The Wheeling daily intelligencer. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1865-1903, 1877-09-08
GheGntelti9eueee.
WheeIlug's Crying Evil.

VA
buroh's cast.oiI "demi.monde," under the
Vuise OF "wAller girls" and q Wheeling
South now takes bis drinks and al the
SSne time Ia leered and grinned at by q
mass Of sickly sensuAlity, And the ma
iorilyol Wheeling newspapers do not III
their voice at such a crying eyil.-CgarkI
burg 7aegdm.
The Telegram seem to be under the i'm
preston that IhereiS aome legal process
by which the nuisance alluded TO eau be
gotten rid Of. The "demi.monds" could
probably succeSfully reSis, any aitemp,
to rid the town Of their presence. II
would be difficult to make case against
them simply as "Waiter girls" in saloons
The law would protect them in that vo'
cation on the ground that selling beer ia
a licensed business in our midst, and
those who hold licenses to sell II have q
right 10 employ whoever they please to
wait on their customers.
We agree with the Telegram that the
importation Of thesesspersons into our
midst is "crying evil" and also great
reproArh to our city. We are not sur
prised that the saloon men Of the city are
generally: down on it, for it has done
more to degrade their business than any.
thing that has ever oecurredIn our midst.
II is as much as any decent mans reputa,
tiOn is worth TO be seen going into place
where these girls Ars.:emplOyed.
Still, We do not see any way Of squslch.
ing the evil. 1t certainly ought 10 Be
squelshed in q summary manner IL there
is any legal process by which the shame
fuI nuisance can be reached.
There Is one feature Of this "Waiter
girl" nuisance that could and should be
broughtto bear on the buiness without
delay, and il citizens who really desire to
see the nuisance suppressed and the city
rid Of itS reProach, will take the matter
in hand, they can probably effect some.
thing. We refer TO the fact that the
nuisance couceals Itself rs much as possi-
bic behind blinded WindoWs.
Page 254 Of the Acts Of 1929 declares
that at shall be unlawful for any
person or persons, by agent or otherwise,
tOsellintoIicatIng liquors behind screens,
frosted windows, or any other dsries design.
ed or intended to project he seller or buyer
from public ObserpGtioR" .--.t..t
Page 256 declares that every violation
OF this enactment shall subject the
offender ITO fine OF not less than twenty
dollars nor more than one hundred dol
lars, and to imprisonment in the Jail of
the county "not lesS than ten days nor
more than thirty days and pay the costs
Of prosecution" t..
It is also declared on page 254 that
"all cases where intoxicating liquors are
sold in violation Of this act, shall be taken,
held aud declared to be common nuisan.
essi" and, furthermore, that any places so
offending shall be shut up and abated as
public nuisanees upon conviction Of the
keeper thereof"
ltSeemI to US that these provisions of
the law can be brought TO bear with deci.
ded effect on this waiter girl" business.
The traffic in at least the most prominent
garden" in town where such girls are
employed is closely blinded from public
view; so much go that at all hours Of the
night the pNssr by can see men and boys
trying to get glimpse Of what is going
on inside by peeping through the doors
aa they open aud Ahut, or by glimpse
between blind and window sill.
More than half the allursment Of this
whole illegiiimats and dsmorali1ing bual.
ne" consists in this conceaIment Of it
from the gaze Of the public. The idea is
no. only TO protect those Inside from
observation, but also to force everybody
who is curious to know what is going on
inside to come in and see and partici.
pate.
We say therefore that once these