128 Better than no: In a ten-minute Internet search, one can find this aphorism attributed variously to Will Rogers, Ring Lardner, or the Indiana newspaper humorist Kin Hubbard (although his name is usually rendered, erroneously, as “Ken”). Less well-known candidates include “a farmer in Wisconsin,” “a man down in Florida,” “a dry Mississippian,” and “an economist.” Gennas: Nelli, 159–61.
128 Rotting flesh: Roy Haynes in NYT, 7/20/23, 15. Various stills: Carr, 182–99. Absolutely impossible: Bingay, 323.
129 Chevy Chase Club: Anthony, Florence, 293. Seized liquor: Russell, 521. Slightest intention, gin, Balfour: Longworth, 314.
129 Harding never: William Stayton, in Walnut, 33. Brass rail: Quoted in Dean, 24.
129 Liquor transferred, Ochs: Julius Ochs Adler memorandum, 11/17/21, Adolph S. Ochs Papers, New York Times Archives, courtesy of Susan Tifft. Other direction: Andrew J. Volstead to W. A. Goslen, 6/15/21, AJVP. Refilling: Anthony, Florence, xix. Guests: Samuel Hopkins Adams, in Leighton, 90; for Mellon, David Cannadine, author interview. No rumor: Longworth, 324.
130 Timely death: Leighton, 89. Open gates: F. L. Allen, Only, 108. Harding and blacks: Murray, 103rd, 28–29. Birmingham: Dean, 125. Debs: Sann, 63; Dean, 128.
130 I listen: Leuchtenberg, Perils, 89. Stuff contents: Starling, 170. Moral qualities: quoted in Dean, 67.
131 Wheeler and Harding: For instance, Wheeler to Harding, 9/17/21, and Harding to Wheeler, 9/17/21, in WGHP, F35. Shields: Isaac, 259. I need not: Harding to Wheeler, 9/17/21. Somehow: Murray, Harding, 404.
131 Lacked influence: Steuart, 13. Unacceptable: Senate Lobby 1930, 4359.
131 Upshaw: Dabney, 68–69; unidentified clipping, 7/17/32, in TPP/ASL, R14. Very dry: Odegard, 205. Ranting: Press release, New York chapter of ASL, 5/3/28, in TPP/ASL, R14. KKK and suffrage: McLean, 116. Move about (fn): unidentified clipping of 7/17/32, as above. Scottish Chiefs: Merz, 165.
132 Editor in Hillsboro: NYT, 10/21/40. Special pet: OrH, COHP, William Anderson, 126–28.
132 Church membership: NYT, 8/10/23, 13.
132 Sworn off, vaudeville: Murray, Harding, 404. Drinks with death: NYT, 7/26/23, 17. Mellon, generally: ANB. Expected to talk: Cannadine, 297. Pass a law: NYT, 6/4/11; Cannadine, 205 et seq.
133 Ice-water smile: Quoted in Beebe, 287–88. Mellon drank: Gunther, 139.
134 Old Overholt: Cannadine, 275; Downard, Dictionary, 137. Alarmed notice: Anderson to Purley A. Baker, 2/17/21, in TPP/Cherrington, R76. A thief: Koskoff, Mellons, 241.
134 Civil service: Wayne Wheeler, in Current History, 2/24, 848.
135 Norris position: Norris to Mrs. H. R. H. Williams, 6/21/30, in George Norris Papers, B2, F7. Volstead himself: Volstead to J. H. Hoffman, 1/6/22, in AJVP, B2. Hindrance: Van Riper, 287. Chaos: Van Riper, 290.
135 Harreld: Lowitt, 322. Pie counter: Lowitt, 325. Drys charged: WP, 9/18/30, 1. New Jersey, Maryland: DN, 7/30/26. Plain fact: Asbury, 174.
136 George Eliot: Heimel, 20. Semidrunk: Bergreen, 613; Tucker, 20–21.
136 Thespian: NYT, 2/26/22. Sewer: NYT, 3/15/22. Faints: NYT, 7/17/22.
136 Gonzaulles, Hervey: Mobile Register, 11/14/23, 1. Kurtzman: Lerner dissertation, 227. Wolff: Heimel, 12. Simpson: CGG, 4/1/26, 13; NYT, 3/22/26.
