The Puyallup 'Dry' War Turns to the Grand Jury
A simmering conflict between local factions erupts into a legal investigation, with druggists under fire for allegedly selling liquor in a 'closed town.'
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.
Puyallup's illegal liquor traffic was the topic of investigation by the grand jury this morning, and it is rumored that several drug dealers and their prescription clerks, alleged to have been selling liquor in Puyallup, are to be made uncomfortable before the inquiry is concluded. Today's witnesses were of two factions: the 'wets' and 'drys' of Puyallup. It is a well-known fact that several prominent persons of Puyallup have been dissatisfied with the 'closed town' ordinance and have managed to procure their liquor regardless of every precaution. With the arrest last week of two 'drunks and disorderlies,' the drys became suspicious and called upon the jury for an investigation. Charles Quinn, a clerk of the Valley Drug Store, was the only witness subpoenaed who did not appear today, and his arrest was ordered.
“It is a well known fact that several prominent persons of Puyallup have been dissatisfied with the 'closed town' ordinance and have managed to procure their liquor regardless of every precaution.”
Prohibitionist sentiment was a powerful force in Washington state long before the 1916 statewide ban. This clash between the 'wets' and 'drys' of Puyallup illustrates how local drugstores often became the frontline of the struggle, acting as the only legal point of access for spirits in dry territories.
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