Judge — June 12, 1926 — page 14: what you’re looking at

What you’re looking at

This political cartoon depicts a line of officials—labeled "Politician," "Police Officer," and "Prohibition Agent"—along with other law enforcement and government figures, all turning their backs in unison. The gesture appears to satirize widespread corruption or deliberate blindness among authorities during Prohibition (1920-1933). The cartoon's title, "The National Gesture," suggests this turning away was endemic to American governance. It likely critiques how politicians, police, and prohibition enforcers collaborated with or ignored bootleggers and speakeasies rather than enforcing alcohol bans. The unified pose emphasizes systemic complicity—that ignoring violations wasn't individual corruption but institutionalized policy. This reflects the era's notorious reality: Prohibition bred organized crime partly because officials accepted bribes to overlook illegal alcohol production and sales.