The Bridgeport evening farmer., 1910-10-24
MONKS EXTOL
 BEER IN VERSE
Underground Drinking Place at Austrian Monas- tery, Where the Good Or der Vies With the Pictl1r- esQue.
Special Correspondence of the N. Y.
 Evening POSt.)

Special Correspondence of the N. Y
 Evening Post)
 Sa1zburg, Austria,-I begin this letter in the monastery of Muffin, Salzburg, amid surroundings which are not, how ever, very ascetic, for am seated in huge underground hall which is crowd ed with people drinking beer. The beer has been brewed by the learned Bene- dfctine monks who are probably at this moment singing lauds or maths upstairs.
 The walls are covered with quaint old German verses praising Heaven for having made hops, crying ''hoch" for St. Paul, because he recommended Timothy to take wine for stomach s sake, and frankly recommending good big bumper of beer as a cure for bad temper, peevishness, and the blues. This at least, is the tendency of these verses which, far from being casually penci1ed; are elaborately painted on in different colors. The whole nonas- tery Is comparatively new. but deers antlers and other trophies of the chase give it the appearance of an old Ba- varian brewery cellar.
 Several broad flights of steps lead down to this drinkfng-hall, and the walls of the upper corridors are adorn- ligious emblenns, statues of dead ab- bots, pictures representing ancient monks preaching to savage German tribes, and appropriate texts of scrip ture.
 On the roony, stone-hagging land ing-places and all along the corridors are stalls where market-wonen sell at low prices excellent bread, cheese butter, and carrots. Almost every customer buys these articles of food to eat with his beer. Outside the en- trance to the subterranean beer hall, a number of men are busy handing out foaning tankards. The guests them selves carry these tankards about, hay ing first rinsed them at a Water-tap close by. There are no walters or at tendants save one or two old women, who collect tankards left on the great deal tables by departing guests.
 Resort For Whole Family.
 The only signs of supervision or control are several notices painted on the walls prohibiting noise or sing ing" but though everybody is cheer or brawling. This is partly due, I think, to the fact that about a third of the guests are women and ch1l- dren. In England, we now forbid a man to take a child into a public house. Might it not possibly have been better if we had forbidden any man to enter a public-house unless accompanied by his wife and chil- dren? The good, old English tavern, which in pr. Johnson's time was as harmless as modern conee-house, degenerated into a low drinking den, into which men and women sneak surreptitiously like criminals in order to swallow a glassful of strong drink. In some cases, the bartender cannot see the faces of his guests, each of whom has a, little compartme ent all to himself. In the American Prohibition States, things are still worse.
 Whether this degeneration is due to faddist legislation or not, I cannot say, but it is $certain that here in Mul1n monastery, the beer-han rings with the laughter of children. Evi- dently, too, the presence of his family prevents the paterfamiliaS from drink ing more than is good for him. For half an hour, I have watched several family groups and noticed that at the end of that time they have not yet finished their first glass of beer. They are talking, joking, eating bread and