The Irish standard. [volume] (Minneapolis, Minn. ;) 1886-1920, 1901-11-09

tually been formed to combat it. Even
well-dresscd and apparently respecta-
bic women Of all ages think nothing
OF dropping into bars, slngly and in
couples, and standing side by side with
noisy men whilst they Gull for their
glasses OF ale and spirits.
ann proud to say that in Australia
and New Zealand no selr-rcspectln9
woman would dream of doing such a
thing. If she did so, she would mt once
lose caste, and decent folk would no
longer respect her. am glad to find
that the same feeling exists in America,
and that no self-rcspecting American
woman finds any attraction lin public
house bar. She is above that sort of
thing, Like the women OF Australia and
New Zealand. But, oh, how sadly diff.
fercnt is the case in London. Women
think nothing of it, and what shocks
one still more is to find that respectable
people appear to think little or nothing
about seeing n man or a woman intoxi-
Gated. ooh, she's happy" or some
other remark of similar kind is how
they express themselves when they see
woman the worse for drink. Doubt
less the frequency of the spectacle has
hluptcd their moral sense and conduced
TO degree of toleration of rcpugnant
exhibitions which would ,bc impossible
either i'm Australasia or In the United
States.
During my stay i'm LONDON II was
my pleasure and privilege to come into
Intimate relations with several Ameri-
can doctors, who had been completing
! their studies at the best hospitals IN
Europe. and they were unanimous in
declaring their disgust at the preva-
leicc of so much drunkenness enlnOng
women Iim London. These gcntlenen
had exceptional opportunities of ascer-
tanning the real facts of the case. 1t
obtrIdcl itself at all the hospitals they
| llnd any connection with, but more
| particularly I'm those institutions espe-
rially devoted to the treatment of chill
drcn. ] will content myself by men-
tomng only one OF these to demon
Stlnltc what is the actual state of Of
fairs NIL lTAllul. i will cite the Great
Onmond Street Hospital for sick chill
drc1l.
10 that institution from $50 to 300
children are brought for treatment
daily, AMI a large percentage of the
women who hiring their children to
Great Olnnond street nre drinkers, as
indeed they arc at nH other instity-
tions OF similar kind
One Of the first questions which
doctor puts to woman is whether
she is drinking and how much she
drinks. In one instance a Woman
owned to consuming as much as Il
quart of alcohol every day. Let my
readers contemplate the effects of these
habits upon the unfortunate onfSprings
OF such mothers as these What sort
of a race must be forthcoming from
such sources? AS a rule. the lives OF
these children are insured, and without
! proper nonrishmcnt and care Il large
! percentage of them die in infancy.
either starved to death or ovcrIan in
their beds.
In II country like England. where the
liquor ring holds so much power.
where, in fact, 1t is a material prop
! towards the continuance of the Tory
government in Office. licensing law re-
! form is a tardy process The nhTl"ates
of temperance on the cmc hand and Of
prohibition on the other have been M
able 10 make any arpre"nhlc hca1way
against the strong political influences
they encounter at every turn.
Because of this unsuccessful NpbOsi-
!i"n to their campaigns, they l,av" been
unable TO bring about the early closing
Of public bars cr week nights. much
less to put an end to the opening Of
these ,Aaccs Oh Sundays from one
o'clock To three IN the afternoon and
frnl., six to eleven o'clock In the even
ings You will see numbers Of men.
women ana girls hanging around these
haunts every Sunday Of the year. anx-