Jackson Prison Industries - Historical Society of Michigan

MICHIGAN’S RUM
REBELLION
by J. Anne Funderburg
On Valentine’s Day
1920, less than a month
after Prohibition began, a raid to
enforce the Volstead Act ignited a
firestorm in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula.
State constables raided three houses in
Iron County, confiscated barrels of wine,
and sparked a conflict dubbed the “Rum
Rebellion.”
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W
inemaking was
a hallowed
tradition among
many Iron
County families.
They enjoyed having wine with
their meals, and, regardless of what
federal Prohibition laws existed,
didn’t believe the government
had a right to deny them that
small pleasure.
The Rum Rebellion began when
a group of state constables seized
wine at the home/grocery store of
John Scalcucci, who lived with his
brothers in Virgil Location, a
mining camp. The constables
expected the Scalcuccis to be
indicted, and since the wine
would be needed as evidence
in court, they contacted Martin
McDonough—the state’s attorney
for Iron County—to ask for a
secure place to store it before
the trial.
McDonough, however, disagreed
with the seizure. He believed that
the citizens of Iron County had
the right to own wine based on
exemptions in the Volstead law,
Previous page: Prohibition in the United States was a
hotly contested and widely disregarded law, which led to
the use of federal agents to locate and punish violators.
(Photo courtesy of the National Archives and Records
Administration.) This page, above: Barrels of wine found in
the basement of the Scalcucci brothers’ grocery store. This
page, left: State Attorney Martin McDonough fought to
defend the rights of Iron County citizens who possessed wine
as permitted by the Volstead Act. (Both photos courtesy of
the Iron County Historical & Museum Society.) Next page:
Major A.V. Dalrymple and agent Leo Grove standing together
in Chicago, Illinois. (Photo courtesy of the Chicago Daily
News, Chicago History Museum, DN-0072347.)
44 | MICHIGAN HISTORY
and was determined to protect
that right. The attorney told the
constables that they had no right
to confiscate the wine and ordered
them to return it.
The constables flatly refused.
They had procured a search
warrant before the raid and
were certain that the wine fit the
Volstead law’s definition of an
intoxicant—any beverage with
an alcoholic content higher than
one-half of one percent. To settle
the matter, McDonough promised
to take the Scalcucci case to court
right away.
TAKING THE CASE TO TRIAL
The trial was held four days later
at the Iron River Town Hall. There,
it was proven that samples of the
confiscated wine had an alcohol
content of 5 to 14 percent, which
classified it as illegal.
However, the alcohol content
wasn’t the only issue. The Volstead
Act allowed citizens to keep all
liquor they had made or purchased
before January 17, 1920, as long as
they did not sell it. The Scalcucci
brothers had bought a railcar load
of grapes and made their wine
before the January deadline, and
the dry law allowed them to store
it in their home for personal use.
Since the Scalcucci brothers lived
and worked in the same building,
they could keep the wine in their
grocery store.
Although McDonough was the
prosecutor, he argued that the
case should be dismissed because
the Scalcuccis hadn’t sold the
wine. “No evidence of a sale was
obtained against these
men,” he explained. “No
indications lead to the
belief that the store was
being used as a place of
public resort. No evidence
has been obtained to show
that wine was used as a
product of trade or barter…
The breath of suspicion
has never been raised in this
community against [the] Scalcucci
brothers. They are honest, lawabiding, respectable citizens.”
After hearing McDonough’s
remarks, the judge dismissed the
case. The Scalcuccis reclaimed
their wine and returned home.
FEDERAL AGENTS BECOME INVOLVED
Not everyone agreed with the
judge’s decision. Shortly after
the trial, a state constable in
Iron County contacted federal
Prohibition officials and convinced
them that the Scalcuccis had
violated the dry law. A federal
Prohibition agent named Leo
Grove then led constables in
another raid at the Scalcuccis’
store, where they found 11 barrels
of wine. The constables loaded
five barrels on a sleigh and headed
toward constabulary headquarters
in Caspian, Michigan. Agent Grove
stayed at the Scalcuccis’ place to
guard the other barrels until they
could be moved to safe storage.
News of the raid quickly reached
McDonough, who dispatched
deputy sheriffs to intercept the
sleigh on the way to Caspian.
When the two groups met on the
road, the deputies accused the
constables of seizing legal wine.
Heated words and threats flew
in all directions. The constables
refused to surrender the wine, but
they did agree to take the sleigh
back to the Scalcuccis’ residence to
consult with Grove.
Meanwhile, McDonough hired
a rig and rushed to the Scalcuccis’
place, taking two policemen with
him. When McDonough arrived,
he ordered Grove to leave the
Scalcuccis alone because the court
had already dismissed their case.
