The morning call. [volume] (San Francisco [Calif.]) 1878-1895, 1893-08-08
DIVE DOORS OPEN.
No Attention Paid to the
Ordinance.
NEW LICENSES GIVEN OUT.
Women Haunt the Places in Open
Violation of the Law, but Are
Not Disturbed.
NEW LICENSES GIVEN OUT.

In spite of the fact that tile Board Of
Supervisors passed an anti-dive ordinance
more than a month ago. there has not as
yet been any great amount of zeal dis
played toward enforcing it. The fact OF
the matter seems to be that the dives are
running along about as usual, and those
who have occasion to visit the district
along the Barbary Coast find that the
same old state of affairs prevails. 1t i:
true that few of the most notorious oil
the places have been closed for a time al
least, but so far as can be learned dizziness
of trade has been the ruling cause and not
the stringency of police restrictions. In
all four or five resorts have gone by the
board of late, among which was the
notorious Montana dance-hall On KearDy
street and Buffalo Bill's den, 537 Pacific
street The latter was one of the worst
places il town, and its proprietor was
in almost constant trouble with the
courts; but dull times came at last and lie
fed TO parts unknown, leaving two
months rent aud innumerable bills for
supplies unpaid.
Aside from these few changes "the
coast" is pretty much the same as it was a
year ago. There are the same strains from
wheeZy accordions and Notwithstanding
pianos of the drift period. and the modern
notes of after the Ball. and Daddy
Won't Buy Me Wow" have sue
ceeded to the discordant airs If ANNIE
Rooney" and MARY Green" One sees the
same old hardened faces of women coming
and going and the same cd gas lamps
smoke and fare aud flicker as they did
when Ned Buckley was in his prime.
About the only excuse for this is that the
authorities are making the claim that they
are awaiting the decision of Judge Muir
ply, which is about due. Ignoring the fact
that h law is law until decided unconSti-
tutional.
One of the most glazing instances of the
evasion OF the law is that of Hattie Casa
naugh, who Keeps notorious place at al
Pacific street. Hers has always been a
disorderly house, and ner license was re-
voked on that account some time ago, and
it was believed she would 90 out OF bust
ness. Shrewdly enough Hattie. who has
an eye to the main chance at all times,
made fictitious transfer of her place to
another person, who found no trouble in
securing license, and now Hattie has her
den in full blast as of old. More than this.
she is making arrangements to have a
cigar-stand put in the front so that she
may be enabled to look out and catch the
unwary as they pass. All this must be
known to the police authorities, and yet
they have taken no action to put q stop
to il.
Bottle Meier's is another plaee,on Pacific
street that is openly conducted in viola
ton of the ordinance. 1t has had a bad
name for a long time, and it was supposed
that it would be one of the first places to
fall under the ban Of the law. On the
contrary, it seems as offensive to decency
as ever. There are no frowsy mattresses
In the old sense. but the same women fire.
quent the boxes and lure the unwary to
ruin. Those in charge protest OF course
that women are no longer employed, but
that they have no right TO prevent women
from visiting the place. This may be true
of course, but the chances are that the
women are not there for their amusement.
1t would be safe guess to make that the
percentages on sales are paid just as they
were in the past and that the whole excuse
Is a sham of the worst character.
Another conspicuous instance of the
infraction OF the law is the Eureka music
hall, on kearny street 1t is running
along about it did on a new license
granted by the Police Commissioners and
issued by the License Collector. For a
few days it was closed. Joseph HAYES.
the owner, it was found had record Of
such character that it was deemed best to
shut up his place. It was closed, but
Joseph was not to be thrown out in the
world without an effort Cd his part to keep
a good thing. Another man rented the
place and applied for a license He OBJ
tanned it, and was told that Hayes must
not have anything to do with il. Just the
same Hayes bodied up behind the bar
when the place was reopened, and thus
far he has managed to hold his own undis-
turbed.
About the place there are a dozen or
more women aud girls in costumes more
or less abbreviated and possessed of elab-
crate vocabularies of filth. They are not
innocent young girls. learning their first
lessons of sin. Tor among them there is not
one whose face does not show the lines of
long dissipation and evil ways. Hayes
keeps them off the main floor and confines
them to the boxes. They are guests, he
says, and have right to enter the place
at will. This seems to be the view of the.
police.
Bottle Kenig's has a brand-new license
and new proprietor. The latter is un-
known about the place and tie old man.
ager conducts the low variety show on the
same old lines. Judge Murphy's delayed
decision is keeping IL open. The same
cause. no doubt, keeps the same women
about the place to haunt the boxes and
coax the dollars out of the pockets Of the
sailors and longshoremen who frequent
the pitfall.
The license of The Whale ran out re-
Gently. but it was renewed by some mys-
ferrous means. Those who know claim
that politics had something TO do with il
and that the owner has pull that enables
him to keep his place open In spite of the
new ordinance.
These are lew of the many open viola
tons of the law. and the Buckingham, the
Palace Varieties. the Bella Union, the
Olympic and the Colorado are in full
blast. In them all there are women
guests. of courSe-and the women are those
seen in the same places six months ago.
None Of them have gone to work and all
of them seem to have sufficient to eat and
wear. Still they are not employed, the
proprietors say, and at the same time they
have not been arrested for vagIancy. Just
how they manage to exist and at the same
time keep out of the clutches of the law is
an unsolved mystery. The proprietors of
the dives know, perhaps, but they refuse
to say. Thew are not. of course, respon-
sihIe for their gnests and are me- re l..