Ambassador’s Cabin Turned Into Moonshine Distillery
While the U.S. Ambassador to Peru was away, local law enforcement raided his vacation cabin to find a family operating an illegal still in the basement.
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.
Discovery was made recently that the summer home of Miles Poindexter, United States ambassador to Peru, and former Senator from Washington, has been used for several weeks as a moonshiners cabin, it was announced by Sheriff Clark of Spokane County. George Bostwick was arrested at the cabin, which is located on the Little Spokane River. The deputies declared they found a 13-year-old boy, a son of Bostwick, in the basement stirring the mash. They said they were unable to learn if Bostwick had rented the cabin or if Mr. Poindexter knew that it was being occupied.
“The deputies declared they found a 13-year-old boy, a son of Bostwick, in the basement stirring the mash.”
During the height of Prohibition, the illicit liquor trade frequently turned rural retreats into industrial workspaces. It remains a classic story of an absentee landlord's property being quietly reclaimed by the local economy, much to the embarrassment of the authorities.
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