136 McMullin: NYT, 10/14/20; Lerner, Dry, 66–71. Young: Angle, 157. Norfolk: interoffice memoranda from agents Layton Blood, 3/9/26, 3/17/26, and D. D. Mayne, 7/5/26, reprinted in Senate Doc. 198, 69th Congress, 2nd Session, “Prohibition Enforcement: Letter from the Secretary of the Treasury,” 1/25/27.
137 Men clamor: Senate Judiciary 1926, 196. Never extortionate: Stanley Walker, 76.
137 Nation-wide scandal: Harding message to Congress, 12/8/22.
137 Bath: Frances Parkinson Keyes, “Homes of Outstanding American Women,” Better Homes and Gardens, 3/28, 101. Bodily contact: Willebrandt letter to her parents, quoted in Dorothy M. Brown, 33. Reindeer: Dorothy M. Brown, 211, 221. Tent, darlings: Dorothy M. Brown, 128.
138 Keenest: NYT, 6/12/28, 4. Studied, courses: Dorothy M. Brown, 28.
138 I have asked: Keyes, Better Homes and Gardens, 3/28, 12.
139 Neither paints: AC, 6/23/25.
139 Girly: LD, 3/31/23, 42. Wide, earnest: NYT, 6/12/28, 4. Invariable: Keyes, Better Homes and Gardens, 3/28, 100.
139 Laura, Cochran, Mayer: Dorothy M. Brown, 211, 219, 229. Brandeis parties: Willebrandt, “Smart Washington After Six O’Clock,” Ladies’ Home Journal, 7/29, 10. Sirica: Dorothy M. Brown, 219. Hoover: Alpheus Mason, Stone, 150.
140 Social drinker: Willebrandt, 78. Prostitutes: Dorothy M. Brown, 36. Told Stone (fn): Willebrandt to Stone, 1/31/51, quoted in Alpheus Mason, Stone, 150. Johnson sponsored: Dorothy M. Brown, 47.
140 Sheep’s clothing, regime: Ibid., 53. Can’t catch: NYT, 1/25/25.
141 I refuse: Willebrandt, 121.
141 Insobriety in Vermont, flasks in Indiana: Dabney, 174. Indiana vested: Leonard Moore, 150. Mississippi: Wickersham, vol. 4, 636. Sterno: Merz, 202.
141 Dear Jerry: Leonard Moore, 148. 60 percent: Clark, Deliver, 165.
141 Sleeping sickness: Dorothy M. Brown, 56. Only eighteen: Rose, American, 47. Any state: Cherrington, ASL Yearbook 1920, 5514.
142 Rather dictate: ANB.
142 Pinchot pledged: Lender, Dictionary, 398. Honest-to-God: NYT, 3/9/23. Gave credence: Burton Hersh, 228.
143 McConnell scandal: NYT, 10/19/21, 40; 3/25/22, 18; 5/1/23, 12; Asbury, 178. Politics first, expected: NYT, 10/15/23.
143 Features so fine: O’Toole, 81–82. Raids in eighteen, reminding: NYT, 3/4/23. Unbought: NYT, 3/28/23.
143 Five million dollars sufficient: Wheeler to Sheppard, 4/3/20, reprinted in CR, 4/14/20, 5655. Columbia payroll: NYT, 5/9/20. Haynes boasting: Merz, 123–24.
143 Initial staff: Lerner, dissertation, 139–40. Entire fleet: Canney.
144 Pep talks: See Willebrandt to Tuttle, 6/20/22, in AJTP, B24, Topical Office Files, 1921–1925, Prohibition Department. Threatened: NYT, 10/23/24, 1. Tax, tariff: NYT, 8/14/24, 1. Puny, toothless: Dorothy M. Brown, 56.
