New Orleans Republican. [volume] (New Orleans, La) 1867-1878, 1872-08-25
Vn,ietv Halls, or Beer Gardens.

Of late considerable indignation has been
manifested against what are technically
known as variety halls" but commonly
known as beer gardens" On account Of the
repeated thefts which have occurred in the
past few months. Complaints have been 80
often made by persons visiting them who
had lost valuables, such as watches, money
breastpins, etc that a strict watch was
placed upon the suspected places, ms
seems to have had a decidedly good Inhu-
ence, and rObberies have been less frequent
For the benefit of our readers we Will
give a brief description of these places Oh
amusement. They are open free 70 every
one, but Of course the visitor Is eXpeeIeo W
treat" not only himself, but the pretty
waiter girl" who smilinglY and in be-
Witcbing manner asks, "What will you
drink, sir ?" The visitor is then expected TO
order a mild dose of poison for hlnseIl anu
companion. The liquor IS generally tle
worst ''rOt-gut" that can be procured. IL
won't poison ten yards of, but. Whit
through the nasal appendage serves to stu
pefy and bewilder the senses. Two or three
drinks of this places the drlnker III the
hands of the female attendant, and II he
should BY misfortune exhibit any amount
of the "fthy" these walters do their utmost
to get him back into the garden, where,
the "cue" given, he is instantly surrounded
by a bevy of actresses, each striving in
their characteristic manner to lure him
on by their siren smiles and ways.
Of course lie falls a victim to their
Wiles The liquor that he has drank
but half nude women, attired in spangled
tights and glittering garments. His senses
are so beWildered that these painted courte
Fans seem beautiful in his eyes. He sings
in bacChanalian glee, and orders more wine.
Another bottle of wine" is his cry. They
drink his health and dance and sing, until,
weary and exhausted, he falls from his
chair upon the floor. OF course. no more
to be got out of him, he is left by these
women, who seek another victim.
The man thus helplessly intoxicated Is
left q prey to The manager" who enters to
procure the money for the wine. The man
is dead drunk" and, of course, can not
articulatc The manager las he says, to
make himself straight, goes through the
pockets Of the drunken man, and it is a
well known fact that few men who are in
such a condition seldom leave with more
than enough money to pay cab hire. A
certain person, who shall at present be
nameless, is known to possess nearly fifty
watches, procured in the manner above
stated. In fact, he boasts that he is a
matchmaker" lin a crOwd).
A certain beer garden has attached (all
have mott a garden, where persons are
invited to chat with the actresses. Of
course drinks follow, and, to the aston
ishment of the visitor, he Is charged
double price. This is a small system
of "beating," the prime system being
the wine drinking. On this the prOpTie
tors rely largely for their profits. AS soon
as a man enters, no matter how he may be
dressed, if he looks as if he were good for
something" he is Immediately 3" at
tached by one Of the attendants
and ushered into the garden. One
Of the actresses is called to enter.
tain him., and after a few commonplace
remarks, lie receives the usual hint OF " I'm
compelled to 90 on in few minutes, and
I'm so very, very dry" OF course the gen
tlemen, with the gallantry characteristic
of the masculine sex, interrOgates her as to
her "HuuOr" She replies, " | never drink |
anything but champagne" Wine of course |
follows, and very often he receives the same |
treatment as his predecessor. If good wine
were given, even though double price were
paid, It would not be so bad, but common
California wine, with little gas injected,
seFves.the place of champagne.
Now it can be seen how easy it is for a
person to be robbed when stupefed with Ii
0uOr. A watch and chain can be taken off
or a breastpin removed, and it would be a
moral impOBsibility for any one to tell where
and how the articles were lost. Some per
SONS have been fortunate enough to recover
the articles stolen but a greater number
have not been so lucky. The police have
used every eXertiOn, but to no purpose
One or two of these places are conducted on
the square principle, while the change in
the management of another has aided mate
rally to retrieve its once good name.