The Minneapolis journal. [volume] (Minneapolis, Minn.) 1888-1939, 1906-09-16
How to. Improve Saloons.


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How to- Improve Saloons.
The convention Of the Wholesale
Liquor Dealers association, held re-
Gently in Louisville, put forth some
sentiments with which the temperance
people of the country can heartily con-
cur whether OF not they agree that
restrictive and prohibitive legislation
against the liquor traffic has proven q
failure "because it seeks. to order
man Is life against his own desires
- The convention says: 1.-THE white
ribbon movement the prohibition move
ment, and the Anti Saloon league, were,
or are, protests upon the part Of good
men and women against two Of the
greatest evils connected with our civili-
zation and, unfortunately for us, con-
nected with our trade-we refer to
drunkenness and to those saloons which
are conducted in disreputable manner
or else in such a way as to demoralize
rather than elevate those who patronize
5tbem-and we, the delegates Of the
wine and spirit trade. desire to express
in no uncertain tones our, entire SYM.
pathy with the efforts that have been
or may be put forth to &exterminate
those evils and our willingness to lend
cooperation and assistance by every
means in our power
These are liberal sentiments coming
from delegates to convention Of liquor
manufacturers. They do not, it isEtrue,
pledge the members to anything very
definite and they are based on an as
sumption which it would be difficult ito
get temperance people to admit, that
saloons can be run in such way as to
Ebe. anything & but sdemora lizing,r::a ~
But there is a ground upon which
the delegates can meet il not the pro-,
le1hibitionists, at least the high-icense
voters, and that is on the ground of a
submission by. the liquor trade to- all
necessary and moderate laws for tie
regulation of the liquor business. The
| delegates ought to begin with the own
ership Of saloons by the breweries:
This is one Of the greatest obstacles to
the elevation Of the saloon with which
public officers have to$contend. The
system has changed character of
the saloon in iboth the settles and ! the
rural places. The saloonkeeper no
longer is an owner, but an agent. The
brewery selects site, opens the saloon
and employs a dummy to hold the
license and operate the place. He has
no personal interest in the place, no
Epride in its character, no conscience
about it's conduct. He is willing to sell
to drunkards, minors, women-an anybody.
He will sell day or night, Sunday or
Saturday, the year round, if@thereby he
can make showing of sales such as
will please the brewery auditor, who
from time to time checks him up. This
is, Of course, not the invariable cxpe-
rience, but it. is the general tendency
and a demoralizing one.
The magistrate has more trouble with
the brewery saloon than with any other.
for the reasons noted. In this city, for
example, the mayor, with much less
exertion, could close the saloons on Sun
day il the saloons were their own mas.
ters. AS a matter Of fact, the few
saloonkeepers who. own their places are
for Jones because they have discovered
that Sunday closing has its eompensa-
tions. But the combined political and
financial weight Of the bfeweries is
against him on the one ground Of loss
of sales. If the breweries should 90
ont Of the saloon business and out Of
politics the character of the saloon
would improve immediately. Why
should not the delegates who have is
sued the address from louisville begin
at this end of the problems Perhaps
they have never taken pains to learr
/ how many saloons are owned by Thu
). breweries. Perhaps they would bt
surprised to find how /. much CAPT
tai the brewers waste In setting W
saloons in rivalry, and they would be
prepared for the only possible deduc
ton that the breweries must make gooo
this loss, if at all, by. pushing the bust
1 ness against the laws, against sstht
4 wishes Of the community and against
the theory of the delegates that. the
saloon may be SO conducted as to ele
vate tho tone Of those who frequent it
Il rrLa latter fr,r, etoy, E,ro o;aoc ,,,I;ol