Up To Prohibition
In the few years leading up to the Volstead Act and Prohibition, C. Person's Sons enjoyed ever-increasing success. The firm was eventually established on historic Elm Street in Buffalo, occupying an impressive five-story building, specifically built for the firm. The building had lavish salesrooms and massive storerooms.
In 1908, C. Person's Sons appeared before a New York district court for violation of applicable laws relating to distilleries and whiskey as a medicinal component only. In the case, 93 cases of C. Person's Sons whiskey was confiscated (each case containing 12 bottles each) and ordered destroyed, unless properly packaged as a medicinal medium only, along with payment of a $2,000 bond. According to case files, the packaging was corrected and the bond was paid.
When Prohibition was finally enacted, C. Person's Sons was forced to close down, being too large of a business to continue running as a speakeasy or moonshine operation. Two weeks before the official closing, people from all over Western New York began lining up to buy and presumably stock up on what would soon become an illegal commodity. The line formed each day, all day, and when the business finally closed its doors, there were still 2,000 cases of whiskey still remaining, giving testament to the size and volume of C. Person's Sons business.
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Famous quotes containing the word prohibition:
“Prohibition will work great injury to the cause of temperance. It is a species of intemperance within itself, for it goes beyond the bounds of reason in that it attempts to control a man’s appetite by legislation, and makes a crime out of things that are not crimes. A Prohibition law strikes a blow at the very principles upon which our government was founded.”
—Abraham Lincoln (1809–1865)