Chapter I: Front Matter

THE RISE AND FALL
OF PROHIBITION

THE MACMILLAN COMPANY
NEW YORK · BOSTON · CHICAGO · DALLAS
ATLANTA · SAN FRANCISCO

MACMILLAN & CO., LIMITED
LONDON · BOMBAY · CALCUTTA
MELBOURNE

THE MACMILLAN CO. OF CANADA, LTD.
TORONTO

THE RISE AND FALL
OF PROHIBITION

THE HUMAN SIDE OF WHAT THE EIGHTEENTH
AMENDMENT AND THE VOLSTEAD ACT HAVE
DONE TO THE UNITED STATES

BY
CHARLES HANSON TOWNE

New York
THE MACMILLAN COMPANY
1923

_All rights reserved_

PRINTED IN THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA

COPYRIGHT, 1923,
BY THE MACMILLAN COMPANY

Set up and electrotyped. Published March, 1923.

Press of
J. J. Little & Ives Company
New York, U. S. A.

TO MY FRIEND
JOHN M. DENISON

AUTHOR’S NOTE

The chapter from Mr. John J. Leary, Jr’s, book, “Talks with T. R.,” entitled “On Prohibition,” is used in this volume by permission of, and by special arrangement with, Houghton Mifflin Company, the authorized publishers.

Thanks are also due the editor of _Harper’s Magazine_, for his kind permission to include portions of E. S. Martin’s article, and to the Rev. W. A. Crawford-Frost, for his consent to reprint extracts from his sermon.

Messrs. Funk & Wagnalls have been most helpful in permitting the use of their files of _The Literary Digest_; and Mr. William L. Fish, Mr. Frederic J. Faulks, Mr. Thomas K. Finletter and Mr. Herbert B. Shonk rendered much assistance in the preparation of this volume.

Two chapters are reprints of articles which originally appeared in the New York _Times_.

I must also thank Mr. Markham, Mr. Le Gallienne and Mr. Montague for the use of their poems.

CONTENTS

CHAPTER PAGE
I THE PHENOMENON OF PROHIBITION 1

II OUR GREAT UNHAPPINESS 10

III OUR ENDLESS CHAIN OF LAWS 17

IV TOO MUCH “VERBOTEN” 26

V MAKING THE WORLD SAFE FOR DE-MOCKERY-CY 46

VI THE INFAMOUS VOLSTEAD ACT 62

VII A TRIUMVIRATE AGAINST PROHIBITION 83

VIII “THE FEAR FOR THEE, MY COUNTRY” 88

IX DRYING UP THE OCEAN 109

X THE MULLAN-GAGE LAW, THE VAN NESS ACT AND THE HOBERT ACT 120

XI BOOTLEGGING AND GRAFT 129

XII “DON’T JOKE ABOUT PROHIBITION” 138

XIII HOW CANADA HAS SOLVED THE LIQUOR PROBLEM 150

XIV CRIME AND DRUNKENNESS 156

XV THE LITERARY DIGEST’S CANVASS 163

XVI LITERATURE AND PROHIBITION 176

XVII AMERICA TODAY 183

XVIII OTHER REFORMS 194

XIX IS EUROPE GOING DRY? 202

XX WHAT ARE WE GOING TO DO ABOUT IT? 208

THE RISE AND FALL OF PROHIBITION