The Indianapolis times. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1922-1965, 1931-11-20
WETTEST SPOT
ONLY SO MILES
FROM CAPITAL
MarylanderS Resent Agents
Raid on Postmaster Who
Made Good Liquor

Within sixty miles Of the national
capital is a little known section Of the
United states that largely has been left
behind in the march Of the machine age.
This section, the first part of Maryland
TO be settled, adheres TO such quaint
old customs as extending unquestioning
hospitality. and aging whisky two years
before selling IL. The whole region is
in state OF passive and gentIemanly
resistance against the national prohibit
ton laws.
BIZ BHttri Press
LEONARDTOWN, Md, Nov. 49,
Descendants Of those free souls who
came over to this tobacco country
with the Calverts are showing such
a mass defiance of law they be-
heve unjust that their federal post
office has been raided by dry agents
This is the country described by
Prohibition Director Amos w. w
Woodcock as the wettest region
in the United States
Only this week the postoflce at
Jarboesville, a little hamlet near
here, was raided by the revenue
men," the postmaster arrested and
a large quantity of liquor seized.
Made Good Liquor"
Yet these friendly, independent
farmers and villagers do not look
upon themselves wet" The term
to them connotes drunkenness and
disorder, and they claim to be
neither drunk nor disorderly
Anton Lang, the Jarboesville post
master, made good liquOr" THAT is
sufficient argument against the
raid.
1t is difficult for one coming from
the national capital less than sixty
miles away to adjust himself to the
century Of difference between Wash
tngton and st. Mary's county.
Here life is mechanical to a min
imum, and the old Calvert traditions
of civil and personal liberty still are
very much alive Such traditions
include pride of craft, and pride of
craft impels the southern Mary
landers to age his rye whisky two
years.
Refuse Agents Quarters
Southern Marylanders don't argue
about prohibition-they ignore it,
with a certain polite contempt. 1t is
to them a bad law and they resist
it, passively, in gentlemanly fashion
as BELTS a 300-year-old tradition,
but enthusiastically and effectively.
prohibition agent, be he ever
so gentlemanly, never is and never
can be accepted.
When WoOdcock a year ago
planned to establish quarters in
Leonardtown with ten agents and a
clerk, no one would rent them office
space and the project was aban-
doned.
Later when the chief of the st. !
Mary's agents brought his family
and vanload of furniture to Leon
ardtown, not one of the towns 600
citizens would rent him a house,
and he had to store his furniture.
1t was a long time before he found
living quarters.
StlllS Still DlStllI
To be seen talking to revenue
man is to court social octracism.
Woodcock, who comes himself
from very wet section across the
bay has made a determined effort
to dry up this first-settled part of
Maryland, and his agents have sue
ceeded in complicating life bit for
the natives.
But they haven't cut off the flow
of guaranteed rye. Returning to
the twentieth century on the bus
the only means of public trans
portation-one sees passenger after
passenger climb aboard with heavy
suitcases carried .gingerly and softly
clinking or gurgling.
Those suitcases don't contain gin
ger ale.