St. Paul daily globe. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn.) 1884-1896, 1888-12-29
DRUGSTORE TIPPLING.
What a Drug Clerk Has to Say OF
the Evil Effects of the Practice.

What a Drug Clerk Has to Say of
the Evil Effects of the Practice.
Washington Star.
No, sir. can not sell you any liquor
to be drunk in this store"
The speaker was clerk in a prominent
drug store, and the remark was adj
dressed to a well-dreSsed middle-aged
man who had first ordered some soda
water and then asked to have some
spiritus frumenti put in the glass.
'sWell." said the would-be customer,
in an angry tone of voice, II know drug
stores where / can get it," and he went
out of the store.
THAT'S very true remarked the
drug clerk, .'but he can't get it here"
Are there many drug stores where a
practice is made of selling liquor?
THAT is a question which no druggist
likes to answer. You see we take out
two licenses for selling liquor. Under
one we can sell any quantity from half
pint up 10 five gallons. l could have
sold that man half pint of whisky and
allowed him to drink it right before my
eyes without violating the license.
Under another license we can sell
liquor in quantities less than half a
pint for medicinal purposes, not to be
drunk on the premises. Now, ii man
will swear he is sick he can get liquor
in any quantity he desires, if the drug
glst will sell it to him, and many drug
gists hate to offend a good and regular
customer by refusing to let HIM have a
drink, when he asserts that he is sick
and needs it as a medicine. Then if
they let one man have ii they must let
another, and so some have a regular
clientale of dram drinkers"
But doesn't 1t injure their business
otherwise if the fact becomes known
that they sell liquor in this Way?"
Certainly it does. L know drug
stores where very little prescription
business is done, because it is known
that they sell liquor by the drink. And
some of these stores once enjoyed good
reputation. Sometimes the clerks are
at fault. They will sell the liquor when
the proprietor is not about, and l have
known cases where the clerks would
close up the store at the regular hour
and then take few c0ngenial friends
into the back room and drink whisky
and play poker all night. But this sort
of thing will break up any drug store
be very particular in order to keep up
LILO PottttiVhs SOl'lS oiStl UNI q ctOhS
where it is known that the clerk
or the owner even drinks whisky.
They will not trust n prescription
where there is any liability of mis-
take in its compromising. A man must
be mighty careful in putting up a pre-
scription. There are many drugs that
look exactly alike, but are vastly differ
ent i'll their properties and effects. One
may be harmless, while another may be
a deadly poison. Even with the great
est care mistakes are often made, and
you can readily see how much more
liable to mistake man is if he has one
or two drinks in him. Still, as said
before, there are a good many drug
stores where it is regular practice to
sell liquor over the counter. When the
medical congress was here, you know,
there were physicians attended
from all parts of the country. and l
got pretty good idea from those who
came into this store of how drug stores
were conducted i'll the various states.
Now, think an Iowa drug store is moth
ing more than a bar room, for Iowa is a
prohibition state. and all the drinking
is done in the drug stores. In some
parts of West Virginia, in some of the
New England states, and in many of
the Western states the same condition
of things exist. | have never sold
drink over this counter since l have
been bere-a good many years now
and | never will. l think that drug
store drinking has very bad influence
on the community, aside from the in
jury it does to the business of the
store"
''Do you think it has bad influence
on the young men"'
NO; it isn't the young men who gen.
orally tipple at drug store. TIL y
want to appear manish and they go to
barroom. It's the middle-aged men,
those who have reputation to main
tain, and who want to drink on the
quiet. Many of these if they could not
get their liquor at drug store would 90
without it, and, of course, be the better
off. It's all wrong to sell liquor by the
drink in drug store, and l, for one,
would be glad if it could be entirely
broken up."