Essex County herald. [volume] (Guildhall, Vt.) 1873-1964, 1888-06-08
Coffee Rooms.

1t is said that many Of the liquor dealers
In Philadelphia who have been refused IL
censes by the Excise Court have determined
to continue their places as milk and luncheon
shops. 1t would certainly seem as though
the closing up of fourteen or fifteen hundred
beer and free lunch" resorts in one city
ought to leave some openings for a trade like
that now proposed. 1t is natural to suppose
that at least a few of the men who have been
in the custom Of quenching their thirst or
satisfying their hunger in the saloons will
now turn for the same purpose to the more
convenient eating houses The saloons, how
ever, hold out certain inducements to way
faying men that the ordinary milk and
luncheon shops do not possess The former
furnish not only food and drink, but they
furnish the refreshment of rest. The saloon
answers to its patron many of the purposes
of club house, place of rendezvous, of
social entertainment He must patronize the
bar to greater or less extent, but after that
the privileges of the place are open to him;
he may read the papers, or play cards, or
tell stories with his boon companions. The
restaurants do not offer these privileges to
their patrons. AS soon as the latter have
completed the particular business on which
they came they are expected to make way
others. The restaurant does not hold itself
out as place for anything else than the fur
nishing of food and drink, and for this rea-
son it does not take the place Of the saloon.
This leads us to the consideration of the
question whether some substitute cannot be
found for the saloon which will include such
harmless and proper accomplishments as the
saloon may possess without its. dangerous
and degrading ones. In England this ques-
ton has been answered very satisfactorily in
the establishment of coffee-houses, places
that combine the features of restaurant
with those of an unpretentious but inviting
club-room. 1t will be remembered that an
attempt was made about two years ago to in
troduce coffee-house system in New York,
modelled after the English PLAN A commit
tee of prominent citizens was appointed to
take the subject under consideration. After
carefully looking over the ground they came
to the conclusion that the scheme was not a
practical one, and it was therefore dropped
In spite Of this, however, we believe that
coffee houses are needed in our large cities
to-day as much as they are in England,
most practical and effective agencies for the
| overthrow of the saloon power. In city
| like New York where there is always a large
| floating population, where many are forced
| to live amid the cherries and forbidding
surroundings of the tenements and lodging
houses some provision must be made for
meeting the social needs of the people, The
| saloon meets them to some extent and herein
| lies a large part of its power for evil Stats
| tics show that the coffee-houses of England
| have a decided effect in decreasing drunken
ness and crime. We are confident that like
results would follow their introduction here.
| In the establishment of an American coffee
house system there is an opportunity for a
large and noble philanthropic effort. -NelC
York Observer.