“U.S. to Get Rum from Canada by Court Rule” in Detroit Free Press (March 26th, 1922)

March 26, 2025

During the Prohibition era, rum runners, often connected with organized crime, transported large quantities of alcohol across the Detroit River from the Canadian to the US side. While the Ontario Temperance Act banned the consumption of alcohol in the province beginning in 1916, it remained perfectly legal to store alcohol intended for export in a bonded warehouse, greatly facilitating the lucrative river smuggling trade.

Transcript:

Ontario Judge Says Province Cannot Halt Export of Alcoholic Liquors.

MAY OPEN BOOZE FLOW ACROSS DETROIT RIVER

Removes Barrier That Retarded Smuggling; Opinion May Be Appealed.

Quashing the conviction against the Essex Export company, that was fined for keeping liquor in a warehouse that had not been granted a federal license, County Judge J.J. Coughlin at Sandwich Saturday opened the way for an uninterrupted flow of liquor into the United States, so far as Canadian laws are concerned.

Judge Coughlin held that the Ontario temperance act cannot regulate export liquor warehouses. By this ruling the score or more of export companies may do business without fear of being stopped by provincial officers, and license inspectors who are enforcing the temperance act along the border.

Convicted By Gundy.

The conviction against the Essex company was made at Windsor two months ago by Magistrate Gundy, who ruled that the company was guilty of violating the provincial dry statute by keeping liquor in a place other than a bonded warehouse.

Barrister Willian II. Furlong, counsel for the company, took an appeal to the county appeal judge, basing his application for a reversal of the magistrate’s decision on the fact that the company held a federal charter to carry on an export business. He further contended that the province in no way could interfere with a legal export business.

The Essex company was one of the first of many companies to start exporting liquor under protection of a Dominion charter. The license for its bonded warehouse, however, was withheld because the provincial licensing board refused to approve of such a method to evade the temperance act. The federal government had the right to grant the license without approval of provincial authorities, but declined to act in order to prevent friction between the two governments.

Raney Tries to Halt Flow.

Attorney General William E. Raney is using every legal weapon at his command to fight export of liquor from Ontario to the United States. Alfred E. Morand and other officers of the Essex company were arrested at Toronto a few days ago with 50 cases of liquor in two cars. The liquor, Moran explained to officers who made the arrests, was for export to the United States, and in proof of this he showed clearance papers signed by customs officers.

“I do not think that the Ontario legislature has jurisdiction to impose upon a department of the Dominion government any such duty as that impeccably imposed by section 46 of the temperance act,” the county judge said.

This section of the act requires that a person doing export business in liquor shall keep the liquor in a bonded warehouse, or in other words, a place where liquor is lawfully lodged under the statutes of the parliament of Canada.

Hint at Another Appeal.

Judge Coughlin held the charter granted the company by the federal government warranted the company holding liquor for export, even though the license for a bonded warehouse had been withheld.

Government officials intimated Saturday afternoon that the case may be taken to a higher court. Unless this is done, they explained, provincial officers will be powerless, and exporters may carry liquor where they will, so long as they have clearance papers from the customs department.