Judge, 1927-07-16 · page 10 of 40
Judge — July 16, 1927 — page 10: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
# Explaining "Is Prohibition Working?" (Judge Magazine) This satirical article mocks Prohibition's enforcement by having fictional "investigators" report that it's working *perfectly* in Washington—while their own account proves the opposite. The humor relies on ironic contradiction: the investigators claim they found no intoxicating liquor anywhere, yet simultaneously describe finding alcohol readily available in saloons and grocery stores throughout the city. They report discovering cocktails consumed before breakfast and drinking in official circles, while insisting these findings prove Prohibition's success. The cartoon map shows their absurd "investigation route" involving disguises and theatrical methods (sailing as tugboats, using celery to bribe officials). The underlying satire targets both Prohibition's failure and the government's willingness to ignore or misrepresent evidence of its non-enforcement—particularly in the nation's capital, where corruption and hypocrisy were evident to all observers. This reflects genuine 1920s anxieties: Prohibition (1920-1933) was widely flouted, especially among elites and officials.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
JUDGE IS PROHIBITION WORKING? A Nation-wide Investigation Conducted by JUDGE Route travelled by daring investigators. KEY TO CHART 1. Home plate. . Atlantic Ocean. - Lackawanna 110. Ask for Frank. . Shield worn by official inter- viewed. . Cross-section view of Wash- ington. . Explanation of statistics: (a) Saloons in Washington be- fore the war. (6) Cocktails consumed before breakfast in Washington. (c) Total hang-overs Yale- Harvard gave since 1910. . Band carried to stimulate morale of committee. . Where bodies were last seen. Is Prohibition Working ? (Is the country all wet? Will prohibition or free silver be the issue at the next election? Is prohibition being enforced? Why? Jupce has sent two trusted agents on a nation-wide tour of inspec- tion to learn the truth. Recently they sailed out of the harbor at midnight disguised as two old tugboats in order to keep their identity a secret. They will re- port exclusively for JupGe readers.) JupGe New York City. Well, we've been investigating down here like you told us and places and we find that in Wash- ington prohibition is working perfectly. At the start, we had some trouble making the natives under- stand us, and some of them were pretty suspicious. The first day we investigated, Mr. Gordon and me were riding along on our . bicycles, and Mr. Gordon saw an official on the street, so he got off and went over and said courte- ously: ‘Where can we find a bar, buddy?” Well, the guy was so seared he fell clear off his feet, practically unconscious. The next official we saw I tried the same thing. He was a quiet-looking al [TTP little fellow playing innocently under the cherry trees, so I walked up beside him and leaned over and whispered softly: “Please, sir, can you direct us to a saloon?” Well, he blushes scarlet and puts his fingers in his ears and runs away screaming terribly! After that we had to use a system, so Mr. Gordon would pick out a steady-looking old official and gain his confidence by * feeding him celery and lump sugar, and then I’d come up real suddenly and slip the halter on him and we’d lead him right into the saloon without a bit of trouble. The only trouble then was to get him out. At first we went in all the stores and office buildings we came to and investigated, but after a while we gave that up and just went in the saloons and grocery stores, because constant investiga- tion showed that they were the only places in Washington where you could get anything fit to drink. We are glad to say we have showed up a lot of people who have been lying about Prohibition. We have proved that a lot of rumors about drinking in Wash- ington are nothing but fiendish prevarications! 1. There is no intoxicating liquor in Washing- ton’s monument. 2. They do not serve Tom Collins’ in the Smith- sonian Institute! We knew you'd be surprised, but we investigated thoroughly, and I think it is only another proof of what a fine president we really have. Our final investigation here was in official circles. We had heard that there was drinking in official (Continued on page 25) we've been in all the museums and [Seer ee Summer reading. comicbooks.com