New Ulm weekly review. [volume] (New Ulm, Minn.) 1878-1892, 1885-03-25
Drinking Men.

Drinking Men.
The bartender of a popular rendez-
vous leaned gracefully over the bar
during the slack hours of busine IS, the
other day, and discussed his customers
with a reporter.
u notice that men nowadays order
exactly what they want, . he said, toy
ing gently with his blonde mustache,
while. the reporter transferred a Glove
from the glass to. his mouth. s.Three
or four years ago man looked more
or less ashamed of himself when he
ordered lemonade or settler. His COM
panion usually demonstrated with or
made fun of him, and he generally
offered some sort of an apology to the
bartender for ordering a non-intox-
icating drink. This was particularly so
with young business men, clerks, and
politicians. They ordered brandy
smashes, plain brandy, whisky
punches, plain whisky, or some other
heavy drink. Of course one-half of
them didn't want it. You can't stand
behind a bar long before you find out
that large percentage of the men
who are led up to the bar to drink
would rather have nothing at all than
liquor of any sort. Very many men
have scruples against drinking hard
liquor of any sort. Others have
scruples against drinking hard liquor,
and others find that it goes against
them to drink brandy or whisky be-
fore dinner. Still the majority of
them used to drink their whisky
straight and said nothing. When
I first went into the business,
fifteen years ago, we used to pass out
the whisky bottle and glasses without
asking question. If the man wanted
anything else he would push the bot
tie back and give his order. In those
days if a party of young men went
into bar-room and ordered lemonade
the barkeeper felt aggrieved, and the
bystanders made fun of him. Nova
days, however, everything is changed.
No one thinks anything when two or
three of a group of men order lem
onade, seltzer, or apollinaris at the
bar.
''The simon-pure American bar
room, too, is rapidly going out of
fashion. Men no longer enjoy rush
ing into a room, and taking a drink
standing. They have more time now
than they had ten years ago, and like
to sit down and chat with their friends
over 'sherry-chickens, 'bees-wings,'
etc. A place with comfortable chairs
and tables catches the customers now,
and the modern restaurants and cafes,
where they can peacefully sit out of
sight of the general public, do the
most business. Their rooms are al
ways filled.
'''In my opinion drinkers are not so
numerous as they used to be. The
man who came in for his cocktail
every morning before breakfast ,or
luncheon, and the man who took feur
or five good drinks of whisky every
day, no longer exist to the extent they
did ten years ago. The fact is, habit
ual drinking over the bar is not fash
ionable nowadays. Men drink more
at dinner than they used to, and only
drink away from home for the fun of
the thing. The wholesale absorption
of liquor has gone out of style. Now
and then a party of students or clerks
go to a place and drink until they can
hold no more, but this is very seldom.
OF course there are others among the
laboring classes who deliberately
make up their minds to get FULL and
go about it in business-like way and
drink to excess, but they now COM
.paratively few. Troy Telegram.