The Idaho Republican. [volume] (Blackfoot, Idaho) 1904-1932, 1909-04-09
REST ROOMS VS.. SALOONS.

q A
| In our editorial discussions OF the
town rest room project there has
been one phase of the subject to
which we have not given the atten-
ton that 1t deserves. We told the
other day about the establishment
! of such a rest room by the women
of Sunnyside, Wash. During the
interview with one OF the officers Of
the rest room club, the following
statement was made: Very often
men come In and make such q re-
mark AS: There are no saloons In
this town and this Is q better place to
wait. anyway. II the public rest
troom " go0d thing for IKE Il 81 saloon JON
less town III ought to sbe Of much
| greater value to the. town that has
saloons. Much ofthe power Of the
saloons comes from the advantages
that 1t offers socially. Very, few
/ young men have made their first visit
TO- p liQuor7dtspensing emporium for
the sole purpose OF taking q drink.
More often they have gone with tie
intention OF refusing 20 take 4 drink.
The saloon man ttamerHlyl asks the
privilege of getting, men into biz
place OF business; The leayss the rest
| to the men B friends and to the. en-
vironment. The saloon provides a
place where men may meet. It looks
to their personal wants It has toilet
rooms and very often 1t serves al good
lunch at price that would bankrupt
a restaurant man who was conduct
ing his business for profit. In this
great social field, the saloon has prac-
ticallys no opposition. a1g N ;lisi II
1t has been suggested, by careful
students OF the saloon problem--men
who are strong advocates OF temper
arce and consistent opponents Of the
saloon-that 1t would be a grave mis-
take to remove the saloon bodily
from any community where 1t has
been long established without supply
ing something to take it's place as a.
social institution. In this problem
the matter of drink is secondary.
Frequenting saloons has become a
habit with many men. They 60 to
them not SO much to drink as to
have the company OF other men, They
know that Tom or Dick or Bill will
be there and they desire to see them.
Suddenly deprive these men Of the
saloon and they are utterly lost for
social life. Many of them have no
homes. The Young Mems Christian
association, where it is established, is
not always centrally located, and 1t
fails in it's appeal to many men be-
cause they imagine that they can not
60 there without being importuned
to join some church. With the saloon
rooted out, the way is paved for the
blind tiger Saloon frequenters can
not be expected to change their hab-
its of lifetime over night. They
miss the social life to which they
have been accustomed. It makes no
difference whether this social life is
healthy or not---that does not enter
into the problem. Whatever it is,
they are accustomed to it. Sooner
or later, after the saloon goes, they
find an illegitimate ''hang-out"
where they can loaf and where liquor
is surreptitiously sold. They are
worse citizens now than they were be-
fore, because they are conscious of
the fact that they are violating the
law They sneak into back doors
and wear paths down alleyways that
were formerly unused. And what
calls them is not always the thirst
for liquor. They still seek an other
wise unprovided place where they
may go and meet their friends.
Then there is the farmer who
comes to town occasionally Perhaps
he goes to the saloon after he has
completed his. trading or during the
progress of his trading. Why? Be-
cause that is the only place that is
open to him, the only place that
welcomes him, gives him a chair and
asks him to sit down and rest him
self. He buys glass or two of |
beer as matter of course. He feels |
that he owes that much to the pro-
prietor Of the place in return for
the latter's hospitality. In the ordin-
airy course of events, it is likely that
he would not get home at all that |
night II his horses did not know the
way. The saloon, we say, is social
center. AS an institution, 1t main
tains its grip on men largely for that
reason. Take away its chairs and
its tables and 1t is still social CEN
ter, because 1t remains a place where
men meet and stop to talk of business
or social affairs. There is no other
place like it. ut has no opposition
in its peculiar field. Lack of opposi-
tion recruits its army of young
slaves.
Men tell the women of the Sunny
side, Wash, public rest room that
this is better place" in which to
rest or wait than the saloon is. That
implies opposition to the saloon, does
1t not? or course, 1t Is not opposi-
ton in Sunnyside because Sunnyside
is saloonless, but the comparison is
just as effective. We take it for
granted that when a man says the
rest room is a better place than the
saloon he knows what saloon is.
Probably he has made the personal
acquaintance OF several saloons. Per-
haps he never would have gone into
one II the town where he first did
his trading had had public rest
room
We have no desire to compromise
with the saloon or with the liquor
business, but we do believe In prac-
tically applying such remedies as are