Chapter 16 Wyoming’s Second Constitutional Convention and the Repeal of Prohibition
By Phil Roberts, University of Wyoming
A version of this article appeared as: ”Wyoming’s Second Constitutional Convention and the Repeal of Prohibition,” Annals of Wyoming 83 (Autumn 2011), pp. 10-31
On May 25, 1933, 64 men and one woman representing all 23 Wyoming counties met briefly in the Casper City Hall. All had been selected two weeks earlier in county conventions to attend the second constitutional convention in state history. The agenda, prepared by the Secretary of State earlier in the month, had the usual formalities, but on it was just one substantive item—ratification of the 21st Amendment repealing national prohibition. The welcoming address was made by a councilman–not by the mayor of Casper because the mayor (along with the chief of police and the county sheriff) was under indictment for violating the very law that the convention was convened to change–Prohibition of liquor.
Unlike the first constitutional convention, held for 25 days in September 1889, when no women served as delegates, there was a woman delegate in 1933–but just one woman. The men at that first convention drafted the lengthy state Constitution for what would become the 44th state the following July 10. The Constitution, much amended since, essentially remains the same document passed by delegates and ratified by voters that following November in the year before statehood.[1]
The first constitutional convention has been the subject of several books, articles and master’s theses.[2] Little attention has been paid, however, to the very brief second Constitutional convention–the only other ever held in state history. Certainly, the convention was more limited to one item of business–a motion to ratify an amendment to the Constitution of the United States. This is the account of that convention, the events leading up to it and its aftermath.
With one exception, every Wyoming ratification of an amendment to the United States Constitution has come through the action of the Wyoming state legislature. In May 1933, a constitutional convention was convened to determine whether or not to ratify the 21st Amendment that would repeal Prohibition, the 18th Amendment to the U. S. Constitution.
By 1930, Prohibition seemed less popular among activists in both political parties. Most Wyoming Democrats supported the unsuccessful Presidential campaign of Al Smith, the 1928 party standard bearer who campaigned against Prohibition. Smith lost badly nationally as well as in Wyoming, but by the end of the campaign, few Democrats continued to oppose repeal.[3] During the campaign, even some Republicans who backed Herbert Hoover for President no longer supported retention of the 18th Amendment.[4]
Both parties debated repeal during their state conventions in 1930. The Democratic gubernatorial candidate, Cheyenne businessman Leslie A. Miller, noted that “while he has always been both personally and politically dry, he believes majority rule to be the fundamental principle of American government and would welcome any legal and properly conducted referendum on the question.”[5] Prohibition became an issue in the Republican primary. Former Attorney General W. L. Walls sought the nomination “on a so-called ‘wet’ plank” and based his campaign mainly on opposition to the 18th Amendment.[6] His three opponents included his former boss Robert Carey, governor at the time Prohibition was adopted who had appointed Walls as his Attorney General. Carey, even though he likely had private concerns about it, still remained quietly supportive of the 18th Amendment.[7]
As the primary election approached, observers noted how, despite Walls’ efforts, Prohibition had not become a major issue. The Wyoming Eagle blamed Republican editors who were almost universally dry and, therefore, “they have hardly let the name of Walls enter their valuable columns,” Walls being the only avowedly “wet” Republican candidate for the U. S. Senate.[8]
The Republicans running for various offices who were known to be sympathetic to repeal, Walls, and William H. Edelman, the incumbent State Treasurer who was running for governor, did badly in the primary. Walls finished third in a field of four, barely ahead of William C. Deming, a Cheyenne publisher, with just 5,071 votes statewide. Robert Carey, who had lost the governorship in 1922 in a primary race, won the Senate primary in 1930 with 19,237 votes. Edelman lost the gubernatorial nomination to incumbent governor Frank Emerson, a consistent supporter of Prohibition. The only other Republican viewed as sympathetic to repeal, John Hartwell, came in a distant third for the U. S. House nomination.[9] Despite the fact that Prohibition was central only to Walls’ campaign, the results showed that repeal enjoyed little support among Republicans–at least, in statewide elections.[10]
Several more legislators from both parties were elected who favored either outright repeal or a referendum to determine state support for it. One was State Sen. George McClellan (R-Washakie) who introduced a bill in 1931 to abolish the law enforcement department. McClellan, a well-known rancher from the Ten Sleep area, claimed the agency and its enforcement duties, limited only to Prohibition, was nothing but a sham. He accused prominent defense lawyers in Wyoming of opposing repeal because they made their living from defending Prohibition violators. He argued that when it came to regulating social behavior, most people were unable to live up to the laws.[11]
McClellan’s efforts failed.[12] The law enforcement agency not only escaped elimination in 1931, the legislature gave it additional duties. The jurisdiction was expanded: “[It] shall have such powers and perform such duties as are now enjoyed by and required of all peace officers of this state, save and except the power to serve civil process.” The law also gave the agency an additional job: “It shall also be the duty of this department to enforce all laws pertaining to the regulation and operation of motor vehicles upon public roads and highways in the state.”[13] Originally conceived as an agency to fight bootlegging, with the new duties, it evolved into the precursor to the Wyoming Highway Patrol, to be established four years later.[14]
As to Prohibition, the legislature reaffirmed its support through passing an act increasing the penalties for sale and manufacture of intoxicating liquors. For manufacture, conviction could bring fines of $250-$1,000 and imprisonment for three months. Second offense penalties increased potential fines to $400-$2,000 and imprisonment for 1-5 years on conviction.[15]
The session was not a total failure for repeal advocates. After considerable debate, the same legislature passed a law introduced by State Rep. Charles Spence (D-Sweetwater) to seek out public opinion on whether or not to repeal Prohibition.[16] The resolution called for a ballot measure to be submitted to the voters in the next general election.[17] The election result would have no legal effect, but provide guidance to the legislature with respect to sentiment toward the law. “Shall the 18th Amendment to the Constitution of the United States prohibiting the manufacture and sale of intoxicating liquors for beverage purposes be repealed?”[18] The measure passed both Houses. Gov. Emerson died suddenly on the 37th day of the legislative session. Consequently, the bill was signed and approved March 6, 1931, by acting Gov. Alonzo Clark, who had been Secretary of State.[19]
Almost immediately after its passage, the two sides of the issue statewide organized for what would be a persuasive but unenforceable referendum on repeal in the general election of November 1932. The leading force over the previous two decades for Prohibition, the Anti-Saloon League, had declined in membership and its treasury was practically empty. It would not be a major player in events in the 1930s.[20] The Women’s Christian Temperance Union (WCTU) continued its education efforts, noting that one key goal was to “prevent passage of referendum resolutions.”[21] State President Pearl Ferguson warned members at its annual fall convention in Wheatland: “Wet sentiment is gaining ground in Wyoming and unless it is counteracted the state soon will be claimed among those opposed to the prohibition law.”[22] U. S. Attorney A. D. Walton told the group that the wets were contributed to the “general propaganda that prohibition is a failure….Prohibition has been on trial less than 12 years and our wet friends have proclaimed it to be a dismal failure.” He added that while Prohibition “may not have been enforced as efficiently as many of us would like to have seen it, still we must remember the abolishing of the liquor traffic affected the habits of a very large percentage of our population and it could not be reasonably expected that the habits could be changed overnight.”[23] At the end of the convention, the group passed a flurry of resolutions opposing repeal.[24]
Possibly because of the financial weakness of the Anti-Saloon League, newer “dry” forces mobilized to defend Prohibition in the election. Political leaders told a Cheyenne newspaper that prohibition would be “the most discussed issue in the coming Wyoming election even though they did not view it as the most important one.”[25] The state Republican Party chairman “caused a flurry in their ranks” when he announced that “sentiment in Wyoming is predominantly dry.” Pressly P. Anderson noted that “the larger cities, including Cheyenne, Rock Springs, Casper and Sheridan, probably are wet, but the rural communities are dry.”[26]
News accounts revealed that other organizations had deep splits among members on the liquor issue. For instance, D. E. Woodson, commander of the Cheyenne post of the American Legion, told a reporter in October, 1931, that “the sentiment of the Wyoming Department of the Legion is anything but dry.” In response, the post tabled a resolution endorsing Woodson’s statement by a vote of 41-16.[27]
The Loyal Citizens League of America created a Wyoming chapter to augment the work of the state’s WCTU.[28] News accounts continued to emphasize the links between crime and illegal drinking. For instance, the murder of 37-year-old Ernest Bloom by a “Negro man” at Kirby on Oct. 4, 1931, was widely reported to be the result of drinking.[29] Stories noted results of raids yielding substantial quantities of liquor in various containers.[30]
On the other side of the issue, during the fall and winter of 1931, more than 5,000 people signed a petition favoring repeal. One popular repeal effort had its origins in Sheridan: “Major Ridgeley Nicholas of Sheridan has been touring the state seeking backing in the movement and organizing local committees.” Even though the petition gained 700 signatures in its first day in Sheridan, Nicholas expected an additional 3,000 signers in Sweetwater County. “The movement has all indications of becoming nationwide as realization is made that something must be done to protect in some degree the taxpayers’ pocketbook,” the editor of the Green River Star predicted.[31]
A statewide branch of the Association Against the Prohibition Amendment and Women’s Organization for National Prohibition Reform was formed in late winter 1931. The national president indicated that up to 25 prominent citizens would be named state directors of the repeal organization.[32] Just after New Year’s, 1932, the new organization sent petitions signed by nearly 5,000 people were sent to the members of the state’s congressional delegation urging repeal of the 18th Amendment. More than 3,500 signatures were from Sheridan voters and some 1,700 others came from Rock Springs. The petition made the point that repeal would be the only way to “forestall anticipated drastic taxation increases.”[33] Petitioners further noted that with the repeal of Prohibition, “we may hope for a greater degree of temperance than we now have or can hope to have under present arrangements…and remove the bootlegger menace which is attaining greater proportion each day.”[34]
In May 1932, the State Democratic convention passed a resolution favoring repeal.[35] As one Wyoming newspaper colorfully put it: “The prohibition issue whirled into the republican convention at Monday night’s session with the force of a small tornado.”[36] The Republicans, after spirited debate lasting more than two hours, defeated a repeal resolution, but supported the referendum. “We believe that the majority should rule and in view of the action of the 31st legislature in submitting to vote of the people the question of whether the 18th amendment…shall be repealed, we pledge the republican party to abide by the decision of the people.”[37] Sheridan County State Sen. Nels Pearson, a Democrat, announced total support for repeal even though, five days earlier, Sheridan Mayor Harry A. Loucks refused to grant a permit for a “beer parade” to protest Prohibition.[38]
Federal prohibition agents continued to arrest suspected Prohibition violators, including more than 100 from mid-February to June in Sheridan County alone. Officers declared in the wake of destroying 1,000 gallons of whiskey and making 100 arrests–nine arrests in two hours–in Sheridan that “every saloon in the city” was closed.[39]
But when it came to prosecution, cracks were widening between law enforcement and the courts. In early August, U. S. District Judge T. Blake Kennedy, after imposing minimum fines on nine people for liquor violations, ordered a return of bars and fixtures to two Sheridan pool halls, declaring the equipment had been seized improperly. He criticized federal agents for not following legal procedures.[40] When Ewing T. Kerr, assistant U. S. Attorney, argued that the agents needed to wait ten days after the arrests to impound the equipment in order that it be “more convenient,” Kennedy replied, “I don’t care anything about the matter of convenience.”[41] Barely a month later, in a municipal court case in Sheridan, the defense attorney accused federal prohibition officers of “railroading” liquor violators through lower courts.[42]
In light of that case, Sheridan City Attorney John F. Raper announced he would no longer prosecute “the weak cases” brought by federal agents in municipal court. He accused federal prohibition agents of “taking any cases that amount to anything to federal court in Cheyenne, while the weak cases are allowed to remain here to be tried in police court for what we can get out of them.” He said he gave it his best shot in the prosecution, “but they didn’t give me a case to work on.”[43] Many local judges imposed minor fines even in strong cases. For instance, George Pilch was fined $1 and sentenced to two days in jail for possession of a still.[44]
Prohibition supporters, nervous about the level of continued support for it in Wyoming, challenged the repeal election authorization in court. John J. Spriggs, a 52-year-old Lander attorney and strongly in favor of Prohibition, sought an injunction against holding the referendum election.[45] He charged that the vote would be a useless, illegal and expensive use of tax monies.[46] When District Judge Sam Thompson ruled against him, the Democrat, elected in the 1920s to three terms in the state legislature, appealed to the State Supreme Court.[47]
On October 6, 1932, the court upheld the lower court’s decision to deny an injunction.[48] Justice W. A. Riner, writing for a unanimous court, said the injunction would have the effect of denying the right of the people to petition, guaranteed by Article I, Section 21, of the Wyoming Constitution.[49] The ballot measure, according to Riner, “was simply providing reliable information to the legislature” and he asked, “Is there any sound reason why it should not be supplied?”[50] He concluded “nothing deprives the legislature from so acting.”[51]
With legislative support waning and courts becoming increasingly favorable to the wets, state law enforcement officials braced for repeal. Even the State Law Enforcement Commissioner weighed in on what impact repeal would have on his agency as his announced his resignation from the position. George G. “Red” Smith, newly appointed as commissioner earlier in the year, had served the previous six years as deputy chief.[52] He resigned and then filed in July 1932 as a Republican candidate for Converse County sheriff. He told a Wyoming Eagle reporter that it was “his opinion that a similar licensing scheme as Canada ought to be used.” He also denied that the agency would end with Prohibition repeal. “Some people seem to think that enforcement of the prohibition law is the only excuse for our existence,” he said. “If they were to study the department records they will find that liquor violations constitute but a fraction of the cases upon which we work.”[53]
Both parties held nominating conventions in Casper in the spring of 1932. The Democrats adopted a plank for its platform calling for a constitutional amendment to repeal Prohibition.[54] The resolution stated support for resubmission of “the whole question involving the federal policy of prohibition.” Meanwhile, Republicans turned down a similar resolution, but agreed to abide by the “decision of Wyoming voters after the state prohibition referendum next November.” The convention also approved a plank providing for state control of liquor under any proposed constitutional amendment.[55]
Debates during their party convention showed that the Republicans were more divided. The party’s candidate for the U. S. House of Representatives Vincent Carter favored repeal. U. S. Senator Robert Carey (who, as governor, initially authorized statewide Prohibition in 1919) did not support repeal, but took the position that he would abide by the will of Wyoming voters expressed in the referendum.[56]
Dry proponents were unhappy with the Congressional candidates of both parties. Consequently, in mid-September, Cheyenne resident J. Ross Carpenter announced his candidacy as an independent.[57] Carpenter, the organizer of the Loyal Citizens League of America, and known as a zealous crusader against repeal of the 18th amendment “said he would campaign in opposition to re-legalization of the liquor traffic, and the ‘foreignization’ of America.”[58]
Gov. Emerson, a consistently strong backer of Prohibition, had died at the end of the 1931 legislative session. His death necessitated an election for the two years remaining in his term. Alonzo Clark, the Secretary of State, served as acting governor after Emerson’s death. A long-time Campbell County official, Clark was born in Indiana, but reared and educated in Nebraska prior to coming to Wyoming to teach school in 1901 and later taking out a homestead in Campbell County in 1907.[59]
Acting Gov. Clark’s stand on Prohibition repeal was unclear to many observers. Early on, he damaged his chances for nomination when, in July 1932, he announced the reappointment of Louis G. “Deacon” Jones as a state law enforcement agent. At the time of the appointment, Jones was under federal indictment for violating prohibition laws. Gov. Clark defended his action by arguing that he had examined the evidence against Jones and “was skeptical of testimony given by the bootleg gang.”
