Los Angeles herald., 1907-10-27
PLENTY OF
LIQUOR IN
PASADENA
NO DIFFICULTY TO BUY AT ALL
HOURS
HERALD MAN SHOWS HOW LAWS
ARE BROKEN
Restaurants Not the Only VIolators,
Though They Are often Caught.
Aerial Line Supplies the
"Nlght Route"
BY WINFIELD s. MORGAN

IN rap, ana every DlC Ol CohFoh-
Az sation in the little bar room
stopped like magic, every man grasped
his glass and, improvising a screen Tor
it with his hat, turned expectantly to-
ward the door.
THOMPSON, factotum and barman at
1.-THE White House restaurant" South
Fair Oaks avenue, Pasadena, stepped
cautiously to the door, opened crack
perhaps an inch wide and carefully sur
veyed the supplicants.
%AIl right, boys" he said, after the
inspection, opening the door WIDER Ior
the newcomers to pass within, and re-
placing their hats again the little crowd,
of which 1 was member, resumed their
drinking and conversation, heavlng
little sigh of relief.
There has been popular superstition
that Pasadena, that beautiful little CITY
of millionaires and scenery, was, within
certain we'll defined legal exceptions,
dry town. Abandon the delusion! 1t
isn't any dryer than the suit OF @ batner,
fresh from battle with the surf. More
over, the 'wetness'' is not difficult OF
discovery-not nearly SO hard as in other
towns of supposedly equal dryness. Just
ask the first passerby of jovial appear
ance Unless miss my guess by wide
margin you'll get one Of three answers:
"a hotel, restaurant or drug store"
anu dL any VI liiCili SOo SoiA AiiAA "AAe--
you seek
How Laws Are Evaded
Personally never liked the drug store
.'brand." It's usually bad and you can
drink in comfort. Moreover, I favor a
bar when 1 drink, and hence as the
result Of my initial investigations I went
to the restaurant" with the bar in the
rear.
Just here let me explain that under
the city ordinances of Pasadena, restau-
rants with liquor licenses are allowed
to serve beer or whisky and kindred
STRAIGHT" spirits when served with q
meal between the hours of n:3O and 1:3O
in the forenoon and $50 and 1880 in the
evening. Also hotels are allowed similar
privileges for the accommodation OF
their guests and at like hours the with
meals feature being included In the
license, but never being rigidly enforced,
as you shall presently see. The law
covering this is ordinance 22O, section z
pfythe city charter of Pasadena.
S'A there are two restaurants in the little
Eter city which have liquor licenses
II Cafe Martin and the White House.
fe first is on Colorado street near Fair
sks and the second is on Fair Oaks
Hlth of Colorado.
sastf termined to try them both and see
Just how close to the ordinance pro-
visions they came in the practice.
Accordingly I waited until 1870 before
descending the stairs leading to the
shade OF the "Cafe Martin Grill
Cool And quiet with the subdued hush
of the basement room, footballs muffled
by sawdust on the cement floor, the
room was provided with probably a
dozen white-draped tables and when 1
entered each of the half dozen occupants
were smoking leisurely over glass Of
beer-or what they fancied.
Stretch Closing Hour
In the rear of the room was an ice
box with the beer faucets protruulng
from the sides, a pine bar decorated
for the most part with beer-stained
glasses which the barman was washing
and back of that, shelves plentifully sup
piled with bottles containing the "spir-
it's" served.
Lazily I moved to the last table on
the left of the room lin order to be near
the bar for observation purposes), and
consumed what time I could in making
my selection from the menu card.
The wall clock pointed lao when I at
last decided on lamb with trimmings,
preceded by a toss of cognac. 1t was
some thirteen minutes after the legal
.'closing time before my appetizer was
placed before me. A moment or two
later one of the other gentlemen called
for replenishing of his glass, and got It..
1 finished my meal, threw half my
drink onto the sawdust floor and feigned
sleepiness meanwhile watching the bar
with one eye and the clock with the
other. woman, I believe the proprie-
tress of the cafe, came down the stairs
from the kitchen just as the last of the
diners departed by the front way, leav-
ing me there alone.
Her conversation with the barman was
along business lines only and had to do
MI II
think with regard to bar equipment. l
didn't pay very close attention, but
waited before ordering my second drink
until after her departure.
Barkeeper Talks
At three minutes before Q heard the
scraping of the wicket as the waiter
bartender drew it along the bar front,
Just about half hour late. After 4ie
had locked the affair / woke up and
demanded another drink. To my sur
prise I was refused.
1T make it a rule" said the man,
s'never to open those gates once I've
closed them after hours. You Should
have spoken before I locked up. We
have to be very careful about our sales
ont of hours. 1t cost the house $500 In
nine days when we were experimenting
with the authorities to find out whether
they really meant to enforce the law.
Now we don't take the long cnanceS we
@But surely" I urged, "I may have
lust one more. I can't get to where I
can get any before o'clock"
"oh yes you can" he replied, "The
bar at the Hotel Maryland is open all
day long, and you can get 1t there. You
see they're wealthy, influential people up
there and somehow or other they man
age IT, It's against the ordinances. but
they don't seem to have any trouble
over that"
paid my bill and departed, shaping my
course for the Maryland.
Arriving at this comfortable East Colo
RADIO street hostelry, made cautious In
quiries as to the location of the buffet"
and was told that 'for convenience" the
thirst parlor was closed from % to s."
Mark the hours, just half an hour late on
the legal closing hour and the same
amount of time early on the opening.
Begin Ahead Of Time