Evening star., 1901-05-11

grand meetings al the Melbourne race
course. The city claims to have the finest
racing park of the world. 1t is known as
the Pennington race course. 1t has an area
of about 800 acres and the track is a mile
and a half in length. The whole 300 acres,
except the grand stands, stables and track.
Is covered with a lawn of thick velvety
green. The tracks are two, one running
inside the other, one fitted up for steeple-
chases and the other for running and hur-
die races. The grounds are equipped with
the latest Improvements. The horses start
at the rising of a wire moved by electricity,
and there are all sorts of patent improve
ncnts as to timing, etc.
AT the great races, such as the Mel
bourne cup. hundreds of thousands of peo-
pie are present and the sight Is one worth
coming to Australia to see. The inside of
the ring is given up to the people who pay
nothing whatever. The grand stand, built
on hill at one side of the course, has
first-class seats. which cost $3.50 each, and
directly behind it on the hill itself are
equally good places. which YOU can have
for G2 cents each. In either of these situa-
tions the spectator has full view of the
horses for the whole distance. He need not
lose sight of the race for the tenth of a
second, and is just where he can see the
horses come in at the finish.
l have frequently attended these races.
They are held every Saturday afternoon
during the season. when YOU may see thou
sands of well-dreSSed men and women in
the grand stand and on the hill at the
/
of the women and men. The girls wear as
good clothes as their American sisters and
the men are far better dressed than their
brothers of England. Nearly every one
bets. the girls putting up their money as
we'll as the boys. The crowd includes the
public officials. the judges and even the
preachers. though | will not say that |
saw the latter make eXtravagant bets.
Coffee Palaces vs.. Hotels.
as that big building a hotcl?" I asked
a Melbourne man one afternoon as we were
going by one of the finest structures of this
magnificent city.
No was the reply, Il don't think it's
a hotel, and still l heard the other day
that its owners had bought out the right
to sell liquors and 50 it may be a hotel
after all
But what is it, I asked.
1T Is a big coffee palace"
And what is a coffee palace?'
''Oh, YOU know" said the man, you
can't sell liquors in a coffee palace. A cof-
fee palace is where they keep everything
that belongs to proper hotel except the
bar. A hotel IS a place where liquors are
sold, and without the liquors it can't be a
hotel
What do you mean by the owners buy
ing out the right of some poor hotel?"
THAT is a part of our liquor option law
Only so many places are licensed, and if a
new place wants to start up 1t has to buy
out one of the old licenses or wait until
there is vacancy. Our laws will not per-
NIT saloons. Liquors can be sold only at
public houses hotels, but many of the
hotels have only one or two bed rooms to
rent and their chief business is In running
the bar. The charge is from SIS to $3.50
per annum. although some places are even
fess than these amounts"
Drunkenness in Australia
Notwithstanding this find that bars are
more frequent here than in America.
The man who wants a drink can get 1t in
any block, and if he is an Australian the
chances are, nine out of ten, that he wants
it. l have never seen place where drink
ing is more common and where so many
people keep themselves well soaked. The
chief drink is Scotch whisky, and the GUS
tomary way of drinking 1t is to mix 1t with
water and sip it. great many drink
whisky with their meals. and treating, or,
as they call 1t here, shouting" Is common.
The man is thought to be mean who drinks
alone. and in the smoking rooms of the ho-
tels You may see men slipping and drink
ing together from dinner until bedtime.
One Of the surprising things is the little
account that is taken of drunkenness or
drinking. No one seems ashamed of haV-
ing contracted the habit, and | have heard
many men refer as nonchalantly to their
having been drunk you would to having
taken your dinner.
Not long ago I was riding on the
railroad in company with three Aus