The Saint Paul globe. (St. Paul, Minn.) 1896-1905, 1901-03-08
WINE Room LEGISLATION.


The familiar disposition to run to ex-
tremes in the pursuit Of a given legis-
latiye reform is showing itself very
plainly in the effort to abolish Wine
rooms by provision of law How far
that disposition will carry otherwise ra-
tional. level-headed men is shown in
the proposition to prevent women from
having access to places in which alco-
holic beverages are sold. Such provts-
ion has been seriously advanced and
would no doubt have commended itself to
at least the most radical of the enemies
of the wine room had more sober
counsels not prevailed.
The wine room has developed into
social problem. Among the abuses which
have shown themselves in the retailing
of liquor, especially in the large cit
les, there is none which secures
so general measure Of popular
reprobation as the wine room
Whatever may have been the Uses of
the wine room originally it is today an
agent of evil, and 1t should be abolished.
Many attempts, most of them hopelessly
ill-advised, have been made to regulate
or abolish the private compartments in
liquor saloons. Until the enactment of
the ordinance now in force in Minneapo-
lis on this subject all efforts in that
behalf failed. That ordinance has sue
81 In f1a
court; yet it in principle differs but little,
if at ALL from the regulations of the
past which have been found Ineffective
Saloonkeepers are no doubt willing to
submit to any reasonable regulation
which will remove the suspicion of i'm
morality from their places. But they,
In common with all other classes of So
ciety, have rights which cannot be sue
cessfully invaded One Of these is to con-
duct their business without being subject
ed to any unnecessary loss or hardship. 1t
! involves neither loss nor hardship to put
an end to the wine room as
a place of resort for persons of
opposite sex. That the law will
do; and it must rest with the saloonkeep-
ers themselves how burdensome shall be
the provision accomplishing that end. If
they would meet the public demand half
way, and sensibly consent to some such
requirement as the forfeiture of their IL
censes on being convicted Of maintaining
wine rooms or enclosures for the accom-
mediation of persons of opposite sex who
resort to their saloons for purposes Of
drink, they would save themselves much
possible injustice and wrong.
1t is the fault of saloonkeepers them
selves that dlsrepute attaches too. their
calling in this or any other direction. No
reputable man would seek to make money
on the rramc which is identified IN the
public mind with the wine rooms. Long
ago decent saloonkeepers ought OF their
own volition to have put an end to the
wine room evil. That they have not
done So has been influential in creating
| a general and increasing prejudice
against their calling all over the coun-
! try.
/ There is a liquor dealers association in
| this state, as there is, we believe, in each
OF the two cities. me ornclaIs OF those
bodies ought to be represented in the eff
| fort now being made to correct a great
| evil and ought to be found in co-opera-
| ton with all other good citizens in Sc
curing a reasonable and adequate remedy
| for the wine room evil