AAPA SAYS STATISTICS SHOW WASHINGTON IS ONE OF THE 'WETTEST' U.S. CITIES
Washington, D.C. (JFK+50) On June 5, 1925, The Evening Star reports that the Association Against the Prohibition Amendment*, in a statement released today, contends that the Nation's Capital is "one of the wettest cities in the United States" and that "liquor is plentiful and arrives daily from an almost limitless source."
The AAPA cites records obtained from the Washington Police Department which show a steady increase in arrests for drunkeness over a five year period. The association believes that this increase is "because of prohibition."
The records show that in the last year of 'wetness,' D.C. arrests for drunkeness were 3,568 while in 1924, under prohibition, arrests had skyrocketed up to 9,149.
JFK+50 NOTE
While arrests for public drunkeness initially decreased, with a surge in bootlegging (black market) & speakeasies, alcohol-related problems surged during the years of prohibition 1920-1933.
According to Mark Thornton, prohibition was a failure.
*AAPA was founded in 1918 & incorporated in 1920. Its purpose was to work for repeal of prohibition (making liquor illegal) in the U.S. AAPA did not become effective until the mid 1920s & boasted of 500,000 members in 28 states.
SOURCES
"Alcohol Prohibition Was a Failure," by Mark Thornton, July 17, 1991, Policy Analysis No. 157, CATO Institute, www.cato.org/
"Washington Held as 'Wettest City'," The Evening Star, Washington, D.C., June 5, 1925, Chronicling America, Library of Congress, www.loc.gov/
