Mei Man: I drew Superman during the Great Depression

"Is the news accurate?"

"It has been confirmed that Washington has not denied our source..."

On the morning of June 6, Pulitzer Building in New York.

There is a busy scene in the "Messenger of the World", and the reporters of the newspaper are reporting on the upcoming events.

According to a reliable tip from inside the White House, the long-discussed "No.18 Amendment" has finally been officially abolished. The brewery exudes the scent of hops, giving Americans who are struggling in the quagmire of the economy a sense of hope. fragrance.

In fact, the abolition of Prohibition did not happen overnight.

As early as March 1933, 3, the Federation had announced that the sale of beverages with an alcohol content of less than 22% became legal.

But now, Roosevelt is only fulfilling this already confirmed promise to the Americans.

Compared with the history of the original abolition of "Prohibition", it was about half a year earlier, which was more or less influenced by Colin. The radical approach of Harvey Dent not only did not stop the "21 The promotion of the No. [-] Amendment, on the contrary, has played a role in fueling the flames.

Relying on the social impact of Mr. Colin Loper's shooting, Roosevelt successfully suppressed the Prohibitionist forces in Congress, and promoted the passage of the "21st Amendment" at an unimaginable speed.

On June 6, the "Messenger Le Monde" published the news of the abolition of "Prohibition" in the form of an extra issue.

On the page of the newspaper, it was written in huge fonts 'Abstinence is finally over! 'A few large characters, and then use a smaller font below to announce the news of the passage of the "21st Amendment". Long.

"Congratulations, Mr. Colin Luper, here is your license to sell..."

At the office of the New York Department of Health, the officer in charge of the permit application showed a cordial smile to Colin.

Colin's channels in the White House are even more perfect than his own newspaper, so as early as the first time the 'Prohibition Law' was confirmed to be abolished, he came to the office of the New York Department of Health to apply for a license to sell alcoholic beverages.

As a well-known newspaper tycoon in New York City and has extremely close ties with Washington, there was no delay in the entire licensing application process. The New York Health Bureau office approved Colin's application almost immediately.

"To the future of America, cheers."

Reaching out to take the permit application document, Colin glanced at it, and then said with a smile to the officer in the office of the Health Bureau in front of him.

"cheers!"

Hearing what Ke Lin said, the official was a little taken aback, and then quickly realized that he also replied with a sincere smile on his face.

The lifting of the prohibition on alcohol is not only a matter of celebration for the American people, but even government officials like them have been looking forward to it for a long time.After all, for the vast majority of people, compulsory alcohol prohibition is also a very painful thing, especially when this matter is written into the law, it is not only a physical pain, but also a psychological pain. Some kind of torment.

Fortunately, this painful day has come to an end. From today on, people no longer need to hide and drink in bootlegged wine cellars, but can taste the taste of fine wine in the sun openly.

……

"Go to the pier!"

Coming out of the office of the New York Health Bureau, Colin immediately went to the port terminal in Brooklyn.

As early as a few months ago, he had already rented a suitable warehouse in a port near London to store the purchased Scotch whiskey and gin, and made a declaration to the customs after the passage of the "21st Amendment" , Prepare to seize the wine market.

From the New York Sanitation Department office all the way to the Brooklyn docks, trucks can be seen everywhere, most of which are loaded with wine barrels.

These barrels are all ready for the abolition of the 'Prohibition'. Compared with all kinds of alcohol that takes time to prepare, beer is the best brewing alcohol among them, according to what Colin saw outside the office of the Health Bureau In most cases, almost half of the brewers licensed to sell alcoholic beverages are brewers.

The 14-year "prohibition on alcohol" has caused many breweries to not produce beer in a serious manner for a long time. More than half of the breweries were forced to close down, and even the beer cans used to store alcohol were also rusty.

Not only in New York, but breweries all over the United States, as soon as the news of the abolition of the "Prohibition Law" came out, the first thing they did was to clean up the equipment that put the wine, regain their strength, and reinvest in the wine making business.

"Here we are, sir."

Looking away from the beer truck, the driver reminded Colin.

Getting out of the car, the first thing Colin saw was the busy workers on the docks in Brooklyn. After the Great Depression, he hadn't seen such a lively scene for a long time.

What's more interesting is that on the pier, Colin also saw some bootleggers, and they were instructing the workers on the pier to unload the marbles used to hide alcoholic beverages.This was an illegal thing during the 'Prohibition' period, but now it happens on the pier as if no one else was there, and even the customs officers on the side turned a blind eye to it.

After the passage of the "21st Amendment", this has become a legal thing to do.

Passing by these dock workers, Ke Lin quickly submitted the application to the customs officers by relying on the customs clearance list he had prepared long ago.

At the same time, the "Messenger Le Monde", which had already been notified, also took photos immediately.

Colin's batch of Scotch whiskey and gin also became the first manufacturer to import alcohol into the United States after the "Prohibition" was abolished.

In the next few days, New York was immersed in the joy of the repeal of "Prohibition". On June 6, at midnight in Los Angeles, actress Jean Harlow opened the first bottle of legal beer.

The alcohol business has been on the rise, and there have been many temporary bar-like settings on the streets of New York, which are specially used to provide people with beer.

Of course, because it was only the early stage of the abolition of the "Prohibition", although Congress passed the "21st Amendment", President Roosevelt has not officially announced it to the public, so everyone has expressed a certain degree of restraint. Waiting, waiting for the day when the President announces that Prohibition is being repealed.

