On this day in Arlington history, November 24, 1921, the Washington Times reports that a raid by prohibition officers has spurred threats from Arlington’s “back country” men.
“Clarendon, VA, Arlington County was at fever heat today following a raid by prohibition officers that netted 200,000 gallons of moonshine liquor and 14 prisoners. The raid was the biggest since the enactment of the prohibition laws, revenue agents in Washington say.
Several men who are known to have been affiliated with the illicit liquor-makers, but who escaped capture, declared that further activities were expected from the Federal officers. They declared openly that any further raids would be met with armed resistance.
Making moonshine (corn whiskey) was easy to do, although doing it safely and making a palatable drink took experience and some talent. Nonetheless, the number of alcohol poisonings rose dramatically during Prohibition. Small, close-knit communities, however, would know who made good ‘shine before Prohibition, and could turn to them during the dry years.
Generally, even in areas where laws were enforced, some individuals who quietly made small quantities for themselves or for a small group of family and friends usually had little to fear from law enforcement. With limited resources, federal authorities and local police tended to focus on those who were making larger commercial amounts, which was the case with this incident. Smaller stills for family use commonly ran from one to ten gallons, not the four stills making 100 gallons in this news item.
Law enforcement could be used to carry out a personal grudge or if the moonshiners became too blatant about what they were doing. In Virginia African American moonshiners were more prone to being raided than their white competition. Even in these cases, police tended not to notice small operations quietly practicing their craft for a small number of individuals.
