Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1900-12-29

Cdicu TcSpeCtdUlSs tuS IuUtHeIS, WIVES
sisters. cousins and aunts of New Workers.
Nearly every saloon in New York has
room set aside for the exclusive use of wo-
men and their escorts, with the ladies en-
trance sign tackled over the outside door
thereof. At any hour of the day you Will
find these womens drinking rooms filled
with women, singly or in pairs or trios,
and without escorts more often than not,
drinking the same sort of things that the
men with their feet on the bar-rail are
drinking in the front room of the saloon.
Indeed, you will observe that perhaps three
out of five of these women-who, ii cannot
be too often repeated. have no connection
whatsoever with the under world-are
drinking large slugs Of whisky. II there
Is any more distressing spectacle than that
or a nice respecta ble-looking woman walk
Ing alone into one of these places and gup-
ing down WHISKY and FRANKLY stupefying
herself, without any of the appurtenances,
such as merry conversation, winch go 70
make what is called 'sociable" drinking
among men. the writer hereof has no
knowledge Of the same.
The effects of drinking among shopping
women were more plainly manifest during
this years long Christmas shopping season
than ever before within the recollection OF
observant New Workers. Tipsy. hilariously
laughing women We're so numerous IN tne
aisles of the great department stores that
they attracted little or no attention. and
helplessly drunken shopping women, with
their arms full of bundles for the Santa
Claus stockings of their chi dren, were
picked up by the police in startling num-
bers. The respected young wife of we'll
known Harlem man disappeared four days
before Chr stmas, after having started down
town to do some Christmas buying, ana
her distracted husband, after searching nigh
and low for her for four days, finally found
her on the day before Christmas in the al
cGholic ward Of Bellevue Hospital. Inc
beautiful and accomplished daughter or
Jersey City man of means was found lying
under a cart over on the far West SIDE n
broad day. with an empty quart bottle OF
I'll A. S1a iy n n
advanced state of coma that the hospital
physicians had great difficulty in saving her
life.
Private Bullets.
Most of the fashionable women dress
makers of this town serve liquors to their
women customers as matter of business
policy. They maintain that the women
have come to expect this sort Of entertain
ment. and that large numbers of them Will
go elsewhere for their raiment If it is not
provided for them at every visit. The same
thing applies to some of the notable MILL
merry shops of New York.
The women patroniz.ng these places have
only to Tip the wink, as the saying goes,
and they are conducted to regular buffets
and served with anything in the way or
liquors that they ask for. There is one In
ternatonally known millinery establish
ment on 9th avenue from which emerge
every business day scores of women with
flushed cOuntenances and manners more or
less Alphabetically hysterical. The grocers
of New York longer appear to present
their women customers with fine boxes of
candy on Christmas. They hand them
choice bottles of spirits instead
The alcoholic tastes Of New York women
seem to be of the most pronounced char
acter, moreover. Take sizzling night on
any of the ornate and perfectly reputable
roof gardens, when the temperature Is SO
great that the men are actually AFRAID 10
drink spirits and are resorting to tall,
cooling non alcoholic or only slightly alco-
holic beverages instead. and you Will oo-
serve that the women of these men ram
flies are partaking of the fiery red stuff
neat rs often as not, with all the nonchal-
ance in life.
Fiendish Business.
Even the children of this neighborhood
are led into drinking habits by ingenious
friends A number of teachers in big
Brooklyn scnool observed a while back that
many of the boys under their charge were
exhibiting a queer "dopiness'' IN their ac-
TONS difficult to be explained on any basis
After the thing had been going on for some
time one Of the teachers detected alcohoi
on the breath of one of these lads. and she
reported the matter to the principal, VINO
set about a quiet investigation He found
that the boys with the glazed eyes and the
stupid manner had been buying for some
time the gumdrops purveyed by an Italian
with a little candy shop situated close to
be hollow and to be filled with pure. high
proof alcohol. The Italian was sent to the
island; meanwhile several score boys had
contracted a taste for alcohol that is bound.
in the opinion of experts, to recur to many
Of them later on in life.
The Meanest Man Yet.
The most Machiaevellian mean man who
has Illuminated these parts for some time
past is now walking around New York with
a sardonic grin on his countenance waiting
to receive the medal which the National
Order Of Mean Men will undoubtedly be-
stow upon him at the proper time and
place.
About three months ago this chap, who
had been living with his nice little wife for
fifteen years and more, arrived at the de-
termination that he was a-weary Of her.
There wasn't any other woman In the case:
he simply desired to rid himself Of his
wife's neighborhood and to see her back.
after she had pinched and toiled and moiled
for him, and helped him, from little no
beginning, to the achievement Of financial
independence.
She had been so palpably faithful and
gentle and good In the eyes Of the neigh
bors and the world that fellow knew
there was no possible ground upon which
he could secure divorce from her. Never
the,ess he put the matter in the hand of a
lawyer, had the lawyer draw up papers in
which the champion mean man preferred
many evil charges against his wife. and
then had a professional process server
serve her with this notification Of suit
for divorce against her The little womans
amazement. of course, was utterly indie
soribable. Had not her husband affection
atel.. kissed her goodbye before starting
for his office on that very morning?
The fellow arrived home not long after
his wife had accepted the notification that
suit for divorce had been entered against
her by her husband. He found her half
hysterical and In tears Of course When
she told him what allied her. and produced
the notification, he lay back in a chair and
guffawed long and heartily. 1t was the
best joke he had ever played In his life, he
declared. 1t was funny that he could
hardly get his breath. Him try to get a
divorce from his little one? Idiotic! Abb
surd' He had simply had a legal friend of
his draw up fake set of papers, and then
had them served on her. just to find out
how she would take it. He wanted to find
gu. If she loved him. that was all. And
did she really take it seriously and would
she really be sorry to part with him? Well
then. she must love him for a fact. and he
YVES so glad. and wouldn't she like to 20 to
the tFeater, with a nice little supper to fol-
low: etc, etc.
Beneath CONTEMPT
Thus assured the poor little woman dried
her eyes, threw her arms around his neck
and told him that her heart had olr,o.t