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Show f How It Started By Jean Newton I J CK0CK0M0 "MOUNTAIN DEW" AND -"MOONSHINE" THE nkkname "Mountain Dew" for Illicit liquor may crop out in speech more frequently now than It did formerly, for-merly, but It Is by no means a product of prohibition days. Long before the advent of Mr. 'Volstead's Innovation liquor illegally distilled and sold was called "Mountain Dew." The obviously obvious-ly humorous reference was, of course, to the highland districts which housed hidden distilleries, not only in our Southern states, but In Scotland, whose hills have of yore been no less well dotted with revenue-evading stills than our own Kentucky or Ten- nessee I As a matter of fact, the term "Mountain "Moun-tain Dew" is not an Americanism, but a product of Scotch familiarity with moonshine liquor nnd Scotch pic-turcsqueness pic-turcsqueness of speech. "Moonshine," however, Is native to our shores or rather our mountains I In Its syllables we have the story of the traditional conflict between the "revenuer" and the mountaineers of half a dozen states along the Appalachian Appala-chian mountain range. The real beginning be-ginning of this conflict would date from the passage of the Alexander Hamilton excise law of 1791, nnd it Is still going on. It rested, prior to prohibition, on the fact that the un-productivity un-productivity of Ihe soil and the no-jsence no-jsence of variety of possible occupations occupa-tions In those mountain districts made the manufacture of whisky from the scant harvesls of corn the most advantageous ad-vantageous occupation. If subjected to the high federal tax, however, it became be-came a less profitable resource. So the mountaineer looked upon the gov ernment agent as an Invader of his rights nnd his natural enemy. And from his viewpoint, "moonshlninc," the occupation which had to be pur sued under cover of night to avoid detection, lost the stigma with which we naturally associate with any evasion eva-sion or breaking of the law. (CopvrlBlit.) |