Whatever his motive, drys in the Republican Party used the incident of further evidence of his unfitness for nomination.[60] In that fall’s primary, Republicans passed over Clark to nominate Canadian-born Harry Weston by a tiny margin. A Teton County banker/and rancher who first located in Cody when he came to Wyoming in 1903, Weston prevailed by just 265 votes of nearly 40,000 ballots cast.[61] Meanwhile, Democrats nominated Leslie Miller, a Cheyenne oil distributor, who had run unsuccessfully for governor in 1930 against the late Gov. Emerson.[62] Against the still-divided Republican party, Miller won election to the two years remaining in Emerson’s term by a vote of 48,130-44,692.[63]
The non-binding referendum on the 18th Amendment passed overwhelmingly in every county of the state. The final tally was 52,957 in favor of repeal and just 21,015 against.[64]
The 1933 regular legislative session convened in January. Prohibition repeal enjoyed significant backing among legislators, particularly among the numerous newly-elected Democrats. Nonetheless, the federal Prohibition laws were still in effect. Gov. Miller, in his address to the legislature, suggested that “legislation contemplating repeal of prohibitory laws…should be held in abeyance pending action by congress thus determining the proper procedure.”[65]
Congress had not yet authorized state ratification of the 21st Amendment. (It did occur on Feb. 18, too late for the Wyoming legislature to ratify it). Nonetheless, as the Wyoming legislature went into session in early January, most legislators believed that a repeal proposal was imminent in Congress. Many Wyoming politicians forecast federal repeal and considered how the state could ratify the repeal amendment should such an event occur. Therefore, the legislature empowered the governor to issue a proclamation for a constitutional convention to deal with the new federal amendment. Even though Gov. Miller attended the inauguration in Washington, D.C., prior to calling for Wyoming’s constitutional convention, it appeared that Wyoming could be the first state to hold a repeal convention.[66]
The same legislature repealed the “Wyoming Prohibition Enforcement Act.” Sen. R. A. Keenan (D-Sheridan) introduced the bill and Senator E. C. Raymond (D-Weston) introduced the so-called “beer law,” amending Wyoming law with respect to Prohibition by allowing manufacture and sale of brewed beverages containing less than four percent alcohol by volume (beer and ale).[67] To many in the full repeal movement, the beer law was a means to diminish support statewide for complete repeal.[68]
County officials, only a few years earlier threatened with removal for not vigorously enforcing Prohibition, seemed less pressured to arrest all bootleggers. As an example of diminished interest in enforcement, the Big Horn County Attorney dismissed four cases of liquor violations. “In practically all the above criminal cases,” the Basin Republican-Rustler editor wrote, “the complaining witnesses signed statements to the county attorney that they declined to appear and prosecute…”[69]
Anticipating eventual repeal and accepting Gov. Miller’s recommendation, the legislature also finally voted to abolish the State Law Enforcement Department, the state agency created specifically for Prohibition.[70] The bill, introduced by State Sen. B. C. Rumsey, a Park County Democrat, passed the House by a vote of 42-18 on Jan. 30, making it possible for the state constitutional amendment on Prohibition to be repealed by voters in the 1934 general election.[71] When the Rumsey repeal resolution went to the House, State Rep. Ernest Goppert (R-Park) and a few other House members strongly opposed it. Goppert sought an amendment to “prevent the return of the pre-Volstead saloon.” Republicans and Democrats joined to defeat the amendment 29-22. Many believed the worse abuses of pre-Prohibition days would have been erased by the time passing between Prohibition and repeal. But Representative Clement Gillearr (D-Sweetwater) viewed the action differently. He told the House: “There can be no return of the saloon in Sweetwater County because saloons never left there. Our people don’t know that the Volstead act was passed.”[72]
Even though legislative action may have indicated otherwise, Prohibition still had strong adherents in various parts of the state. Many of the state’s newspaper ran a weekly column submitted by local WCTU chapters. The Basin Republican Rustler printed a column for the WCTU in February 1933, written by Rev. J. P. Pigott in which the reverend stated: “The day the 18th Amendment is repealed because it cannot be enforced will date the enthronement of the liquor oligarchy as political overlord of the American people.”[73]
In early April, 1933, George “Red” Smith, who had been with agency for the past six years, the three remaining agents and the department secretary in Cheyenne packed up the office in the State Capitol and closed the door for the last time.[74]
To repeal the 18th Amendment to the U. S. Constitution, the Wyoming legislature passed a law for a constitutional convention, the first since the 1889 convention that wrote the Wyoming Constitution in preparation for statehood.[75] The 1933 session passed Enrolled Act 53, authorizing this second, more limited, constitutional convention.[76] As the calendar lined up, Wyoming was to become the first of 21 states scheduled to vote on repeal of the 18th Amendment in 1933, preceding New Jersey by just one day and New York by one week.[77].
To repeal the State’s own Prohibition article, passed by general election voters in November 1918, a different procedure would be necessary. The Wyoming Constitution did not authorize a constitutional amendment without some degree of legislative action. A constitutional convention, by itself, could not change the Wyoming Prohibition provision. Consequently, both Houses authorized a state constitutional amendment for the following general election in November 1934 to determine repeal of the state’s Prohibition act. If that amendment to the State Constitution passed, the following legislature then could set forth the ground rules for liquor sales.[78]
Gov. Leslie A. Miller issued the proclamation calling for an election for delegates to a constitutional convention.[79] During the spring of 1933, delegates were elected from precinct caucuses to attend county conventions in each of the 23 counties. There, one delegate per county was elected to attend the state constitutional convention and an additional delegate was sent for each additional 5,000 people in the county.[80] The 65-member body would meet on May 25, 1933.[81]
Supporters and proponents organized once again for the county caucuses. The Anti-Saloon League, by all accounts, was essentially penniless statewide. The main burden to defend Prohibition fell to the WCTU that had few financial resources as well. “There is the complaint by some of the more energetic Dry leaders that some of their following are indicating a feeling that they are beaten,” Julian Snow, Cheyenne political columnist wrote.[82]
A writer of the WCTU column in the Basin Republican Rustler urged members to attend the precinct caucuses: “Now…comes the next chance to win a Statewide Dry Victory by casting our vote at our Precinct Convention for Dry Delegates.” The writer advised, “Let no writings confuse in our minds the precinct and county conventions; they are absolutely different in that all voters are to attend their own precinct convention and vote on either wet or dry delegates to the county convention; while in the county convention only a few delegates will vote. As go the precincts, so will go the county and state.”[83]
Some drys initially dismissed the importance of the precinct caucuses. “This method was taken as an economy measure,” the editor of the Torrington Telegram asserted. “but it can hardly be called an expression of the voters, for only those directly concerned will give any attention to the precinct caucus.”[84] By the following month, however, the editor highlighted the precinct caucus system and noted the importance.[85] On the front page of the Telegram was the story that a committee had been formed to oppose repeal and the chairman, H. S. Kirk of Lingle, said “it is his belief that the people of the county are not taking the coming convention seriously and that they should realize that an expression from the whole people only can properly consider the move to repeal.”[86] The local WCTU urged drys to attend the precinct caucuses. “We must leave nothing undone to defeat the repeal measure,” the columnist asserted.[87] Kirk bought a series of ads in the local newspaper. In one, he and James A. Gordon argued “Business Will Suffer From Repeal.”[88]
By most measures, the repeal forces were more visible than the “drys”. Members of the Association Against the Prohibition Amendment and Women’s Organization for National Prohibition Reform seemed confident that repeal would prevail.[89] The membership reached into every county and included prominent citizens of both political parties.[90] The association provided instructions on how best to organize the precinct meetings and emphasized the importance of good organization. “A great deal of the success of the convention depends upon the sympathy and intelligence of the permanent precinct meeting chairman and the information and intelligence of his key-men,” a circular emphasized. [91] As one officer wrote to a repeal supporter in April, 1933, “All you really need is a majority of wet delegates at the county conventions to insure one hundred percent wets going to the state convention.”[92]
In Park County, Democrat B. C. Rumsey allied with Republican Milward Simpson to organize for repeal. “It is imperative that we do this, at once!” wrote Rumsey. “We must not slip up now, after working for this opportunity for the past 12 years!”[93]
Precinct caucuses were held statewide on Monday, May 15.[94] The governor had suggested that rural voting places remain open until 3:30 p.m., and those in town, until 6 p.m.[95] In preparation for the caucus elections, the Association Against the Prohibition Amendment held county meetings throughout the state. The one held at the Park County Library in Cody on May 12 demonstrates the bipartisan make-up of the members, but also how well organized the group was with respect to the precinct caucuses. George T. Beck, prominent Cody Democrat, presided at the meeting and E. V. Robertson and Milward Simpson, both Republicans, addressed the group, but so did Democratic State Sen. B. C. Rumsey (Park). Simpson pointed out that the “dries” planned to submit slates of candidates in each precinct. Dry leaders Mrs. F. A. Ingraham and Rev. Hardesty suggested that the polling places remain open until 7 p.m., on that Monday. The “wets” readily agreed. At the conclusion of the meeting, the group selected their candidates in each Cody area precinct who would make up the “wet” slate. Beck and Simpson were designated the delegates from Precinct 2.[96]
Balloting in the 662 precincts statewide yielded similar results throughout the state. The “wets” outnumbered the “dries” in every county. Even in Platte County in southeastern Wyoming where Prohibition groups enjoyed firm support in past elections, the dries elected just 15 delegates while those favoring repeal sent 22 to the county convention. All three of the county’s delegates to the state convention favored repeal.