144 Pinchot turned: Time, 7/4/26; Frazier, 16. Thanked Mrs. George: McGeary, 304–5.
Chapter Ten: leaks in the Dotted line
146 Sam paid: OrH, Saidye Bronfman: SMC, Series 1A, Box 10. Venison: Marrus, 66–67.
147 Hoped to find: Ibid. Purchased in Montreal: Peter C. Newman, 81. I could: Marrus, 66–67.
147 Coarseness: Faith, 15. A horse: Bronfman interview, Philip Siekman and Ann Tyler, 7/6/66, notes in SMC, B1.
147 Bronfman family history, generally: Faith, Marrus, Robertson. Terence Robertson’s book, commissioned by the Bronfman family, was based largely on lengthy interviews the Canadian journalist conducted with Sam Bronfman in the late 1960s. Displeased with the resulting work, the family decided not to publish it. Robertson, who later committed suicide, accused the Bronfman family of suppressing the book because, he told friends, “I found out things they don’t want me to write about.” (See Toronto Star, 11/22/77, B2.) The absence of particularly shocking material suggests that Robertson’s charges were unfounded, but the accuracy of what he wrote, based on Sam Bronfman’s own recollections, has never been successfully challenged. Copies of the manuscript in the Hagley Museum and at the University of Western Ontario remain the primary source material for most biographical work on Bronfman’s early career.
147 Prescriptions: Robertson, 48. Shifts: Gray, Booze, 132.
148 Skirts: Robertson, 25.
148 Jews in Canadian business: Gray, Roar, 234–42.
148 Manitoba police, Manitoba cleric: Gray, Roar, 248. Rights enjoyed: Peter C. Newman, 133.
149 Sipping near beer: Ontario, 26.
149 Bronfmans imported: Gray, Booze, 164. Mixed it: Winnipeg Tribune, 10/27/22. Caramel: Peter C. Newman, 90. Prune, creosote: NYT, 7/26/23. Before the end: Saskatchewan Liquor Commission, R. J. Keyes to R. E. A. Leach, 11/30/20, Saskatchewan Archives, R1064, FA41.
149 Labels: RCCE, Bronfman testimony, 23,040–58. Glen Levitt: Gray, Booze, 136. Well, childre
n (fn): Bellow, 160.
150 Sam and Harry agreed: RCCE, Bronfman testimony, 23,061–23,182. Controlled by me: Winnipeg Tribune, Harry Bronfman interview conducted 10/15/22, quoted in Gray, Booze, 141. Family’s profits: Winnipeg Tribune, 10/27/22.
150 Boozoriums adorned: Peter C. Newman, 95–96. Vehicles: Ibid., 94; Robertson, 70. Thick chains: Gray, Booze, 157. Used receipts: Fahey, 49.
150 Only in Dominion: Edgar Bronfman, “Name Your Brand—Anywhere in the World,” Columbia Journal of World Business, 11–12/69. Never clear: Edgar Bronfman, Good, 25.
151 Matoff killed: Marrus, 103. North Dakota police: Prince, 33. Representatives: Robertson, 77–80. Advertising: Peter C. Newman, 92–93. Lansky: Lacey, 461.
151 Tuttle, generally: Veselenak; AJTP. Jumped threefold: Fine, 59. Second August: Hiram A. Walker & Sons v. Richard I. Lawson and John A. Grogan, AJTP, B18, Opinions, 1921–1923. Grand gesture: James C. Young in NYT, 5/22/27, XX, 5. Cuba: Marrus, 134.
152 Gundy: New York Herald, 8/15/21, 1.
152 Heavily laden: New York Herald, 8/15/21, 15. Not a single boat: DN, 8/12/21, 1.
153 Carnduff: Winnipeg Tribune, 10/11/22. A tidy bit: Peter C. Newman, 93.
153 Dotted line: NYT, 7/29/23, XX, 1. In the West: NYT, 8/3/23, 17. Me work?: OrH, Federal Writers’ Project, Library of Congress: subject identified only as “Callano.”
154 Chauffeur: Saidye Bronfman, 3. Cadillac: Robertson, 124. You were somebody: quoted in Marrus, 165. Interest: Bronfman interview, Philip Siekman and Ann Tyler, 7/25/66, notes in SMC, B10.
154 Later acknowledge: Marrus, 132. Vats: Gray, Booze, 134.
154 Saidye on Sam: Saidye Bronfman, 1–31.
155 Greenbrier: Marrus, 749. Marrus and other sources spell it “Greenbriar.” There were distilleries in Kentucky with both spellings, but the one spelled with an e was connected to the Wathen family, with whom Bronfman had a lengthy professional relationship beginning in the 1920s.
