The Jersey City news. (Jersey City [N.J.]) 1889-1906, 1893-07-08
CAFE MATTER Settled.
The Members of The Jersey
City Athletic Club Rec
ord Their Protest.

The temperance members Of the Jersey
City Athletic Club are happy. Their joy
has been o%coasioned by the announcement
that the members who ara IN favor of es-
tablishiHg a cafe at the clubhouse have
been practically knocked out aud that
there is every reason to believe that no
beer or other autl-temperauce beve rage
will ever be allowed 60 enter the portals
Of the club.
In accordance with a resolution passed
by the club at the regular meeting in
April, The Secretary has cnm muntcated
with every member OF the club in regard
TO the proposed cafe requesting his
opinion on the matter. These opinions
were to decide the fate OF the movement,
but quite q few mem 6ers failed to
answer. Secretary w. r. Starrett in his
report says
RESULT OF THE POLL.
probably all who intended to answer
have Gone SO. and, SO far as getting a full
expression of opinion is concerned, the
method adopted seems to have been a
failure. Out of a membership of about
$50, about $50 have answered. With very
few exceptions, those who did answer
we're decided, aud answered yes or no
without any qualification. Presumably
the remaining $50 members would be
satisfied Ii way or the other, the ma.
jority of them probably hut seldom
visiting the clubhouse. Taking the vote
as expressed by the active members
the result shows about three-ffths
against two-iifths in favor, enough to
defeat the question beyond any hope of
revival at any open meeting of the club.
As has been said, there seems TO be no
hope of getting a fnll expression of
opinion on any question. But Ignoring,
for the sake OF argument, those who did
nor vote. the result Is about the same as
in other clubs of this kind where they
have existed without u cafe. There
seems to- be but little desire to change
the existing condition in any of
the clubs, members arguing that what
was good enough for the charter men,
berg, ought TO be good enough now. II
the club could be run successfully be-
fGrs now, why not now, under the same
conditionsi I have no doubt but that in
apy Of the clubs where q cafe has bee u
one of the features from the inception,
the majority would Bs as heartily against
its abolition as the majority In onr and
other clubs is against its adoption"
CAFE ADVOCATES SAY.
The members who favor the establish
ment of the cafe do not look upon the
matter in such q philosophical light.
however. and many threaten that they
will resign. One of these members. in
speaking to a reporter Of THE JERSEY
CITY NEWS. last night. said
ut is q we'll known fact that the club
is sorely in need Of money aud that the
officers find lt mighty hard work to
make both ends meet. Now, a cafe
would be d source Of great profit. Our
members, instead of visiting some neigh
boring gin mill, could ave u social glass
with friends at the clubhouse and the
club would reap the profit that the gin
mill keeper now gets. Besides, we would
rather lake our drinks &C the club
than at some public Darroom. but the
temperance cranks were afraid that
drunkenness would become a common
thing. and it vas upon this assnmption
that they defeated us. Ii the cafe was
established we intended adopting a rule
that would make drupKeDness punish
able by expulsion of the offender from
the club. But We will not light the mat
ter any further. II the matter Is brought
up at the next monthly meeting we will
not attempt to carry the motion to estab-
lish The cafe. We will simply resign
from the CLUB and join some orRaniza-
ton wnere we can have all the comforts
of home"
The temperance members, while happy
over their victory, are alarmed lest the
cafe sdherents carry out their threat aud
resign. Ii they do this they Will come
nearer ~disbRnding than it has ever
been before. While the club has a large
membership the expenses are heavy aud
hard to meet. Besides the members are
not suffering from too much enthusiasm.
This was illustrated by the effort to Sc
cure subscriptions for a pyrotechnic
display on July 4. Out of q membership
of 450 not 500 dollars could be raised,
aud the plan mad to be abandoned in spite
of the fact that the display had been duly
announced and the memUers Invited to
bring their friends.