……

"Have you set the time yet?"

Washington, inside the reception room for foreign guests.

Colin was talking with Roosevelt while tasting a martini blended with his imported whiskey.

"Just a week from now."

Picking up the wine glass in his hand and taking a sip, Roosevelt responded with a smile. After losing the ability to move, martinis became a major interest of Roosevelt, but because of the "prohibition" relationship, even as the president he would I can't drink as much as I want, after all, even former President Hoover must be in the embassy to enjoy the exemption.

Now, with the passage of the "21st Amendment", he can finally taste the taste of martinis aboveboard.

"We made it."

Tasting the taste of the martini in the glass, Roosevelt raised his glass to Colin in front of him.

"Yeah, we made it."

Colin naturally knew that the so-called success in Roosevelt's mouth was referring to the conversation in the 21 restaurant.

Although, as a latecomer, Colin knew very well that even without his participation, Roosevelt would have also embarked on the road of abolishing "Prohibition", but for Roosevelt, Colin really made him think about the abolition of "Prohibition". One of the important pushers.

Under Roosevelt's watchful eyes, he drank the martini in the glass, and then said: "This time, I not only want the United States to hear, but also to see the picture of you announcing the abolition of "Prohibition."

As soon as the "21st Amendment" was passed, Ke Lin not only applied for the imported wine that had been prepared, but also promoted the broadcasting place of the TV through the passage of the bill.

Bring it from the previous shopping mall counter, hotel, into the bar.

In the past, many bars were forced to close down or change careers because of the "Prohibition Law". Now, with the passage of the bill, these bars have sprung up again like mushrooms after rain.

What Colin values ​​is the huge traffic behind these bars, especially the memory of a large number of people looking forward to sitting down in the bars during the 14-year prohibition.

……

One week later, that is, June 6th.

On the same day, the "Messenger of the World" first announced the news that President Roosevelt would make an official announcement, and then on the TV screen, he saw the scene of Roosevelt signing the bill and declaring it to come into effect.

"Now, American people, let's take to the streets again and have a drink, of course not too much, because a better tomorrow is still waiting for us..."

On the TV screen, Roosevelt informed the public of the abolition of the "Prohibition" in a friendly voice.

Although, limited by technology, the live broadcast picture is very blurry, but this still can't stop the enthusiasm of the people.

Prohibition, which had been implemented for 14 years, or more accurately, 13 years, 6 months and 19 days, was abolished, making it the first and only amendment to be abolished in the history of the U.S. Constitution case.

The repeal of Prohibition was an incredibly unique moment for the American people, with excited crowds gathering in the streets of America at the same time Roosevelt announced the repeal of Prohibition on television.

People came out of their homes to toast together in public for the first truly legal drink in nearly 14 years.

Crowds of people crowded the streets to dance, sing and toast to celebrate this memorable day.

Everyone in the Pulitzer Building was also affected by this atmosphere, and everyone in the newspaper had a spontaneous smile on their faces.

Of course, the one who laughed the happiest was Colin. Because of the abolition of the "Prohibition Law", his imported Scotch whiskey and gin were sold out immediately, and now he is bringing in new imported alcohol from London , it can be said that relying on the imported wine resources in his hands, he has occupied a certain market share long before many domestic wineries in the United States have reacted.

And with this amount of funds in the account, Colin has become a little more confident about the next plan to acquire Fox Films.

On the first morning when Roosevelt announced the formal repeal of Prohibition, men lying on wine bottles could be seen everywhere on the street.

"Messenger Le Monde" also deliberately took a photo like this to record the report of the repeal of "Prohibition".

However, the passage of the "21st Amendment" first brought about the first change, which was the income of the federal government. Minus spending on Prohibition agents.

In addition, because of the legalization of alcohol again, the business of bars is obviously much better than before.

The occurrence of the Great Depression, and the relationship between the "Prohibition Law", caused many bars in New York City to close down and go bankrupt. Now those people who originally hid and drank secretly took to the streets openly, no doubt because of the stagnation of the Great Depression. A little motivation came.

Although, this motivation is not strong, but at least it is much better than the past situation of the pool of stagnant water.

At least, as can be seen in the reporter report of the "Messenger World", a customer can be seen more or less in all major bars in New York.

Legal alcohol has become another means of escapism besides radio, comics, and books during the Great Depression. People no longer have to hide and drink alone, and it also allows them to temporarily vent their depressed emotions. .Even after sobering up, they will have to face the cruel reality next.

Of course, in addition to these benefits, the repeal of Prohibition was not without its disadvantages.

At least, as far as Colin knew, on the day the Prohibition Prohibition was officially announced to be abolished, more than a thousand people in New York, no, the United States, died of drinking revelry.

These people did not fall under the Great Depression, nor did they fall under "Prohibition", but died because of the repeal of "Prohibition".

Because of the endless number of similar deaths, Roosevelt had to publicly appeal to the people of the country to still drink in moderation and not to excess.

In addition to these unlucky people who died of alcohol, another group that suffered a devastating blow was naturally the gang organization. The abolition of the "Prohibition" directly cut off their most profitable voice for a long time in the past. The legalization of alcohol has directly led to a huge drop in bootleg alcohol in the hands of these gangsters.

After all, after being able to drink legally, how many people would spend a lot more money to buy bootleg alcohol of significantly lower quality?

For a time, the gangs in the United States fell into a huge chaos.