Changing Public Opinion (1919-1930)
As prohibition wore on through the 1920s, public opinion started to change on the subject. It was clear that crime was not going away now that alcohol was gone. If anything, it was worse than it ever was before, and in the end, Prohibition was, "observed more in the breach than in the law".[4]
The general public was starting to become tired of this constant violence, crime, and the countless promises that Prohibition failed to deliver. It seemed that most of what the wets predicted in 1914, during the prohibition referendum, was true.[1] Drunkenness was just pushed underground while the criminalization of alcohol lead to increased crime rates across the country.
Some folks even started to romanticize drinking in the roaring 1920s, explaining how having alcohol around and ignoring Prohibition ideals would bring you wealth and women. Given the rise of underground clubs and speakeasies in the 1920s, it is not hard to imagine how this was all connected. Various songs were made in this era painting the topic of drinking in a good light, such as, “It's The Smart Little Feller Who Stocked Up His Cellar (That's Getting The Beautiful Girls)”, by Grant Clarke and Milton Ager.
This is a poster that advertised that song. The full lyrics can be found here.
Some of the lyrics include:
"Don't think they crave you if they smile and wink,
All that they crave is a drink.
Oh, you won't satisfy them, with presents you buy them,
It isn't for presents they pine.
Once they wanted a guy for the rocks he could buy,
But now it's the guy with the old Rock and Rye.
You may live in a palace, but Annette and Alice
Will pass up the Dukes and the Earls;
For some guy in a shanty, with lots of Chianti,
He's getting the beautiful girls."
It is clear that the authors of this song are trying to convey how women will come to you if you have alcohol for them, regardless of who you are and where you live.
The judiciary side of things was affected by this changing public opinion as well. Courts were constantly getting full of alcohol crimes, and both judges and juries were getting annoyed of constantly having to deal with them instead of dealing with more important crimes such as murder. There were numerous cases of these judges and/or juries letting violators off with petty sentences as they themselves were becoming more and more against prohibition.[1] Simply put, as time went by, the judiciary side of America started to take prohibition less and less seriously.
In addition, it turned out that trying to enforce Prohibition was hard in itself, much harder than it was to campaign for. Resistance from various towns and counties, a lack of funding, and lazy law enforcement contributed to a Virginia that was struggling to remain dry.[3] The Department of Prohibition was also in bad shape, only having 10-15 full-time agents most of the time. As a result, most state laws had to be enforced by local police forces.[3]
This newspaper article is from the Alexandria Gazette, dated June 16th, 1920. It exclaimed that that Prohibition officers from Richmond seized three “machines” (likely automobiles) and nabbed their operators. All three vehicles were loaded with liquor and were heading out of Franklin County, into Roanoke. This portion of the newspaper also explained that in a nearby county, authorities caught a distiller red-handed and had a perfect case, but the grand jury failed to indict the distiller and pay attention to the work of the officers. Another factor in the judiciary side of things is how there may have been many individuals within juries who were “wet” supporters, dead set on keeping the distillers in business so they could continue to obtain alcohol.
[1] Benbow, Mark. The Old Dominion Goes Dry: Prohibition in Virginia. Journal of the Brewery History Society. http://www.breweryhistory.com/journal/archive/138/Bendow.pdf
[3] Kimball, Gregg. Teetotalers & Moonshiners: Prohibition in Virginia, Distilled. Broadside, vol. 2. pg. 2-4. 2017. https://www.lva.virginia.gov/news/broadside/2017-Spring.pdf.
[4] Heinemann, Ronald L. Old Dominion, New Commonwealth a History of Virginia, 1607-2007 Charlottesville: University of Virginia Press, pg. 283, 304, 315. 2007. https://www-jstor-org.mutex.gmu.edu/stable/j.ctt6wrjzn