New-York tribune., 1895-08-26
BANKRUPTCY ~ THE SALOON BUSINESS.

e
Some discussion has arisen in the press over
the fact or what appears TO be fact' mat Il
large number Of liuuor-deaers and saloonkcepers
are on the verge of bankruptcy many oi 'nei"
having already closed their doors, and others
being about TO do so. The discussion Is as 10 ue
cause or causes of this depression III me liquor
selling and saloon business when Is driving so
many Of those formerly engaged In IL INTO o'her
pursuits very plausible theory has been al
vanced which attributes the fallinS OH III proh's
TO the enforcement Of the Sunday y-closinS pro
vision Of the present excise law. ana the lnier-
ence has been drawn therefrom that II II is
necessary for saloonkeepers 10 Keep open ana
in full blast seven days in The week In order 10
make living. while persons engaged In other
OCCUPATIONS are able 10 accomplish the same re-
sult in six the business must be overdone. ana
that the remedy lies in curtailing the number OF
licenses There is. unquestionably, much ruin
i'm the proposition that there are too many par
rooms and saloons in this town when the subject
* considered from the purely business point of
Wow of those who are engaged in the liquor
traffic setting aside all considerations of public
or private morals Whoever passes thfongh our
streets, making the most casual observation OF
The number and frequency OF drinking resorts
with their costly equipment and ATTENDANCE
must be impressed by this fact
But. after all. if we would reach bottom causes
for the present depression in this great indus
frv we must 60 deeper than the Sunday-closin-
law or the cutting off Of onescventh Of the
saloon trade by It's enforcement. The dlminu-
tion in beer-drinkng and in the custom Of the
!ouordealers on that account has not been sllffl-
.;on nain he 1pDrpSSlOn
trade II is perfectly true that the change in
municipal administration and the inauguration
of reforms in all the municipal departments have
much to do with it; but it has not been brought
ahout by the enforcement of the Sunday-closing
law solely or even chiefly. What has driven the
saloonkecpers into bankruptcy and out of busi-
ness has been the lack of customers on the six
davs of the week ii, which they can ply their
vocation without infringement OF the law or
interference by the police This being the case
the inquiry as 10 causes goes deeper than sunday
closing and covers all the week. The question
then is, What has caused the general dllninu'loh
in beer and liquor drinking and the consequent
loss of trade to the dealers?
The answer is not far to seek During all these
wears in which the saloon business mas peen so
profitable that II has become ovcrcrowded, ana
the business portion Of the city has been fairy
ovcrrun with drinking resorts TO the number OF
two, three and four on a single block. who nave
been the most constant and most profltable GUS
TONERS? From the Hoffman House down TO the
lowest dive on the East Side the men who
lounged around the tables or leaned against the
bar ordering drinks at short intervals-the regu-
lar patrons and constant cusomers-were men
who held office under the Tammany regime or
their depepdents and heelers They drew sala
rIes from the city treasury. for which they did
little except talk ward politics and help run the
machinery Of the Tammany organization. 1t
was n simple process. These men tapped the
city treasury and lived on the taxpayers. The
money they drew from the treasury they "blew
in over the bar and around the saloon tables.
Naturally. the saloonkeepers, who took the
profits. and the heelers who were the benefi-
ciaries Of the ofice-holders whenever the latter
"set up the drinks were interested in keeping
in power the party which kept in Office the men
who kept in motion the spigot which Kept the
heecrs in drinks and kept the saloonkeeper in
the enjoyment Of his profits. II was as complete
a circle as that made by a horse in bark mill
But 1t stopped suddenly and very short when
the taxpayers. in Tammany phrase. got onto
IT," and elected municipal government which
cut off the supplies from the city treasury. The
real cause of the depression in the liquor bust
ness may be found in the circumstance that the
taxpayers have shut down on that large class
of persons neither useful nor ornamental, whose
only active public function was TO take the tax
payers money and disburse ii among the sa-
looms There are not many Of them lounging
AT tables and leaning against bars ordering fire.
quent drinks, as there used TO be. And that Is
what ails the saloon business.