Ron the Yarn Spinner

 

Bottles and his brother Al

                                                                                    

Al rushed his wife Mae to St. Bernard hospital; he suspected food poisoning because of the  milk she poured into her  breakfast cereal. It was spoiled; she didn’t know.  He  was angry and Al was the one guy in Chicago you didn’t want mad at you. But he realized it was nobody’s fault. Milk at the time was not marked with an expiration date and there were no controls on milk production or distribution. When milk expires, bacteria begin to multiply making consumption unsafe, but it is not readily apparent. Souring, curdling or color change come later. Al decided he was going to do something about the situation and he and his brother Ralph championed the “cause”  ultimately becoming responsible for the expiration date on the half gallon of Skim, 2%, Whole, Chocolate, Filtered or White milk in your ‘fridge” today and more.

 

Al was Alphonse Capone, and the expired milk incident inspired him to get into the dairy  business. Al was looking to diversify his investments into legitimate businesses even while consolidating his brewing, distilling, and distribution beer and liquor operations. Milk seemed to “fit.”

And as Al so eloquently put it:

 

"You gotta have a product that everybody needs every day. We don't have it in booze. except for the lushes. Most people only buy a couple of fifths of gin or scotch when they're having a party. The working stiff laps up half a dozen bottles of beer on Saturday night, and that's it for the week.

But with milk! Every family, every day, wants it on the table. The people on Lake Shore Drive want thick cream in their coffee. The big families out back of the yards have to buy a couple of gallons of fresh milk every day for the kids. Do you guys know there's a bigger markup in fresh milk than there is in alcohol? Honest to God, we've been in the wrong racket right along."

Ralph (“Bottles”), Al’s brother, heralded a group of investors that included family members, and together they purchased a stake in Meadowmoor Dairies at 1334 South Peoria Street in Chicago in 1932. Ralph Capone got the nickname "Bottles" not from the Capone bootlegging empire but from his bottling milk at Meadowmoor and lobbying the dairy industry  in Springfield, Illinois to date milk for freshness.  Ralph took the reins on milk dating once Al was sent to prison.

Ralph, despite his altruistic lobbying efforts in Springfield, was still a “thug” and most famous for being named "Public Enemy Number Three" when his younger brother Al was "Public Enemy Number One

During this time Capones used their influence over Meadowmoor to disrupt the market, undercutting competitors' prices and engaging in aggressive tactics. It  was part of a larger scheme to drive out competition and consolidate control over milk distribution in Chicago. The Pure Milk Association aimed to regulate and stabilize the milk market by setting quality standards and fair pricing. Their involvement was crucial in maintaining order within the dairy industry, which was being disrupted by the Capones. The Association was bombed in 1933, and a period of time known as the Milk War began.

The involvement of Meadowmoor with the Capone organization exemplified how organized crime extended its reach into legitimate businesses. The Capones’ influence over Meadowmoor allowed them to try to manipulate the milk market and engage in criminal activities while disguising their operations within a legitimate business. Ultimately, however,  the Pure Milk Association prevailed and was successful in regulating and stabilizing the milk market . The Milk War was over- or was it?

Three years  later, in 1936,  local Crook Cook County officials and Union Leaders from Local of 753 of the Milk Drivers Union were indicted for helping the Teamsters Union fix retail milk prices in Chicago. By that time, the Chicago teamsters were little more than an extension of the Chicago mob. The indictment read that they had conspired to fix the amount of milk delivered in the city to squeeze the smaller distributors out of business, until only one would remain: Meadowmoor Dairies.

Despite the Grand Jury’s true bill, the case never went to trial. Everyone “got off.”

And “Bottles” lobbying  paid off. Perhaps he “made someone an offer he couldn’t refuse?” Don’t know but Ralph was instrumental  is getting a law  passed that Grade “A” milk could not be sold as fresh milk more than 72 hours after it was expressed from the cow. He also convinced the Chicago City Council to pass a law in 1933 that required  a date to be stamped on milk bottles – one the consumer could read and understand.

The practice is now required of all meat, fish, and dairy distributors across the country.

 

Meme:

Guess who immediately  cornered the market on the equipment required to stamp dates on milk bottles.

And Public Enemy Number 2 was John Dillinger. (I knew you would ask.)