Life — July 26, 1917 — page 25: what you’re looking at

What you’re looking at

This cartoon satirizes an expensive government employee or official. A well-dressed man in a top hat marked "Prohibition" stands before a desk official, carrying a suitcase labeled "Saloon." The office sign reads "This is our busy day." The joke: the prospective employer asks what permanent employment will cost, and the answer is an absurdly high "$350 million a year"—a massive sum suggesting the Prohibition official's true expense to the nation. The satire critiques Prohibition enforcement as wastefully expensive and ineffective (the "Saloon" suitcase implies illegal alcohol still flourishes). The cartoon mocks both the cost of enforcing Prohibition and its apparent futility during the Prohibition era.