The Detroit times., 1911-03-25
sMAsHEs SALOON
THAT MAKES SON
DRUNKARD
Desperate at Sight of Boy Going To
Ruin, Mrs. Ellen Willer Pulls OF
Carrie Nation Stunt in John
M. Ksvanaughs Place.
go Home, You Were Justified" Says
Supt. Downey When Frail Little
Woman Surrenders Self To Police.

Moved TO desperate remedies in
her efforts TO reclaim her only son
from the yitiating influences OF a
riyer-front barroom, Mrs. Ellen vii
Ter, frail OF stature, but with deter
mination writ in every feature OF her
face. took the law into her own
hands. Thursday night
She rose from a sick bed, sped
through rough streets to the slums
OF the city, walked into the saloon
OF John NJ. Kavanaugh, No. 221 Frank.
Inst, and literally wrecked the place.
Her son she found at the Kay-
anaugh bar. drinking with the pro-
prietor. She seized a halfemptied
bottle Of beer from the bows hand
and with 1t, assailed Kavanaugh.
Rough hands OF dock-wallopers
thrust her from the place, but, un'
daunted, she seized stones off the
pavement and hurled them through
the windows OF the place. After she
had concluded her visit, the barroom
looked as II IL had been devastated
by a Kansas cyclone
Friday morning, she walked calmly
into police headquarters and entered
the office Of Supt. Downey.
II wrecked a saloon last night" she
said. IL did IL to save my boy. Now
| have come to you to answer TO the
law. | have come to be arrested. Last
night ! prayed on my knees that he
wouldn't go to that saloon. He did
and so | wrecked II"
Supt. Downey looked at her in as
constituent. He turned suddenly
around I'm his chair.
MY dear woman, we don't want
you" he said. Il think that morally
you were justified. You may CO."
The little woman walked from the
building and proceeded to her modest
cottage home at No. 220 Orleans-st.
{ Here she was seen later by Times
reporter, to whom she talked freely
Of her trouble.
Il have tried SO hard with Harvey,
my only boy" she said. He has
meant so much to me. and | hated to
see him go wrong this way. Last
night was my fourth visit to Kav-
anaugh's place. warned him before.
told him not to sell beer to my son.
Last Saturday, Harvey was IS
short in his pay. Twice this week, he
has come home under the influence or
liquor. Last night, he stayed out
again, and SO | went down there. l
was alone and the curtains of the sa-
loon were drawn, 80 | could not see
inside.
IL opened the door and there saw
, my son standing at the bar, drinking
with Kavanaugh. hurried In,
snatched the beer bottle from him
and went after Kavanaugh. He ran
from me, the coward, and his friends,
his dirty. drunken friends. ran up and
seized me and pushed me out to the
street.
"But my son came with me. and
was glad OF that. | found stones and
/ hurled them through his windows.
o, they were afraid of me. They
didn't dare come out.
I'm only a woman and little
woman, too, but | can fight. I can
battle men like Kavanaugh.
"They locked the doors OF the sa-
. loon-I guess they were afraid | was
coming back. | saw a little boy out
In front, he couldn't have been more
than II, and he came to get a pitcher
of beer, but he. couldn't get In.
There was a policeman standing
on the corner, but he didn't say
word to me, and ] said nothing to
him. went home then and about
Is minutes later, Harvey came in
and went to bed"
Mrs. Willer says the boy started
going to the saloon when he was only
16 years old. She says that at one
time. Kavanaugh had him cooking In
the place for about two weeks. At
that time, she went there with an Of
flcer and had him taken out. A slot
machine also was removed at that
time. She says that mere boys have
tended bar In the place.
Mrs. Willer is a modest little wom-
an, with a wealth OF light hair and
twinkling blue eyes. She and her
husband have a neat home and havo
tried to surround their son with good
home influences.
|. 81 hadn't thought so much about
the liquor question, until 1t was driven
home to me so hard" she said. What
can a mother do, when they take her
boy into a saloon and make the sa-
loon a home for him. don't know
what other mothers do under such
circumstances, but | am one mother
who will not stand for it."
The Willer family consists OF the
parents. the son and daughter. The
mother has been to Supt. Downey be-
fore about the Kavanaugh saloon.
'T grew tired OF waiting for the
law" she said, $50 took things into
my own hands"