Grove countered that the court had
erred and accused McDonough
of interfering with federal law
enforcement. When McDonough
demanded to see Grove’s search
warrant and credentials, the agent
admitted that he had neither a
search warrant nor the standard
I.D. card issued to Prohibition
agents. He did, however, have a
letter saying he was a federal agent.
McDonough examined the letter
but found it unconvincing.
McDonough finally threatened
to have Grove arrested, which
prompted the agent to stand down
for the time being. Though he
left town, Grove vowed he would
return to enforce Prohibition in
Iron River.
THE REBELLION MAKES HEADLINES
It soon became clear that Grove
wasn’t bluffing. After returning
home from Iron River, he enlisted
the help of Major A.V. Dalrymple,
the federal official in charge of
enforcing the Volstead Act in
the Central West District, which
included Michigan. Dalrymple was
livid that McDonough and the local
lawmen had defied a federal agent.
He telegraphed the U.S. attorney
general in Washington to request
authorization to lead an armed
force into Iron County. In his
wire, Dalrymple declared that
Iron River was staging “an
actual revolt against the United
States government.”
Dalrymple’s telegram was
immediately released to the
press, which caused a general
uproar in the media. Reporters
wanted a bigger story, and
the bombastic major was more
than happy to oblige. “The federal
representatives have been flouted,
insulted, and practically driven
from the Upper Peninsula,” he
said. “We are organizing a force of
armed revenue agents to make a
‘clean-up,’ and if this force proves
insufficient we will issue a call for
troops to act.”
The major added that the federal
government had given him carte
blanche to restore order, with or
without warrants. He vowed to
arrest Martin McDonough and the
local lawmen who had interfered
with the enforcement of the
Volstead law. “I shall put respect
and fear of the law into Iron County,
cost what it may,” he declared.
Reporters, photographers, and
newsreel cameramen rushed to
Iron River to witness the upcoming
conflict. When they arrived,
however, they were surprised to see
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white towels, sheets, pillowcases,
and even petticoats hanging from
windows and rooftops. Dalrymple’s
rhetoric had terrified the residents.
They didn’t want to do battle with
the federal government.
The newsmen also discovered
that, save the Scalcuccis’ barrels
of wine, Iron River was bone
dry. Frightened locals had spent
hours ridding the town of liquor.
Some residents had emptied their
bottles or casks in their backyards
and watched sadly as the liquid
soaked into the snow. Others
had loaded barrels of booze onto
sleds or wagons and carried the
contraband to hiding places in
caves, mine shafts, or the woods.
The locals had dried up Iron River
so completely that the newsmen
couldn’t find a single drink. “All
the tricks and signs and passwords
that work well with Milwaukee and
Chicago bartenders are of no avail,”
a reporter wrote. “This county is the
driest Sahara in the United States.”
Another newsman decided “to work
the barbershops” to find a drink.
“After two haircuts, five shaves,
and a massage," he "had to give it
up.” The locals wouldn’t sell him a
drop of alcohol.
MAJOR DALRYMPLE
ARRIVES IN IRON RIVER
On February 23, Dalrymple
took the night train from his
headquarters in Chicago to Iron
River. While everyone waited
for his arrival, the newsmen
interviewed McDonough. The
young attorney stated that the
Rum Rebellion didn’t present a
serious danger to federal authority.
He would submit peaceably if
Dalrymple or another federal
officer tried to arrest him and
would turn over any evidence
the federal officials requested. In
fact, McDonough would “cooperate
with them in every way.” However,
46 | MICHIGAN HISTORY
Major Dalrymple sorts through a storage room for contraband during the Prohibition Era. (Photo courtesy of the
Chicago Daily News, Chicago History Museum, DN-0072348.)
he would not allow Prohibition
agents to arrest anyone in Iron
County without a proper warrant
and would do everything necessary
to protect the citizens’ right to
due process.
Major Dalrymple arrived in
Iron River around midnight,
accompanied by 35 lawmen
armed with submachine guns
and revolvers holstered on their
hips. State constables and federal
Prohibition agents from Milwaukee
were en route to join his force.
After checking into a hotel
and sleeping for a few hours,
Dalrymple set out on his mission.
He led his heavily armed troops
to the home of Father H.J. Lenhart
of St. Agnes Catholic Church. The
priest’s basement had been chosen
as the repository for confiscated
alcohol because it “was the only
place in the village” with a secure
lock. Father Lenhart gave his key to
Dalrymple and stood aside.
Dalrymple’s men confiscated
the Scalcuccis’ barrels of wine
and carried them from the cellar
to the street where the newsmen
could see the show. Holding a
sledgehammer borrowed from
the local blacksmith, Dalrymple
posed for still photos and newsreel
footage. Then, he swung the heavy
hammer and split open a wine
cask. His agents joined in, smashing
barrels and pouring 450 gallons
of wine into the street, watching
with satisfaction as it trickled down
the gutter.
