Pittsburg dispatch. [volume] (Pittsburg [Pa.]) 1880-1923, 1890-08-10
MURRAY'S MUSINGS.
Rushing the Growlsr Seen nj Its Beat In
Busy Gofhnm-Edison's Automatic Fire
AIarm-Fun in a Newspnper Omce-Our
Rrafher.

Rushing the Growler Seen Mt Its Beat In
Bu.y Gothnm-Ediscn's Automatic Fire
AIarm-Fun in a Newspaper Omce-Our
MongoIiau Brother.
rFRoM STAFF CORRESPONDENT
a VERY common expression is rushing the
growler." 1t is peculiar to New York, a
city of provincialisns, by the way,ithough "the
growler'' is not of New York origin. 1t is one
of the many other things imported from the
mother country. "Bucket-shop" no longer ap-
plies to the saloon where men. women and chill
dren come to get buckets filed with beer or ale,
the term having been appropriated 10 express
those small, irresponsible gambling rooms
where men buy and sell on two per cent mar
gin stocks they neither have nor deliver or ex-
pect to be delivered. While the custom OF
working the growler" has spread to other
American cities, along with its slang definition,
1t nowhere has the prominence attained In the
metropolis.
'The growler" in itself is very harmless
looking tin bucket holding from quart TO q
gallon. 1t is worked" by being sent to some
adjacent rum-mill for beer or ale. or mixture
of both. 1t is rushed" by being returned to
the sender or senders quick enough to retain
the evidences Of ''life'' or freshness In the
creamy froth ON top. The '.growier" trade Is
in some neighborhoods more than halr the
malt retail buslness. 1t is feature OF New
York domestic life in every section OF the city.
Even on aristocratic Murray Hill and along
Fifth avenue 1t is no uncommon sight to see
'the growler'' slipping in and out OF the base
ment under the high brown stone stoops after
nightfall. In the tenement districts the streets
swarm with the male and female Mercurys
winging their swift way between the house
hold and the beer saloon. Tho law
reaches out to forbid little children being util-
lied as such messengers, but 1t is violated Just
tie same as all other regulations as to the
liquor traffic are violated. In nearly every one
of these resorts is q bucket stall which is en-
tered from side door and which has little
sliding window. Women enter this, mostly
servants, or women too poor to keep servants,
tap at the little window, pass in the GROWER
and their change, receive the foaming fluid and
rush away with 1t as IL they were bringing Lne
family doctor. Some places make specianty
OF the "growler' trade and have no bar. Inc
'growler'' trade enables the saloon man to
market his stale beer and s'all sorts" the emp
tyings Of individual beer glasses These empty
ings are thrown into can behind the counter
and chucked into 'growlers" from time to time
and after "head" is drawn on the Whole the
customer never knows tie difference. This
custom of lower classes holing themselves
away in rooms. in fats and tenements and con-
suming unlimited "growlers" out of the sight
Of the law has been productive Of innumeraDie
crimes in New York.
A Rose by Any Other Name.
CPEAKING of "all-sorts'' reminds me of the
story Philadelphia barkeeper told me the
other day. There isn't one man in 20" said he,
that can distinguish one brand of whisky
from another-and the twentieth man will
rarely kick when deceived. I tended bar
once where we actually sold but one kind OF
whisky, though it was put up in differently
labeled bottles. and retailed at 10 cents. 10
cents. 20 cents and 25 cents drink. It was the
same stuff. and cost So gallon. It's all in the
imagination. My boss had pretty little jug
with wicker work around 1t setting in con-
spicuous corner. Once in a while when he
wanted to treat friend or take drink him
self he would take that jug down and pour out
couple of fingers with an air that would
make your mouth water. The friend would
feel highly complimented Regular customers
out of that little Jug 1t was the same we sold
for 10 cents. pve sold port wine for blackberry
brandy hundreds of times. We never kept any
port wine for it. We had customers who came
several blocks for it. All of this is being done
here in New York.
Mercy for the Brutes.
THE Broadway surface road runs a horse.
ambulance. 1t is an open-top box car like
stall. the wheels having fange in order TO
run on the track. When horse gives out the
ambulance is rung up. the end of 1t let down to
serve as a bridge. up which walks the animal.
1t takes two men to do the work and from 100
to 200 people to boss the job on Broadway of a
hot afternoon.
The Wizards Latest Idea. |
IF it is true that the great American inventor, |
Thomas A. Edison, is working on an auto |
matte fire alarm. the fact will give universal |
satisfaction. Let Mr.. Edison invent aniauto- |
matte fire alarm so that man can go to sleep |
in hotel with the reasonable assurance of not
being roasted alive during the night. OF what
service is fire escape to man who Is asleepf
Let us have an automatic fire alarm that will go
of like burglar alarm, say by the action of
the heat. 1t ought to be possible to SO connect
every room in hotel by an automatic electrical
apparatus that heat in any one of them above
a certain temperature would set an alarm going
in every room In the building. This, connected
with the fire alarm CALL would bring out the fire
department long before the fire could be seen |
from the outside. AT the recent Astor House |
fire two or three rooms were fairly burned out |
before the flames were discovered. A good |
many guests in the house didn't know there |
was fire until they read it in the next morn |
ing's papers.
The Mnin Guy Slept.
THERE was next to panic in the office Of |