The labor world. [volume] (Duluth, Minn.) 1896-current, 1906-03-24
FOR EACH SALOON A NAME.


Il say said the man who hikes"
downtown to his office for the sake
OF exercise, did you ever notice tbs
fancy names that the enterprising sa-
loon keepers have given to their places
in Kansas city,"
mo, + never stop on the outside to
read tho Names" replied his friend, who
seldom walks. when l start to go in
1 never linger to look at the signs and,
besides, don't believe in EN-
well, they're worth studying" re-
piled the observant one. For instance,
encountered one the other day in the
course of my walks about Kansas CT
ty as being somewhat peculiar. On
the window was emblazoned in big let
tiers the words, The Office"
Now, what ever possessed the pro-
the office I thought? He must have
some good reason for it, and so one day
as l passed by 1 stopped in to appease
my curiosity. The man in the white
Jacket and apron cast plying smile
in my direction when 1 put the ques-
ton over the top of a beer glass.
Was Many Years 1.-THE Office"
*.Why, we amt called this place
nothin' else for five years. he replied.
You see, the boss has hobby for real
estate speculation He began several
years ago before the depot committee
held it's first meeting. He bought a
corner lot and sold it for double the
profit. Next he bought him desk and
put it over there in the corner. Soon
began. to pore over plats at the desk
and lock up deeds in the safe. One
day the sign painter arrived. He paint
ed those words on the window. The
boss called it THE Office He said
1t was his office, anyway, and there
was bunch that didn't seem to have
much of any other place to do business
in. so he just calculated that office was
an appropriate name, and it went
''Tll bet you there isn't town in the
country as big as Kansas City that
hasn't, at least one saloon named The
Puzzle.' Did the humor of that name
ever occur to you? The man who ling
ers within too long probably would
agree that the place is rightly named.
There's no accounting for tastes in the
naming Of thirst emporiums.
A Poem on the Subject.
Name of saloons all remind me
I'm a lucky man each time
If in leaving I can tell you
The name of the place left behind.
but there is not always inconsistent
cy in saloon names. Take, for ex-
ample, one l saw today: 1t was called
Old Missouri Now there is good bus
mess judgment in a name like that.
I'll bet that name has drawn that fell
low a lot of trade. There's. some SEN
timent in it, The fellow&zwh is feel
ing lonely will turn in at that sign
when he wouldn't bat an eye at the
sign Smith and jones' However, when
I struck The Zanzibar I thought the
limit had been reached for names OF
grog-shops 1 found out by asking the
man next door that it was a place that
no skinner
men. Zanzibar I might have known
it. But one night. he added, the habi-
tues of Zanzibar became too noisy. The
neighbors complained and the next
week the commissioners made ZanZi-
bar look like the Sahara on busy
day: Besides these names I've noticed,
The Globe, Hunters Rest The La
math,' which is headquarters for the
bakers, The Silver Dollar The OWL
The Automobile The Driving Park
Exchange miles from any driving
park, Last Chance and dozen others
more or less appropriate.
The Evolution of Names.
1.-The names Of thirst parlors, how
process much like the names of songs
Only few years ago the signs all read.
Sample Room No one thought Of
naming them saloons. Then came the
change to the less offensive word, 'sa-
LOOM But that didn't go. 1t was not
gentee1 enough and the swell down
town places with the mahogany bars
and the cut glass displays gradually
dropped the word saloon in favor of
the somewhat more refined term, buf
fet. Have you ever noticed the grow
ing number of buffets? The selection
of names calculated to give the places
some semblance Of Individuality de-
epnded on taste and sentiment. Fred
and Jims place was good enough IN
some cases, but THE Eagle or The
Summit just had to come out III
Others"