155 Hour of devotion: Robertson, 214–33. Since 1920: Peter C. Newman, 117–18. Highland: Edgar Bronfman, 25.
155 DCL: Daiches, 114–115; Weir, “Alcohol,” 1294. Schedule: Weir, History, 274.
156 Savoy: Robertson, 313–28. No special: Allan Bronfman interview, Philip Siekman and Ann Tyler, 8/4/66, notes in SMC, B10.
156 El Greco, No man: Lockhart, 135–37.
156 Report: Ross/Herd memorandum of 11/10/26, Distillers Corporation Papers.
157 Market dropped: Weir, “Alcohol,” 1295. Dividend: Fortune, 11/33, 45.
157 Goyim (fn): Edgar Bronfman, 25–26. Prime minister, queen: Saidye Bronfman, 114–15. One man: Bronfman interview, Philip Siekman and Ann Tyler, 7/27/66, notes in SMC, B10.
158 Abe: Robertson, 224–31. Agent in Havana: RCCE, Barney Aaron testimony, 22,036–72. Prevent their name: quoted in Dubro and Rowland, 211–12.
158 Burnt them: RCCE, Abe Bronfman testimony, 23,101–5. Lima: RCCE, Barney Aaron testimony, 22,03 6–72.
158 No proof: Bronfman interview, Philip Siekman and Ann Tyler, 7/27/66, notes in SMC, B10.
Chapter Eleven: The Great Whiskey Way
159 Ellerslie: SFC, 1/17/20, 6; http://www.shipbuildinghistory.com.
159 Parade: Asbury, 248. Waterfront: Times (London), 3/3/20; New York Herald, 8/22/21, 1, 5; photographs in Lythgoe (Flat Hammock edition).
160 Hill & Hill, trade: Van de Water, 37, 2. Soared: Ross Wilson, 298–99. Peak: Canney, 4. Spreading: NYT, 8/26/21.
160 Loaded after: New York Herald, 8/22/21, 1, 5. Supervening: Lythgoe, Flat Hammock edition, 37. Generator, wharf, harbor, statues: Craton and Saunders, 240, 237.
160 Lucerne: Lythgoe, 52, 62, 86; Andrews, 123; WP, 8/24/21.
161 Never sailed: Hugh Bell, quoted in Craton and Saunders, 238. Bankers ready: Bell, 189; NYT, 7/23/23, 15; New York Herald, 8/22/21, 1, 5. Symonette earned: Craton and Saunders, 240.
161 Chief smuggler: Latham to Secretary of State, 8/26/22, State Department Archives, F811.114. Real McCoy: According to the Dictionary of American Regional English, the term goes back as far as 1890; lexicographer Eric Partridge traces it to Scotland in the 1880s. Estimates: Kobler, 256–57.
162 Slit-eyed: Van de Water, 89–91. Orgy: Craton and Saunders, 241. Bootleggers’ Ball: WP, 8/24/21, 9.
162 Gertrude Lythgoe: Most sources from the 1920s, including the WSJ, referred to her as Grace Lythgoe; her own book, however, bears the name Gertrude. Not responsible: WSJ, 9/18/23.
162 Obtain British: NYT, 7/23/23, 15; Spinelli, 3.
162 Arethusa, Tomoka: Willoughby, 18; Southern Boating, 2/98, 81–82, 99. Each time: Van de Water, 91.
163 Dispensing refreshment: quoted in Everett S. Allen, 30. Near Miami: Andrews, 122.
163 Rendezvous: Moray, 25. Timber trade, comparison shopping: Moray, 1, 214. Supermarket: Everett S. Allen, 43. Johnson: Keller, 208–9.
164 $1 tariff, all partook: Moray, 95, 242.
164 Taken for a ride: Stanley Walker, 261. Free State: Maryland state archives website, http://www.mdarchives.state.md.us/. Scofflaw: Oxford English Dictionary; Boston Herald, 10/27/2002; American Issue, 2/30.