Precinct caucuses in Big Horn County where Prohibition had been popular before, were now controlled by the “wets” with 27 elected to the county convention as opposed to just 17 for Prohibition proponents.[97] All three of their state delegates were in favor of repeal. Park County where opposition to Prohibition had been pronounced throughout the previous decade, voted 4-1 for repeal.[98] Hot Springs County caucuses similarly ran up large margins for repeal.[99] In Carbon County, “officials said the vote was practically unanimous for ratification.” Similar results were reported in Natrona and Sheridan counties.[100]
Even in Goshen County, where dry organizations had been active, the wets prevailed by a vote of 26-14 at the county convention. Rawhide Buttes, Spoon Buttes, Iowa Center, Fort Laramie, Doty, Veteran, West Torrington, LaGrange and Phillips precincts all voted “dry.”[101] The other 15 precincts, including three in Torrington, voted wet but the margins were close. In the biggest precinct, East Torrington, wets defeated drys by 140-102. In the North Torrington precinct, Erle H. Reid, later chair of the State Convention, was elected by a vote of 93-83 over his dry opponent. Less than 40 percent of county voters participated, according to news reports.[102] In all four Torrington precincts, the wets prevailed by a total of just 29 votes. County-wide, the vote in Goshen was 1,111 for repeal and 973 against.[103]
In Platte County, the local newspaper proclaimed the convention “shows Platte County as the nearest dry of any county in Wyoming. But even here, from the precinct level, 15 of the 37 delegates to the county convention were dry while the majority, 23, were wet. Wet candidates came from three Wheatland precincts, Guernsey, Sunrise and Glendo. The latter three towns elected two wet candidates each. Oddly, in the county’s biggest precinct, Wheatland #1, the only precinct entitled to three delegates, four candidates—two dry and two wet–each got 62 votes. To break the unusual tie, three names were drawn, one dry and two wet.[104]
The Casper Tribune-Herald observed that “Activity by the wets seemed much greater and more concentrated than that of the drys.”[105] When preliminary results were released the following day, not one dry delegate gained election from any Natrona County precinct. The best popular vote for the drys in Natrona County was 35 votes cast at the Elks School precinct where wets gained 147 votes.[106] In Sheridan County, the wets won by lopsided vote of 3,304-510.[107] Only one of the county’s 40 precincts elected a dry delegate.[108] Of the state’s 172 most populous precincts, the vote was 16,072 for repeal and 3,203 against.[109] The overwhelming victories for the wets meant the county conventions, to be held a week later with delegates elected from each precinct, would be anti-climactic.[110]
Just before the delegates assembled in Casper for the constitutional convention, the new law legalizing beer and ale took effect. When the law passed the legislature and was signed by the governor in late February, a few Wyomingites believed the law took effect immediately. The drafters of the law omitted including an enacting clause and, therefore, 90 days had to pass after the session ended before enactment would occur. The date for legal sale of 3.2 beer would be May 18.[111]
Opponents of the “beer law” vowed to challenge its constitutionality and gain an injunction to stop beer sales.[112] One concern, however, was that since the law enforcement agency had been eliminated by legislation, the “only remaining state enforcement features are incorporated in the new beer act.”[113] The Cheyenne Tribune-Leader described how the Prohibition laws in various states might be affected by nation-wide repeal.[114] The Torrington chapter of the WCTU, meeting twice monthly on Fridays, provided a weekly column to the local newspaper. “We are very happy to know there are still some dry states,” the columnist noted on March 9 after Wyoming’s “beer law” was passed. “We hang our heads in shame to list Wyoming with the wet states,” the writer concluding that “there is a long fight ahead of us.”[115]
The new beer law did not open the way for the return of saloons. It stipulated that cafes and restaurants –those that had been in business at least a year–were the only places permitted to purchase a license for the sale of 3.2 percent beer. Further, the law stated that the beer had to be consumed on the premises in the state. “There are no restrictions in the State against the sale of draught beer by establishments authorized to permit consumption on the premises.”[116] State Attorney-General Ray Lee issued a series of questions and answers in an attempt to explain the intricacies of the new beer law.[117]
Because the new beer law allowed cities and counties to set the rules on sales, a few Wyoming towns set what repeal advocates viewed as stringent standards. For instance, the Powell town council stipulated by ordinance that there be “no gambling, no sale of beer between the hours of 1 and 6 a.m., and the applicant for a license must be of good moral character and a citizen.” Not wishing to return to the presence of the saloon, the ordinance further limited beer sales to “the grocery stores, cafes and hotels.” [118]
The city council of Casper issued a flood of beer licenses, including licenses to the city’s three major hotels, the Henning, the Townsend and the Gladstone. [119] In other towns, generally identified as “wet,” the results were more mixed. When Sheridan city officials tried unsuccessfully three times to pass an ordinance for beer licensing, the “dry” editor of the Torrington Telegram observed, “There is considerable irony in the fact that Sheridan has been the home of the most ardent advocates against the eighteenth amendment and yet that city steadily refuses to vote wet.”[120] His comments on “wet” Sheridan, however, might have been applied to his seemingly “dry” hometown, too. In April, the Torrington town council repealed its prohibition ordinances and authorized licensing of beer establishments.[121] Several towns adopted existing ordinances, borrowing parts passed by other towns. Riverton’s council took portions from two or three existing ordinances and added a section allowing for beer sales in grocery stores.[122]
Yellowstone National Park concessionaires prepared for beer sales, too, but like Powell, did not allow for its sale in saloons. One editor pointed out that “consistent with state laws, national parks would allow beer sales within the borders” after May 18.[123]
Wyoming brewers were prepared to furnish their product to customers, too. Henry Kroger, owner of Sheridan Brewing Company, told a reporter the previous summer that repeal would emphasize “the importance of the brewing industry to this region because of the large amount of grain products consumed and because of the added employment it would afford.”[124]
Newspaper publishers expressed concerns about advertising limitations the new state put into place with respect to beer. Attorney General Ray E. Lee issued an opinion, however, that there was nothing in the law prohibiting the advertising of the merits of any brew, although the law prohibited advertising of beer for sale by wholesalers and retailers. “A brewer might advertise after May 19 the names of the cities or towns in Wyoming in which his product was sold just so long as the advertisements did not mention the names of places where it was kept for sale.”[125]
Some eager sellers jumped the gun on beer sales. One week before beer became legal, several trucks filled with the brew drove into Torrington from Scottsbluff. “Their anticipation dropped rapidly when they found out that beer would not be carried into Torrington previous to one minute after midnight May 19, and they skipped out of town with the remark that they guessed that they had better take their cargoes to Denver.”[126] Once the novelty wore off, according to the Torrington Telegram, everything returned to normal. “Yes, beer came in with a rush early Friday morning, and the boys all left their home-brew at home and came downtown to try the store product. For two or three days there was a great rush to sample the legalized beverage, but now that the excitement is over it is just beer.” The editor stated that, for the first two or three days, many Nebraska cars were seen on the streets of town. “It is entirely too early to try to analyze the effect beer will have on the community as a permanent commodity,” the editor concluded.[127]
Editors elsewhere made similar observations. “Parties who have taken out licenses to sell beer were making great preparations to open up for business as soon as possible after midnight last night,” the editor of the Thermopolis Independent Record observed. “Numerous trucks were reported yesterday to be loaded with beer and waiting at the state line to start making deliveries in Wyoming as soon as possible after midnight. During the early hours this morning citizens of Hot Springs county enjoyed the privilege of drinking beer legally for the first time in many years.”[128]
The Cheyenne newspaper, noting similar celebrating, noted that “seal-breaking ceremonies” were held on kegs of beer before they were unloaded from the freight cars. “After witnessing the seal breaking ceremonies on the freight cars, many of the thirsty beat the beer trucks to restaurants, and strangely enough, many found cold beer reading upon arrival.”[129] One minute after midnight on May 19, the new beer law took effect. “Upwards of 25 Cheyenne restaurants and one large hotel here, prepared to handle an expected rush of beer customers at the zero hour,” the Associated Press reported.[130] “Possibly not since the country went dry in 1920 has there been such a celebration in Casper,” the Tribune-Herald reported. “Thousands of persons rallied around here and there, many of them just to observe the activity taking place and the interest being shown.”[131] In Riverton, “no organized celebrations, but many individual ones greeted the return of the brew.”[132]
State and federal prohibition officers tried to put a favorable light on the new law even though it signaled complete repeal in the near future. E. E. Collins, federal prohibition administrator for Wyoming, claimed that passage of the beer law actually would bring about “greater cooperation in the enforcement of the federal law relating to hard liquors.” He said that merchants paying the required $250 per license, required by Congress and the State, “will not want bootleggers breaking into his business.” [133] The Casper City Council “declared war on bootleggers.” A. F. Newlin, captain of detectives, received instructions from the council to “bear down on every illicit place that may exist in the municipality, taking every step that may prove necessary to effect clean-up.”[134]
Arthur F. Duntsch, editor and publisher of the Riverton Review, editorialized about drunks wandering the streets of Riverton on a Sunday afternoon. “The writer does not wish to appear as an ardent reformer, but we will be found in the future, as we were before prohibition in the days of the saloon, standing for decency and upright living, and we wish to inform those in authority and who have it in their power, to keep drunks in the background, if we must have them, and put in their places if it is the gutter they choose–but not allowed to roam the streets where they are flagrant and shining examples of 3.2 and the accompanying ‘shot in the arm’ taken along with it to secure the desired effect.”[135]
Whether through cooperation or not, state Prohibition officers or their federal counterparts brought numerous cases against bootleggers in 1933.[136] The highest profile case was brought by federal officers on May 3, just two weeks before the constitutional convention was to convene in Casper–and the indictments were brought against Casper’s mayor, police chief, Natrona County sheriff and more than three dozen others.
Mayor E. W. Rowell was serving his third term and he had been a candidate for governor in the Republican primary in 1932.[137] Long prominent in state politics the 44-year-old California-born businessman was the first president of the state’s League of Municipalities.[138] The 39-year-old Sheriff Gilbert O. Housley, a Democrat, also was serving in his third term and “considered a candidate for Secretary of State” in the forthcoming election.[139] Both were charged along with 34 others with conspiracy to manufacture, transport and possess and sell intoxicating liquors.[140] Seven were charged with conspiracy to operate a brewery even though beer was to legalized in a very few weeks.[141] At the time, it was the most warrants issued in one case in federal court in Wyoming.[142]
The mayor, who learned of the indictment while traveling from Philadelphia to Washington, D.C., on April 30, was to return May 4, but his plane was delayed due to bad weather in Nebraska.[143] He appeared before the U. S. Commissioner in Casper on May 6 and was released on $2,500 bond.[144] Police Chief Mike Quealy also had been released on $2,500 bond.
While the Casper mayor and police chief were in Cheyenne, the Casper city council convened in special session to pass the city’s new “beer law.”[145] The council approved the ordinance on May 10, with legalization set to begin May 19, just in time for the arrival of delegates to the Constitutional Convention.[146] Ironically, the measure that passed had been authored by the mayor and submitted to the council on April 13, prior to his arrest.[147] Rowell “retired as mayor” on May 15, the day that the precinct caucus elections were held.[148] After a change of venue to Cheyenne, the trial was held in July 1933.[149] Charges were dropped against seven of those arrested. On July 26, the jury returned a not guilty verdict against the 30 remaining defendants in the case.[150]
Just two weeks later, two other prominent Wyomingites went on trial for a second time for violating the prohibition law.[151] (Their first trial a year earlier ended in a hung jury). Kemmerer physician Dr. M. J. Goldberg and State Law Enforcement Agent Louis G. “Deacon” Jones were charged with conspiracy in federal court.[152] The 42-year-old Goldberg was Republican state committeeman from Lincoln County. Even though he was one of the towns few medical doctors, Goldberg’s background seems not unlike numerous other first or second generation eastern or southern Europeans who resided in Kemmerer, a coal-mining and railroad town at the time. A native of Illinois, both of the doctor’s parents had come to America from Russia.[153] A. D. Walton, the U. S. Attorney, charged that Jones would tip off Goldberg if a federal prohibition agent was coming to the area. Goldberg would then alert community members and both would share “protection money” from those informed.[154] The case went to the jury the week before the constitutional convention was due to convene.[155] Both men were acquitted.[156]
THE CONSTITUTIONAL CONVENTION
Just a week after beer sales had become legal, the constitutional convention convened to ratify complete repeal. On Saturday, May 25, delegates and spectators filled the council chambers of Casper’s city hall.[157] “Due to the large crowd in the hall, a number of extra chairs were carried in to accommodate the interested spectators,” the Casper Tribune Herald noted.[158] Unlike the state’s first constitutional convention in 1889, this convention had a woman delegate—but just one. She was Mrs. Sam H. Payne of Fremont County.[159] City councilman Carl M. Albin extended the welcome, explaining that Mayor Rowell was absent from the city and acting mayor Walter Galles was ill.[160]
Secretary of State A. M. Clark presided over the convention even though it was noted by some papers that he was “a reputed dry advocate.”[161] The only business would be a vote on Prohibition. Once the convention came to order, the county chairs convened separately to select a permanent chair. In the meantime, Gov. Miller addressed the convention about the matter under consideration. When the chairs returned, Erle H. Reid, a Torrington attorney, was nominated and selected permanent chairman.[162] Reid was a Republican, but Frank O. Horton, a Republican delegate, apparently made the nomination thinking Reid was a Democrat. “He explained his reason…was that that party had taken many forward steps on behalf of the wet movement and because of the Democratic Party now being more or less in power.”[163] Reid set the record straight when he returned to Torrington in a speech to the local Rotary Club.[164]
“Shall this convention ratify or reject the proposed amendment to the Constitution,” Reid asked the delegates. Newspaper polls of delegates made it clear that repeal would gain overwhelming support. Precinct voters in only one county (Platte) elected delegates opposing repeal. To add some levity to the occasion, Milward Simpson, a Park County delegate, asserted that he was “a bit fearful of the outcome of this vote.” With obvious reference to the recent arrests of city and county officials in Casper, Simpson added that “In as much as Natrona County and the City of Casper don’t seem to be going to take care of us, I suggest we spend this money for a few bottles of beer for the delegates to this convention.”[165] His motion carried.
