annual output of $35 million - fourth in value behind machinery, packed meats, and leather. Two years later, brewing had vanished from the list of leading industries, and the damage to ancillary businesses was just as serious. Cooper shops, box companies, and the makers of everything from glassware to bar fixtures found themselves in trouble, and even local government felt the pinch. Milwaukee had 1,980 saloons in 1918 (one for every 230 men, women, and children), and their demise meant the loss of nearly $500,000 in annual license fees. Although Milwaukee's breweries did their best to stay open, Prohibition forced them to make some bizarre adjustments. Nearly all produced near beer (less than 0.5% alcohol), malt tonic (a favorite with nursing mothers) and malt syrup (a must for homebrewers). Blatz and Miller bottled soda water. Schlitz, owned by the Uihlein family, pronounced ee-line, produced "Eline" candy bars in a new plant on Port Washington Road. Gettelman manufactured snowplows. Pabst turned out processed cheese, using milk from the family's prize-winning Holstein herd.

Consumers fared better than their old suppliers. Prohibition was selectively enforced by the police and widely ignored by the general public. Milwaukee's "soft drink parlors" dispensed a great deal more than strawberry phosphates.

Roadhouses just outside the city limits attracted droves of drinkers. Hardware stores did a brisk business in copper boilers and metal tubing, and jewelers learned to stock a large assortment of hip flasks. If someone wnated to find a drink, a drink could always be found.

Added to timeline:

Date:

Images: