hidden moonshine | teddy bear stomachs suspected

Camouflaged intoxicants

CAMOUFLAGE LIQUOR TO SOLDIERS AROUSES JUDGE in Boston Globe (April 14, 1918), p. 16—

NEW YORK—Discovery of camouflage in the disposal of liquor to soldiers and sailors in uniform led to the announcement by United States Judge Hand today that imprisonment and not fines would be the punishment hereafter of persons convicted of violating the Federal law forbidding the sale of intoxicants to Army and Navy men.

Stomachs of Teddy Bears, paper bags left on mailboxes, taxicab rides around the block at $1.50 a ride, and cigar boxes passed over the counter at cigar stores are some of the methods through which servicemen here have been served with liquor recently, according to testimony in the Federal court at the arraignment of more than 300 persons, many of whom are now in prison.

Veteran camoufleur sought for bootlegging expertise

Above Prohibition agents with a confiscated moonshine still. Library of Congress Prints and Photographs.

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CAMOUFLAGE USED TO COVER STILLS in Centralia Sentinel (Centralia IL), November 2, 1923, p. 2—

Montana prohibition officers are searching for a war veteran who saw service overseas in a camouflage outfit. According to [Montana law enforcement], bootleggers are believed to be employing the returned veteran to conceal their moonshine stills on Montana farms.

Costello said a still was recently discovered in a tent near Boseman MT after many weeks' search. The moonshine-making outfit had been hidden in a tent, painted green, and pitched in a clump of willows. Several times the dry officers came within a few feet of the hidden still but were unable to locate it because of the successful camouflage. A large number of barrels, hidden in the willows nearby, were painted green.

Three hundred gallons of whiskey, 1,244 pounds of sugar, 1,000 pounds of corn, and 15 barrels of mash, ready for distilling were found in the cache.

Evidence of the work of the veteran has been uncovered in other parts of the state, it was said. In a northern Montana grain field, a still was discovered hidden under a tent which was covered with bunches of grain, tied together, and ready for harvesting. For some days dry agents thought the disguised tent was a mound of grain.

Near Havre MT, a still was found on a mountain. The still was made of canvas and was located on the edge of a cliff. Painted to resemble rocks, it was many weeks before the moonshiners’ outfit was discovered.

At Great Falls a still was recently found on the banks of the Missouri River. Here the still was located in a cave. Painted canvas trees were used to disguise a door, which formed the entrance to the cave.

Camouflage used to conceal moonshine stills

Above Someone has fallen asleep in church (probably drinking the night before) and is snoring loudly. Can you find the culprit?

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CAMOUFLAGE USED TO COVER STILLS in Centralia Evening Sentinel (Centralia IL), November 12, 1923, p. 2—

Helena MT—Montana prohibition officers are searching for a war veteran who saw service overseas with a camouflage outfit. According to George Costello, dry agent of Glasgow MT, bootleggers are believed to be employing the returned veteran to conceal their moonshine stills on Montana farms.

Costello said a still was recently discovered in a tent near Bozeman MT after many weeks search. The moonshine-making outfit had been hidden in a tent, painted green, and pitched in a clump of willows. Several times the dry officers came within a few feet of the hidden still but were unable to locate it because of the successful camouflage. A large number of barrels, hidden in the willows nearby, were painted green.

Three hundred gallons of whiskey, 1,200 pounds of sugar, 1,000 pounds of corn, and 18 barrels of mash, ready for distilling were found in the cache.

Evidence of the work of the veteran has been uncovered in other parts of the state, it was said. In a northern Montana grain field, a still was discovered hidden under a tent, which was covered with bunches of grain, tied together, and ready for harvesting. For some days dry agents thought the disguised tent was a mound of grain.

Near Havre MT, a still was found on a mountain. The still was made of canvas and was located on the edge of a cliff. Painted to resemble rocks, it was many weeks before the moonshiners’ outfit was discovered.