Immediately after, the convention accepted another more serious motion made by Pat Flannery of Goshen County to ratify the proposed 21st Amendment. The secretary called the roll. Of the 65 votes cast, 64 were for repeal and one delegate did not vote.[166] Reid announced that the ratification vote had been unanimous. “there was a wild applause ringing out from the crowd throughout the hall.”[167] After discussion about sending a message to FDR that it was passed, Hofmann of Laramie County took the floor. “We must not let the business we condemned in 1919 get into the same rut, we want to see it carried on in a clean and honorable manner, and you will never be able to do this if you have the Government, the States or the Cities mixing whiskey with beer. Whiskey should be divorced from beer,” he asserted. The convention adjourned. The record is silent about whether or not Simpson’s motion was effectuated with beer for all delegates.[168]
Ratification of the 21st Amendment to the U. S. Constitution demonstrated that Wyomingites were overwhelming willing to repeal statewide Prohibition. While the 21st Amendment took effect with respect to federal law, the calendar made it impossible for repeal of the state’s Prohibition article to be considered until the special session of the legislature in December 1933, at the earliest.[169] As observers noted, Wyoming was one of the first states to vote for repeal of national prohibition, but it had to wait until its state constitution was changed in order to abandon it’s “dry” status.[170]
PREPARING FOR REPEAL
By the end of June 1933, federal prohibition forces were cut drastically. The duties of the agency were transferred to the Bureau of Investigation in the Department of Justice on August 10.[171] Two of the Prohibition bureau’s agents were transferred immediately to the Bureau of Investigation where they continued enforcing the Prohibition law “as long as it was on the books.”[172] By mid-September, the offices on the top floor of Cheyenne’s city and county building were closed, the records stored, and agents Lindsley and Vance, the only two transferred to the new agency, started taking orders from the regional office in Salt Lake City.[173] Four men, three from Carbon County and one from Weston County, became the last three Prohibition lawbreakers to be arrested by federal prohibition agents.[174]
Funding for state government required Gov. Miller to call a special session of the legislature for December 1933. Among the measures to be considered were the Griffenhagen recommendations for cost-saving and plans to adopt either an income tax or sales tax to fund struggling cities and state government.[175]
Prohibition was not a priority for the special session. Nonetheless, Gov. Miller told the joint session in his opening address, “The most optimistic advocates of repeal of the 18th Amendment “ had no thought that it would be repealed by the end of 1933, but such was the case.[176] He noted that repeal already was taking effect two days later, Dec. 6, 1933, in both Colorado and Montana. Problems were sure to ensue on both the southern and northern borders once liquor was legalized in those states. Wyoming’s repeal was inevitable, he pointed out, and he advocated a beverage control commission in order that old abuses from the saloons of old would not reappear. He pointed out that private profit led to most evils of the liquor trade and the price of liquor, on the other hand, had to be “kept low enough to discourage bootlegging.”[177] He told the legislators he had already appointed an advisory committee to develop the blueprint for how liquor would be distributed after repeal.[178] The 15 people selected for the advisory committee included churchmen, businessmen, labor representatives, a druggist, and both the president and past president of the Wyoming Federation of Women’s Clubs.[179]
The commission studied the issue throughout the fall, but did not meet until the end of October. Apparently, the proposals being advocated nationally by John D. Rockefeller, Jr., had a strong influence over the deliberations.” Rockefeller, once an ardent prohibitionist, “became convinced that Prohibition was a failure.” Consequently, he financed an “exhaustive study of the liquor problem.”[180] One newspaper writer speculated that the Wyoming commission favored “sale of liquor from state-owned stores,” while Gov. Miller took a different view, preferring “the Swedish system where prices are regulated and private enterprise sells” the liquor.[181] It was universally acknowledged, however, that the commission’s advice would have no immediate impact. Repeal in Wyoming would be “impossible until March 1935 because the legislature meets then, unless there is a special session called.”[182]
Wyoming Attorney General Ray E. Lee told Miller that state agencies could handle liquor distribution. It would not be in violation of any constitutional section, he advised.[183]
The special session of the 1933 legislature reaffirmed legal sale of 3.2 beer, but continued prohibition of other liquors.[184] The act placed licensing authority with city councils and, in the case of establishments outside of cities, with county commissions. It permitted malt beverage sales of 3.2 percent alcohol or less, set up the rules of where beer and ale could be served within a licensed building, allowed for private clubs to serve beer and also railroads to serve alcohol on trains passing through the state. It also set license fees ($100 annually for retailers serving on premise only, $10 for clubs, and $25 annually for “retail grocers” who intended to sell beer and ale for consumption off-premise).[185]
SJR 3, 1933 constitutional amendment passed on Nov. 6, 1934, by a vote of 71,126 for and 22,404 against from the total vote cast of 96,593.[186] Gov. Miller declared the amendment in force on Dec. 1, 1934, by executive proclamation.
At last, Prohibition repeal–state and federal–was formally in place. It made Wyoming officially “wet” again for the first time since 1919.
[1] Primary source for deliberations in that convention is: Journal and Debates of the Constitutional Convention of the State of Wyoming. (Cheyenne: S. Bristol Printing, 1893).
[2] See, for example, Robert B. Keiter and Tim Newcomb, The Wyoming State Constitution. (New York: Oxford University Press, 2011), pp. 3-19; Mike Mackey, Meeting in Cheyenne. (Privately printed, 2010); Gordon M. Bakken, Rocky Mountain Constitution-Making, 1850-1912. (New York: Greenwood, 1987); Gordon M. Bakken, “Voting Patterns in the Wyoming Constitutional Convention of 1889,” Annals of Wyoming (October 1970), pp. 225-235; Lewis Gould, Wyoming: A Political History, 1868-1896. (New Haven: Yale University Press, 1968), pp. ; T. A. Larson, History of Wyoming. (Lincoln: University of Nebraska Press, 1978), pp. 243-61; Richard Kenneth Prien, The Background of the Wyoming Constitution. (University of Wyoming, unpublished M.A. thesis, 1956); Henry J. Peterson, The Constitutional Convention of Wyoming (Laramie: UW Committee on Research, 1940); Phil Roberts, “Wyoming Constitution-Making,” in Benjamin Shearer, Uniting States. (Greenwood Press, 2004).
[3] The best example of this change of heart was former Gov. Nellie Tayloe Ross. When she was elected governor, succeeding her late husband, she vigorously supported Prohibition and enforcement of the anti-liquor laws, noting that she was keeping her husband’s position on the issue in place. However, after her term, she announced in 1928 that she was endorsing Smith and had changed her position on Prohibition. Teva J. Scheer, Governor Lady: The Life and Times of Nellie Tayloe Ross. (Columbia: University of Missouri Press, 2005), pp. 82, 124-26.
[4] Hoover won 444 electoral votes to just 87 for Al Smith. Historians have attributed Hoover’s victory to many factors including Smith’s Catholicism, a detriment to the Democrat in much of the rural South and West. Religion was less of a factor in Wyoming, however, because Wyoming voters consistently elected Catholics from both parties throughout the period. In his memoirs written a quarter century later, Hoover contended that it was Smith who injected Prohibition into the campaign. See Herbert Hoover, Memoirs of Herbert Hoover: The Cabinet and the Presidency, 1920-1933. (New York: Macmillan, 1951).
[5] “L. A. Miller Announces Candidacy for Governor,” Wyoming Eagle, May 30, 1930, p. 1, 8. Miller “states that if such test vote should show that the people want a change in our prohibition status ‘then certainly I am good enough an American to submit myself to such changes as would be brought about.”
[6] Julian Snow, “Political and Otherwise,” Wyoming Eagle, May 30, 1930, p. 9. Two other Republicans, John G. Hartwell of Lusk, a candidate for the U. S. House and practicing attorney, and State Treasurer William H. Edelman, a candidate for governor, seemed favorable to repeal. Elected treasurer in 1926, he was a popular Sheridan druggist. The Democrats were not as divided.
[7] “Political and Otherwise,” Wyoming Eagle, July 11, 1930, p. 9. Carey’s position probably was similar to that of Herbert Hoover two years earlier. Hoover had private misgivings with respect to Prohibition, but knew there was a segment of the Republican party for whom Prohibition was a litmus-test issue. See Behr, p. 226.
[8] “Effort to Draw Prohibition Into Campaign, a Failure,” Wyoming Eagle, Aug. 8, 1930, p. 9. “Perhaps in no state in the union have candidates for office been so successful in evading the prohibition issue as they have to date in Wyoming.” After the election, the editor of the Torrington Telegram quoted a railroad official who said, “Yes, I will take a drink of good liquor but I always vote dry.” He told the Telegram editor that Prohibition made for better “railroad efficiency” and, therefore, “The country needs a new financial program rather than a new mixture of drinks at every thirst emporium.” “Say No Interest in Liquor,” Torrington Telegram quoted in “With Wyoming’s Editors,” Wyoming Eagle, Sept. 5, 1930, p. 9.
[9] Virginia Cole Trenholm, Wyoming Blue Book, vol II. (Cheyenne: Wyoming State Archives and Historical Dept., 1974), p. 623. J. G. Hartwell, born in Virginia in 1888, but reared in Crawford, Nebr., came to Lusk early in 1914, and the same year was elected Niobrara county attorney. He was re-elected in both 1916 and 1918, and in 1920 was elected to the Wyoming State Senate, and returned to that office in 1924 where he served as Republican floor leader. In 1929 he was elected once more to the office of county attorney. He was also delegate to the Republican national convention in 1932. Hartwell died suddenly in June 1934 while visiting in Lincoln, Nebraska. “Former State Senator and Prominent Figure in Wyoming Politics Loses Gallant Fight For Life; Funeral in Crete, Neb., Thursday,” Lusk Herald, June 7, 1934, p. 1. His brother Norris E. Hartwell was appointed state bank examiner in 1941 and served for the next 25 years.
[10] Walls, born in Buffalo, N. Y., in 1868, practiced law in Cheyenne following his term as Robert Carey’s Attorney General. Walls was struck by a car while crossing Lincolnway at Capitol Avenue in downtown Cheyenne on Dec. 17, 1935. “The first person to reach him was his former law partner, former Cong. Vincent Carter. With Carter was Archer Lapham, chairman of the Democratic county committee.” “General Walls Severely Hurt,” Wyoming State Tribune, Dec. 17, 1935, p. 1. He died of his injuries at Memorial Hospital later that day.
[11] Laramie Republican and Boomerang, Jan. 29, 1931, p. 1. Opponents criticized McClellan’s logic, claiming it was flawed. As one legislator pointed out, it would be just as reasonable to repeal laws against theft and burglary because people were violating the laws against them just as much as Prohibition laws.