A TENSE CONFRONTATION
When the lawmen finished the
demolition, they adjourned to a
hotel for lunch. After eating, Major
Dalrymple assembled his men in
the hotel lobby to plan their next
move. A newsman reported what
happened next: “Quietly, there
entered the front door a young man
perhaps thirty-five, immaculately
dressed, and apparently just from
his barber’s.”
Martin McDonough had arrived.
He looked around, sized up the
situation, and confronted Dalrymple.
The attorney warned that if the
federal agents laid a hand on any
man in the county to arrest him,
McDonough would have the entire
gang arrested and thrown in jail.
Dalrymple, incensed, replied
hotly, “Oh, go on and peddle
your papers!”
McDonough remained cool. “I
haven’t got any papers to peddle,”
he remarked. “But I notice you
have been peddling plenty of stuff
to the papers. You seem to be an
expert at it.”
Dalrymple’s eyes flashed with
anger, but McDonough didn’t stop
there. He went on to call the major
a liar, a publicity seeker, and “a
natural-born grandstander.” The
two men glared at one another—
fisticuffs could start at any moment.
It was the timely actions of a
news photographer that ultimately
broke the tension. Stepping
forward, he asked McDonough if he
wouldn’t mind posing for a picture.
Another photographer suggested
that Dalrymple be in the picture
too. The enemies suddenly changed
their demeanor, smiling and joking
as they posed for still photos in the
hotel lobby. Afterward they went
outside, smiled, and shook hands
for the newsreel cameras.
The tension had dissipated, and
both men seemed to be looking
for a graceful exit. Dalrymple
announced that he had received an
urgent telegram from Washington,
directing him to return to Chicago
with his men to begin a new
assignment. Michigan’s assistant
attorney general and the U.S.
district attorney in Grand Rapids
had announced that they were
coming to Iron River to assess the
situation. McDonough agreed to
confer with them before taking
further action.
The great Rum Rebellion had
simply fizzled out. There would be
no battle, nor a sensational news
story. The newsmen grabbed their
bags and rushed to catch the first
train out of town.
EPILOGUES AND THE END
OF PROHIBITION
After Dalrymple returned to
his office in Chicago, he declared
that he wasn’t finished with Iron
County. “[T]he fight isn’t ended
by any means. We’re going to
attack in a new sector,” he stated.
“Washington called us off, or
we would have come back with
prisoners, and I still think we’ll get
them as soon as I have given all the
facts to my superiors. Take it from
me, that man McDonough is going
to go to the penitentiary for what
he has done.”
Dalrymple’s bosses in Washington
didn’t authorize another invasion
to dry up Iron County. In fact, they
greatly restricted his power by
ordering him to ask the district
attorney and the United States
commissioner for pre-approval
for all raids. In addition, they
specified that U.S. Marshals must
accompany the major’s agents on
every raid and take custody of all
confiscated alcohol.
However, Major Dalrymple
did enjoy one small victory—the
satisfaction of seeing the Scalcucci
brothers indicted for unlawful
possession of intoxicants. They
stood trial in federal court in
Marquette, Michigan, where
they were found guilty and
fined $100 each.
As time went on, Dalrymple
became increasingly frustrated
with his work because enforcing
Prohibition proved impossible. He
later argued that the Volstead Act
should be modified to legalize beer
and light wines. Finally, he resigned
from his federal job in Chicago and
moved to California to practice law.
In April 1933, Dalrymple accepted
the post of national director of the
Prohibition Bureau, becoming the
last person to hold that job before
the Federal Bureau of Investigation
took over Prohibition enforcement
in August of that year. Although
Dalrymple was not transferred
to the FBI, he remained on the
government payroll as a special
investigator until his retirement.
The Rum Rebellion made
McDonough famous far beyond
Iron River. He became a hero
to a national audience of antiProhibition activists, many of
whom urged him to run for
president. He had critics too. A
Chicago newspaper called him
“the gasconading bootleggers’
hero” and “the bootleggers’ beau
ideal.” A federal judge claimed that
McDonough had “both misdirected
and misadvised” the Scalcucci
brothers, while the Illinois AntiSaloon League condemned him and
demanded his indictment.
The young attorney wasn’t
indicted, however, and it wasn’t
long before he attempted to parlay
his sudden fame into a political
career. McDonough eventually
ran for U.S. Congress but lost. He
also failed in his bid to become
the Republican Party’s nominee
for vice president of the United
States. In the end, McDonough had
the satisfaction of playing a minor
but meaningful role in repealing
the Volstead Act. He served as a
delegate to the Michigan State
Convention that voted to ratify
the 21st Amendment, which
officially repealed Prohibition on
December 5, 1933.
J. Anne Funderburg is the author of
Bootleggers and Beer Barons of the
Prohibition Era and Rumrunners:
Liquor Smugglers on America’s
Coasts, 1920-1933.
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