3 ms·

Well they used that in the US too. The issue was the criminals were hiring chemists to remove it. So they had to try other chemicals that were more difficult to

Well they used that in the US too. The issue was the criminals were hiring chemists to remove it. So they had to try other chemicals that were more difficult to remove, but also had worse effects. The goal was never to kill alcoholics, but to prevent them from stealing industrial alcohol. I think the people behind it didn't think anyone would be stupid enough to try to drink or sell this stuff.

nkurz 10y ago
I think the people behind it didn't think anyone would be stupid enough to try to drink or sell this stuff. While it might be comforting to believe this, there's strong evidence that while directly killing alcoholics was not the goal, it was a known and acceptable collateral damage. Even after being confronted with the unprecedented number of deaths, the official response from Wayne Wheeler (the leader of the Anti-Saloon League and generally acknowledged architect of Prohibition) was that "The government is under no obligation to furnish people with alcohol that is drinkable when the Constitution prohibits it. The person who drinks this industrial alcohol is a deliberate suicide." https://books.google.com/books?id=8gAtAgAAQBAJ&pg=PT173&dq=%22The+government+is+under+no+obligation+to+furnish+people+with+alcohol+that+is+drinkable+when+the+Constitution+prohibits+it.+The+person+who+drinks+this+industrial+alcohol+is+a+deliberate+suicide.%22&hl=en&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwj-mvasgffOAhUOHGMKHbaRCSgQ6AEIHjAA#v=onepage&q=%22The%20government%20is%20under%20no%20obligation%20to%20furnish%20people%20with%20alcohol%20that%20is%20drinkable%20when%20the%20Constitution%20prohibits%20it.%20The%20person%20who%20drinks%20this%20industrial%20alcohol%20is%20a%20deliberate%20suicide.%22&f=false https://books.google.com/books?id=8gAtAgAAQBAJ&pg=PT173&dq=%... Edit: Here's a political cartoon from 1927 attacking Wheeler for the deliberateness of his approach: http://archive.lib.msu.edu/DMC/tribune/trib00000000/trib00000000578.jpg http://archive.lib.msu.edu/DMC/tribune/trib00000000/trib0000...

nkurz 10y ago

I think the people behind it didn't think anyone would be stupid enough to try to drink or sell this stuff. While it might be comforting to believe this, there's strong evidence that while directly killing alcoholics was not the goal, it was a known and acceptable collateral damage. Even after being confronted with the unprecedented number of deaths, the official response from Wayne Wheeler (the leader of the Anti-Saloon League and generally acknowledged architect of Prohibition) was that "The government is under no obligation to furnish people with alcohol that is drinkable when the Constitution prohibits it. The person who drinks this industrial alcohol is a deliberate suicide." https://books.google.com/books?id=8gAtAgAAQBAJ&pg=PT173&dq=%22The+government+is+under+no+obligation+to+furnish+people+with+alcohol+that+is+drinkable+when+the+Constitution+prohibits+it.+The+person+who+drinks+this+industrial+alcohol+is+a+deliberate+suicide.%22&hl=en&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwj-mvasgffOAhUOHGMKHbaRCSgQ6AEIHjAA#v=onepage&q=%22The%20government%20is%20under%20no%20obligation%20to%20furnish%20people%20with%20alcohol%20that%20is%20drinkable%20when%20the%20Constitution%20prohibits%20it.%20The%20person%20who%20drinks%20this%20industrial%20alcohol%20is%20a%20deliberate%20suicide.%22&f=false https://books.google.com/books?id=8gAtAgAAQBAJ&pg=PT173&dq=%... Edit: Here's a political cartoon from 1927 attacking Wheeler for the deliberateness of his approach: http://archive.lib.msu.edu/DMC/tribune/trib00000000/trib00000000578.jpg http://archive.lib.msu.edu/DMC/tribune/trib00000000/trib0000...