[12] S. F. #9 failed by a vote of 22-2 with 3 absent on January 29, 1931. Only McClellan, the bill sponsor, and State Senator Pearson voted against the motion to indefinitely postpone consideration on the bill. The Journal of the Senate of the Twenty-first State Legislature of Wyoming (1931), p. 137. A similar bill, H. B. 113, introduced in the House by Charles E. Blydenburg, Jr., (D-Carbon) initially passed the House by a vote of 37-24, with one absent, but it died in the Senate. House Journal, p. 370; Senate Journal, p. 336, 406..
[13] Session Laws, 1931, chap. 84, “State Law Enforcement Department,” p. 150, approved March 4, 1931. The act was initially Senate File 81, introduced on Feb. 11. Senate Journal, p. 318. Only Senator Lazear of Laramie County voted against the change. Senate Journal, p. 472. The measure met stiffer opposition in the House, but passed by a vote of 35-27 on Feb. 18. House Journal, p. 547.
[14] The act creating the highway patrol was passed in 1935. Session Laws, 1935, chap. 51, “Highway Patrol,” pp. 47-48, approved Feb. 14, 1935. The act was initially House Bill 37.
[15] Session Laws, “Violations of Prohibition Laws,” Chap 88, originally House Bill 188, p. 153. The bill, introduced b y Reps. McMicken and Goppert, passed the House by a vote of 52-9 with one absent on Feb. 11. Reps. Gilleard, H. Hansen, Kemmer, Knight, Lewis, Nicholson, Scott, Taylor and Wilde voted against it. Six were Republicans; three, Democrats. House Journal, p. 358. The bill passed the Senate by a vote of 20-5 with two absent. McClellan, long an opponent of Prohibition, was joined by Senators Austin, Lundy, Myers and Saunders.
[16] House Journal of the 21st State Legislature (1931), p. 161.
[17] Session Laws, 1931, p. 249. The measure was House Joint Resolution #4, “Providing for a referendum to determine the sentiment of the electors of the State of Wyoming with respect to the repeal of the 18th Amendment to the Constitution of the United States,” approved March 6, 1931. The bill passed the House by a vote of 35-26 with one absent on Feb. 11. House Journal of the 21st State Legislature (1931), p. 376. The bill passed the Senate by a vote of 16-10 with one member absent on third reading on Feb. 19. Senate Journal of the 21st Legislature (1931), p. 520.)
[18] The ballot resolution is restated in Spriggs v. Clark, Secretary of State, 14 P.2d 667, at 667.
[19] Session Laws, 1931, House Joint Resolution #4, “Providing for a Referendum to Determine the Sentiment of the Electors of the State of Wyoming with Respect to the Repeal of the 18th Amendment to the United States Constitution,” p. 249.
[20] The weakness of the Anti-Saloon League in Wyoming was the subject of much comment. See, for example, Julian Snow, “Precinct Conventions to Hold Main Interest on Repeal Problem,” Casper Tribune Herald, May 11, 1933, p. 5.
[21]A very interesting one day institute was conducted in Farrall by the State President of the WCTU, Mrs. Pearl Ferguson, of Cheyenne, May 14. ….Mrs. Ferguson stressed the educational side of the work. That our work is not smashing beer bottles, nor expecting to convert the acquired appetite drinkers, but educating the young people along lines of temperance, avoidance of drugs, tobacco and other harmful habits. Also an active campaign before the next election to prevent passage of referendum resolutions.” “W. C. T. U. Institute Was Held at Farrall,” Sundance Times, May 21, 1931, p. 1.
[22] “Group Leader Urges Battle in Booze Vote,” Wyoming State Tribune and Cheyenne State Leader, Oct. 1, 1931, p 14. The organization published a newsletter distributed widely titled Wyoming Watchword, edited by Sarah K. Bailey of Casper.
[23] “Walton Urges Group to Vote in Referendum,” Wyoming State Tribune and Cheyenne State Leader, Oct. 2, 1931, pp. 1, 2. In the same issue, the Leader published an extensive report quoting Ferguson’s speech. “WCTU Leader Voices Fine Appeal for Law Observance,” Wyoming State Tribune and Cheyenne State Leader, Oct. 2, 1931, p. 9.
[24] “WCTU Adopts Dry Resolutions,” Wyoming State Tribune and Cheyenne State Leader, Oct. 3, 1931, p. 1. Oddly, the organization also passed a resolution opposed to “the rapidly growing tendency toward smoking among women.” The organization’s regular column in a Cheyenne newspaper on Oct. 16, 1931, was given over to refuting the claim that founder Frances Willard had been “caught smoking a cigarette in her student days.” The columnist concluded that the charge was false and it caused indignation “among the women who revere Miss Willard’s memory and who resent this baseless accusation.” “WCTU Department, conducted by Mrs. Ira Sisco, Publicity Director, Wyoming WCTU,” Wyoming State Tribune and Cheyenne Daily Leader, Oct. 16, 1931, p. 2.
[25] “Prohibition Issue May Be Heard in Wyoming Contest,” Wyoming State Tribune and Cheyenne State Leader, Oct. 9, 1931, p. 1.
[26] Ibid.
[27] “Prohibition Vote Tabled by Legion,” Wyoming State Tribune and Cheyenne State Leader, Oct. 15, 1931, p. 1.
[28] Wyoming State Tribune and Cheyenne State Leader, Oct. 1, 1931, p. 14.
[29] “Scuffle Fatal to Thermopolis Man,” Wyoming State Tribune and Cheyenne State Leader, Oct. 5, 1931, p. 1. See also, “Police Arrest Nine Here Early Friday,” Wyoming State Tribune and Cheyenne State Leader, Oct. 9, 1931, p. 13.
[30] See, for instance, “Containers for Liquor are Varied,” Wyoming State Tribune and Cheyenne State Leader, Oct. 16, 1931, p. 12. The article noted that officers in Laramie County had destroyed 3,000 bottles of home brew beer over the past week, 28 pints and seven quarts of whiskey and four gallons of gin.
[31] “Movement in State Seeks Repealing of Dry Law,” Green River Star, Dec. 25, 1931, p. 1, c. 5
[32] Peter Kooi to Milward Simpson, Nov. 4, 1931, Simpson papers, Coll. 26, Box 146, Folder 28. Kooi was Simpson’s father-in-law. A membership card in the organization is in the folder made out to Mr. Robert N. Currie, Pioneer Bldg., Cody, Wyo.” Earlier in the fall, the Cheyenne newspaper noted appointment of Charles D. Carey as a director of another “wet” organization. The paper announced that Carey, “a prominent stockman and a brother of U. S. Senator Robert Carey, has been made a director in the national organization of the Association Against the Prohibition Amendment.” “Charles Carey Joins Association of Wets,” Wyoming State Tribune and Cheyenne Daily Leader, Oct. 7, 1931, p. 8.
[33] “5,000 Repeal Petitions Sent from Sheridan to Washington,” Sheridan Press, Jan. 8, 1932, p 1. The petitions were mailed by John G. Hutton, secretary-treasurer of the Sheridan Press and member of the local repeal committee. The Press publisher, Haydie Yates, was Wyoming chairman of the women’s organization for national prohibiton reform.” “Both Gov. Clark and Weston Showing Strength in Casper; Prohibition Issue is Growing,” Sheridan Press, May 9, 1932, p. 1.
[34] “5,000 Repeal Petitions Sent from Sheridan to Washington,” Sheridan Press, Jan. 8, 1932, p. 9.
[35] “Weston Given Endorsement; Democrats Ask Referendum; GOP to Abide By State Vote,” Sheridan Press, May 10, 1932, p. 1. Press accounts pointed to one dry vote that was “drowned out” by those in favor of repeal.
[36] Weston Given Endorsement…,”Sheridan Press, May 10, 1932, p. 2.
[37] “Weston Given Endorsement…,” Sheridan Press, May 10, 1932, p. 1.
[38] “Beer Parade Echoes Are Loud in City,” Sheridan Press, May 5, 1932, p. 1.
[39] “Every Saloon in City Closed, Agents Assert,” Sheridan Press, June 5, 1932, p. 1.
[40] “Nine Persons Are Fined On Liquor Charges Here As Federal Court Opens,” Sheridan Press, August 8, 1932, p. 1; “Bars and Fixtures Given Back to Turf and Palm; Kennedy Raps Federals,” Sheridan Press, August 9, 1932, p. 1.
[41] Ibid., p. 1. The judge also questioned why, if no liquor had been found on the premises, the agent could say that the “smell of creosote” caused him to suspect the presence of bootlegging.
[42] “Raiding Tactics Scored as Trio Goes Free Here,” Sheridan Press, Sept. 7, 1932, p. 1.
[43] “Weak Cases Are Doomed Here, Claim,” Sheridan Press, Sept. 7, 1932, p. 1.
[44] Sheridan Press, Dec. 21, 1932.
[45] “Lander Man Tries To Kill Referendum,” Sheridan Press, May 10, 1932, p. 1. Spriggs served on term in the State House of Representatives from Fremont County in 1910. He ran unsuccessfully for the legislature from Fremont County in 1920, 1926 and 1928 as a Democrat. Trenholm, p. 577, 616, 621. In 1936 and 1938, he ran for State Supreme Court justice and lost by large margins in both races. Trenholm, 640, 645. Born in Illinois in 1879, his wife, four children and two step-sons lived in Lander. 1930 U.S. Census, Lander, Fremont County, Wyoming. Roll 2622, p. 11B, E.D. 1.
[46] “Injunction Plea on Referendum Denied by Court,” Green River Star, Sept. 9, 1932, p. 1. Spriggs campaigned strenuously against repeal as he also sought to halt the referendum.
[47] “Tax Payer Quotes Bible in Move to Halt Referendum,” Wyoming Eagle, July 8, 1932, p. 3.
[48] Spriggs v. Clark, Secretary of State, 14 P.2d 667 (1932).
[49] At 672-73.
[50] At 669.
[51] Id.
[52] Smith, born in Trumansburg, N. Y., came to Wyoming in 1918 to work as a ranch hand. In 1924, he took a job with the Converse County Sheriff’s office. After a term as livestock inspector in that area, he became deputy law enforcement commissioner under A. S. Roach. When the Wyoming Highway Patrol was authorized in 1933, he was named its captain, a post he held for eight years. Later, he was deputy sheriff in Laramie County and, during World War II, worked in security at a defense plant in Sidney, Neb. After the war, he returned to Cheyenne to be deputy sheriff and was named Deputy U. S. Marshall for Wyoming, a post he held at his death in 1955. “Services to be Held Today for George S. (Red) Smith,” Wyoming Eagle, Nov. 22, 1955, p. 19.
[53] “Veteran Law Enforcement Officer Declares for Government Sale of Liquor,” Wyoming Eagle, July 1, 1932, p. 1.
[54] Wyoming Eagle, May 10, 1932, p. 1
[55] Green River Star, May 13, 1932, p. 1, c. 7-8
[56] “Both Gov. Clark and Weston Showing Strength at Casper; Prohibition Issue is Growing,” Sheridan Press, May 9, 1932, p. 1. See also, Green River Star, June 17, 1932.
[57] “Anti-Repeal Man out for Congress,” Green River Star, Sept. 16, 1932.
[58] Ibid. Carpenter gained local renown in Cheyenne for “attempting to close down houses of prostitution” in the Capital City. “Carpenter Loses Fight in Campaign to ‘Purify’ Cheyenne,” Wyoming Eagle, July 1, 1932, p. 1.
[59] Virgina Cole Trenholm, Wyoming Blue Book. vol. II (Cheyenne: Wyoming State Archives and Historical Dept., 1974), p. 131.
[60] Wyoming Eagle, July 1, 1932, p. 1.
[61] As an example of Republican dislike for Clark, Milward Simpson wrote the following to Cong. Vincent Carter on June 5, 1934, long after the election: “Clark has done so much and double crossed so many, including Nels Smith and E. V. Robertson of Cody, that I sincerely believe that if he is nominated he will get one hell of a trimming. My experience with Clark has been very sad. He is not honest and straightforward, and double crossed me in a most brazen manner. It was over an incidental thing, too, which surprised me very much.” Letter, Simpson to Carter, June 5, 1934, Simpson Papers, Coll. 26, Box 100, Folder 5, American Heritage Center, UW. Weston, born in Canada in 1876, came to the United States and entered into a partnership with Jacob M. Schwoob in a Cody mercantile store in 1903. He had experience as a banker in Cody, Laramie, Rock Springs and Cheyenne prior to buying a ranch in Jackson Hole. Trenholm, p. 142. When he registered for the draft in 1917, he and his wife Sara were living in the Connor Hotel, Laramie, and he was employed at the First National Bank. United States, Selective Service System. World War I Selective Service System Draft Registration Cards, 1917-1918. Washington, D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration. M1509, Albany County, Wyoming; Roll: 1993030
[62] Virgina Cole Trenholm, Wyoming Bluebook, vol. II. (Cheyenne: Wyoming State Archives and Historical Dept., 1974), p. 628. Weston had 16,220 votes to Clark’s 15,945. Casper mayor E. W. Rowell, the only other candidate, polled 8,449 votes. For Miller’s 1930 announcement, see “L. A. Miller Announces Candidacy for Governor,” Wyoming Eagle, May 30, 1930, p. 1. Miller defeated rancher Thomas D. O’Neil by a vote of 13,997-11,100. Trenholm, p. 628.
