The 18th Amendment to the US Constitution went into effect in 1920 and was not repealed until December 1933. The purpose of Prohibition was to cure American society of all the ills that had supposedly befallen it.
However, for most people, Prohibition was a merry period marked with increases in drinking, gambling, and corruption. Above all, Prohibition encouraged high levels of creativity in attempts to get around the law at all levels of society.
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10 The ‘Dry Boss’ Who Pushed Prohibition Through
Photo credit: Library of Congress
Wayne Wheeler was born in 1869 on a farm in eastern Ohio. One day, a drunken farmworker accidentally speared young Wheeler’s leg with a pitchfork, an incident that likely pushed him toward an almost evangelical antipathy for drinking.
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In 1894, Wheeler was offered a full-time position at the Anti-Saloon League where he quickly became admired for his pressure politics (aka “Wheelerism”). Unlike other temperance groups, the Anti-Saloon League didn’t stray from its main objective—the abolition of alcohol from American life.
The league worked extensively through churches and supported or opposed government candidates depending only on their position regarding Prohibition. Due to his influence and power, Wheeler became known as the “dry boss.”
Wheeler insisted on strict enforcement of Prohibition. He also opposed the use of soap and other harmless substances in denatured alcohol, instead opting for poisonous chemicals by arguing that “the person who drinks this industrial alcohol . . . is a deliberate suicide.”
9 Prohibition Agents Were Paid Less Than Garbage Collectors
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Contributing to Prohibition’s failure was the fact that most Prohibition agents were heavily underpaid. In fact, most Prohibition agents earned less than garbage collectors.
The average national income was $3,143 in 1922 and rose to $3,227 in 1923. In comparison, the salary of Prohibition agents ranged from $1,200 to $2,500 for 98 percent of the Prohibition Bureau. In 1930, the entry-level salary of a Prohibition agent was $2,300, two-thirds of the national average.
The Coast Guard earned even less. Men enlisted in the Coast Guard earned only $36 dollars per month, although that included accommodations and free uniforms.
As one can imagine, underpaid agents often took bribes from bootleggers and sometimes even moonlighted as chauffeurs for their supposed targets. As a result, more than one-tenth of the agents were dismissed from the Prohibition Bureau.
8 ‘Cow Shoes’ Were Worn By Bootleggers To Cover Up Their Footsteps
Photo credit: Rare Historical Photos
To evade Prohibition agents, many bootleggers devised inventive ways to smuggle alcohol. One of the most unusual inventions was “cow shoes,” which were used to cover footprints in the woods where moonshine brewery sites were often hidden.
The “cow shoe” was a strip of metal tacked with a wooden block that was carved to resemble the hoof of a cow. When strapped onto a human foot, the device left a trail resembling that of a cow. Supposedly, this confused and deterred agents tracking criminal operations.
It was believed that the idea for “cow shoes” came from a Sherlock Holmes story in which the villain’s horse was shod with shoes that had imprints of a cow’s hoof.
