Prohibition and Congress?

Dear Cloture Historian -

I’ve heard rumors that despite prohibition being in effect in the 1920′s, Members of Congress didn’t always adhere to this and there was a bootlegger that was strictly for Members.  Is this true and who was the guy?

Thanks!

- Beerfan

Dear Beerfan…

You are indeed correct.  There was a personal bootlegger by the name of George Cassiday.  It is one of my favorite stories!

During the Prohibition years, Cassiday became involved in the “congressional trade.”  He was the personal bootlegger for many Members and he supplied liquor brought by train from New York, Baltimore, and Philadelphia.  Customers would simply meet him at the station for their fix, but the bulk of his business was run out of the halls of Congress. He began his Congressional operation in 1920 and, while there was no shortage of demand, several members took interest in improving Cassiday’s delivery system.

“George,” one Midwestern Representative asked, “did it ever occur to you it would be easier to bring supplies into the building in larger lots and distribute it from a base of operations from the inside?”  One of Cassiday’s “good customers” gave him a key to a room in the House Office Building (currently the Cannon House Office Building), where he stashed and cut his supplies.  He also had access to a “poker room” in the basement where members could enjoy, “a bit of relaxation from their legislative duties.” Cassiday was nicknamed, “The Man in the Green Hat,” due to his signature hat he wore around Capitol Hill.  In 1925, Cassiday was banned from entering the House Office Building after being caught by authorities on many occasions.  Near the end of his career in the House, he estimated he had over 48 delegations.  Moving to the Senate in 1925, he noted that Senators appeared “shrewder” and “more cautious” than the Representatives with whom he personally interacted.

On October 31, 1929, Cassiday was apprehended at the Senate Office Building (currently the Russell Senate Office Building), where he was suspected of being about to make a delivery.  Prohibition Agent Roger Butts spent four months in the stationery room of the building monitoring the operation before Cassiday was trapped. His list of customers was seized and filed with the Treasury Department, under which the Prohibition Bureau was located.  He died on January 21,1967 in Maryland.

- Cloture Historian

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