Kennewick Declares War on the Bottle
With state prohibition looming, the city council passes a sweeping ordinance to criminalize the possession, sale, and even the advertisement of alcohol.
The story, cleaned up
A cleaned-up reading of the newspaper page: spelling and layout repaired, one story lifted off a crowded page. It follows the original closely but it is not a transcription. The original page is below; read it if a detail matters.
The City Council of Kennewick has passed Ordinance No. 190, effective five days after publication, banning the manufacture, keeping, sale, or distribution of intoxicating liquors within city limits. The ordinance defines 'intoxicating liquor' broadly to include whiskey, brandy, gin, rum, ale, beer, and any liquid containing alcohol capable of use as a beverage. Possession is strictly limited to two quarts of hard liquor or twelve quarts of beer. The law creates strict regulations for druggists and pharmacists, requiring meticulous record-keeping for medicinal or sacramental sales, and authorizes police to search premises and seize property based on probable cause. Any place found in violation is declared a 'common nuisance' and may be ordered closed by the court. Fines for violations are set at a maximum of one hundred dollars, payable to the city's indebtedness fund.
“All premises, buildings, vehicles and boats whereon and wherein intoxicating liquor is manufactured, sold... are common nuisances, and may be abated as such.”
This 1916 ordinance was a local precursor to the national Prohibition era, reflecting the deep cultural divisions over moral legislation in early 20th-century Washington. Today, the debate over regulating vices like alcohol or cannabis continues to play out through local zoning and licensing, echoing the same civic tension between individual liberty and public order.
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