> Is it drinking itself that is associated with the working class or is it
> drinking to excess?
I think your question may be directed more toward what heartfield wrote than toward my response but the line taken by the DuPonts and similar industrialists who pushed Prohibition stressed drinking to excess more than simply drinking ... they used both safety and efficiency arguments, as well as urging patriotic motives. The DuPonts, in particular, stressed the dangers of drink impaired workers in munitions and chemical plants. As landlords they banned the sale of booze in their company towns while working to generalize the ban through laws. The use of total bans on the sale of booze , which was much stricter than the British practice of strictly limiting but not completely prohibiting the sale of alcoholic drinks, does seem to indicate that they thought that the workers would be unable to indulge in moderation if left to their own devices.
K.Mickey