The Evening statesman. [volume] (Walla Walla, Wash.) 1903-1910, 1904-02-16
MAKE IMPORTANT CHANGE IN
PUBLIC DRINKING PLACES
IN LONDON.
Plan Adopted Will Be to Sell lntoxi
eating Liquors as Well as
Other Beverages.

form the saloons of Great Britain.
which is being made by the
distinguished hackers of the so-cai-d
Public House Trust" were going to
accomplish a good deal toward loosen
ing the grip which old John Barley
corn has had on this country for SO
many years. $50,
The trust was started about two
years ago in an ordinary stock COM
pany. with a regularly paid up capital
its membership including such men as
the Duke of Devonshire and Norfolk.
archbishops of Canterbury and York.
The trusts supporters follow the
"Gothenburg'' idea. They say that
public drinking places (called pubs"
for short over here) are apparently
necessary and maintain that the
amount of drunkenness in this coun-
try is due mostly to the fact that at
common saloons intoxicants only are
supplied readily to the working man,
spare time-the profits on spirits being
larger than on drinks of any other
kind.
So the trust started to get hold Of
as many ordinary saloons as possible.
and to run them, not as temperance
places. but simply as public houses
where tea, coffee and harmless drinks
would be for sale on equal terms with
spirits. In order that there should be
that each of the reformed saloons
should be in charge Of manager.
who would be paid a regular salry, and
thus have no interest whatever in
pushing the sale of intOXicants. II
was one of the cardinal points of the
trust scheme. too, that such beers
and spirits AS We're sold at their
houses should be of the best quality.
Finally it was decided that any
be used. either upon Improvement in
the locality in which the place stood.
or in acquiring the license of other
saloons. to be transformed similarly.
The public house trust sets no linn
its to it's operations. AS soon as the
license of Il slOon anywhere in the
tySJ
of the reform organization try to get
hold of it. and nothing would suit
them better than to be the prOprietOrs
of every drinking place in the land.
Perhaps they will some day and in that
case the profit of S97. 900 900 which is
produced by the retail liquor trade in
this country would be utilized for the
public benefit instead of enriching
private individuals.
1t is questionable which is the more
surprising-the extent to which the
managers of the trust have succeeded
in acquiring public houses to he run
on improved lines or the success of
the various establishments which have
come under its management. Strictly
speaking. the trust does not manage
it's efforts to organizing smaller trust
companies in different districts to buy
up the licenses of public houses within
their limits, as they, fall due. and run
them on the Gothenburg plan.
The Public House Trust, of which
Earl Grey is the chairman, began
forty counties in England five only
are without one or more trust COM
panies in active management of model
public houses. There are six such or
CARNATIONS in Scotland, three in Wales
and one has just been started in Eng
land So far trust principles have
been applied to ia saloons through
out the whole United Kingdom, and ar
engagements have now been made for
getting hold of over 100 more as soon
as the existing licenses expire.
Meanwhile the experiment has at
tracted immense interest on the con-
tinent as we'll as in the British col
onies, and any amount of inquiries
have been received from the United
States. The German emperor asked
same time ago that the Public House
Trusts reports should be supplied to
his ministers regularly. Recently Geo
Westinghouse contributed $500 to the
trusts funds and Bishop Potter of
New York sent $50. remarking that in
his opinion, the movement was the
first to deal with the subject of tenn
perance reform in a really gerat way"
of course, from the first. the sue
cess of this enterprise depended on