The Intermountain Catholic. (Salt Lake City [Utah] ;) 1899-1920, 1909-08-07
"THE FUTURE OF THE PUBLIC HOUSE"

"IHE FU UhE UT LIE FODIiO iIOOO-'
The Ave Maria of Notre Dame, Ind, is edited
by our large-hearted friend Father Hudson, of the
Congregation of the Hold Cross. 1t is high class
Catholic weekly venerable for its age admirable for
its splendid efficiency and attractive for the prac-
teal common sense and Catholiciity of its selec-
tions and editorials. For its size 1T IS the best
Catholic magazine on the continent of America.
and when we say this but paying Father
Hudson and his staff on the Ave Maria an adj
mirable but entirely merited compliment. In last
weeks number there is a very practical and SEN
sibe article on the Culture of the Public House"
by Mr. Edwyn Barclay, extracted from the Nine
teenth Century and After" and spread out on an
attractive page of the Ave Maria. Mr.. Barcley
writes:
81 am very confident that it would be far wiser
and would do more for temperance if aimed to
make orr public houses more respectable and use
full so foster strong public opinion against
drunkenness, rather than to decry them and do all
that is possible to make them disreputabe and mere
drinking shops as is at present only too much the
case. And here [ would venture on suggestion
to the clergy. As long as public houses remain in
any form, the publican must be always man of
local influence If drunkenness is the thing he most
breads as that which may easily cause his ruin.
then you and he have really the same interest with
regard to drunkards If you enlist his help, you
will find him often only too ready to respond; that
is when you have overcome the prejudice which
years of villifcaton by many clergy have naturally
raised in his mind. have known more han one
clergyman who has conducted his temperance work
on these lines, to the very great advantage of all
concerned"
To this Father Hudson adds: "While the wave
of local prohibition sentiment that is still sweep
ing over considerable portion of this country bids
fair to eliminate the saloon-the American public
house'-from the domain of practical politics. at
least in number of states there will always prob
ably remain. here as we'll as in England, abundant
scope for the exercise of sound judgment in deal
ing with mems appetite for strong drink and the
safest way of supplying tor denying it."
Here is what The Intermountan Catholic said
to its readers May IA, 1909
1--WE contend that the indiscriminate abuse of
the saloon the saloon keeper and the bartender is
serious mistake. The abolition of the saloon ho-
tel inn or tavern is impracticable if not mpos-
sible. The aim of social reformers should have for
its object the elevation of the saloon by insisting
that only decent men should be permitted to hold
a license or tend bar.
"Denominational churches, church newspapers
and hired temperance lecturers have tried and are
trying to take the liquor business out of the hands
of decent men, and, without aboshing the saloon
have lowered its tone, have not reduced the sale
of liquor and have endeavored, and partially sue
ceeded, in throwing the liquor business into the
hands of unscruplous men. The indiscriminate
abuse, the insults, the calumnies and the vtupera-
ton of many clergymen and of church papers of
men engaged in a business legalized and encour-
aged by law and civic corporations have soured
these men and driven many of them into the ranks
of the enemies of Christianity"
On April the Is, 1909, we had this to say:
eve are in favor of high license, the higher the
better; of granting saloon license only to a man
of good standing Ill the community, and whose APP
Llication for license is signed by ten reputable
Tatepayers of making the saloon decent BY put
ting il in the hands of decent men Many of our
SILICON proprietors are as clean honest and as re-
spectacle any body of men engaged in trade in
our cities. But there are Others as there are in all
commercial pursuits, who ought to be in the peni-
tentarles. These the men who have no con-
sciences; disreputable and degraded class. whose
unclean lives and repeated violations of civic ordi
nances have made the saloon reproach and pro-
hibiton dismal necessity. Between the members
of our city councils who permit these men to dis
honor the liquor trade and the scoundrels them
selves the line of separation is almost oblterated
The honest and self-respecting licensed victualler
holds these vioators of the law, these keepers of
dives and low groggeries, in as great contempt as
do cergymen and doctors the wretched derelicts
who disgrace the medical profession, the priest
hood or the ministry"