The Minneapolis journal., 1905-11-23
NATIONS CAPITAL
LONG UNDER LID
Washington Thrives Under Sun
day Closing Law and Saloon
Men Obey Implicitly.
BY w. w. Jermane.

Washington, NOV. 2S.-EOr many /
years this city has presented to the |
tion Of the oft-repeated statement that /,
it is out of the question to close saloons !,
on Sunday and keep them closed.
The law under which the Washington !
saloons are closed each night at mid
night and all day Sunday was passed
by congress in 1898, but prior to that
time, for years, the saloons had been
of the district commissioners.
There are SIS saloons in Washington,
counting those i'm the numerous hotels
and clubs, and it may seem rather
strange to some Minneapolis people to
say that the saloon and liquor interests
of the city generally, are not antagon-
istic to the closing law, but obey. it
cheerfully, without raising any question
about loss of revenue or any Of the
dignity Of convincing arguments in the
minds of the Minneapolis saloonkeepers
Leeway at Midnight.
AS part Of the police regulations
here, saloon men are given leeway Of
fifteen minutes after the stroke of mid
night in which to close their doors and
put out the lights. A window must
open on the bar and the curtain in
front of this window must be drawn
aside after closing hours, so as to give
street. During the hours between mid
night and daylight small gas jet is
kept burning, so that the police from
the outside may see that nobody is in
the saloon apartment. Occasionally sa
loonkeepers desire to have workmen-
paperhangers, carpenters, plumbers, etc.
in their saloons, either after mid
night or on Sunday to make needed re-
pairs. Before anything of this sort can
! be done, permission, must be secured
from the excise board, to which all the
facts are stated; otherwise the saloon
| man would be liable to arrest and
fine. A second fine within a year re-
vokes the license. ~ =,
At all the hotels and clubs liquors
are sold on Sunday. In order to pur-
chase them at the hotels, one must be a
bona fide guest, having. his name on the
register and being ASSIGNED to q room:
hotel men for violation of this regu-
lation. Washington ,tolerates none of
the evasions of the law, such as are
common in New York, under the Raines
law decisions. In order to purchase
drinks at club, one must be a member
ever been made by. the local liquor
interests for the closing Of the bars on
Sunday at such places as the Metropol-
itan and Army and Navy clubs, which
rank with the Minneapolis and CONNER
the f0c closing Of the club bars has
never been raised here.
Evasion by Clubs. .=s
There is more or less Of a local eva
sion of the law thru the existence of
several clubs, which have been formed
for the especial purpose of dispensing
liquors on Sunday. : The fee for mem
bership in these organizations is one or
two dollars a year, but the membership
lists are not large, nor do the people
generally take much interest in them.
Prosecutions for the violation Of the
Sunday closing law ia Washington do
not average ten a Year, and: they are
nearly all confnedNto Certain hotels,
which occasionally try eton stretch the
meaning of the law covering bona tide
guests. The regular saloon business OF
the city complies with the law in good
faith. The police force has it's definite
Instructions to see that the law is
obeyed, and the saloon men accept the
situation without any protest. -.i -.
Washington proper, that is to say
the city Without reference to the re-
mainder Of the District of Columbia
is about the size Of Minneapolis, but
it is much more difficult to manage
from the police viewpoint, than Mime
apo]is, because Of it's 100000 negro pop
uiation. This population furnishes
nearly 80 per cent Of all the. crime Q,
the city. The Sunday arrests for drunk
enness are few, and nearly all of tn
guilty ones are negroes, who buy gil
or cheap whisky on Saturday night AM
proceed to have a good time all mex
day. The Monday morning polio
docket, however, is small-the smalles
of the week, as a rule, and the asse1
tion that there is little or no Sunda
drunkenness here is well borne out b.
l the police Statistics.
: No Check On Profits.
: One of the prominent saloonkeepe1
was asked today, if, in his Judgment, tn
s Sunday closing law interfered seriousl
:. with his annual profits, and he replle
Q that it did not IT doubt if we woul
|, do much heavier business, taking tn
s year thru, if we were open on Sunday,
l. he said, land in the light Of our e.
t perience here, which runs back owe
y more than a generation, I am surprise
> at many Of the arguments which yc
: tell me the Minneapolis saloon men al
= putting up in opposition to the mayor
u u recent order. For one, wouldn It hay
- the saloons open on Sunday, even if
a were possible. I like the idea of ha'
+ ing one day Of rest in the week, and m
" bartenders like it, too. And what
d true Of me is true, so far as I know,
all the saloon men in the city.
Washington is one of the most o