Milford chronicle., 1962-08-10
OkIuhomuns Are
Buying Bourbon
BY JIM MONROE


Oklahoma City (AP)-No e
beating around the bush any more,
Oklahomans have got a bourbon
sippin habit
Vodka has following too i n this
once dry strong hold, and a scotch
on the rocks won't go begging. But
bourbon's the big drink u 8
like it was in 'the good old dry
days"
Last year Oklahomans d ran k
about $50 million worth of liquor
and we'll over half of it was bour-
bon.
Liquor spokesmen say there's no
hangover from the prohibition era
and Oklahoma won't try to hide it's
whiskey counter again. But dry
leaders want another crack at sob
ering up the state.
It's First Half Century
Saloons were padlocked in 1907
when Oklahoma was admitted to
the union, and for So years the sale
of liquor was prohibited.
Then the people decided h e / T
faces we're too straight. Repeal was
voted and the swizzle stick started
Oklahoma. society spinning on th G
very day that liquor became legal,
Sept. 1. 1859.
Package stores blossomed o u t
every few blocks, with 500 opened
the first year.
Private clubs flicked on their 10
watt bulbs and started welcoming
the public nightly.
Stores of all variety began doing
a brisk business in bar supplies.
Rules were relaxed and doors
suddenly stayed open for t h e
social hours"
Bootleggers began looking for
new jobs. and police quit looking
for bootleggers.
What Is Public?
Although intoxicants were sud-
denly sold in the shopping centers,
Oklahoma still was little confus-
ed over where and how to drink.
The constitutional amendment
adopted in April 1859 prohibited
drinking in public-and the legis-
lature couldn't seem to draw a line
between public and private places.
Were going to have to go into
the bathroom and lock the door to
take a drink" one irate lawmaker
complained.
1T turned out he was wrong.
Drinking clubs found way to be
private without keeping the public
out, and there are some 200 of them
operating i'm Oklahom0.
"They are easily accessible"
comedies state Liquor Director Roy
p. Parham. But most of them are
trying to bring themselves under
the law.
They're about as private a 8
municipal washrooms," protested j.
Ross McLennan, leader of the dry
forces.
The clubs sell memberships for
as little as SIS or $40 a year, and
they pass out guest cards by the
Thousand. Almost every big hotel
or motel has one or more private
clubs, and the club doors are open
to overnight guests.
A club cannot legally sell liquor
but 1t can sell setups and service.
Members keep bottles at the club.
The club manager may have as
many as 20 guests" a night drink
ing up his booze supply. When
this happens, he is inclined o
charge little more for the ice and
mix.
Drink More Nowl
There is no way of telling how
much more liquor Oklahomans are
drinking now than they did before
repeal, because bootleggers didn't
report their sales. Some doubt that
consumption has increased at all
Parham points out that in the
final years of prohibition Oklahoma
had from $50 to 500 bootleggers-
almost as many whisky merchants
as are doing business legally in
the State now.
Sales tax records reflect a slight
Increase in drinking last year over
1860, the first full year of legal
liquor. They place the volume o f
business in 1860 at s51. $40, $50 COM
pared with s52.912,200 in 1861.
Last year 454,421 cases of bour-
bon were shipped into Oklahoma,
plus another $4,000 cases of blends.
The vodka business amounted o
97,272 cases, scotch 5000, gin 39,-
222 and Canadian 33,901. The total
was 79S,194.
Were still not educated drink
ers," said a whisky wholesaler.
I'VE go for the mostly plain drinks
and we don't know what wines to