The Mankato free press. [volume] (Mankato, Blue Earth County, Minn.) 1879-1924, 1904-08-12
Prelate Potter's Subway Tav--
ern Is Condemned.
Mankato Eivines Do Not Take.
to the New Idea.
They Declare against the Law
and Order" Saloon.
49,
DR.. G. H. Davis Says Treating"
Is An Unmixed Evil.
From Wednesdays Daily.

From Wednesdays Daily.
Several of the leading divines Of Man
kato have been interviewed by The Free
Press in regard to Bishop Potter's idea
of solving the intemperance problem by
the establishment of claw and ORDER
saloons. Without hesitation all who were
questioned on the subject most emphati-
cally condemned the bishops position.
None expressed any surprise at the cpl
sode of the refined young lady, less than
twenty years of age, who last Sunday
having obtained her first excessive dose
of alcoholic beverage at the new Sub
way Tavern, which was dedicated by
Bishop Potter and stamped with the APP
prevail of that famous church prelate.
The girl and her companions had gone
in to get soda water and finally "just for
fun" called for beer, and the innocent
Margaret Cooper was soon wandering
down the street singing, 81 won't go
home till morning" until she walked
into the arms of a policeman.
The front section of that saloon is
fitted up for women and girls. Here
soda water, lemonade, and various kinds
rear section is for men. Here all kinds
of drinks are on sale. This is the insti-
tuition that the bishop pronounees
good thing. This is the institution in
which the innocent young lady, of good
family, took her first downward step
last Sunday night.
Rev. George III. Davis, who is of the
same denomination as the bishop, un-
qualifedly condemns the latter's theory.
The bishop has sought to drive out a,
great evil by the establishment of
lesser one. 1t is a poor idea to try to
fight evil by partially countenancing it.
What is wanted is not the establishment
of lesser evils in addition to those that
already exist, but the enforcement of
the law. In most states the law itself
is good. The law of Minnesota is good,
and would do away with four ffths of
the liquor business, if it were enforced.
The ills arising from the saloons would
not be nearly so bad as they are, were it
not for the custom of treating" A
number of men get together and say,
'Let us 60 in and get glass of beer"
One pays for the drinks. Another in
the crowd must also "treat" So there
is another round of drinks. By and by
each finds he has drunk and paid for,
not one or two glasses of beer but six
or eight. This treating" is the sa-
loonkeeper's greatest gain. If every
man bought simply his own liquor, the
majority of saloons of Mankato would
have to go out of business for want of
patronage.
DR.. Davis recalls how, some twenty
five years ago, number of young men
of St. Cloud formed what was known as
the Green Ribbon club, which pledged all
it's members not to do any treating"
in saloons for period of six months.
The club had large membership. The
members found that they did not drink
anywhere near the quantity of liquor
that they used to sonsume. when they
created" each other. The saloonkeepers
declared that they would rather have all
the temperance societies that ever ex-
listed than that Green Ribbon club. I'm
fortunately, the club went to pieces af-
ter the first six months.
Rev. F. E. R. Miller regards the es-
Enlistment of a place where alcoholic
drink is sold with the approval of
man of the standing of Bishop Potter,
as providing a pathway to drunkenness
for certain classes, who would otherwise
not come under the influence of the sa-
loon at all. The example of that re-
fined young lady of New York is dem
onstration of this drinking place.
where nothing at all harmful or also
holic was sold, coffee house for ex-
ample, might take the place of the sa-
loon for certain classes of men, and
keep them out of bad company, and no
fault could be found with such an in
stitution by anybody. The moment,
however, that alcoholic drink is allowed
to be sold in that resort, that moment
it becomes an evil agency and stepping
stone to evil agencies that are worse.
DIR. Cowgirl deems the example of that
New York girl as an illustration OF the
real result that the bishops law and or
der saloon" idea is bound to have on
vast numbers that come within its in
fuence.