Evening star., 1901-07-15
REFORMED PUBLIC HOUSES
RUN ON LINES UNITING PHILANTHRO-
PY WITH BUSINESS.
Three Methods Adopted by the Re-
fOrmers-CommOn Sense Enters
Into All-Success Achieved.

From the London Spectator.
A few years ago a humble little expert
ment was set on foot by the bishop of
Chester and Mai. Craufurd, with the OBJ
ject Of testing how far public houses could
be improved by being run on lines which
should unite philanthropy and business. 1t
may at once be conceded that the combina-
tion has not ordinarily been viewed with
much favor. To make the best Of both
worlds does not take high place among
counsels of perfection. But in the sense in
which the words are used of this particular
venture they are not open to the objection
that they mix incompatible things. All that
they mean is that there are large number
of persons who would like to spend money
for the benefit of others were it not that
they have to live on the interest of it. The
Peoples Refreshment House Association
was devised to meet the wants of this par
ucular class. They desire a return for
their money which shah be somewhat high
er than what is yielded by the ordinary
trust securities, but they want no more
Ihey are willing to have the temptation to
make larger profits removed from them by
assigning the surplus and above a
nxed maximum interest to some public
object. And being interested in the promo
hon OF temperance, and convinced that the
main obstacle to temperance is the present
management of public houses, they chose
as this object the conversion of them into
refreshment houses.
The methods adopted were chiefly three
FIRST of all, only the best drink was to be
sold. The part that adulteration plays in
the production of drunkenness has never
been precisely ascertained, but so far as
IT plays any part at all it was excluded
from the houses belonging to the company.
Secondly, a much larger choice of food and
drink was to be provided.
The public house is sometimes a mere
drinking bar; the refreshment house was
g oYnn ~, L.,
man might eat as well as drink, and drink
to satisfy his thirst instead of to create
fresh one. Thirdly, the interest Of the
manager was to be enlisted on the side of
TINS wider treatment. He was to be paid
liked salary, and in order to make him
push the sale of non-intOxicants he was to
receive commission on all he sold as well
as on all food and no commission at all on
the alcoholic drinks consumed. The man
who came into one of these refreshment
houses would not be pressed to take beer
or spirits. He might come in to get his din
ner supper and find a choice of ready
prepared dishes awaiting him, with which,
If he liked, he might take water. The man.
ager would serve him with whatever food
he might order, but he would have no mo-
tive for pressing him to accompany or fol-
low 1t with beer spirits. And, finally,
the permanence of these arrangements was
secured by handing over all profits above
PEI cent to a body of trustees, who should
hold them for the benefit of the commun-
ity, not of the company.
The Peoples Refreshment House Associ-
alton has answered thoroughly well. The
management of the houses has been excel
lent. No complaint has ever been made
to the magistrates in regard to them and
we may be sure that, standing as they
have necessarily done in the midst of pub
lie houses conducted on the old plan, this
immunity has not been accorded them ex-
cept under the compulsion of having moth
ing to charge them with. A case of drunk
enness In a peoples refreshment house
would have been text for innumerable
sermons on the part Of every neighboring
publican and every neighboring publican's
customers. The financial success has been
as complete as the moral and social. The
fixed interest on the capital has been paid,
and there has been surplus available for
the extension of the experiment
On a Larger Scale.
Now 1t Is proposed to repeat the ven
ture on a larger scale, and as a prelimi-
nary step to form a series of public house
trust companies, in the first instance for
the county of Northumberland, but here
after for any other counties which may
care to follow in the same road. For ex-
ample, We are glad to hear that Surrey
trust Is actually in process of formation,
for Surrey Is a county particularly well
suited for the work of a trust Under the
present system public house license is a
valuable monopoly. A house which in it's
unlicensed state may be all but worthless
becomes a valuable property simply from
the fact that it. and 1t alone, has the right
of selling beer and spirits in that special
spot. The object of the public house trust
is to intercept these profits and after pay
ing a dividend to the shareholders Of 5
per cent use them for the good of the COM
munity.
The management of the company's busi-
ness and the distribution of the surplus
profits will be in different hands. The di-
rectors will hand over what remains after
payment of the dividend to a council,
partly ex ofticio and partly chosen by the
directors, which will determine to what
public objects the surplus shall be de-
voted. The leading features of the COM
panys management of their public houses
are identical with those of the Peoples
Refreshment House Association. The
manager will not be penny the richer
for any amount Of intoxicants that he may
succeed in disposng of. He will get no
commission on the liquor sold nor will he
stand any higher in the favor of his en-
ployers by reason of selling it.
But with food and non-intoxicants the
case is different. On all he sells of these
he does get commission, and the more
he sells the more completely will he have
fulfilled the purpose for which he was
placed there. He Is under every possible
inducement, therefore, to substitute tea
and coffee and mineral waters for beer
and spirits whenever the customer will
allow him to do so. Thus whatever influ-
ence he may have over his customers-and
unless publlcans are greatly maigned they
ence-will all go on the side of temper
ance. The more attractive he can make
the array of dishes on his counter and the
brisker the demand for his tea or coffee
the larger will be the profits coming In to
himself. Alcoholic drinks will be obtain
able, but only 'at the desire Of the Gus
toner, not at the suggestion of the publi-
His interest will be the other way
BY these means the company hope to re-
duce the present excessive consumption of
alcoholic drinks
Meets With Opposition.
In the words just quoted from the pros
pectus will be found the secret of the oppo-
sition which the company will encounter at
the hands Of the most active and prob
ably the largest, section of the temperance
party In order to reduce the excessive
consumption of alcoholic drinks the COM
pany deliberately refuse to do ANYTHING
which shall put end to that consumption.
On the contrary, men are to be drawn to
the new-fashioned public house by superior
respectability and decency. They are to be
encouraged to find in it an opportunity for
other things besides drinking, and SO to
learn to drink, when they do drink, in
moderation. But tc say this is from the
extreme temperance standpoint, to con-