The Republican. [volume] (Oakland, Md.) 1877-current, 1895-04-18
A FRESH DANGER.

Temptation Put in the Way of Women by
the Sale OF Liquors in Dry Goods Stores.
The courageous action of the mayor
of Brooklyn, n. Y. in opposing the is
sue of license to large department
store in his city for the sale of wines
and liquors with its groceries, calls at
tention to practice whch-if half
that is alleged against it be true
should have the most unsparing con-
demnation. In the newspaper investi-
cation brought out by the mayors
action and the discussion which it pro-
voked, it appeared that numerous
stores of this class, having put in a
grocery department added to the
latter the sale of strong drink in vari-
Gus forms. In some instances they,
were even reported as selling
whisky at less than cost, in
order to attract the custom of those
to whom such an opportunity would
prove attractive. 1t was stated that.
though the liquors sold were not sup
posed to be drank on the premises,
women patrons had been known to
purchase bottle of whisky, take it to
the dressing room, and drink until
foolishly tipsy before leaving the
place. That the traffic naturally leads
to deception and falsehood, is shown
in the case of the very firm n ques-
ton. A prominent citizen vouched for
the truth of the statement that when
the report was first circulated that
they intended to introduce groceries
as a branch of their business, prom
inent woman, the wife of an ex-judge,
with several of her friends, called on
the propretors and told them that
they should no longer trade at the
store if liquors were put on sale The
firm assured the women that there was
positively no intention to sell wines or
liquors-yet in a short time they had
made application for license, and had
very properly been refused.
In the expressions of individual
opinion published by the papers, there
was nothing but depreciation of the
practice of attracting women with the
liquor bait. Comments like the fol-
lowing were freely printed, with the
names of those who bore the witness:
"rhere is very little honor in the
who would declare that he would put
in barroom if his customers de-
handed it. Such man ought to be
accounted public enemy. If | were
running a department store | would
not encourage the sale of liquor to
any woman. There is no question that
the sale of liquor in dry goods stores
gives women an opportunity to pur-
chase alcoholic drinks which they
would not have and would not
take if they had to buy their
liquor in grocery store where
they were known" THE de-
partment stores simply want to sell
groceries to cloak the rum traffic. Sell
ing liquors IN these stores puts I'M
hope the public sentiment in Brooklyn
will keep the department stores from
getting liquor licenses, and will so
arouse feeling that decent women will
not enter such stores. When they be-
gin TO sell liquor, principles and con-
science leave their business" 1T is
morally wrong to offer to the women
patrons of these dry-goods stores addi-
tional temptations to buy wines and
liquors. woman can go into dry
goods store, buy bottle of whisky
aud have it put up in box, so that it
will look like something in the dry
goods line. Many women will buy
liquor in these department stores when
they would not venture to buy liquor