1924.01.23 “Temperance”
by Franklin Perry Collier (1881-1934)
12 x 15 in., ink on paper
Coppola Collection
Franklin Perry Collier was an illustrator and cartoonist for the Boston Herald (until 1925), the Boston American (1925-1933) and the Boston Traveler (1933-1934) newspapers. Collier drew illustrations, political/editorial/satirical cartoons and a recurring humorous comic strip featuring the adventures of the diminutive Otto Grow. Like many cartoonists, Collier integrated his own character into his editorial cartoons to provide reflective and humorous commentary. Otto is the little guy in the boat, here.
Prohibition, called the “noble experiment” by President Hoover, became law on January 16, 1920.
The Treaty of January 23, 1924, was an agreement between the United States and Great Britain to prevent the smuggling of alcohol into the United States. The treaty's main purpose was to allow the search and seizure of British ships suspected of smuggling alcohol beyond the United States' territorial limits.
In response, the British brewing industry stepped up its campaign against the temperance movement and argued against the introduction of restrictions on the sale of alcohol in the UK, including through 'local option' - votes on prohibition to be held by local councils. In 1926, the United Kingdom largely responded to US Prohibition with a mixture of amusement and resistance, particularly from the brewing industry and temperance organizations. While some elements of the UK's temperance movement saw US Prohibition as a model and advocated for similar restrictions in Britain, the prevailing sentiment, especially within the brewing and pub industries, was one of opposition.
Protest leaflets were produced between approximately 1920-1926 and are included in the archives of the British Beer and Pub Association (formerly the Brewers' Society). Key themes include Anti-Americanism ("aliens" coming over and interfering with British liberties), appeals to the working class (including new women voters), fears of unemployment and increased taxation, the effects of alcohol on health, and concerns over criminality and immorality caused by Prohibition.
Rumrunners used a two-pronged approach. Larger "mother ships" would anchor in international waters, far from U.S. territorial waters, and hold vast quantities of alcohol. Smaller, faster "contact boats" would then transfer the liquor to contact boats closer to the shore, making it easier to smuggle the goods into the U.S.
British ships, and ships from other countries with similar treaties, were involved in the transfer of liquor to contact boats. The US Coast Guard would attempt to search and seize liquor on these foreign ships within a specific distance of U.S. territorial waters. Rumrunners adapted to the Coast Guard's tactics, pushing their operations further offshore, creating what was known as "Rum Row," to make it more difficult for the Coast Guard to catch them.
Partial text from an editorial in the American Journal of International Law (James Brown Scott; Vol. 18, No. 2 Apr. 1924, pp. 301-306).
There is no doubt that strictly construed and rigidly enforced, the amendment and the act would apply to foreign as well as domestic vessels- domestic, upon the high seas; foreign, upon entering American waters. American ships may be eliminated from consideration. But what of foreign vessels? If we go upon the theory that justice be done though the heavens fall, they may be submitted when within our jurisdiction, to our laws as if they were domestic craft. There is, to be sure, a tendency to exempt a merchantman touching at our ports from jurisdiction even to the extent of allowing the officers of the vessel or consular officer of the country to which it belongs, to punish offenses committed aboard the vessel, provided that they are not so serious as to disturb the peace and order of the community.