At Great Falls a still was recently found on the banks of the Missouri River. Here the still was located in a cave. Painted canvas trees were used to disguise a door, which formed the entrance to the cave.

A camouflaged cure for a morning hangover

Below This camouflage cartoon by American artist Walter Hoban (1890-1939) was featured in his comic strip Jerry on the Job. It was published in the Oregon Daily Journal (Portland OR) on August 16, 1917.

A CAMOUFLAGE DRINK in the Times-Tribune (Scranton PA) on December 11, 1917—

Making the morning after seem like the night before is the mission of the camouflage, the newest drink. Camouflage, as every student of the war knows, means "making things seem what they ain't." Thus the camouflage looks like a glass of milk, but has the far different effect so much desired on cold, gray mornings. In a word it is a "pick me up" that no man need blush to order after he gets into his working clothes. It is composed as follows: One-half jigger of apple brandy, a half jigger of dry gin, white of an egg, tablespoon of cream and a pinch of powdered sugar. The mixing glass should then be filled with cracked ice, the contents shaken well and strained into a small tumbler. Take two of these and, it is said, one hears sweet music; three and one grabs the next ship for the land of hot dogs, limburger and sauerkraut to take a wallop at the kaiser.

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CAMOUFLAGE in the Bridgeport Times and Evening Farmer (Bridgeport CT) on October 13, 1917—

If I could use war tactics,
Said the football player fellow,
I'd camouflage the pigskin
By painting it bright yellow;
We'd then fool our opponents,
And win the game hands high,
'Cause they'd think we had a pumpkin
And were going to make a pie.

WWI Cartoon Search for Slackers and Draft Dodgers

Above This camouflage-themed cartoon was distributed in the US by the Bell Syndicate. It appeared in the Pottsville Republican (Pottsville PA), January 31, 1918. The signature is less than clear, but it was probably created by a California-based cartoonist named Edmund Waller Gale Jr. (1884-1975).

Lunacy, Delirum Tremens, Jazz—and Camouflage

Cubist cartoon (1913), by Frank King

Styles of so-called "modern" art pre-date dazzle ship camouflage, since disruptive camouflage (as we know it) was not adopted until 1914, the first year of World War I. Modern styles of art were shown to the American public by way of the Armory Show in early 1913. 

Thereafter, cartoonists had an absolute field day with avant-garde art, as shown above in a wonderful cartoon by Frank King, titled "After the Cubist Food Exhibit," that appeared in The Chicago Tribune on April 24, 1913. As soon as disruptive camouflage was introduced, there was no stopping the rumors that it had been inspired by lunacy, the delirium tremens, jazz—and cubism. The fight is still on-going.

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P.I. O'Leary, THE LITERARY PAGE. The Informalists. The Advocate (Melbourne, Victoria, Australia), June 24, 1920, p. 3— 

Mr. [W.L.] George sees in the work of [Irish writer James] Joyce a resemblance to the impressionist painter's method, who, instead of painting a green spot, painted side by side a blue spot and a yellow spot, and then invited you to stand back. If this attempted literature of Joyce resembles anything at all in pigments, it is the chaotic and seemingly meaningless lines and drab splashes painted on camouflaged ocean-going vessels during the late war. Unlike those markings, however, which served to obliterate the vessels they made usefully hideous, these serve only to hide something which is not there to be hidden.…

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Dazzle Mania in The Register (Adelaide, South Australia), October 8, 1923, p. 11—

Post-impressionists have been at work in London again. Wandering down one of the streets where the feminine population does its shopping, I was struck—literally—by a most amazing pair of silk stockings. "Jazz," murmured the fair lady: "aren't they a dream?" They were—a rather bad one. The post-impressionist had apparently endeavored to portray his impressions of a landscape after a thunderstorm. Verdan green as to foot, the stockings first took on a threatening reddish-yellow glow, deepening into vivid crimson, and back again to sullen gray, all the colorings looking as though they had been thrown on from a distance of at least five feet. I suppose they would be all right on some people, but they looked to me like the camouflage they put on boats in war time.

