St. Tammany farmer. [volume] (Covington, La.) 1874-current, 1896-08-22
PUBLIC HOUSE RUN ~ 4 CITY.


Results oe N Experiment Aade In BIZ.
nalaghsn, EnGlasA-
The experiment was made by the sec
retary of the water department of the
Birmingham corporation. According to
instructions, public house was opened
in September, 1894, At Elan Village for
the purpose of catering to the wants of
several hundred men and families.
''The rules of management" continues
the story. 'swere decidedly stringent
and the success Of the public house il,
therefore. more important. The public
house il opened daily between the
hours Of ~ and p. m. for one and one
half hours only. and for the whole time
in the evening between $50 and Q
o'clock. On Sundays it remains closed
all day, but on Saturdays it remains
open from / to o'clock.
'Women are not allowed in the bar at
any time, under any pretext whatever.
men only over IS years of age being per
mitted to drink at the bar. No woman
under the age Of 81, or boy under the
age Of 16. years is served with beer ut the
jug department.. No person is supplied
with more than one quart of liquor at
the morning hour, while but two quarts
may he consumed on the premises in the
evening. Only village inhabitants are
allowed to freely enter the public house.
but strangers may do SO with a written
order, which is easily obtainable. 1t
will be at once conceded that the muni-
cipal public house was started ut great
disadvantage. there being nm ordinary
establishment conducted on the usual
lines few hundred yards OF.
'Nr. Lees conferred with men Of ex-
perience in the trade before the house
was duly established, and qualified
public house manager was appointed
to conduct the business on behalf of the
corporation. He has fully entered into
the spirit Of the municipal experiment.
and quite understands that he is
thought no more highly Of If his sales
are high than If they are low, whereas,
should there be any drunkenness or dis
turbance, he is held responsible for it.
There has, however, been no difficulty
Of this description, and saloonkeepers
themselves admit the satisfactory ra-
ture Of the undertaking. The takings.
OF course, have varied considerably,
from $50 to $3.50 per week.
1.-THE trade Of the other public house
has fallen OF very considerably since
the heestablishment Of the municipal pub
lie house, by far the greater part Of the
drink now consumed in the village be-
ing purchased from the corporation
house. The net profits for the first
half-year were as high as $70O, and they
have since been increasing. The profits
are devoted to the maintenance of a
reading and recreation room, which is
distinct from the public house. and this
has proved to minimize the drinking
one Of the principal objects Of the cx-
pertinent. There are bagatelle tables
and various methods of amusement to
be had, and the public house is now re-
garded with considerable friendliness
by almost every inhabitant Of the vii
lagc.
"Much good has been done for the So
cial benefit Of the Inhabitants out Of the
profits, which is greatly appreciated.
This public house is being conducted on
lines similar to those advocated by the
bishop of Chester, and is the only one in
the country. In concluding his report
on the result of the experiment, Mr..
Lees says: Individually, I am total
abstainer, but l am perfectly certain
that we are serving the interests OF tenn
perance far better in providing whole
sale liquor. under proper regulations.
than we should did we attempt to pro-
hibit the traffic altogether. leaving it to
be conducted in the usual way "
Westminster Gazette.