The Scranton tribune. [volume] (Scranton, Pa.) 1891-1910, 1894-10-13
The Drink Habit
in Lille Wales
Pathetic interruption Of One OF the
Hadyn Evans Concerts.
KILLED IN A SALOON BRANL
Miss Kaiser Writes Feelingly Upon
Touching Incident Which Occurred as
She Was Singing Gladstone Solo
Welcome News from America.

She Was Singing Gladstone Solo
Welcome News from America.
Pontycymmer, S. W., Sept. H.-There
Is one thing about this country which |
most decidedly do not admire, but
never have had occasion to speak of 1t
before. However, 1t was most forcibly
brought to our notice last night, and 1t
was IN this way: The concert was
nearly finished, the audience was an i'm
mense one and very appreciative, and
had given us lovely reception, and l
was engaged in singing my solo, the next
to the last number on the programme.
The house was so still that one could
have heard pin drop and had nearly
finished, when into the main body Of
the hall ran little girl, all breathless
and terrified. She looked around q
minute, and then made for one of the
front seats in the hall, and, going to the
lady who sat there, spoke to her and
took her out.
The minute 1 saw the child knew
something dreadful had happened in
the town, and thought Immediately of
mine accident, and though had to
finish my song l must have done 1t
with very bad grace, standing there as
and awe-struck faces, and singing a
brilliant, trilling, happy selection. No
ones attention was upon anything else,
it seemed to me, than the little girl and
the poor, stricken lady, possibly her
mother, whom she had taken away.
Killed in Tavern Brawl.
OF course, 1 could not tell what was
the matter until / had made my bow
and gone off the stage, and, though l
did receive very enthusiastic re-
call from those of the audience who had
not noticed the significant incident, l
could not respond to it, but went on to
the dressing rooms, where l was told
that young man, the lady's husband,
had just been killed in q brutal, drunken
bfawl in a tavern right across the
street from where we were singing. The
news had been whispered at the door
and spread through the house all over
Immediately, as bad news always does,
and even while was trying to learn
what had happened, the young man al
ready lay dead in his sin. Soon every
one in the house had the news, and be-
fore the last quartette on the programme
was sung, the chairman Of the concert
how l honor him for doing it, even at
the risk Of breaking the unity of the
programme-rose and spoke a few sad
but weighty words on the death of the
young man, a fine fellow, but for his love
OF drink, whose sudden taking off was
such a warning to the hundreds of
young men in the audience there. He
told them to be thankful that they were
somewhere else than in the public house
that night, else the very fate that had
overtaken the young man who had died
such violent death five minutes before,
might have been theirs, who knew? 1t
was very sad and thoughtful audi
ence that filed out of the hall, | can as
sure you. That chairman knew when q
word Of warning would do the most
good, and like brave man, he spoke 1t,
whether the occasion was opportune or
not. Doubtless such a lot of young men
as were there could never, under any
circumstances, in this country, be got
together to listen to temperance lee
ture; but what was the end of that con-
cert but an object lesson of the most i'm
pressive qualityon the evils of intemper-
ance, which prevails so widely in this
place and in England?
Should Labor AT Home.
I think Lady Somerset would do
quite we'll to labor, in her missionary
temperance work in her own country
instead of coming over to our United
States, where We are 200 years ahead
Of Great Britain, on the drink question
especially. l never in my life saw so
many saloons, or publics, as they are
called here, nor so many drunken or
half drunk men, nor so many drunken
women as there are over here. Why,
In our dear country drunken woman
is an enormity, an awful thing, but
over here, l am sure have seen them
on ha Ctr Al,
mistakable state of intoXicaton. I do
not know enough to trace It to all its
causes, this drink habit, but / think
one Of its causes is the widespread
use of beers, ales and brandies as
beverage by the growing children, in
fact all the family, at table or away
from it, instead of coffee or tea or
water. The young ladies take 1t, then
their brothers can't be blamed for haV-
ing 1t, and, as they are bigger and
stronger, they, of course, feel entitled
TO more, and so on. In America the
average girl does not indulge, and per-
haps this very thing affects the whole
nation more than anything else-who
knows?
Miss America for Temperance.
But what forms the chief difference
between the English and the Ameri-
can girl Is the uncompromising stand
which the latter takes, and-God bless
her-always will take on the question
of strong drink. 1 am told by Welsh
man, who surely knows all about it,
that the only paying business in this
country is that of the public house;
that grocers, diapers, furniture store
keepers and so forth make a living,
but 1t is the man who keeps a public |
l,a, AhaN ,tnl.
indeed, but there are very many cases
like the one 1 have spoken Of; men
are often MANNED for life by fight
in the tavern and sometimes killed.
Last nights affair was not the first, |
by any means, of which / had heard
or read, but having to stand up there
and sing right in the face of that mans
poor wife as she was told the dreadful
news, broke me down completely. 1
never suffered so in my life as l did In
the one or two minutes in which / had
to finish that careless, happy song,
while could have cried out I'm my pain
for her and her children. But must
stop. Spirits in their place are all
right ienough, but surely, Wales is
too small place for to accommodate
comfortably all the spirits sold in her.
Another difference between this coun-
Try anu OuTS, anu W our CTeulI IL is, TOO, |
Is the English bar-maid. So long as
woman, the best part of nation, will
consent to soil her hands with the mad
dening whiskey, what else can you ex-
pect than drunkenness? But she is
beneath our notice entirely, the poor,
pretty, rose-cheeked and white-capped
bar-maid. We will not speak of her
again.
Our last evenings concert was in
part of this town called Blaengarw, and
tonight 1t will be in Pont-y-cymmer
proper, in which we are staying. You
see we give two concerts in this place.
Thursday night, that Is tomorrow, we
sing at Tonypandy, l bellevue.
Typical Welsh Manor House.
1 am staying here in Pont-y-cymmer
with lovely woman, Mrs. Parry, wife
of DR.. L. ]. Parry. The doctor is a
very fine man, but love his wife, She
is perfect ideal of an upper-class
Welshwoman. Her country home, in
which we are domiciled is simply ex-
quisite, surrounded as II is by beauti-