May 18, 2012                
 
 
 
LibraryWarriors of the Prohibition   
 



In 1919 these lovely prohibitionists attempted to coerce
their men to sobriety.
 


Virginia was ahead of much of the country in banning sales of alcohol. In 1903, 4 towns and cities adopted bans on alcohol sales, and stringent statewide rules on the sale of alcohol closed roughly one quarter of the Virginia saloons. Virginia went completely dry on November 1, 1916 - well ahead of nationwide prohibition enacted in 1920. The new "dry law" closed numerous Virginia distilleries and beweries along with several hundred remaining saloons. Breweries and distilleries located in the state were allowed to remain in business so long as their products were only sold out of state. Several breweries managed to survive by producing bottled water and soft drinks.

Moonshiners, predominantly located in the mountain areas of Virginia, were an independent bunch who didn't like the folks in the state capitol of Richmond telling them what to do, so they ignored the laws and enjoyed the greatly increased demand for their product. With Virginia's numerous rivers flowing to the coast and the many inlets of the Chesapeake Bay, transporting and distributing product was a pretty simple matter.

        NASCAR owes its birth to Prohibition. Southern moonshining bootleggers  built and customized cars that could eaily outrun the government revenuers and law enforcement. These early stock cars were specially designed powerful engines for speed and strong suspensions to haul the liquor. These fast and furious cars could easily slide around on dirt roads through the mountains at night and outrun police, even with no headlights burning.


Virginia was the 32nd state to ratify the 21st amendment that repealed the Prohibition laws in 1933. A statewide control board was established that remains in effect to this day whereby liquor is sold only in state-run stores. Prices are strictly controlled and Virginia earns substantial tax revenue with one of the nation's highest liquor tax rates; $20.13 of every gallon of spirits goes to the state coffers in addition to the profits made on every ounce sold in these state run stores as of 2010.


It seems Virginia can tolerate your vices so long as "sin taxes" enlarge the state coffers.


References:
TaxFoundation.org
RustyCans.com

 
 
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