The Providence news. (Providence [R.I.]) 1891-1906, 1895-10-14


lowing propositions concerning saloons;
1 There ought to be no obstruction to
a full view OF the interior OF saloons.
2 saloons should not be open twenty
four hours out OF the twenty-four.
q Saloons should be closed on hoii-
4. Saloons should not be situated near
schoolhouses.
s. There Ought TO be some substitute
for saloons provided with the strongest
possible permanently attractive features,
ana the members OF the Union, and the
public generally, are invited to attend
the regular meeting OF the organization
tonight, at First Universalist Church,
to discuss this matter with view to de-
Gliding il any OF all OF these questions
offer desirable field for the operations
OF the Union in it's seeking after practica
progress.
We doubt il any more subject, general
ly speaking, can be OF more widespread
and perennial public interest than the re-
lations that exist between the community
and the saloons. We are, to be sure, for
tunate here in Providence that our saloon
question is not OF so serious or pressing
a character, as ii is in many towns. Re-
garding the saloon as an evil to which the
community must accommodate itself un-
der the license system prescribed by the
State, our city government authorizes the
keeping open OF a number of saloons,
which are looked after and controlled by
a license commission, and illegalites and
unwarranted assumption of rights and
privileges are guarded against by this
commission, backed by an efficient police
department. The low groggery is amaz.
ingly scarce in. the city Of Providence.
| The kitchen bar room is almost unknown.
There Is little dealing out OF liquor TO
women or children. The licensed saloon
keepers, as class. conduct their pla ces
in business-like way, with due regard
I to the law and police regulation, and ex-
cept, so far as we may consider their busi-
| ness a taint, they are in general we'll
meaning, law-abiding body Of citizens.
With regard to the propositions ad.
vanced by the Union for Practical Pro-
gress, we should say that the last is es-
pecially inviting. 1t appears on the face
| OF It that the moment you can attract peo-
pie to other places the saloon question
is solved. What kind of places can be de-
vised as rival attractions that will be sue
cessful is bothersome question. The
coffee house idea In usually resorted to In
discussing the matter, and We want to
express our convictions that this coffee
house idea has never had q fair trial in
this part OF the country, because while
ostensibly being set up as rival attrac
tion to the saloon 1t has, In reality, beer
nothing like SO attractive, except to per
sons who preferred to 70 to the coffe'
house instead Of the saloon on purely
moral principles and because they pre-
ferred coffee to whiskey. In . WORD yo'
can't set up commonplace little coffe'
saloon in dingy quarters, and claim tha
IL is q s'substitute" for aglittering liquor
saloon or that II can ever be rival attrac
ton. We should like to see money enough
subscribed and invested to set mp few
coffeehouses hard by saloons, and hav
those coffee houses furnished ant
equipped rather more handsomely snt
attractively than the saloons they wer,
to compete with, rather than less so, ant
open their doors ~ early in the morninl
and keep them open as late at night a
the rival saloons. Then we should se
what we should see.
Nobody wants saloon anywhere nea
a schoolhouss II is an sbomination. Bet
ter that 1t should be next door to
church, for either Is usually closed wheI
the other is open. In Massachusetts, sa
looms are closed on holidays. That Is
restriction against which the saloonkeep
er might make protest that would b
reasonable. How long saloons should b
open is not so much OF . question. Ii
Providence they close at midnight, an,
we presume they open as early in to-
morning as business may be expected
and not before. irrespective of the law
restrictions.
The first proposition, that "there ough
to be no obstruction TO q full view OF tn
interior OF saloons, is an odd one. W
should like to hear IL discussed. Unde
our laws full view must be given OF ca
loon interiors when the doors are closed
This Is to prevent selling out of hours