# Clifford Berryman cartoon, "Manslaughter?" (8 March 1922)

Canonical: https://mobfiles.org/items/nara-6011715-berryman-manslaughter-1922/

A Berryman drawing of 8 March 1922: his character Mr. D.C., as prosecutor, holds up a bottle marked "Poison" before a jury and points to a crate marked "Pure Whisky" while a bootlegger watches.

The catalog title is "Manslaughter?", local identifier F-028, dated 8 March 1922. Berryman's recurring figure Mr. D.C. stands in a courtroom in a wig and knee breeches, his sleeve marked "D.C.," holding up a bottle labelled "POISON" and pointing at a crate marked "PURE WHISKY." A small man in a cap marked "BOOTLEGGER" looks on from the left, and men sit in a box labelled "THE JURY." The drawing is signed by Berryman.

The National Archives note says bootleggers prospered as demand for liquor rose, that the quality of bootleg liquor could not be assured, and that "government studies indicated that poison was found in 98% of bootleg whisky." That figure is the note's; the study it refers to is not filed here and the number is not adopted as a finding.

The drawing is an editorial comment of 1922, cited for its content and for the catalog's account of its subject.

## Sources

- National Archives Catalog, Records of the U.S. Senate (RG 46), Berryman Political Cartoon Collection: https://catalog.archives.gov/id/6011715
- National Archives series: Berryman Political Cartoon Collection (NAID 306080): https://catalog.archives.gov/id/306080