LEARNING FROM HISTORY - ALCOHOL PROHIBITION REPEAL DAY

On this 75th anniversary of the U.S.A. alcohol prohibition repeal we would like to turn your attention to the Alcohol, Problems and Solutions website and particularly the newly published sections on the damages that prohibition caused in the 13 years it was in force.

When reading the literature, please ponder on the alarming fact that prohibitionists are alive and well and working tirelessly to bring back a new form of alcohol prohibition which much like the tobacco ‘’puff by puff’’ prohibition, is insidiously brought about in societies ‘’drip by drip’’ through social engineering that is financially backed up by powerful organizations such as the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation and propagandized by ‘’virtuous’’ front groups such as the WHO and MADD. The day it will have become obvious and we will have waken up to a form of prohibition which just like tobacco it will not have banned the product but all practical use of it instead, we will rightfully wonder how we never learn from history. The more indoctrinated among us will even hail the neo-prohibitionist healthist movement, sheepishly buying the propaganda that it is for the betterment of us imperfect humans that need superior minds to dictate the ‘’right way’’ to live and die. But just like 75 years ago, prohibition will have brought nothing but havoc, crime and social discrimination exactly as the tobacco neo-prohibition is doing to societies today.

To better illustrate this last point, we have taken an excerpt from the Alcohol, Problems and Solutions series of articles and highlighted with asterisks and red links some perfect modern day examples of what is happening with the tobacco issue as compared to alcohol prohibition back then and as it will undoubtedly happen in the future if we let the neo-prohibitionists go ahead with their insidious plans to demonize even moderate consumption of alcohol to the extent they have demonized even moderate consumption of tobacco.

Prohibition and Repeal in New York State
by David J. Hanson, Ph.D.

Many residents of New York state had hoped that Prohibition (1920-1933) would reduce crime, improve health and safety, promote economic prosperity, and increase public morality. However, experience would prove the Noble Experiment to fail on all counts.

Mob-controlled liquor quickly replaced legitimate tax-paying alcohol producers and retailers. ** Tobacco Road ** Gangster-owned speakeasies replaced neighborhood drinking establishments and within five years after Prohibition was imposed, there were over 100,000 speakeasies in New York City alone by some estimates. So many speakeasies operated that New York was known as the "City on a Still''.

Mobsters opened large nightclubs with elaborate floor shows and popular bands. ." ** Inside NYC's Smoking Speakeasies ** Speakeasies and nightclubs flourished because law enforcement officers were widely bribed. In essence, the speakeasies and nightclubs bought "protection" from the very people paid to enforce the law.

Hypocrisy was endemic. ** MPs 'smoking in Commons toilets' ** A raid on one of the city's most famous speakeasies caught a number of its politicians and other leading residents. The most famous and successful Prohibition agents in the state, "Izzy" Einstein and Moe Smith enjoyed nothing more after a hard day of vigorously enforcing Prohibition than sitting back and enjoying their favorite beverages: beers and cocktails.

Organized smuggling of alcohol from Canada and elsewhere quickly developed after Prohibition became the law. A "rum row" developed off the coast of New York City where ships lined up just beyond the three mile limit to off-load their cargoes onto speed boats under the cover of darkness. ** CORNWALL RCMP DETACHMENT SEIZE 430,000 CONTRABAND CIGARETTES **

In northern New York, bootlegging was especially rampant across the St. Lawrence River separating the state from Canada. Murder and hijacking were common in the dangerous but lucrative bootlegging business. ** Smuggling's price **

An increase in often deadly violence eroded support for Prohibition. Imprisonment reached a high after it became a felony to violate Prohibition. ** JAIL TERM, FINES AMONG PENALTIES FOR TOBACCO OFFENDERS ** The number of violators sent to jail doubled and the federal prison population in the state jumped from 5,000 to 12,000.

Federal Prohibition officials inadvertently promoted Repeal by announcing that effective enforcement in the state would require hiring several thousand more Prohibition agents
** Government of Canada invests $20 million in anti-tobacco activities **. The state legislature's reaction was to pass a law calling for a constitutional convention to overturn the disastrous "experiment in social engineering." Residents of New York State had come to the conclusion that Prohibition was not only impossible to enforce, but that it also created rather than solved problems.

After Congress approved the 21st Amendment for states to ratify if they wished, New Yorkers voted almost eight to one in favor of Repeal.

Over the decades, New York has made progress in modernizing its alcohol laws. In 2003, the state struck down its Blue law banning Sunday alcohol by allowing stores to open any six days, including Sunday, benefiting time-pressed consumers as well as retailers who now have the ability to operate like every other business in this 21st century economy. The success of the stores that opened on Sundays led the legislature to pass permanent seven day sales earlier this year. New York also recently repealed an archaic ban on spirits auctions. Slowly, the remaining vestiges of Prohibition appear to be disappearing in New York.