Camouflaged as POTTED RAT

George Belcher cartoon, Punch (1917)

Above Cartoon by George Belcher from Punch (November 29, 1917), p. 365. The caption reads: Officer: Why were you not at roll call last evening? Defaulter: Well, Sir, with this 'ere camp camouflaged so much, I couldn't find my way out of the canteen.

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Anon, CAMOUFLAGE in Brecon County Times, Neath Gazette and General Advertiser (Wales), June 22, 1918 (Supplement)—

I chanced to be in the village post office and an oldish farmer's wife came in with a parcel. When she had gone I noticed two words printed in thick letters of ink above the address.

"Good heavens!" I said, "the meat shortage isn't so bad as all this, surely?"

The postmistress laughed.

"That's Dame Brown's patent for safety," she said. "The old lady sends her soldier grandson a pot of rabbit every week. The pot got 'lost' sometimes in the journey, and she hit upon an idea for labeling the contents. Every week she calls, and always those two words are boldly printed on the wrapper, POTTED RAT. The parcel never miscarries now."

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Anon in Abergavenny Chronicle (Wales), February 28, 1919—

…[So-and-so] said now the war was over it was time the English language was taken out of khaki and put in plain clothes. People were heartily sick of such words as barrage and camouflage.

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Anon, CAMOUFLAGE IN THE WOOD in Brecon County Times, Neath Gazette and General Advertiser (Wales), September 7, 1918 (Supplement)—

The drafting of men for military service has brought to light some queer occupations, but surely none more out of the ordinary than that of the man who makes imitation pheasant eggs. A man before a Surrey Tribunal said his job was to make an egg which hoodwinked the sitting pheasant. The real eggs were transferred to a broody hen's keeping until near the time of hatching, and the hen pheasant kept at her job by means of the artificial "eggs." Then the real eggs were brought back to be hatched out by a mother who could look after them. These artificial "eggs," it seems, mislead the hen pheasant entirely, and cause foxes, hedgehogs and such marauders furiously to think. It seems rather like a yarn, but the Tribunal accepted it, and gave the man six months' exemption.

Moonshine & Camouflaged Shenanigans

Will Vawter, "More Camouflage" (1918)

Above "More Camouflage" by John William (Will) Vawter, from Life magazine (1918).

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Earle Bowden, MOONSHINING IS PROFITABLE BUT DANGEROUS, in Panama City News-Herald (Panama City FL), July 11, 1950, p. 6—

Most moonshiners keep chickens, hogs and cattle nearby for camouflage reasons. They must have legitimate excuses for buying chicken feed, grain and scratch feed.

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M.F. Dacey, RUM RUNNERS IN MONTANA USING ARTIFICIAL CAMOUFLAGE TO GET BOOZE ACROSS BORDER, in El Paso Herald (El Paso TX), February 5, 1921—

Speed, daring, deception, invention, camouflage and cunning combined with nerve of a high order; utilization of every known means of transportation, from the Indian papoose's place on the back of a squaw and packets tied on drifting sheep to speedy scout planes designed for war, are devoted nowadays to delivering liquor purchased in Canada to cities hundreds of miles below the northern boundary of the United States.…

Funerals designed with the artistry of professional stagecraft, calling every member of a large cast to act with ability, were used successfully for a time. Spare tires of automobiles are chestnuts now, as are reserve tanks hidden within gasoline tanks.

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Anon, AUTO THIEVES WORK BOLDLY, in Wichita Daily Eagle (Wichita KS), December 9, 1918—

Police in Petersburg VA captured a Haynes car loaded with fifty quarts of whiskey and drove the car to the police station garage, where they left it to go inside and make out their reports. When they returned to the garage the car was gone—whiskey and all. No clue.

…The up-to-date thieves operating in Rochester NY drive their loot out into unfrequented parts of the country, run the car in a field and camouflage it to resemble a broken down shed, hay stack or pile of brush. The police have recovered a number of these camouflaged cars since the scheme was discovered through a confession.

