The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1894-12-24
Favor CLOSING AT MIDNIGHT.
saloon Keepers Willing to Shut Up
From 10 TO S a. m

The ordinance for the closing Of saloons
between the hours Of midnight and 5
o'clock a. m. will very likely become
law at the next meeting OF council.
The majority OF the members of the pres
sut board have declared in favor Of it.
and this being the case there seems to be
nothing 10 prevent the ordinance being
passed
The ordinance seems TO meet with gen.
eral favor. even among the saloon keepers.
OF the saloons in the city not more than
twenty-five keep open all night long. The
majority are closed before the hour of
midnight arrives. OF the small number of
all night places the majority probably
will not object TO closing when they know
that their neighbors AMI rivals are closed
also,
The police are anxious that the ordi-
nance should become a law. 1t would
make their work a great deal easier. The
majority of the arrests which they are
called upon to make between midnight
and day are because Of difficulties which
originate in saloons. With the saloons
closed drunken men would go home be-
fore they got drunk enough TO fall into
the ndnuS u Nut BOllCE. MANY a man
would go home sober, who now steps
into a saloon to get a nightcap, meets
a party of friends, and takes half dOzap
drinks when he only wanted one. This
fremen, too, would like to have the ordi-
nance passed, because it would lessen the
chance for late fires. Business men are
In favor Of it because il would remove the
temptation to their employees to carouse
all night thus uniting themselves for
daAr TtTlr Fr il
10 say that the church people indorse it.
The main argument that has always
been made against any proposition of this
kind is that Savannah is a "seafaring
town." and restrictions which are very
we'll in other cities will not do for Sa-
vannah, because the large number of
mariners who come in here expect to find
entertainment at all hours of the night,
and il would not do to disappoint them,
or It might give them a bad opinion of the
town. AS a matter of fact, the regula-
tons governing sailors on vessels in port
are very strict and II is a rare thing to
see a sailor on the streets at a late hour.
They are all required to be aboard their
vessels at an early hour and are seldom
given leave over night When a sailor is
seen out late at night it can be taken for
granted that he has either been dis
charged or is absent without leave. Even
the shipmasters seldom remain away from
their vessels after midnight.
When the clock struck u last night
there We're a score of saloon doors flung
open and the work of dealing out bever-
ages to thirsty men began at once. Shortly
before y o'clock small knots of men
could be seen gathered in front of some
of the saloons awaiting the time for the
doors TO open. Down in the neighbour
hood of East Broad and South Broad
streets there were half a dozen or more
saloons which began business almost on
the stroke of the clock When the new
ordinance becomes a law the saloons
which close at midnight Saturday night
will not be reopened until o'clock Mon
day morning. This will mean a twenty
nine hour thirst for the fellows who do
not lay in a stock on Saturday night,
or who do not go to Thunderbolt on Sun
day.