New Britain herald., 1917-08-08
COMMUNICATED
HIGH COST OF DRINKING.
Old John RarlcycoIn Is an Expensive Entertainer, So BOggS Discovers
 After "a Night with The Boys.'

After Ca Night with The Boys"
 To the Editor of the Herald:
 It is something awful hope that Is good grammar-the way the prices of drinks are going up. Now under stand me. I am not a drinking man; but-well, in the cool of last evening. you know, when the singing began, Il was out on a little auto ride with a few friends of mine, and we stopped at wayside inn. Naturally,-I say this dvisedly,-naturally, someone suggested a thirst quencher. So we all repaired to the bar. I think they called it "the bar" I am not sure. Anyway, it was a little room the walls of which were literally Uttered with bottles. There were bottles of all sizes and shapes, such I in all my born days had never seen before.-and I was not born yesterday. It was quite | a. sight to see such an array of glass ware And most marvellous of all, 1 those bottles all contained liquids. If thev broke and their contents spilled
 on the floor I am sure the Johnstown flood would have been forgotten for , ever and a day.
 1 Having gone into the bar, someone, "a gentleman who continually
 mopped his brow with a handkerchief l for he was a bald headed man,---hav- ing gone into the bar, I repeat, this
 man ordered what he called "a httle
 drink" He said to the gentleman be- l hind the bar, someone called him the
 bartender. said he, we will all have
 9 ]ittle drink" I noticed that when
 the man who "ordered' poured his
 portion he did not stop at "a little;
 but that is neither here nor there.
 What I want to call attention to is the
 high prices of drinks Now please
 understand. l am not a drinking man,
 that is, as they are so classed. When
 others order wines and whiskles and gins and beers, and on down the gamut of goods offered by the joy em- poriums I always stick to the lighter beverages That is, [ am not exactly a tee-totler, but I do fal! for "sody-
 pop" and such things. So you see
 where I stand. It Is no military se- cret We'll to get back to the story, after the first gentleman purchased,
 that is a term used among drink
 ing men,--after he "purchased' I stepped up to the brilliant mahogany
 and laid down a five dollar bill l = thourht it was time that I too should :. prove myself good sport, and . "purchase." So I did. What nap
 pened to mN f1NC dOllAT Dlll, IltI0 Io
 relate. Probably if the government
 were making two cent pieces at this . time I would have gotten change. AS ' the government is not making this
 snecies of coin, I was forced to go Q without, for they do not give back I two-cent stamps In wayside inns.
 All of which I set down merely TOT :, the purpose of showing the young fei- :, lows of this town. and all others, that V thev cannot spend their money and '. save 1t too They cannot eat the pud- :. ding and have it for desert any more = than they can buy drinks for the mul- n titude and hope to put enough in the . banks with which to get married. The
 hieh price of drinking, to my way o1
 thinking is even worse than the high e cost of living. My friends, who inn S bibe, tell me that there is no living >, without drinking; but I cannot say as = to that What I want the young boys
 of this age and generation to get into
 their heads is this: Cut out the fool r ishness Draping the mahogany Is no @ mans occupation. Leave the drinks Q alonaA and put the surplus change into