Judge — November 26, 1927 — page 14: what you’re looking at

What you’re looking at

This political cartoon depicts a figure labeled "US" gazing at a window display labeled "CANADA" filled with alcohol bottles. The figure appears to be looking longingly at Canadian liquor during Prohibition. The satire addresses the contrast between American Prohibition laws (which banned alcohol sales) and Canada's legal alcohol trade. Americans during Prohibition would cross into Canada to purchase liquor, making this "window shopping" a pointed commentary on the futility and hypocrisy of Prohibition—citizens could see and access what was forbidden at home by simply traveling north. The cartoon mocks both American alcohol restrictions and the inevitable smuggling/legal cross-border trade that resulted from them.