The Wheeling daily intelligencer. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1865-1903, 1896-07-04
-LOND0NW 0M'|ENl
And How they Meet to Drink ut
ruhlic Houses.
BARNARD WANTSBRANDY


Undoubtedly the women OF England
are good, hard drinkers throughout, but
II is among tho lower middle class of
London that YOU must look for thu
sweet habit In ita full perfection, says
tho New York Recorder Last year 0.iL0
women were takon into custody on The
ono charge of drunk and dlsordcrly."
Magistrates clerks, missionaries and
others Whose duties obllge them to fire.
Quent tho metropolitan police courts say
Wynno Baxter. the well known coroner,
has just been tcStlfyins on the subject,
"Genrrally spcaklng," no says, "thc
! question OF drunkenness enters into half
tha !nquCsts l hold. My uSunl question
Is: Was thed cccase1 worse for drlnk?'
and the reply, given In an unconcerned
tone. IN: oh, she had Drop us II It
were tho proper thing TO do. ! believe
there arc countless numbers Of hard
working men who would have good
homes II they only had good wives: but
the women nre never at home to meet
them or have anything ready for them
after their days work. The husband
goes quietly to bed, while his wife II
stlll out OF doors drinking with her
friends. Monday IL essentially day
for drinking with the women. Many
men are unaware that their wives take
their husbands Sunday clothes on Mon
day mOrnig to the Dawnshop. pledge
them and spend tho money In drink dur
inB the week. On Saturday, when the
man brings home his money. the clothes
nrG taken out ngain."
N n I'm rtVsA al NJ u 81 tn III
lice courts ure always hcnviest on Mon
days, the proportion OF women being
ludlcrously large. II Is common to see
thirty women charged at n single court
| in one day. At each metropolitan police
court the Church OF England temper
| lncc society maintains Il missionary,
| whose duties concern the reclamation
| OF women addicted to drink. In one OF
| its annual reports the London Police
| Court Mission, as the organization In
| called, presented the following state.
ments: At the North London police
| court In twelve months 3t5 women were
charged with simple drunkenness and
All more with being drunk and disorder
ly. OF 2,bI women appearing Mt Clerk
enwell "a much poorer district) 05 per
| cent were the victims of drink. One uf
thsmlsslonaricS said: "Onc woman, aged
| clghty-nlne, and twelve over eighty
| years Of age were charged with drunk
euHeSs The youngest drunken case was
| that OF girl fifteen years OF age. There
havO been rs many rs five girls in one
| day charged with being drunk who were
only seventeen years OF age, In one
| day forty-Seven women have passed the
bar charged with drunkenness"
II have been dealing with n large
number Of drunken women In my dis
| trict," says another missionary. zone
class In composed OF low women. but
| there are many Of what may be called
| the lower order Of working people. We
often have the wives OF respectable me-
chanlcs and OF men employed In the
| city. 1t Is easiest TO handle the younger
women, OF whom We have number
| from seventeen to twenty years OF age.
think drinking Is increasing among
young married women from eighteen to
twenty-four, some OF them having very
good husbands. We have a number OF
young girls. One girl OF fifteen was
found one morning In the street sense
lcas. She had been drinking with organ
grinders. The mother was In court and
was terribly put about"
In dealing with these girls and wo-
men thu London magistrates arc nuz-
zled what to do. They say 1t Is no usd
sending them to prison or reformatory
homes, because It only hardens them.
! One magistrate will Impose q fine o.
half crown, (fifty cents. for the first
offcnse. while another, sitting on the
same bench, will let The lady" 80 With
| a caution. Circumstances alter cases
and on the second oifense the tine may
be made five shlltIss. y woman who
has been arrested several times may
be Imprisoned for several days and the
more incorrlsible she become, the sever
ar is the punishment. until the max
imum OF one month is reached.
At the northern end OF Hollaway road
there Is O lively highway branching 10
the right, with eight large and thriving
taverns within tho space OF n short
quarter of 4 mile. We thought we
would go In and out of them to see the
sights. 1t was not Summing. The
neighborhood Is respectable, even de
sirable, In the language of house
agents. 1t was o'clock In the evening.
WREN we called for tho first lemon
squash and got glass of "four-ale.
They were too busy to mix drinks. In
our compartment there were nine W.
men, or fifteen, II you count two baby
| girls In arms and four little misses
brought by their mammaS. One was
being treated, The mother, quite de-
cent body, with 4 silk mantle and kid
gloves. called for q half quartern of
Irish warm and, swallowing three parts
OF It, handed the glass to the child with
Here you are, Martha" as though
1t were 10 much water. Three women
were talking about their Husbands.
That's all he brought me home, as
I'm n living woman! Fourteen bob and
five OF us 10 keep! Oh, Lor'! oh, dear!
Well, drink up. I'll be fourpence to
your: tuppence this time, Mrs. Wal
ters."
The next house was not SO busy. I
could count hut eleven women custo-
mcrs. One OF them was drinking un-
der peculiar circumstances noticed
her, as entered. talking with man.
presumably her husband, who seemed
to be crippled and who was In nm in
valid chair, which she had drawn up to
n side door. I followed her in and she
ordered three pcnn'orth of warm rum
for him, and while 1t was preparing she
| had half n quartcrn OF gin for herself
and drank II.
The last house was an exceptionally
large place, employing seven bnrmaIds
ana three men. l counted 100 customers
| present. Among them there were thirty
| six women, one O proud young mother,
with twin babies In long clothes Car
| rying one In each arm. she would have
found 1t difficult to raise her gin Elae
TO her lips, had not n kind neighbor
or two been present to assist her. Wo
| walked out. There Is nothing OF thu
| pretty enticemcnt OF the Partisan cafe
| In the London pub"
IIiiSs Excursion {" Cincinnati vim u. & O.
Tho Wheeling Lodge OF Elks ut their
regular meeting June 25 decided to use
tho baltimore e. Ohio railroad TO their
grand reunion at Cincinnati July to
10. leaving Wheeling Monday. JulyG, at