[63] Trenholm, p. 630. Socialist candidate A. O. Blow polled 1,647 and Communist Party nominee Merton Willer had 180 votes. In the mid-1930s, Blow operated a Wheatland-based oil company with a station he later purchased in Torrington. “Blow Company Locates Here,” Torrington Telegram, Aug. 6, 1936, p. 1. The Prohibition Party fielded no candidates for statewide office in Wyoming throughout the dozen years that Prohibition was in effect.
[64] Wyoming State Tribune and Cheyenne State Leader, Nov. 10, 1932, p. 1, 2; Dec. 3, 1932, p. 1.
[65] “Message to the Legislature,” Basin Republican-Rustler, Jan. 19, 1933, p. 3.
[66] “Constitutional Amendment,” Basin Republican Rustler, March 16, 1933, p. 1. Miller issued the proclamation on March 14.
[67] Session Laws, 1933, Chap. 91, p. 108, repealing the ban on beer and ale; and Chap. 92, p. 109, repealing all of Chap. 59, Wyoming Revised Statutes of 1931, originally Senate File #50. Section 1 redefined what was allowed; Sec. 4 established license fees for establishments selling beer and ale. Approved Feb. 18, 1933. The law stipulated that the drinking age would be 21 years. “Evidently a man of 18 is old enough to get shot by an enemy in a war but he is not old enough to drink a glass of 3.2 beer, a legally non-intoxicating beverage,” one Sheridan man wrote in April 1933. Frederick L. Yates to Milward Simpson, April 13, 1933, Simpson Papers, Coll 26, Box 146, Folder 19. State Sen. Raymond was a former district judge in Newcastle. “Bills Signed by the Governor,” Basin Republican Rustler, March 2, 1933, p. 2.
[68] “Unfortunately, the Wyoming Beer law, as you say, is a damned fake. In my mind, and in the minds of many other people throughout the state, it is unconstitutional. I think it can be attacked from every angle.” Milward Simpson to Frederick L. Yates, April 10, 1933, in Simpson papers, Coll. 26, Box 146, Folder 19. Simpson wrote to James C. Reynolds of Sheridan on April 17, 1933: “We took a Legion booster to Red Lodge and Billings. The trip was a great success. Sixty-five of us were on the trip. We drank plenty of beer. It is good, but about one or two bottles is enough to put you to sleep. I don’t believe anyone could get drunk on this new beverage. That is probably as it should be. It is good for anyone who want to drink beer. It doesn’t take the place of a good old rye highball.” Simpson papers, coll. 26, Box 146, Folder 19.
[69] State v. Sparks; State v. Mangus; State v. Guinn and Marchant, noted in “Jury Term Ends Suddenly,” Basin Republican Rustler, Jan. 26, 1933, p. 6. The paper commented that it was the “least expensive jury term of court that has ever occurred in Big Horn County.”
[70] Session Laws, 1933, Chap. 19, “Repeal of Act Relating to State Law Enforcement Department,” effective date of March 31, 1922, approved Feb. 1, 1933. The act repealed Wyoming Revised Statutes, 1931, ss103-901 to 103-917. The bill was reported out of committee by a 3-2 vote. “State Oil Royalties Would Be Increased by New Bill,” Casper Herald, Jan. 27, 1931, p. 1. Voting for the bill were chairwoman Dora McGrath (R-Hot Springs), James Christian (R-Niobrara) and Earl Wright (R-Sweetwater). Charles A. Meyers (D-Uinta) and Robert A. Allan (R-Park) voted against abolishing the agency.
[71] “Resolution on Repeal Passed,” Basin Republican Rustler, Feb. 2, 1933, p. 1. The newspaper was owned by P. P. Anderson, Republican state chairman at the time.
[72] “Resolution on Repeal Passed,” Basin Republican Rustler, Feb. 2, 1933, p. 1. On page 3 of the same issue, the paper ran the WCTU column that was titled for the week, “Strong Words for Prohibition by Great Men.” The column noted that Big Horn County led the state with respect to sponsoring declamatory contests in schools on the temperance question.
[73] “WCTU Column,” Basin Republican Rustler, Feb. 9, 1933, p. 3. See also, the “WCTU Department” in the Torrington Telegram, Feb. 23, 1933, p. 7. The Torrington chapter hosted the Rev. Guy Konkel for a Friday meeting and held their weekly Saturday “25-cent dinner at the Legion Hall” at noon.
[74] “Many Changes in Appointive Offices Made,” Thermopolis Independent Record, April 14, 1933, p. 1. The last agents were Ira Sisco, Cheyenne; William Iredale, Rock Springs; and George Waln of Wheatland. Emma Gogerty was the department stenographer.
[75] Session Laws, 1933, Chap. 93, pp. 111-113. Section 1 authorized the governor to issue a proclamation calling for the convention; section 2 designated the procedures for setting up precinct caucuses and county conventions.
[76] Ibid. The bill was sponsored by Senators N. A. Pearson (D-Sheridan) and E. T. Lazeer (R-Laramie) as S. F. 102, Feb. 6, 1933. According to press accounts, Walls, the unsuccessful candidate for governor in the 1932 primary, had a significant role: “The pen with which the bill was signed was presented to W. L. Walls of Cheyenne, former Wyoming attorney general, who was the author of the bill and who helped steer its course through both houses from the sidelines.” “Wyoming First State to Provide Way for Acting on U. S. Dry Law Repeal,” Torrington Telegram, Feb. 23, 1933, p. 1.
[77] Julian Snow, “Precinct Conventions to Hold Main Interest on Repeal Problem,” Casper Tribune Herald, May 11, 1933, p. 5.
[78] Session Laws, 1933, “State Conventions to Consider the Constitution of the United States,” Senate Joint Resolution #3 (S.F. 102), approved Feb. 18, 1933, p. 111-13.
[79] Miller proclamation, 1933. A copy is held in the Eugene J. Sullivan papers, Coll. 3586, Box 1, Folder 9, American Heritage Center, University of Wyoming. The public proclamation was printed in Wyoming newspapers. For one example, see Platte County Record (Wheatland), March 23, 1933, p. 7.
[80] “Proceedings and Minutes of the Constitutional Convention for the State of Wyoming Held at Casper, Wyoming, May 25, 1933,” mimeographed copy held in the Chisum Room, University of Wyoming Library (Folio KF 4558 21st .W965 1933) Another copy is in the Eugene J. Sullivan Papers, Coll. 3586, AHC, box 1, folder 9. County conventions were convened by the chairman of the board of county commissioners until such point as a presiding chair was selected by the county convention. Proceedings, p. 4. For a printed question-and-answer sheet on the process, see “Repealer!”, an unattributed circular in the Simpson papers, Coll. 26, Box 146, Folder 19. In Big Horn County, commissioner Ed Shoemaker was chair. “Prohibitory Convention,” Basin Republican Rustler, April 6, 1933, p. 1.
[81] Wyoming Session Laws, 1933. Enrolled Act No. 53, 22nd Wyoming State Legislature.
[82] Julian Snow, “Precinct Conventions to Hold Main Interest in Vote on Repeal Problem,” Casper Tribune Herald, May 11, 1933, p. 5.
[83] “WCTU Column,” Basin Republican Rustler, April 20, 1933, p. 3.
[84] Editorial comments, L. P. Loomis, editor, Torrington Telegram, March 23, 1933, p. 4. The editor did observe that traffic from Nebraska ought to increase after repeal. “We might suggest that that little stretch of road near Henry should be oiled at once,” he added. Editorial comments, Torrington Telegram, March 30, 1933, p. 4.
[85] “Leaders Named for Caucuses of Precincts,” Torrington Telegram, April 13, 1933, p. 1; “Beer Law and Casper Convention are Separate,” Torrington Telegram, April 20, 1933, p. 4.
[86] “H. S. Kirk Heads Committee to Oppose Repeal,” Torrington Telegram, April 20, 1933, p. 1. The Telegram editor later commented on the fact that two “fighters” were facing each other on the issue. “H. S. Kirk of Lingle leading the dry forces and Pat Flannery of the Goshen News heading up the Association Against the Prohibition Amendment.” Editorial Comments, Torrington Telegram, May 4, 1933, p. 8.
[87] “WCTU Department,” Torrington Telegram, April 27, 1933, p. 6. In a later column, the writer asserted that the “White Ribbon army is ready for action.” Torrington Telegram, May 4, 1933, p. 7.
[88] “Business Will Suffer From Repeal,” Torrington Telegram, May 4, 1933, p. 4. Another in the same issue was titled, “Can We Afford To Invite Them to Return?”, arguing that saloons would come back. He attributed the American success in the Olympics in Los Angeles the previous year to the fact that the participants were all “children of Prohibition.”
[89] The national association president was Henry H. Curran with offices in New York City. Pierre S. DuPont was chairman of the organization’s executive committee. See letterhead, Henry H. Curran to Milward Simpson, Nov. 12, 1931, in Simpson papers, Coll. 26, Box 146, Folder 28.
[90] For a listing of members by county, for example, see “Everyone on this list contact your county chairmen…” in Simpson papers, Coll. 26, Box 146, Folder 19. For the bipartisan make-up, see for example, James B. Griffith, Republican of Lusk, is listed; so is Leroy Laird, Worland Democrat. While no exact determination was made, it appears that the organization had support from similar numbers in each party. The association held a meeting n Torrington, “but the names of the leaders in the caucus and the officers of the county organization have not been announced,” the dry newspaper, Torrington Telegram, noted. “Getting Under Way for Mass Convention,” Torrington Telegram, April 6, 1933, p. 1.
[91] Letter, F. L. Yates, titled “urgent,” in Simpson papers, Coll. 26, Box 146, Folder 19.
[92] Letter Frederick L. Yates, state secretary-treasurer of the organization, to Milward Simpson, April 13, 1933, in Simpson Papers, Coll. 26, Box 146, Folder 19.
[93] Bronson C. Rumsey to Milward Simpson, April 25, 1933, Simpson Papers, Coll. 26, Box 146, Folder 19.
[94] Yates letter, “Urgent,” in Simpson papers, Coll. 26, Box 146, Folder 11. “Owing to the fact that many established polling places are in school houses, you are urged to request that the county commissioners close the schools for that day.”
[95] Julian Snow, “Precinct Conventions to Hold Main Interest in Vote on Repeal Problem,” Casper Tribune-Herald, May 11, 1933, p. 5.
[96] Minutes, “Repeal Meeting, held at Park County Library, May 12, 1933, 8 p.m.,” in Simpson Papers, coll. 26, Box 146, Folder 19.
[97] “Wyoming Stands for Repeal Plan,” Basin Republican-Rustler, May 18, 1933, p. 1. The paper listed the delegates elected by precinct but noted that “Just what number of votes was cast in some precincts we are unable to report, since there was no organization interested in the collection of returns, and we have found it impossible to get the figures from a number of precincts.” The paper did report on totals from several precincts, however. In Lovell, all three precincts voted “dry” as well as Cowley and Byron. “The only Mormon precinct to go wet was Burlington which was lost to the drys by but six votes,” the paper noted. The vote was 57-51 in Burlington. The total for the county was 29 for the wets, 18 for the drys. (p. 5). In the Big Horn County convention, 17 dry delegates cast votes but were outpolled by the 27 who favored repeal. “Convention to be Unanimous,” Basin Republican Rustler, May 25, 1933, p. 1, 4. In Platte County, the “drys” won majorities in caucuses only in Chugwater and Sybille . “Wyoming Joins States Favoring Repeal of 18th Amendment of the U. S. Constitution,” Wheatland Times, May 18, 1933, p. 1.
[98] “State News,” Thermopolis Independent Record, May 28, 1933, p. 4. According to a hand-written note in the Simpson papers, the counts were as follows in Park County: “Precinct #1: 290-52; Precinct #2: 208-32; Precinct #3: 57-13; Wapiti: 17-0; Clark: 10-0; Frost Ranch: 16-0; Powell #1: 105-49; Powell #2: 92-25; Ralston: 13-11; Eagle: 3-0; Garland, 4-50; Meeteetse: 79-0; Ashurne 39-0; Sunshine: 7-0.” Simpson papers.
