The Helena independent. [volume] (Helena, Mont.) 1875-1943, 1893-01-30
LATEST LONDON GOSSIP.
The Barmaid Of tho Metropolis as
She Appears When She
Is on Duty.
An Ingenious Slot Machine Which
1t Pays the Public to
freely Uso.
Nearly Great Society scandai-A Replica
of Lots Wife-Isumors About Prince
Georges Marriage.

"S"ko - nAFElhEe.
LONDON, Jan. 29.-Untraveled but we'll
fead Americans will probably have formed
their idens OF the English barmaid from
Dickens bandolined ladies' at Mucby June.
tlon, or from Anthony Trollope's alyly
humorous descriptions OF barmsids' man.
ners and customs. Those who have visited
England are hardly likely to have realized
much better what the life OF the barmaid
really ia. their experiences. unless they are
doing the town, being confined to the rail-
! road station refreshment rooms or to the
better class hotels or restaurants. In these
| they see the pick OF the profession, and
probably come to the conclusion that tho
English barmaid Ia fne, healthy, often
| handsome. young lady, smart Mt repartee,
fond OF chaff. not nyerse to firtatious In
terchanges, on the whole we'll situated and
happy. The realities lie behind the pic
tnre. For one barmsid thus employed
there are hundred in this city whose lives
are passed in the public house trade in all
its gradations fiom the ordinary hotel own
to the beerhouse of the slums. What kind
| of a life that is may be judged from the
| fact that although the majority OF them do
not enter it before they are young women,
| the average duration Of life of this class "a
shown by reliable statistics, is not over "a
years. Six days in the week the public house
barmaid is on duty from eight o'clock
in the morning until midnight, with inter
| walls for Refreshments and an occasional.
probably once week. two or three hours
| for recreation. On Sunday she will not be
on duty 30 long. As a rule she is we'll
housed and we'll fed but poorly paid. The
| physical atmosphere is which she lives ia
bad and the moral surroundings but little
better. The temptations to drink are
strong on every side, from the demand for
| artificial stin nulants against fatigue, to the
constant invitations to drink at some Gus
toner or others expense. She is constantly
exposed to temptations Of other and worse
character. cannot but overhear much pro-
family and obsenity; too often it is directed
at her. 1t is no wonder. then. that bar
maids are so often lightly thought of. and
| lightly spoken Of. and yet those who are
earnestly interesting themselves on their
behalf. say that although they cannot helm
learning of things it is not good for young
woman to know. public opinion grossly ex-
| a gerates the number of them that "Ro to the
bad" Nevertheless. it is gratifying to
know that American common sense ideas of
p,op,iety have decreed against the bar
maid as an American institution.
The latest application of the penny-in-
| the-slot principles 10 characterized by COM
mon sense, ingenuity and utility. Hith-
erto the public has fed the automatic ma
| chine with coppers in return for values. In
the latest plan the process has been re-.
yersed. The public will receive pennies in
| stead of giving them. The idea 10 this: To
the person who turns crank 100 times the
machine yields up one penny. The crank
| is conneceed inside with dynamo, and the
hundred revolutions of the handle manu-
| energy, which is to be eventually retaiied
by the owner Of the machine for the pur-
pose of producing illumination. The plan
appears TO be feasible enough, and would
certainly. in districts where unemployed
| labor abounded. be productive of consiasr-
able good, No man need go in want of
menl who can apply himself to the electrical
| automatic machine. And the invention
might be capable Of wide application. IL
| every household was provided with one.
| each member of the family might in the
| name Ut exercise, give the handle 30 many
turns a day-sutficient. If that were pos-
| sible. to provide electricity enough for the
purpose of lighting. The turning of the
crank might supercede dumb-bell practice
in the mornings, and during the summer
months 1t might be possible to store enough
electrical energy to tide over the winter.
Ftom the point of view OF tho man in the
street, it would be interesting to know
what income ne could make in week by
a reasonable expenditure OF effort. Even
if only 100 revolutions could be performed
in five minutes. the operator would be
working at the rate of u shilling an hour
a scale of remuneration much i'll excess OF
that paid in some industries involving quite
as much physical exertlon.
Another application of electricity ia to be
seon in London, Tho ticket inspectors of
the various bus ompanies are furnished
with Ill electric lantern. Under present
circumstances. and especially during a spell
OF the London "larticular," Az a real Lon-
don fog is called. they have found the
proper discharge of their du,ies in tie
evening to be attended with much incon-
venience. Hence this innovations. Tho
contrivance is one of the nestest and most
effective that the ingenuity of the cleo
trlcian has produced for long time. The
lantern is affixed to the lapel of the IN
speotor's ovsrcoat, and has commun oatit n
with small battery carried in the breast
pocket. When the man has finished inspec-
tion of the tickets. he has simply to switch
off the current until tho next bus comes.
This reform which has excited some inter-
est amongst the patrons OF London 'busses,
will! probably have large extension. An
effort Id being made to secure the adoption
OF inc lAnteIn Dy tuS metropolitan ponce
and the railway companies. Aa an iilu-
minant IL certainly compares favorahly
with the old "bulPs-eys."
There is q swell club here called the Cor
inthian." which admits both se1es to mem
bership. IL was started with the object
principally of providing entertainment aud
refreahment TO members i'll q strictly roper
and respectable way, but a fast set Joined
it at first aud have gradually pushed out or
disRusted tha better element. The doinus
at the club have, in The absence of any re-
straint. broadeued from liberty 30 license.
until they became the subject Of general
gossip aud tho cause of much scandal.
Finally thinga beoame GO bad that the po-
lice authorities were compelled by the force
OF public opinion TO interfere. They raided
the club, but chose rs the time to make tho
raid an hour when IL was certain that there
would be few members of male ser, and
badly likely to be any "lRdiea' there, so
that the raid WAS after all a tinsoo except in
the way of warning. IL In said thst had
10 been deferred for two or three hours, ths
police would have bsen much embarrassed
by the rank of some OF tho prisoners they
would have made.
What an irreverent wag has called n
"replicA of Lots wife" iA being scuiptu cd
in the Cheshire salt district just now. IL liz
II reduced reproduction of the ktatue of
Liberty in New York harbor and il being
cut out OF white rock salt from u Chesir4
mine 200 feet deep: 1t il intended for ea-