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Grenville Kleiser

The Prohibition Amendment (number 18) to the U. S. Constitution was repealed in

1933. In April 1933, booze began to flow again in several states. In March the Great

Depression triggered by the market collapse of 1929 appeared to have bottomed out.

Still the dry faction was persisting in its pursuit of prohibition. Grenville Kleiser (1868-

1957) was a well known preacher and supporter of the drys. On December 23,1933 this

poem by Kleiser appeared in

The Bee

(Danville, Virginia).

Dignity, Suh!

I hasn't any chicken,

And I hasn't any duck:

I hasn't any pork chops,

And I hasn't any luck;

But I has dignity!

I hasn't any money,

And I hasn't any shoes;

I hasn't any

corkscrew

,

And I hasn't any booze;

But I has dignity!

Yessuh!