In spite of the great pride and joy which we Americans feel over
the success of National Prohibition; in spite of the universal
popularity of the act and the method of its enforcement; in spite
of the fact that it is now almost impossible to obtain in any of
our ex-saloons anything in the least resembling whiskey or
gin,—there still remains the distressing suspicion that quite
possibly, at some of the dinner parties and dances of our more
socially prominent people, liquor—or its equivalent—is openly
being served. Dry agents have, of course, tried on several
occasions to verify this suspicion; their praiseworthy efforts
have met, for the most part, with scant success.
The main difficulty has been, I believe, that the average dry
agent is too little versed in the customs and manners of polite
society. It is lamentably true that, too often, has a carefully
planned society dry raid been spoiled because the host noticed
that one of his guests was wearing white socks with a black tie,
or that the intruder was using his dessert spoon on the hors
d’œuvres.
The solution of this difficulty lies, of course, in the gradual
procuring of a better class of dry agent. There are signs
(though, unfortunately, in the wrong direction) that some of our
younger college generation are already casting envious eyes
toward the rich rewards, the social opportunities and the
exciting life of the professional bootlegger.
It might be well to interest some of these promising youngsters
in the no less exciting occupation of National Prohibition
Enforcement Officer. At present the chief difficulty seems to lie
in the fact that, in our preparatory schools and colleges, a
young man acquires a certain code of honor which causes him to
look with distaste on what he calls pussyfooting and sneaking.
People too often forget that, in order to make effective such a
universally beneficent law, any means are justified. It will be,
I hope, only a matter of years before this distrust of the
“sneak” will have died out, and the Dry Agent will come to be
regarded with the reverence and respect due to one who devotes
his life to the altruistic investigation of his neighbor’s
affairs.