Anonymous Interview on Bootlegging During Prohibition

In this interview with a confidential source about bootlegging in Corvallis during the Prohibition Era, Anonymous begins with a description of how the bootleggers delivered their goods to their customers and the competition between different bootleggers. The source recalls a shooting that took place after one bootlegger, Ebe Mills, stole the product of Bill Henderson, another bootlegger. Mills was shot and killed by Henderson at the Julian Hotel.

Next, Anonymous describes how the moonshine was made out in the hills around town, and how the bootleggers tried to be known well enough to attract customers but low-profile enough to evade the law. Then the source discusses Oregon’s legislation of alcohol, including banning it even before the 18th amendment, and the punishments that were enforced for drinking, making, or buying alcohol. The source describes a still operated by a bootlegger that he saw and the activities of the Anti-Saloon League trying to catch bootleggers.

To conclude, Anonymous discusses the amount of alcohol the bootleggers would supply and how much they would charge for it.