Omaha daily bee., 1918-09-15
Landmark Of wide Open" Days, When
City of Omaha Was Frontier Town, Raced
By JOHN H. KEARNES.

NoS = hAohaAhSht W "S viz SAN>A
of things, when Omaha was a from
tier city and the commercial capital
of the wild and woolly west" is be-
ing RACED to the ground.
One by one the buildings that
housed the old Willow Springs distil-
lery, one OF the first industries OF
Omaha. and one of its oldest, are be-
ing torn down. They have served
their day--whether OF usefulness or
not. is a moot question-and~ have
c"'':nbied before the new sentiment OF
a cw age. which has prescribed the
OF ardent waters as Beverage,
& even medicine, and which has
(2",ared Old John Barleycorn per-
soNa non grata.
That Old fellow. hale and we'll met,
w,iose seductive geniality lured many
men into unsteady paths, is now a
social pariah and all the things that
catered to his bacchanalian reign in
the heyday of Omaha's and Nebras-
ka's lusty and picturesque youth are
rapidly going into the discard.
Bone Dry" Came Here.
Prohibition is here and "bone dry
state is in the way of becoming a
very real and accomplished fact. With
the passage of state laws, and
the enforcement of federal edicts, King
Alcohol is tottering on an exceeding
~ wcbbly throne and before many
years he will have become memory
"a dream of the past
Yielding to the inevitable, this in
dustry, which at one time was the
third largest .distillery in the United
States. and had an annual production
of 2.4l2,784 gallons of spirits, alcohol
and whisky, and which in its day
had consumed in the making of ardent
spirits countless millions of Nebraska
corn, has given up the ghost.
During its existence it has paid in
to the Golfers of Uncle Sam, in the
-. way of revenue tax the enormous
fortune of 100000.
Recently the real estate Of the VIII
low Springs distillery, which was
owned by the Standard Distilling
company, an eastern corporation, was
sold at auction at great sacrifice.
The real estate consists of 10 acres
of land lying on the Burlington
tracks and located within half mile
of the freight depots of the city.
V The Willow Springs distillery prac-
tically held the field alone for many
years as the only enterprise Of the
kind in the state Over two decades
ago there was another distillery at
Nebraska City, but this was aban-
doned.
The location of the institution in
Omaha in 1866 was considered a great
industrial victory and distinct
achievement over the hated rival,
Council Bluffs. Previous to that year
the distillery was located in the city
across the river and was brought here
by James G. and Samuel Megeath. In
1872 it was incorporated with Peter
E. Tier, Joseph D. Tier and Marsh
Kennard, as the principal owners.
Under these men the distillery
made a great growth and its product
found a ready market in the territory
extending from the Missouri river to
the Pacific coast.
Drys Fight Hard.
The distiilery was a risky business
venture in this state from the first
Nebraska did not always favor per
sonal liberty" and many fierce bat
ties were fought over the prohibition
question.
One of the first Jaws passed by
the territorial legislature was meas
ure placed on the statutes in 1855
forever" prohibiting the manufacture
and'sale of liquor within the confines
Of The state The people, however, did
not take the law seriously and it was
more tonored in the breach than in
t>e observance. There were blind
tiycrs' and "bootleggers" then, but
t',c@ did not take the risks they do
today and the crime was winked at
by the law and the law itself took an
occasional nip on the sly.
In 1879 another prohibition bill was
passed which also died because of legal
aneinia and lack of observance. In
the meantime the prohibition ques-
ton became one OF the burning polit-
ical issues OF the state and the Good
Templar movement was started.
Here in Omaha there was a militant
Personal Rights league.
Known All Over West.
Willow Springs" whisky was the
barrel beverage of all the saloons on
the frontier In the days when the
buffalo still roamed in monster herds
on the western plains. 1t was the
drink of the thirsty plainsman, cow
boy, sheep herder, miner, railroad
laborer and Of the aristocracy OF the
old west when the saloon man and his
bartenders were among the social
elite OF town and camp.
II gave eclat to the baechanalian
atmosphere Of the old-time hurdy
gurdys and honk-a-tonks that were
the amusement places Of the wild,
out-of-the-way mining towns OF the
olden, golden days, the days Mckee
Rankin pictured in his play Of The
Silver King"
Here in Omaha il was the hos
pitable offering OF proud and con-
viviai community. II was q libation
that was praised by the Grand Duke
Alexis of Russia. who was here on
his memorable buffalo hunting trip
in 1879. With its bouquet suggestive
OF the broad and breezy plains, flower
hedeeked and uusooiied exrsnt nv the
hoof of bison or antelope, or by the
trail OF the untamed redskin. the dis
titled product OF Willow Springs was
used 10 pledge the health of the
royal visitor by General Sherman,
author OF the truthful saying: war
is hell" and BY two other brilliant
soldiers who were identified with
Omaha's early history. Generals Ord
and Palmer.