Pittsburg dispatch. [volume] (Pittsburg [Pa.]) 1880-1923, 1889-02-11
BY MEN BEHIND THE BAR.
Liquor Men Who Would Like to See
the Anti-Treating Law.
AN NADVOCATE OF EARLIER CLOSING
People on the Fence at the Present juno
ture Scored by Pastor.
ODD TEMPERANCE AMENDMENT NOTES

The anti-treating bill, which was intro
duced in the Legislature on Tuesday last by
Representative Mcconnell, Of Chester
county, is becoming the subject of conver-
sation among barkeepers and saloon owners
of this city. Quite number of the Allie
gheny county legislative delegation came
home Saturday morning to spend Sunday
with their friends, and, in a well-known
saloon downtown one of them was found
Saturday night, giving information about
the bill in question. For the purpose of
determining how the saloon keepers of this
city regard the measure, DISPATCH re-
porter made the rounds of a number of
saloons. The interviewing had to be done
over the heads of crowds of drinkers, as it
was impossible to get near the bars on ac-
count Of the rush.
The first one seen was Mr.. E. Reinemann,
of Wood street. For a tavern keeper, Mr..
Reinemann made several really startling
statements He said:
81 am notln favor of any more new liquor
legislation. What we want is a few
amendments to the Brooks law. / wish
that instead of introducing new bills on
the saloon question, the price of license
could be made 81 900 instead of $500. The
law should also be amended to make the
saloons close earlier than they do. Twelve
o'clock is too late, and there is no necessity
of keeping house open until that time.
The people who patronize barrooms at that
hour Of the night are not those for whom
there is any necessity of accommodation.
You will not find the merchant or the bust
ness man in a saloon at that time of the
night
GosLNGs AS NIGHT OWLS.
''It is not the man who comes in for his
drink, takes it and then goes quietly about
his business that frequents these IL o'clock
houses. 1t is done, on the contrary, by the
young men who are out for "a time and
will stay out as long as there is saloon
open. If they closed up at a respectable
hour these same young men would be at
home in bed.
81 wish the law would be amended so as
to make every saloon in the city close at s
o'clock in the evening. / close my place
of business every night at 9 O'Clock, sum-
mer or winter, except on Saturdays, when
we are open until IL. This will be the last
winter, though, that the house will be open
later than o'clock.
I'm regard to the anti-treaiing law,
think it would be good thing if heavy
Imprisonment awaited barkeepers found
violating it. The law would be a good
thing if it could be enforced; but am
afraid it could not. I
at would prevent young men from get
ting drunk. If man had to pay for the
beer and whisky he consumed, there would
be less jocularity about it, and consequently
less drunkenness. When seven or eight
young men go into a saloon, each one wants
to hold his end up,' and, therefore, when
one treats, they think it necessary to have
one all around Then they 60 somewhere
else and do the same thing. Before many
visits are made, they are drunk. 1 am sat
isfed that a great amount of the drunken
ness is from this cause"
Matt Weiss, who has kept saloon where
he now is for, the past q years, said: ''The |
law would never work. If it would, 1 am
satisfied it would be good thing. am in
favor of every man buying and
PAYING FOR HIS OWN
drinks. If each man paid for his own, there |
probably would be less drunkenness The |
most trouble we have from treaters is with |
Young men. When they come in they |
think they are under obligations to set 'em |
uo' all around, In little time thew get |
drunk
"Minors give us more trouble than any,
one else. A barkeeper who sells to a minor
should be imprisoned. 1 am in favor of |
Francis Murphy's doctrine. If you want
man to quit drinking, no laws under the
sun will stop him. You must educate him
up to It."
j. w. Piatt, whose place is the resort of
great many of the politicians and sporting
fraternity or the city, said:
THAT law would not be a success, for the
reason that it would be in direct conflict
with what Americans have been brought up
to. There is no sociability in one man
drinking alone. When a man who has
worked hard all the week wants to take a
drink or two on Saturday night, he must
have his friends to join him. 1t would be
all right for the Germans and other Euro
peans, who have been educated to the idea
of each man paying for his own drinks.
Why, in Germany you might as well ask
man to let you pay his wash bill as to pay
for what he drinks while with you. To
offer to pay his score would be to insult
him.
81 think the bill will 60 into committee,
and there it will die for the want of drink
If it comes up in the House there are too
many good fellows there who will vote
against it. All the Allegheny county dele
cation would 60 against it, with probably
the exception of Graham and Nesbit. Ii,
by chance, it became law it would be vio-