Political cartoons were once referred to as “One of the most vibrant manifestations of history in the making.” These political cartoons were used by both sides to try to influence people’s thinking. Political cartoons made common, local cartoonists into big names. Rollin Kirby, Jay “Ding” Darling, Daniel Fitzpatrick, and John McCutcheon are just a few examples of famous cartoonists. Rollin Kirby invented a cartoon character called Mr. Dry.  Mr. Dry was the “black coated, acerbic killjoy who represented all of the worst elements of prohibition.” This character was adopted by many anti-prohibition cartoonists.

This is Rollin Kirby's famous character Mr. Dry (on the right)

The tree represents the Saloons which are evil in this cartoon. The only way to get rid of the evil Saloons is to chop down the tree. The tree will be chopped down by voters who vote YES for Prohibition. The politician in the background is running to save the tree.

The Saloon, represented by the camel has been able to stand up under the weight of restrictions and regulations. The only thing that can break the camel's back is the many individual votes of the prohibition supporters. That is why your vote is important because it may be the straw that breaks the camel's back.

In a Presidential campaign, behind the scenes the Saloon controls both Parties.  Whichever Party wins the Saloon wins.  The only way to defeat the saloon is to vote with the Prohibition Party.

The Saloon wolf watches the Democrat and Republican parties fight over issues other than alcohol. As long as they keep fighting about other issues the saloon wolf is safe. The only threat to the saloon wolf is the Prohibition Party.

The devil-fish represents the saloon and all of the bad things it brings. The only way to kill the devil-fish is to stab it in the head with the knife of the prohibition vote.

This cartoon represents Uncle Sam suffering from the bad effects of the saloon.  Many have tried all kinds of solutions to fix the health of Uncle Sam.  None of the solutions have been effective in curing the disease.  The only solution is to remove the decayed saloon tooth from Uncle Sam.