The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1898-05-15
DEGENERATION OF THE RACE.
A PhilOsOphic Bartender Gives Rea-
sons for Its Decline.
New York Sun.

New YORK sun.
ct is a sad fact" said the phlosophic bar
tender, that race we are degenerating.
My friend and confrere. the college graduate.
who mixes drinks in the cafe diagonally OPP
poS1te, says that 1t is due to the cOagulation
of population in large centers. He got that
from a book, and it's all very well in it's
line, but it isn't true. The real reason for
our degeneration is that we are becoming,
as a race, slaves to the chaser habit In
past times a gentleman who came in here
to get drink took his drink and paid for it
and Smacked his lips and went out. He
didn't insult his interior by sending some
thing else down his throat after the drink
TO find out what it was doing and see that
it wasn't up to any mischief. No, sir; he
took it with a calm faith and went away
none the worse for it.
We've changed all that, as they say in
French. How many customers that come in
here now get drink and take it away with
them alone and unaided? Not one out of
"A little ginger ale on the side or "A dash of
settler, just to follow this down. or
About that much milk to soften the taste,
or maybe sarsaparilla or Lord knows what,
all of 'em eating into the drinkers stomach
lining and the profits of the business And
what is the result on the victims of the
habit? tell you, sir, It makes 4k red-nSsS IS
else. It's not whisky alone that they take
chasers after, either. It's all kinds of cock
tails as well, and as I'm an honest and long
antidotes. there was a man in here last
week who ordered a gin fizz and demanded
ginger ale TO chase 1t GOWN! pretended
didn't understand him at first.
=" Beg pardon, SIR I said. 1t was gin
fiZ you had, not a whisky.
81 know what | had said he, and
want chaser after it,
" John, give this man some ginger ale l
said to my assistant, for / had to uphold
tie dignity of the profession in some way,
and 1 charged him for two drinks.
but of all the denominations known to the
business the worst is the orange phosphate
chaser 1t goes with drug store whisky,
and everybody knows what drug store
whisky is, or rather nobody knows what it
is. They tell me in the drug stores that
orange phosphate has grown very popular
as a companion piece to dose of whisky,
and that many men actually mix their
whisky with it. When one contemplates
such a tendency as that, the darkest fore
bcdingS arise in the unbiased mind as to the
future OF the nation. How can we drink
such concoction as that and go into war,
even against Spain, with any degree of
confidence? I've several national guards
men among my regular customers, and
when they were on duty in Buffalo at the
time of the big railroad strike some years
ago they found saloons there where beer
was regularly served as chaser for
whisky. When they told me of that l
thought the lowest depth of degradation
had been reached in Buffalo, but now two of
those very men are slowly sloping to dis
honored graves as victims of the orange
phosphate habit.
DO i advise water as a chaser?" con-
cluded the philosophical bartender as he
sadly set out for customer whisky bottle
fianked by a small glass of ginger ale. mo.
sir; do mott A little water to dilute your
whisky is not amiss if you have a tender
throat. But there is only one proper chaser
for whisky. That is more whisky"