The public weal. [volume] (Minneapolis, Minn. ;) 1906-1908, 1906-08-01
A Big SUNDAY DRUNK
ST. Paul City Council Turns Beautiful
Harriet Island Over TO Booze Dispens.
ers, Contrary 10 Law and DcCenCy

A representative of The Public Veal
attended the Saengerfest picnic on
Harriet Island, st. Paul, on Sunday,
the 25th ult. We desired to see and
give our readers a picture OF beer
drinking Germany in America, when
it is at liberty to follow it's own sweet !
will We desired to ascertain and to
tell our readers how much truth there
is in the talk about the moderation"
of Germans with regard to beer-drink-
ing, especially when surrounded by
their families. We learned.
By vote of the city council the
Island was turned over to the Saenger-
bund and they with thousands, (some
say ten thousand) Of the German
population of st. Paul were present.
For the first time, so far as we know,
the sale of liquor was allowed at this
spacious and attractive resort. Three
of the big breweries ran four immense
stands Attached to one of these and
within foot or two of another ap-
peared the framed rules of the Board
of Health for the regulation of the
Island The first rule of the seven
forbids any intoxicants upon the
ground. These rules are signed by the
board of health, the commissioner OF
health, the chief of police and the
corporation attorney. They made the
law-making and the law-executing
authorities of the city a butt OF
ridicule throughout the day. Not only
were these regulations utterly dis
regarded, but the state law and city
ordinance prohibiting the sale of in
toxicants on Sunday were trampled
well-nigh out of sight. This is nothing
new, however, in St. Paul for saloons
along the route of the parade were
crowded and in the Empire theatre,
on the way to the. Island, 800 to 500
men were gathered, drinking and
taking in the program in progress
upon the stage.
The picnic was a big drunk Men
and women alike stood up to the bars
and simply swilled down the stuff.
Both sexes would protest to their COM
panions that they could hold no more
but drank on. Young men, who
knew they were passing the danger
point, would declare their intention to
go home, when intelligent-looking and
finely-dressed lady companions would
fairly drag them to the bar for zone
more. Policemen on duty drank, con-
trary to "the regulations, and one, at
least, was drunk. During the five
hours we were present, we doubt if
there were five minutes in which there
were not from fifty to- one hundred
and fifty persons drinking at or near
each of the four great stands.
Beside this, a brewery supplied each
singing society with barrel after barrel
of beer at that point upon the ground
at which it was located. There was
a good deal Of music by various So
cieties, but we have heard better,
especially as the day drew on. In
fact, in only two instances did we hear
anything that particularly appealed to
our musical sense and in neither of
these was there any beer in sight,
although we do not claim that the
members of these societies had not
drank during the day.
We do not think it would be an
exaggeration to say that hundreds
were drunk AS evening drew on the
evil increased until, during the last
two or three hours, the park was
simply filled with one great increasing
roar from the aggregation of drunken
song, laughter and shouting.
CONTINUED in next column.)
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