The New York herald., 1920-01-09
sLANpERERs OF NEW YORK REFUTED.

Certain pet theories on the subject OF New York
city are knocked into a cooked hat by report
lust issued by the statistical division of the
United States Labor Bureau. The figures, which
deal with the average family expenditures from
Maine to Florida and from the Atlantic Highlands
to the Golden Gate are all the more impressive
aSd convincing because they were compiled with
out prejudice without any desire to prove any
thing and with no idea of forcing home any moral
Or social lesson.
To the ordinary inhabitant OF the rural districts
the very name Of the city suggests extravaganza,
riotous living the pursuit of pleasure, selfindul-
gence at any cost, late hours cabarets, the White
Light district the various tenderioins, gangs and
eangsters green goods men, night hawk taxicabs-
In dact the countless snares and pitfalls which
threaten the innocence, the watch and the pocket
book of the virtuous souls who arc lured hither-
ward from their sad home towns
But what arc the facts? In spite of the SOC, 600
or 900 600 strangers who are in New York every
day on business or seeking distraction from the
boredom that hangs over other places like thick
cloud, and determined to take full advantage of
their freedom from the censorious opinions Of
gossiping and spying neighbors this city is marked
BY a high average OF moderation, temperance, or
deriy conduct and freedom from the evil behavior
which is supposed to be essential to the great
urban centre of the world,
New York always has been sober town and is
now sober town, in spite of the wartime" pro-
hibition which turned countless persons from
beer drinking to whiskey drinking on their dis
covery that the half OF per cent article
had no "kick" In 1t, and other virtue except
the negative one that e was quite unpalatable.
II IS announced that the average New York
family spent only St4.06 for liquor last year, as
against Chicago, where the average was S17.01,
and Philadelphia, where 1t was s1636 On the
other hand, the people Of this city contributed to
the churches an average of s1o.21 per family to
charity sif5 and for patriotic purposes s601 In
the city OF Atlanta, OF the bone dry State of Geor-
gia whereas the average family spent only four
cents on liquor 1t only contributed an average OF
SGO1 to religion. Think OF It'll
Furthermore, instead of spending most of the
time. particularly after dark. rushing from road
house to road house. the average family of New
York paid only on the average s1.t2 for automo-
biIes ms against 1852 expended in Bisbee Ariz
s4os2 in Dover, " J.. and s409S in Houston.
Texas Indeed, It appears that in spite of the
congestion of in Fifth and other avenues the
people OF this city content to the humble
trolley, the elevated and the subway in attending
to their daily duties
In the old unregenerate days II used to be said
mat New York would have been sober town had
n not been for the bbulous from prohibition
States who filled the hotels and blocked the bars.
And similar reservation might have been made
IN many other directions.
So let MS iii mp our heads end our hearts, New
yerk in spite Of the attention paid elsewhere to
every breach Of the law within its borders Is safe