Evening star., 1936-09-06
DC. Illicit Liquor Business
TIriues IN Secluded Places
Volume of Sale, While Small Compared
to Stores, Is Brisk Enough to
Cause Keen Rivalry.

A thriving business in illicit liquor,
mostly at 10 cents drink, Is being
done daily in Washington.
While the sale of illicit liquor is
relatively small compared with the
amount disposed of through legal
liquor stores and mixed-drink dis
pensaries, it nevertheless amounts to
enough to keep considerable number
of bootleggers interested and for the
top men" to make profits worth fight
ing for.
The outbreak of warfare, which po-
lice claim was over territory to be
served by rival groups, recently re-
suited in the shooting of Joseph E.
O'Brien, who Is still in Providence
Hospital with both legs broken by
bullets fired from a passing car and
the indictment Of half q dozen men
on charges of assault with intent to
commit murder.
The profit, which police have no
means of measuring accurately. Is
evidently sufficient to induce men to
run the risk of arrest by police or
Federal agents and even to warrant
installation of smoke screens on cars
bringing in the contraband, an Of
fense more serious In the eyes of the
law than mere possession or trans
portation of illegal liquor.
Sales Made Under Cover.
One difficulty in combating the
sale of illicit liquor is the nature of
the places in which 1t Is sold, usually
the back rooms of private homes.
Little, if any, is sold through regularly
licensed bars or stores, according to
Lieut.. George Little, head of the
police liquor squad.
With a pine board for a bar, a few
old bottles from the nearest trash can
and few chairs, almost any one with
or without experience can set up one
Of the illegal dispensaries. If the
place is raided, the investment lost
usually could be covered by a few
dollars. If escape by back door or
the cellar window is not cut of, the
proprietor can start up again with
only slight inconvenience, perhaps in
the same neighborhood. The equip
ment the police find Is usually not
even worth confiscating or breaking
up.
A 10-cents-a-drink liquor business
may not sound very profitable, but 1t
all depends on the turnover. The
liquor, mostly of the corn" variety,
WHOLESALERS at about $3.50 q gallon.
At 10 cents a drink it brings $3.50,
or more than 800 per cent.
mot bad" unused Lieut.. Little, as
he laid down his pencil and paper.
Brought in From Stills.
Most of the liquor is brought into
Washington from nearby stills In
Maryland and Virginia in passenger
cars. Stills are rare in the city. and
impractical when wide open spaces
where the mash odor won't give the
place away are so accessible, Lieut..
Little explained.
Usually the wholesaler is not salts
fled with selling 100 per cent "corn,"
but dilutes it with alcohol and water,
leaving only enough corn" to give
it flavor. A little coloring to give 1t
"age," some glyceryn to add bead"
and there you are.
Police and Federal agents of the
Alcohol Tax Unit cooperate on some
of the raids and both agencies work
independently on occasions, but most
of the offenders are brought into court
by police. OF the cases reaching court
during the last eight months, police
presented the evidence in 48, Federal
agents in 6, while both agencies CO.
operated in IT, court records show.
The majority Of the police cases
were made in the second precinct,
with the aid Of two star agents. They
became so adept at buying the "high