[99] “Henry Cottle, John McCallum Are Delegates,” Thermopolis Independent Record, May 19, 1933, p. 1.
[100] “Wets Take Lead in County,” Casper Tribune-Herald, May 15, 1933, p. 1.
[101] Telegram editor L. P. Loomis was one of the three candidates for the drys. “Three Wets Are Sent to Casper by Convention,” Torrington Telegram, May 18, 1933, p. 1. It was noted that only two women, Mrs. C. C. Downing and Mrs. E. F. Samuelson, attended as county delegates.
[102] “Repeal Caucus Contests Lively in Torrington,” Torrington Telegram, May 18, 1933, p. 1.
[103] “Looking Back a Little,” Torrington Telegram, May 25, 1933, p. 8.
[104] “Platte County Goes Wet; Delegates Elected to Casper,” Platte County Record, May 18, 1933, p. 1. The county convention selected three wets to represent Platte County at the state convention in Casper: B. L. Nixon, Wheatland; Hans Christensen, Glendo, and H. A. Wright, Sunrise.
[105] “Wets Take Lead in County,” Casper Tribune-Herald, May 15, 1933, p. 1.
[106] “County Precinct Results,” Casper Tribune-Herald, May 16, 1933, p. 7. The vote in Edgerton was 67-0. The North Casper precinct went 140-0 for the wets.
[107] “Wyoming Votes Repeal,” Casper Tribune-Herald, May 16, 1933, p. 1.
[108] “Convention on Repeal Held,” Casper Tribune Herald, May 18, 1933, p. 1, 4. Mr. E. C. Dry of Mountain View was introduced as a wet delegate.
[109] “Convention to be Unanimous,” Casper Tribune Herald, May 19, 1933, p. 1. The article noted that the popular vote was not “generally recorded: and in some precincts, no caucuses were held due to the small population.
[110] “Six Repeal Delegates are Named at County Convention,” Casper Tribune-Herald, May 18, 1933, p. 1.
[111] “Anti-Prohibition Bills Are Signed,” Sundance Times, Feb. 23, 1933, p. 1. For some counties, licenses were issued and operations seemed ready for the opening. In Cheyenne, 17 retailers and eight wholesalers were licensed for beer. Not all counties were as prepared, however. In Sweetwater County, for example, only one beer license had been issued by May 12. “Sweetwater County Board Issues Only One Beer License,” Casper Tribune Herald, May 12, 1933, p. 3.
[112] “Drys to Fight Wyoming Law,” Basin Republican Rustler, March 23, 1933, p. 1.
[113] “Drys to Fight Wyoming Law,” Basin Republican Rustler, March 23, 1933, p. 1, 5. An “anti-liquor rally” was set for Torrington on March 27. “WCTU Department,” Torrington Telegram, March 16, 1933, p. 7.
[114] Cheyenne Tribune-Leader, reprinted in its entirety in “Wyoming and the Beer Law,” Basin Republican Rustler, March 23, 1933, p. 6. The Torrington Telegram printed excerpts from the law. “The Wyoming Beer Bill,” Torrington Telegram, April 6, 1933, p. 8
[115] “WCTU Department,” Torrington Telegram, March 9, 1933, p. 2. The Telegram editor implied that repeal was a partisan issue: “Applications for the position as official beer taster will soon flood the Democratic headquarters,” he wrote. “Well, there are quite a number of the boys who think they know good beer.” Editorial briefs, Torrington Telegram, March 16, 1933, p. 4.
[116] “Collins Believes Beer Law May Help His Dept.,” Lusk Herald, March 30. 1933, p. 5.
[117] “Attorney General Answers Questions on Beer Statute,” Casper Tribune-Herald, May 12, 1933, p. 3. Most of the questions came from those interested in getting licenses.
[118] “Strict Beer License Ordinance at Powell,” Thermopolis Independent Record, May 19, 1933, p. 3.
[119] “More Licenses Issued Here,” Casper Tribune Herald, May 18, 1933, p. 1, 2.
[120] Editorial column by L. P. Loomis, Torrington Telegram, March 2, 1933, p. 8, c. 2.
[121] “Council Proceedings,” Torrington Telegram, April 27, 1933, p. 8. By the first week in May, the city clerk reported applications from six establishments including the Trail Hotel and Bungalow Hotel and the commissioners had applications from Henry and LaGrange. “Many Applications for Licenses to Sell Beer,” Torrington Telegram, May 4, 1933, p. 1. Two applications came for wholesaler licenses.
[122] “Riverton’s Beer Ordinance Was Passed Last Nite,” Riverton Review and Riverton Chronicle, May 4, 1933, p. 1.
[123] “Beer, But No Saloons, in Yellowstone Park,” Lusk Herald, March 30, 1933, p. 1.
[124] “Brewery is prepared if Repeal Wins,” Jackson’s Hole Courier, July 7, 1932, p. 1.
[125] “Beer Advertising in This State Reported as Legal,” Riverton Review and Riverton Chronicle, May 4, 1933, p. 1.
[126] Editorial column by L. P. Loomis, Torrington Telegram, May 18, 1933, p. 8. Apparently, beer did arrive in Torrington in time for opening, however. The paper noted the following week that 23 Hot Springs, South Dakota, good-will trippers“ enjoyed the town’s “beer parlors.” “Hot Springs Enjoys Wyoming Beer Parlors,” Torrington Telegram, May 25, 1933, p. 1.
[127] “Everything is Quiet Along the Platte,” Torrington Telegram, May 25, 1933, p. 8. The editor, admitting his long support for Prohibition, noted in another part of the column, “we doubt if national prohibition will ever come again.” “Thinking It Over After the Deluge,” Torrington Telegram, May 25, 1933, p. 8.
[128] “Henry Cottle, John McCallum Are Delegates,” Thermopolis Independent Record, May 19, 1933, p. 1. Papers supporting the “dry” cause were more grudging with comments about the beer law. For instance, in a tiny two paragraph story at the bottom of page 1, the Basin Republican Rustler headlined that “Tomorrow is Beer Day,” but in the article stated: “We suppose Friday will see a lot of satisfied folks in our community. However, this is not to be construed as an advertisement for beer, for the law strictly forbids advertising and ‘we don’t want no trouble with nobody.’” “Tomorrow is Beer Day,” Basin Republican Rustler, May 18, 1933, p. 1. In the next issue, no mention is made of how the day went, even though the week’s paper is filled with “boilerplate” articles. Basin Republican Rustler, May 25, 1933.
[129] Wyoming State Tribune and Cheyenne State Leader, May 20, 1933, p. 1. Cheyenne residents were as enthusiastic about repeal as Big Horn Basin residents: “”Old Cheyenne hopped on all its available means of transportation Thursday night and jammed the downtown streets to greet the return of the prodigal. At 12:01 o’clock this morning beer returned to the accompaniment of tooting automobile horns, the ump-pah of an improvised German band, the yodeling of quartets and the huzzahs of the multitudes.” Id.
[130] “State Waits for Foamy Brew,” Casper Tribune Herald, May 18, 1933, p. 1.
[131] “City Quenches Long Thirst,” Casper Tribune Herald, May 19, 1933, p. 1. The article noted that many of the beer trucks came in from Sheridan brewery overnight. Several days later, the paper reported that 18 cases of beer had been stolen from the store room of a local café. “Beer Taken in Robbery Here,” Casper Tribune Herald, May 22, 1933, p. 1.
[132] “Beer is Here for All Who Have an Anxious Seat for It,” Riverton Review and Riverton Chronicle, May 25, 1933, p. 1.
[133] “Collins Believes Beer Law May Help His Dept.,” Lusk Herald, March 30. 1933, p. 5.
[134] “City Council Plans War on Bootleggers,” Casper Tribune-Herald, May 16, 1933, p. 1. The item appeared on the same page as the results statewide overwhelmingly voting for repeal in precinct caucuses the previous day.
[135] “Reminiscences a Reality” (editorial), Riverton Review and Riverton Chronicle, June 8, 1933, p. 5. Duntsch refers to “a scandalous affair” having occurred the previous week in Hudson, but reveals no details either in the editorial or in the news pages of the issue.
[136] Convictions of bootleggers, however, were already on the wane. “Of nearly 300 prisoners in Rawlins,” the paper noted, “only three were still in for violations of the state prohibition law” in April, 1933. “Only Three in Pen for Dry Law Violation,” Wyoming State Tribune, April 14, 1933, p. 5. The three were serving sentences of 1-2 years. According to the paper, in light of legalization, it is “not known if they’d seek clemency.”
[137] Rowell finished third in a three-man field with 8,449 votes. Trenholm, p. 628. Rowell had moved to Casper in 1921, serving as mayor from 1930-34. In 1938, he moved to Anchorage, Alaska. He died at the age of 67 in Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minn., while being treated for a brain tumor in May 1953. “Former Casper Mayor is Dead,” Wyoming State Tribune, May 29, 1953, p. 20. See also 1930 U. S. Census, Wyoming, Casper, Natrona County, Roll 2624, p 94, E. D. 6. (April 1931), p. 244.
[138] National Municipal Review(April 1931), p. 244.”The League of Wyoming Municipalities was formed in the city of Cheyenne on January 2-3, with thirty-six delegates from cities and towns present. A constitution was adopted and the following officers were elected for the first year: E. W. Rowell of Casper, president; Cal Holliday of Cheyenne, vice president; G. R. McConnell of Laramie, executive secretary and treasurer; trustees George L. Smith of Sheridan, one-year term, W. Gwynn of Lovell, two-year term, William Rogers of Green River, three-year term.”
[139] 1930 Census: Wyoming. Casper, Natrona County, Roll 2624, p. 8B, E.D.7. Born in Missouri, he and his wife Olie, 31, apparently lived with their two young children in an apartment at the county jail.
[140] The indictments are detailed in stories in the Casper Tribune Herald. “Official Named in Charges,” Casper Tribune-Herald, May 1, 1933, p. 1; “Chief Quealy is Suspended,” Casper Tribune-Herald, May 3, 1933, p. 1. For the listing of the various defendants in the case, see Case file #3702, Wyoming Criminal Case Files, Box 100, RG 21, National Archives, Rocky Mountain Branch, Denver.
[141] The federal indictment alleged that: “Rowell took a $250 bribe from Joseph E. Warren about Sept. 15, 1930; Quealy took a $200 bribe from Warren about Feb. 15, 1931; Housley about March 1, 1931, he allowed Pat Nash to depart the county jail; David E. Davidson paid to Charles W. Tobin; Gilbert Davidson broke a jug against the side of the car at or near 543 S. Wolcott St. March 16, 1933; Guy Bartrum and Wm. A. White operated “The Mint” at 256 S. Center St. from Jan. 1-Dec. 31, 1931. Baird had possession of a quantity of whiskey at Union Pool Hall basement. Farrell operated business place known as Pinkie Farrell’s rear of 214 S. Center. Irch sold whiskey to C. F. Prehsaw at Standard Pool Hall, 226 W. 1st St. March 6, 1931, Mann worked at Standard Pool Hall; Jacklin sold whiskey to E. J. Reid, Nov. 1, 1932; Clarence E. Jones carried cases of beer to car near 232 E. 13th St.; Lesperance operated Grand Central business in Casper in Dec. 1931; Murphy delivered one gallon of whiskey to John L. Ohlsen, Fall of 1931.” Case file #3702, National Archives.
[142] The story was reported in every Wyoming newspaper. For a typical account in a weekly, see “Sheriff, Mayor and Chief of Police at Casper Under Fire by Federal Officers,” Lusk Herald, May 4, 1933, p. 1; and “Casper Officials Under Arrest,” Basin Republican Rustler, May 4, 1933, p. 1.
[143] “22 Seized In Casper Probe,” Casper Tribune Herald, May 5, 1933, p. 1.
[144] “Grand Jury Docket at Cheyenne Said Heavy,” Casper Tribune Herald, May 7, 1933, p. 1; Grand Jury Begins Session,” Casper Tribune-Herald, May 8, 1933, p. 1.
[145] “Beer Ordinance Nearing Final Passage,” Casper Tribune-Herald, May 9, 1933, p. 1. According to the report, of the 60 people attending, “prospective dealers predominated.” Acting mayor Walter Galles presided.
[146] “City Beer Ordinance Approved by Council,” Casper Tribune Herald, May 11, 1933, p. 1. Licenses were granted to 13 of 23 applicants. Town councils of other cities acted to consider beer licenses and ordinances regulating sales. See, for example, “Will Consider Beer Licenses,” Basin Republican Rustler, May 4, 1933, p. 1. The Basin ordinance, No. 224, signed by Mayor C. C. Phillippe, is published on p. 6. Six Basin men applied for the retail beer licenses and five of the six were awarded. “Council Proceedings,” Basin Republican Rustler, May 11, 1933, p. 6.
