The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1892-11-13
VICE IN MODERN LONDON.
SOME VERY PLAIN SPEAKING AMOUR
THE EyGLrsRMIN or TO-DAT

Than ID unsen Men In tho British Me.
tropoiis mud Why IL the Social Evil U"-
| repressedt-so Very Peculiar English
Institu,ions-A Significant Analysis.
LoSDoS. Nov. 3-Nowhero in these latter
| days can the prayer OF the Pharisee. VI thank
| Thee that / am not us other men are, he
found in 80 many forms OF modern phrasing
| as In tho leading articles Of English newspa-
pers Tho poor publican" IL not an American.
Is pretty sure t. he Frenchman. lfnny other
name than scf-respcct Is given TO this often
offensive spirit in the average Englishman.
the insinuation is resented with an outraged
| dignity that is invulncrablo SHIFTS OF satire.
| OF criticism. OF ridicu,e rebound harmless
| from English armor Of dissatisfaction. No
assault ever makes an EnGlishman vince nn-
less IL imperis his purse. Hold should
| make one important exception. IL John Bull
| becomes involved on the wrong side OF dis
| pute and knows he Is wroEg. ho will lose even
| some few pieces OF gold rather than ncknowl-
| edge his error.
! Consideration Of this hypcrcritioal and vain
glorious spirit may perhaps nc1uit mo OF un-
chartableness IL draw attention somewhat
| reluctantly. and in an ex parte way to lew
| OF tho dark features OF English liio rs pre-
sented in this capital. In doing 80 l shall
| make uso Of only such facts rs force them
|
| who walks tho streets an +, roads tho newspa-
| pers. ! have no new Whitecharcl horrors to
expose. no fresh dens OF iniuuty to describe.
| They aro not necessary to tho drawing and
tho proving of tho indictment Let me first
| present the arragnment and thcn the evil
dencc upon which it is bnscd
| Tho degradation OF woman Is moro common
| In London than in any great city OF the world.
| That Is tho general charge. but it brings in
It's train startling series OF specifications.
Nowhere save in London is drunkenness rs
| common among women as among mon: no.
| where else Is the social evil obtrusive and
SO unreprrssed; nowhere else are tho infu-
| ences OF tho homo on so low mora! plano:
! nowhere else is tho marriage relation SO I'M
| equal n Partnership: nowhere else Is poverty
| 50 poor and vice SO vicious as in this. tho
| proudest and richest metropolis the world
| ever saw.
| 1t is because hnvo stated tho case in the
| form OF comparison that tho accusation will
| be resented with fine scorn and undisturbcd
! e1uanimity by every EnElshmnn who secs it.
| He will have regard also to its source. for no
| criticism from en- outsider. least OF all an
| American. Will for q moment receive his seri-
| Gus consideration.
| For two weeks sef.accused London-self-
| accused because even wilful blindness could
| no longer ignore the evidence and the danger
has been pleading guilty to the ilrst count in
| the Indictment. But proof Of guilt Of the first
and perhaps the second items specified carries
with it tho same verdict as to all the others.
Let US look at some OF the evidence. I take it
all from tho mouths Of the accused them selves.
Since yesterday-withn n fortnight. to 10
exact-London has awakened to the facts that
all her public bars nre thronsed with women:
that there are more drunken women in her
pl.ap fbnt Inv
majority Of the prisoners complained Of In her
principal police courts for bein: drunk and
disordcrly" are women. This has been tho
state OF things for some time but the OWL has
been growing rapidly worse and it was not I'M
til the Daily Telegraph began series OF graphic
portrayals OF the great disgrace under tho
caption. THE National Shame" that the cal
lous public conscience was aroused Instant
~ the cry was taken up throughout England.
Public officers. church conventions. social re-
form societies. medical journals. all have COM
bined to make tho suddenly realized social
danger tho burning question Of tho day And
yet the facts have been matters OF common in
dividual knowledge for IN onths. II not for years.
Nearly all are agreed. however. that this is
comparatively now stain upon the national
character Twenty or twenty-five years ago
intemperance among the women Of Fn.!and
was as rare MS tits among the women OF Amer
lea to-day. Nobody SO far has even suggested
an adequate cause Of tho startling condition
which has at length gained recognition. No
body in tho great discussion which has already
become national has intmated that the situa-
ton indicates peculiar and fundamental de-
iects in the British social constitution. which
call for introspection in a spirit Of humility Of
which the IN odern EnGlishman knows nothing.
THIS is not intended for IN article upon
English intemperance merely. But that phase
OF the dark side OF English life is 50 different
from the American feature OF the same evil
that venture to indicate two or three points
OF contrast. In America it would be safe to
assume nine times out OF ten that a woman
seen drinking at n public saloon bar was q
drunkarJ. and that she was not a stranger to
tho police court. Tho practice is unknown
except in tho lowest resorts. On the other
hand: almost every public bar in London has q
very large portion Of its length partitioned OH
for the especial use OF female customers;
Nc. in connection with ncarly all saloons.
This does not mean that there is any real pri-
or Side e.. S nf The
however. Is divided into sections BY partitions
men. women. and chi!dren-rrowd these
sections indiscripinateiy: Good order gen
ey gallons Womsn n Who S"a isnk nap n
lie bars almost always buy spirits. Tin il the
hllnHtr t'DDe IN Utmost every case. ana gin
il to-day u greater curse TO English women
than whisky is to oil America The Scotch
or Irish whiskcy which tho mon drink does
not stcal away their brains so rapily. or cre-
ate an appetite SO opiun-llke that its cray-
inEs will not he deniol.
Ono important fact should be kept in mind
constantly in considering all branches of these
social evils. name ~. statistics Of vice are EN-
tirc!y untrus:w"rthy data upon which to base
an estimate OF the moral standing of u com
munity or nation. Indeed. they usually inIi-
cate quite the reverse "f tho truth. The town
rr,.S N Ia n n r. . ia ,i,,ut
drunkenness and unchastty. for instance, np.
bears on the records to be STEPPED in vice.
while its prolliGute noighhor which scarcely
reprcsses indulgence in vicious apprtites .ig-
ures ns an abode Of virtue. This accounts for
the fact that there has hecn no earlier statisti-
cal warning Of tho coming OF this ma
tionai shame" upon England. The num-
her OF women arrested in London last
year fnr being drunk and disorlerly" vas
only S.3''-several hundred more than In any
previous year. to be sure. hut not an appalling
number In p"nnlnton Of 5.oOu.uOU. Tho
people who arc raising the cry against intenl-
perance among women are making the mis-
takeof giving these figures Significance and