165 Rum variants: Dictionary of American Regional English.
165 Anything with: Van de Water, 193–94.
165 Get bearings: Willoughby, 105–6. Distress call: Canney, 10.
165 Dark patch, you knew: Everett S. Allen, 72, 137. Repair vessels: Dorothy M. Brown, 63. Sardines: St. John Telegraph-Journal, 6/25/25, 3, quoted in Grant, 12.
166 Halfway, Gun: Laster, 12/80. Shuttered houses, salt dissolved: Everett S. Allen, 151. Hams: Southern Boating, 2/98, 99.
166 Hundreds of such: NYT, 12/14/24, XX, I. Unprecedented: Canney, 6. Loaded deep: NYT, 12/14/24, XX, i. Gulf Coast: Asbury, 241. A city: Everett S. Allen, 43.
167 McCoy claim: Kobler, 256–57. Runyon: “The Lily of st. Pierre,” 49–67.
167 St. Pierre history: Andrieux, Prohibition, 16–17. Wildlife: Hansen, 1–10.
167 Bahamian government raised: Spinelli, 62–63. July 8: Andrieux, Prohibition, 21–25. Pungent smell: Peter C. Newman, 126. Vessels, stockrooms, customs income: Andrieux, Prohibition, 21–25, 109. Six million: Marrus, 139–40.
168 Le temps de: Marrus, 139–40. Hotel Robert, Villa Cutty: LeFrancois, 42 et seq.
168 Norwegian: LeFrancois, 37. Isle of: Sann, 94.
169 Get legal stamps: Andrieux, Prohibition, 38–39. Northern Export: LeFrancois, 42 et seq. Bronfman inventory: Marrus, 141. Mazel Tov: Robinson, iii.
169 Steam straight, verbal codes, lead-covered: Andrieux, Prohibition, 33–39. Numerical code: LeFrancois, 42 et seq. Bronfman radio: Marrus, 141.
169 His duties: Andrieux, Prohibition, 55.
170 Doomed: NYT, 7/24/23, 23. Parade of ships: Spinelli, 63–64.
170 Conflated brands: Ross Wilson, 302. Lansky: Lacey, 54. Squeezing: Eisenberg et al., 107–8.
170 Pinching domestic: Lockhart, 131–32. Doubling taxes: Spinelli, xiv.
170 Dewarisms: confirmed to author by Jacqui Seargeant, Global Archive Manager, John Dewar & Son Ltd. Virus: Weir, “Alcohol.” Cleverly contrived: Spinelli, 4.
171 Force of arms: Evening Standard, 12/29/19, 4.
171 Inflicted hardship: British National Archives, FO 371/A4379/4588. Bryan threatened: NYT, 4/25/21; Spinelli, 4. Widely reported: Spinelli, 4; for instance, The Times (London), 4/26/21.
172 Doing our best: Nassau Tribune, 11/4/22, enclosed in Lorin A. Lathrop to Secretary of State, 11/9/22, in State Department Archives, F811. BWI/117.
172 Accusing State: Willebrandt to Harry Daugherty, 10/3/22, quoted in Spinelli, 19.
172 Puritanism: Spinelli, 46.
172 Flatly refused: R. Sperling to governor of Bahamas, 6/28/21, British National Archives, FO 371/A5728; H. J. Read to Under Secretary of State, 8/10/21, British National Archives, FO 371/A5891; Spinelli, 5. Affront: Churchill in Collier’s, 8/13/32, 21.
173 We would not: Weir, History, 274.
Chapter Twelve: Blessed Be the Fruit of the Vine
174 Stoll: Introduction by F. T. Bi
oletti, in Stoll; Pinney, 328; Wines & Vines, 11/47, 13.
174 Vineyard gone: Charles L. Sullivan, Companion, 349. How Prohibition: Although the brochure is unsigned, it would have been Stoll’s responsibility to produce it, and the prose is unmistakably his. Bo Simons, director of the Sonoma County Wine Library, concurs in this judgment.
175 Ninety thousand: Heintz, Alicante, 45. Seventy-five million dollars: St. Helena Star, 8/29/19.
Last Call: The Rise and Fall of Prohibition Page 56