Judge — December 29, 1917 — page 3: what you’re looking at

What you’re looking at

This Judge magazine cartoon satirizes life during Prohibition (the ban on alcohol sales, 1920-1933). The title "In Bone Dry Land" refers to the dry/alcohol-free society that Prohibition was meant to create. The comic depicts a chaotic street scene showing widespread *secret* drinking despite the legal ban. Visible establishments include "The Nut Sundae Club" (serving near-beer and sanctioned drinks), a pharmacy (which legally sold alcohol for "medicinal" purposes), and hidden speakeasies. Signs reference smuggled whiskey and the "Camel Route" bootleg operation. The satire's point: Prohibition failed spectacularly. Rather than eliminating drinking, it drove the activity underground, creating criminal enterprises, hypocrisy, and public disorder. The cartoon mocks both the law's ineffectiveness and society's continued thirst for forbidden alcohol.