The Vinita daily chieftain. [volume] (Vinita, Indian Territory [Okla.]) 1902-1913, 1904-01-18
SHAME OF GLASGOW.
has More Women Topers Than
London, Paris or New York.
one Of the worlds Most Progressive
cities Yet Burdened with the
Curse OF DrInk-Some OF
the sights.

has so many drunken women IN pro-
portion to its size as Glasgow. AS a
breeding place for female topers neith-
er London. Paris nor New York can
compare with the Scotch town. which
prides itself on the progress it has
made in almost every kind Of munich
pal reform.
It is no exaggeration, says a special
correspondence of the St. Louis Globe
Democrat, to say that an American
walking in the evening through Glas-
COWS poorer quarteT-through Salt
Market street, Bridge Gate, or High
street-soon begins to ask himself if
there can be any sober women in that
part Of the city. Here, in the course
of an hour, one may see nearly a
thousand women pass in various stages
of intoxication, nearly all Of them look
ing either for a saloon or a pawnshop
which by the way, are usually close
together.
when once a woman begins to drink
here she is done for" is a quotation
in this Scotch city, and one believes it
true after an evening in the slums.
Old gray-headed women, with weak,
dissipated faces and torn rags for
scanty covering. reel through the
streets begging coppers with which to
buy more drinks. Young men, them
selves the worse for liquor, exclaim:
Give the barefooted old grannies
..-.,r.- ,r.o br-,a .raIl uownr oouoa IN
thati" The middle-aged topers are
the coarsest of all, their hair matted in
tawny snarls, dresses half-fastened,
and their speech too foul for repetl-
ton. Some of the worst characters ap-
pear in striped black and white fan
mel petticoats. and these women are
called the "Petticoaters."
One "Petticoater" was on an unusu-
ally high spree on the Saturday night
the writer went through the Bridget"
-as Bridge Gate street is called. Mad
with drink, this fighting woman rushed
home to her attic, put out her children,
and with hatchet smashed the furni-
ture and even tore to pieces the chill
drens clothes The Oldest boy, IL,
went to the police, but in the meantime
the infuriated mother had nailed up
the door and defed them to enter.
Thus, in one nights intoxication the
"Petticoater" had broken up her home,
destroyed the household treasures, and
cast her children into the street.
The young women for the most part
wear coarse shawls and with great
deftness they wind them first about
their babies and then about themselves.
Every young woman seems to be 2
mother, but they pay scant attention
to the little ones, about the only pro-
lection a baby gets being the support
from the shawl. have seen girls OF
II and 13 SO intoxicated that they
could not walk straight. Even the
little girls of six and seven congregate
outside the saloons waiting for a peep
in, or hoping that mother" Will let
them have a "drap." The little waits
are barefooted and half-naked. The
Troop in the corner Of the mouth Of
many of these little people indicates
plainly the depression caused by cruel
ty and neglect, together with i'll health
and hunger. Little slum angels born
with an appetite for drink, they have
a hard time ahead of them, if they
grow to womanhood.
The cause of the degradation is the
wretched home life, laziness and in
temperance Thirty thousand families
in Glasgow live in one-roomed flats.
Sometimes. indeed, six or seven fam
lies live in one long room, with only
chalk mark or piece Of rope divid-
ing the rented space Huddled to-
gether in such masses-men. women
and children-only the grossest immor-
Atty can result. Shelter houses are
now being built rapidly, however,
where men may find a comfortable
nights lodging for a pittance.
About these shelters on Saturday
Nights men are gathered by the score,
While women and children stand near
by begging their husbands for coppers.
There are a few shelters for women,
also, where for eight cents in Amer
EUn lnOnCf d MDAtlun may stay DfNl
hight, and have a place to cook her
lwn tea and breakfast But these
shelters do not take the place Of
lome, for no provision is made for the
children. little one may sleep with
he mother till it is five years old. but
he beds are narrow like the hunks Of
steamer. and generally there are half
4 dozen youngsters. The shelters, how
sver, are an improvement over the ten
sments, and in them people are
obliged to live decently.
A large home has been established
or married men with children who
lave drunken wives. The wee kid
lies" as the Scotch express it. are
AIKEN care of at an absurdly small sum,
md the father is with them at night.
This picture Of sin and shame would
1e untrue to life did it not contain
iome bright patches here and there.
Besides these shelters and institutions,
here are pleasant parks in the very
leart of the slums, a fine peoples pal
zee and art gallery. and opportunity