[147] “13 Permits of Sale Awarded,” Casper Tribune-Herald, May 11, 1933, p. 2. “It was the measure submitted by Mayor Rowell, subject to the revisions made after second and third readings, that was enacted,” the Casper paper reported.
[148] “Rowell Retires as Mayor, Pending Outcome of Trial on U. S. Charges,” Casper Tribune-Herald, May 16, 1933, p. 1.
[149] “Motion for change of venue to Cheyenne, May 29,1933,” National Archives. The trial was reset for Cheyenne on July 17, 1933.
[150] Case file #3702, National Archives
[151] “Goldberg Case Delay Refused,” Casper Tribune Herald, May 7, 1933, p. 4; “Goldberg and ‘Deacon’ Jones on Trial Here,” Wyoming State Tribune, May 15, 1933, p. 1.
[152] “Judge Forcing Goldberg Case,” Wyoming State Tribune, May 6, 1933, p. 1.
[153] 1930 Census: Wyoming. Kemmerer, Lincoln County, Roll 2623, p. 15A, E. D. 1. Three years earlier, when the census was taken, Goldberg and his wife May and infant daughter lived next door to the county attorney. At that time, a 31-year-old Rumanian-born boarder and his wife shared the Goldberg house along with a 24-year-old house maid.
[154] “Witnesses Display Enmity in Goldberg-Jones Trial,” Wyoming State Tribune, May 16, 1933, p. 1.
[155] “Goldberg and Jones Awaiting Jury’s Verdict,” Wyoming State Tribune, May 17, 1933, p. 1. Louis Gomel Jones, born in Mound City, Mo., in 1874, served in the Spanish-American War with the Kansas Infantry. He moved to Opal, Wyoming, after the war and worked as meatcutter at the Opal Mercantile. Later, he homesteaded on the south fork of the Fontenelle where he raised sheep. After selling the ranch, he was appointed game warden and, later, officer of the Law Enforcement Department. After a stint as town marshal of Kemmerer, he served as a cell block captain under Warden A. J. Roach at Rawlins, and later, as a guard at Sinclair and at an ordnance depot in Ogden. For a time, he was “receptionist” in the Wyoming State Capitol. He died in Kemmerer at the age of 94 in 1968. “Louis Gomel Jones Died Early Friday Morning in Local Hospital,” Kemmerer Gazette, April 4, 1968, p. 1, 8.
[156] “Acquittal Comes as Climax to Two Goldberg-Jones Trials,” Wyoming State Tribune, May 19, 1933, p. 1; “Goldberg and Jones Freed,” Casper Tribune-Herald, May 19, 1933, p. 1. Goldberg died suddenly at the age of 49 of a heart attack while he was “sewing up a knife wound on Night Marshal Jack Piz’s nose. He hadtaken six stitches in the wound when he succumbed… Dr. R. O. Hummer finished closing the wound with eight stitches. Piz said the wound was made by a man whom he later shot in the abdomen and who was in a critical condition at a Kemmerer hospital.” “Wyoming Doctor Expires While at Work on Patient,” Sheridan Press, July 17, 1944, p. 1.
[157] The delegates, by county, were: Albany County: N. A. Swenson, alternate for T. L. Johnson, J. R. Sullivan, Oscar Hammond; Big Horn: J. P. Wheeler, alternate for T. K. Bishop, J. R. French, alternate for H. B. Richardson; Campbell County: Guy Garrett, W. D. McGrew; Carbon: Victor H. Scepansky, alternate for H. J. Cashman, Gus Larson, C. D. Williamson; Converse: Waldo Bolln, Joe Garst; Crook: Chas Louis, alternate for James T. McGuckin, G. W. Earle, alternate for Jay Durfee; Fremont: Mrs. Sam Payne, Walter Oswald, R. S. Price (also alternates Charles Moore and A. O. Heyer); Goshen: L. G. Flannery, J. M Roushar, Erle H. Reid (also alternate Wm Bosse); Hot Springs: Henry Cottle, John McCullum; Johnson County: Frank O. Horton, Jean Van Dyke (also alternates Burton Hill and Richie Young); Laramie: A. D. Homan, Fred W. Roedel, Wilfrid O’Leary, Abe Goldstein, Perry Williams, Fred Hofmann (also alternates W. Q. Phelan and T. Joe Cahill); Lincoln County: Dr. C. D. Stafford, Glen E. Sorensen, Oluf Jefson; Natrona County: Robert N. Ogden; J. E. Jones, alternate for John Nance, T. F. Speckbacker, T. C. Spears, E. J. Sullivan, J. F. Cowan (also alternate L. B. Townsend); Niobrara County: Albert P. Bruch, C. W. Erwin; Park County: Alex Linton, B. C. Rumsey, M. L. Simpson (also alternate Eugene Phelps); Platte County: Hans Christiansen; B. L. Dixon; Sheridan County: Malcolm Moncreiffe, Peter Kooi, R. A. Keenan, Roy Bedford; Sublette County: Albert Larson (also E. D. Key, his alternate); Sweetwater County: William Evers, Dr. R. H. Sanders, Glen A. Knox, P. C. Bunning, Joe Bertagnolli; Teton County: R. C. Lundy, Sr., O. A. Pendergraft; Uinta County: Matthew Morrow, S. S. Kastor, J. H. Holland; Washakie County: Dr. W. O. Gray, R. C. Schultz (also L. L. Dorman, alternate); Weston County: A. F. Leslie, alternate for E. C. Raymond, M. M. Falk (also A. S. Boatsman, alternate)
[158] “Wyoming Casts Formal Vote for Repeal,” Casper Tribune Herald, May 25, 1933, p. 1.
[159] Ibid.; “State of Wyoming Voted Repeal on 25th,” Riverton Review and Riverton Chronicle, June 1, 1933, p. 1. Oddly, Mrs. Payne is mentioned as the only woman delegate in the last sentence of the story with no local references made to her.
[160] “Wyoming Casts Formal Vote for Repeal,” Casper Tribune Herald, May 25, 1933, p. 2.
[161] “Wyoming Casts Formal Vote for Repeal,” Casper Tribune Herald, May 25, 1933, p. 1.
[162] Proceedings, p. 11. Reid had served as president of the Wyoming State Bar in 1929. Reid, born in Tarkio, Mo., in 1887, was admitted to the Wyoming Bar in 1911. He practiced law in Torrington until his death at the age of 67 on March 4, 1954, in Torrington. He was president of the Wyoming Taxpayers Association from its inception in 1937 until 1950. “Erle H. Reid, Torrington Lawyer, Dies,” Wyoming State Tribune, March 4, 1954, p. 1.
[163] “Wyoming Casts Formal Vote for Repeal,” Casper Tribune Herald, May 25, 1933, p. `1.
[164] “Reid Declares Convention Report Wrong,” Torrington Telegram, June 1, 1933, p. 1. Reid explained that there were three slates developing for convention officers and Horton wrongly assumed that because the other two were headed by Republicans, E. J. Sullivan of Casper and Frank Horton himself, that Reid’s must be the nomination for the Democrats.
[165] Proceedings, p. 16.
[166] Proceedings, p. 21.
[167] Casper Tribune Herald, Ibid., p. 2.
[168] Casper newspapers failed to mention Simpson’s comments. Nothing is reported about this aspect of the convention by the Casper Tribune Herald that provided lengthy coverage of the convention. May 25, 1933.
[169] Message of Gov. Leslie Miller, Dec. 4, 1933, Senate Journal of the Special Session of the 22nd State Legislature of Wyoming (1933). Laramie: Laramie Printing Co., 1933), pp. 10-26. At 14. House Bill 6, passed by the 1933 legislature, eliminated the State Department of Law Enforcement. House Journal of the 22nd State Legislature of Wyoming, 1933, p..
[170] “Wyoming, One of First States to Vote Repeal, Remains Dry,” Wyoming Eagle, Nov. 3, 1933, p. 12.
[171] “Dry Enforcement Now Up to Bureau of Investigation,” Wyoming Eagle, August 10, 1933, p. 3. The article noted that: “Almost unnoticed in the rush of recovery activity, the prohibition bureau was quietly laid to rest…”
[172] “Two Prohibition Agents Retained for New Bureau,” Wyoming Eagle, Aug. 11, 1933, p. 1. The two were C. D. Lindsley and J. A. Vance.
[173] “Records and Files Removed as Local Dry Office is Closed,” Wyoming Eagle, Sept. 15, 1933, p. 1. See also, Phil Roberts, “Inside Federal Prohibition Enforcement in Wyoming,” Annals of Wyoming 74 (Fall 2002), pp. 2-8.
[174] Gust Ellis, Rawlins, was arrested June 27 and charged with possession and transportation of liquor. George and Fred Picard of Saratoga were arrested the following day for possession. Albert P. Wegher, Newcastle, became the last Wyomingite arrested by federal prohibition officers on June 29. He was charged with possessing a still. “Federal Booze Charges Filed Against Four,” Wyoming Eagle, July 7, 1933, p. 4. It should be noted, however, that law officers continued to arrest and charge bootleggers even after the Prohibition laws were repealed because the new state regulations did not permit individual manufacture of liquor.
[175] Griffenhagen Report (2 vols.)
[176] Message, p. 14.
[177] Message, p. 15.
[178] According to Miller’s address to the opening of the 1933 legislature, his proposal for a beverage control commission was ” modeled after the commission proposed by Mr. Fosdick and Scott of New York City in a book titled Toward Liquor Control.” See Raymond B. Fosdick and Albert L. Scott, Toward Liquor Control. (New York: Harper and Brothers, 1933). The foreword was written by John D. Rockefeller, Jr., a major Teton County landowner at the time, who funded the Fosdick-Scott work.
[179] Named were: Dist. Judge V. J. Tidball, Laramie; Rt. Rev. Patrick McGovern, bishop of Catholic diocese of Cheyenne; F. S. Burrage, Laramie publisher; Mrs. A. C. Meloney, president of State Federation of Women’s Clubs; Dr. W. A. Steffin, Sheridan; R. R. Rose, Casper attorney and former district judge; Grant Taggart of Cowley representing the LDS church; J. N. Bayless, Rock Springs superintendent of the UP Coal Company; R. J. Hofmann, Cheyenne grain dealer; the Rev. I. B. Wood, Methodist minister in Cheyenne; Mrs. Minnie A. Warren, Riverton housewife; D. P. B. Marshall, Sheridan attorney and president of the Sheridan Press; Mrs. T. S. Taliaferro, Jr., Rock Springs, former president of the State Federation of Women’s Clubs; J. F. Minnick, Casper printer and union labor representative; Blake Cassidy, Gillette, druggist. “Committee Named on Liquor Control,” Wyoming State Tribune, Sept. 1, 1933, p. 5.
[180] “Wyoming’s Liquor Committee Not to Meet Until Rockefeller Reports Completed on Oct. 20,” Wyoming Eagle, Oct. 15, 1933, p. 1.
[181] “Wyoming’s Liquor,” id.
[182] “Wyoming’s Liquor,” id.
[183] Attorney General Says State Can Control Liquor Business,” Wyoming Eagle, Nov. 3, 1933, p. 1.
[184] Session Laws of Wyoming, 1933, Chap. 61, originally HB 82, pp. 66-72, passed Dec. 18, 1933. The act prohibited sale of beer where “public dancing is permitted” (sec. 5); licenses granted by county commissioners (sec. 5); $100 license fee (Sec. 4); hotels, restaurants, private clubs, railroads, grocery stores, but only those doing business for at least one year prior to passage of the act (sec. 3); a 3-cents-per-gallon tax applied (sec. 9); no sale to anyone under 21 (sec.6) or to “habitual drunkards” (sec. 19).
[185] Special Session, 1933, Chap. 61, Intoxicating Liquors, originally House Bill 82, approved Dec. 28, 1933, pp. 66-72. Sec. 3 designated the businesses/clubs who could seek licenses; Sec. 4 set license fees; Sec. 5 set rules for retailers outside town limits; Sec. 6 stipulated the legal age for consumption at 21 years old; and Sec. 8 set up a tax rate of 3 cents per gallon to be paid to the state.
[186] SJR 3, p. 178.
This article first appeared in 2011: “Wyoming’s Second Constitutional Convention and the Repeal of Prohibition,” Annals of Wyoming 83 (Autumn 2011), pp. 10-31