Life, 1923-04-05 · page 19 of 40
Life — April 5, 1923 — page 19: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
This satirical cartoon illustrates the debate over alcohol prohibition in post-WWI Britain and America. The image shows three figures—appearing to represent British temperance reformers or politicians—discovering barrels labeled with prohibition-related terms, with one figure exclaiming "Fire!" in alarm. The accompanying text by Edward S. Martin discusses a Church-led temperance campaign in Great Britain advocating for local option laws and Sunday sales bans. Martin notes that wartime restrictions (without full prohibition) successfully reduced drinking in England, and cites American General Allen's experience allowing soldiers light wines and beer without discipline problems. The cartoon's satire suggests that zealous prohibitionists are "raising an alarm" over alcohol—treating it as an urgent crisis requiring drastic measures—when the text implies more moderate, practical restrictions proved effective. The cartoon mocks the intensity and rigidity of the prohibition movement.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
Too much whisky, undoubtedly, in Ireland! Some surplus of strong drink in England! But is prohibition the means offered to reduce it? Not at all. Not yet. A National Temper- ance Campaign of the Churches has started in Great Britain that aims to secure local option for England and Wales, the stoppage of the sale or supply of intoxicants on Sunday, and “Se \ LIFE - prohibition of the sale of them to persons less than eighteen years old. During the war they did reduce drinking in England very consider- ably and advantageously by restric- tions that fell far short of prohibi- tion. Perhaps they can do it again. Observe that the trouble in Great Britain seems to be mainly with hard liquor, though probably they have | “4, i | 17 too much beer there, too. General Allen, who commanded the Ameri- can Forces at Coblenz, Germany, was asked if he had a hard time en- forcing prohibition on his soldiers there. He said, “No. We followed the A. E. F. regulations and allowed the men to drink light wines and beer and they gave us no trouble.” Edward S. Martin. . Diet, ICIpAK'Y) comicbooks.com