For the unlawful manufacture, sale and furnishing of moonshine and other intoxicating liquor!


8 1/2 x 7, two sided, imprinted form, filled out in type, and signed in ink, with an illustration of the Pennsylvania State seal at the upper left corner, and embossed seal at lower right.

The Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. County of Lycoming. To J.D. Andrews, Cap't Detectives, and assistants, agents and deputies, members of Pennsylvania State Police, acting under him or them or any of them, greetings:

Whereas, information and complaint in writing have this day been made before the undersigned, an Alderman, in and for the County and State aforesaid, supported by the oath of L.R. Russie, Chief of Police, and subscribed by him, alleging that there is probable cause to believe and that he has just and reasonable grounds for believing and does believe that intoxicating liquor is unlawfully manufactured, sold, offered for sale, bartered, furnished, transported and possessed for beverage purposes, and that certain containers thereof, mash, stills, coils, implements and other property designed and intended for use in the unlawful manufacture, sale and furnishing of intoxicating liquor for beverage purposes are unlawfully possessed as follows to wit:

Whiskey, Alcohol, Moonshine, Gin, Wine, Cider, and Beer, in and upon that certain place, room, house, building, structure, receptacle, premises, HOTEL & RESTAURANT,occupied by and in possession of "JOHN DOE," Alias, HAROLD E. DOUGHMAN, shop, saloon, restaurant, hotel, boarding house, HOTEL & RESTAURANT, situated in the city of Williamsport, County and State aforesaid, the said premises being more fully described as follows: A Two Story Brick Building, situated on the West Side of Court Street, in the Third Ward of the city of Williamsport, County of Lycoming, and State of Pennsylvania, and known as No. 347 and 349 Court Street, Williamsport, Lycoming County, Pennsylvania. More content on this page. Dated and signed at the bottom, 1st day of December 1928, Daniel Keeler, Alderman. Includes an embossed seal at the bottom right of the document.

Docket on the reverse: No. 1279. The Commonwealth of Pennsylvania versus "JOHN DOE," Alias, Harold E. Doughman. Search Warrant for Liquor (Act of March 27, 1923).

Return Search Warrant For Liquor. Dec. 5, 1928. Pursuant to the within warrant, I made search at 9 o'clock p.m., Dec. 5, 1928 for the goods therein described at the place mentioned and found and seized the following, to wit: 95 c[ents] change, U.S. money, 5 Half Barrels beer full, 1/2 barrel beer partially filled, 1/4 barrel beer partially full, 9 jars Irish moon, 2 bottles Clark cordial, 6 bottles Homer Ginger Cordial, 4 bottles Bewalestine Cordial, 3 rods and rubber hose, 3 Cran spigots, which goods I have in custody, and delivered to the City Hall at the direction of the Alderman. Signed by the Lieut. of Police.

Light age toning. There are 2 very tiny punch holes at the upper edge of the document. Excellent condition. Extremely interesting document concerning the prohibition of alcohol in the roaring 1920's in America! Very desirable piece of American history! Uncommon to find these prohibition era search warrants. This would make for a very interesting conversation piece to display in your home bar bringing back the era of the "Roaring 20's," with the days of Al Capone and Eliot Ness!

Trivia: Prohibition began in the United States on January 17, 1920, when the "Volstead Act" went into effect. A total of 1,520 Federal Prohibition agents were tasked with the enforcement of this law.

Supporters of the Amendment soon became confident that it would not be repealed. One of its creators, Senator Morris Sheppard, joked that "there is as much chance of repealing the Eighteenth Amendment as there is for a hummingbird to fly to the planet Mars with the Washington Monument tied to its tail.

Nationwide Alcohol Prohibition was in effect from 1920 to 1933. The Eighteenth Amendment which made it illegal to manufacture, transport, and sell alcohol was passed by the U.S. Congress in 1917. Then in 1919, the amendment was ratified by three-quarters of the nation's states required to make it constitutional.

Before the Eighteenth Amendment went into effect, many of the upper classes stockpiled alcohol for legal home consumption after Prohibition began. They bought the inventories of liquor retailers and wholesalers, emptying out their warehouses, saloons, and club storerooms. President Woodrow Wilson moved his own supply of alcoholic beverages to his Washington residence after his term of office ended. His successor, Warren G. Harding, relocated his own large supply into the White House.

After the Eighteenth Amendment became law, bootlegging became widespread. In the first six months of 1920, the federal government opened 7,291 cases for "Volstead Act" violations, and the number of cases violating the "Volstead Act" increased exponentially to 29,114 violations, and it would continue to rise dramatically over the next thirteen years. The rise in bootlegging became big business for mob leaders such as Chicago's notorious crime boss Al Capone. It also brought into prominence such men as Eliot Ness, an American Prohibition agent known for his efforts to bring down Al Capone and enforce Prohibition in Chicago. He was the leader of a team of law enforcement agents, nicknamed "The Untouchables." Prohibition created a black market that competed with the formal economy, which came under pressure when the "Great Depression" struck America in 1929. State governments urgently needed the tax revenue alcohol sales had generated. Franklin D. Roosevelt was elected president in 1932 based in part on his promise to end prohibition, which influenced his support for ratifying the Twenty-first Amendment to repeal Prohibition. On March 22, 1933, President Franklin D. Roosevelt signed an amendment to the "Volstead Act," known as the "Cullen–Harrison Act," allowing the manufacture and sale of 3.2% beer (3.2% alcohol by weight, approximately 4% alcohol by volume) and light wines. The "Volstead Act" previously defined an intoxicating beverage as one with greater than 0.5% alcohol. Upon signing the "Cullen–Harrison Act," President Roosevelt remarked: "I think this would be a good time for a beer!"

Daniel Keeler: (1854-1948) Keeler, who signed this Search Warrant, served as Clerk of the Lycoming County's Board of Commissioners in the 1890's. A Pennsylvania educator and principal, he also served as the manager of The Singer Sewing Machine Company. Appointed Alderman of the 12th Ward in the city of Williamsport, Pa., by Governor Gifford Pinchot, at Harrisburg, on January 20, 1925, he served in this position into the 1940's.