[John G. Williams, an old-timer from Omaha NE] recommended hanging as a punishment for auto stealing. "If we string up a few of them, it will discourage the others," he said. "It discouraged the horse thieves in the old days."…

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Anon, CAMOUFLAGE LATEST PROVIDENCE DRINK, in Huntington Herald (Huntington TX), June 21, 1918—

Providence RI, June 21—A drink called "camouflage," sold to soldiers and sailors in certain cafes here and calculated to intoxicate in jig time, is responsible for the closing of one hotel and several cafes are under suspicion. The agents of the department of justice says girls pilot the soldiers and sailors to the cafes, where the drink is sold without question.

More WW1 Camouflage Sheet Music

Sheet music cover for Camouflage (1917)

In earlier posts, we've talked about camouflage-related sheet music from World War I. Above is the cover (artist unknown) of yet another (awful) song called Camouflage: Nut Song No. 2 by L. Wolfe Gilbert and Anatol Friedland (1917). The lyrics read as follows— 

This war has brought us trouble,
And lots of humor too,
For life is just a bubble,
I'll prove that fact to you;
Our friends abroad have coined a word
that probably we've never heard,
It sounds so funny and absurd,
It surely is a bird.
Oh, Dan, Oh, Dan,
you dictionary man.

CHORUS
Camouflage, Camouflage, that's the latest dodge,
Camouflage, Camouflage, it's not a cheese or lodge,
We'll say a Yankee trench is here,
The artist paints a keg of beer,
That's bound to bring the Germans near—
that's Camouflage.

Camouflage, Camouflage, that's the latest dodge,
Camouflage, Camouflage, it's not a cheese or lodge,
You buy a Ford that's second-hand,
You paint it red, it looks so grand.
And near a "Stutz" you let it stand—
that's Camouflage.

Camouflage, Camouflage, that's the latest dodge,
Camouflage, Camouflage, it's not a cheese or lodge,
Now Missus Cohn is fifty-six,
With all the young boys she likes to mix,
She dyes her hair and paints her cheeks—
that's Camouflage.

Camouflage, Camouflage, that's the latest dodge,
Camouflage, Camouflage, it's not a cheese or lodge,
Now La Follette he talks too much,
To me he's funny as a crutch,
They say he got himself in dutch—
that's Camouflage.

Camouflage Cartoons | Maurice Ketten

Until a few days ago, we had never heard of an Italian-born American cartoonist named Maurice Ketten (1875-?), née Prosper Fiorini, and at this point we still know very little. Apparently he studied art in Paris at the École des Beaux Arts, then emigrated to the US around 1906. He became a well-known cartoonist for the New York World (1907-1930s), for which he produced a daily cartoon. Shown here are two cartoons he made about camouflage that were featured in the Washington Post in 1917.

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Dialog for Office Camouflage (above)—

—Mr. John, hereafter I want to see you at your desk more. You spend too much time out of the office. Tell Mr. Bill this applies to him too.

—Yes , Boss.

—He! He!

.

—Yes, Boss, they are at their desks.

—Good!

.

—Did it work?

—Yes, the boss thinks he saw you at your desk, Mr. John.

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Dialog for Home Camouflage (below)—

—Go to our room and go to bed! You can't go out tonight.

—O, very well.

.

—The inventor of the fire escape must have been a married man.

.

—Something queer! He is not snoring.

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—Well! What a clever home camouflage!

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—Won't she get onto it?

—Never! If she goes to my room she'll think I'm asleep. I did a nice little bit of camouflage.

.

—The idiot! He doesn't know yet after forty years that he never sleeps without snoring.

Dazzle Camouflage as Delirium Tremens

Above In an earlier post, we featured a World War I-era paragraph from the Washington Times, in which dazzle ship camouflage was compared to what the writer called "marine delirium tremens." Reproduced here is a similar sentiment, in cartoon form, that was published in the Observer (Auckland, New Zealand). Vol 38, No 20, on 19 January 1918.

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