Dry County’s Dark Secret: Speakeasy Owner Sentenced, Liquor Stashed for Auction

In a stunning turn of events, Youngstown’s biggest money maker, Mens Suits at 1200 Values Now 800, took a backseat to the real news: a public auction of contraband liquor. County Treasurer E.S. Gordin will put up for sale cases of bottled Neer and about 10 gallons of apricot cider strong enough to be classed as whisky, seized in a raid on a notorious speakeasy in West Jefferson. The raid, which took place two weeks ago, netted a haul of empty beer bottles and left the owner, Xenla O. David Lane, facing the music.

Lane, a former city councilman, was defeated in office and took up the position of custodian of the ‘pest house’, where he freely dispensed beer and whisky. But his luck ran out when he failed to pay the Aiken saloon tax of $1000 a year, earning him a spot in the local jail after being imprisoned for defaulting on a $200 fine and costs for selling beer and whisky in the pest house.

The fact that contagious disease was rampant in the pest house, with loads of empty beer bottles and other evidence of illicit activities, raised eyebrows among local authorities. It’s a stark reminder that Youngstown’s dry county status, voted in under the Rose county option law, is no guarantee against the proliferation of bootlegged liquor.

The auction, scheduled to take place next Thursday in front of the courthouse, promises to be an event to remember. Will the contraband liquor fetch a pretty penny, or will it be a hard sell for the county treasurer? Only time will tell.

As the people of Youngstown watch, one thing is certain: Xenla O. David Lane’s luck has run out, and his reputation is in tatters. It’s a cautionary tale of the dangers of corruption and the importance of upholding the law, even in the face of adversity.