Omaha daily bee., 1920-03-18
BUEN0!S AIRES IS
CLAMPING LID ON
wide OPEN" CITY
Gayety Is Still There, But It Is
More Decorous In Opinion
of World Trav-
\ eIers.

Buenos Ayres, March l7.-Buenos
Aires, which once had the reputa-
ton of being wide open city
and "gayer than Paris" is mot what
It used to be" in the opinion OF
many travellers who we're here be-
fore the war and have returned re-
Gently.
The gayety is still there, they say,
but il is more decorous and mean
time the lid has been clamped on
many resorts in which the worst
sort of license was won't to flourish
openly. Public gambling places
have been also banned, dissolute
women have been driven off the
streets, and beginning this year the
police have begun the suppression
of houses OF i'll fame The claim is
made that Buenos Aires is today
cleaner morally than ever before in
its history, due to the reform" reg
ulation of recent city administra-
tion ard continued by the present
one.
Council Taxes Cabarets.
The city council also few days
ago passed an ordinance imposing a
tax of 10000 pesos annully on
cabarets,' which is expected to put
some Of the lower class places. out
Of business. lie Epoca, the govern
ment organ, in approving the meas
ure, refers to the Buenos Aires
cabarc.s as establishments of COR
ruption" and demands that minors
be prohibited from entering them.
What are termed Cabaret" in
Buenos Aires are merely dance halls
with an orchestra, and, with one or
two exceptions, are poorly fur
nished. Drinks are served, but
there are none Of the entertainment
features which made the cabaret
successful i'll the United States.
Here and i'll the restaurants, both
of which are open all night, is
where most of Buenos Aires
''gaycty" c1,-ss.c77s.
Theaters Close at Midnight.
Thcaters and moving picture
houses do not close until IL or
1880 o'clock. As late as 2 o'clock
numerous restaurants and cafes arc
still filled with men, and some wom-
en-, with orchestras or electric
pianos going full blast. Streets in the
gay life" district are still brilliantly
lighted. ,taxicabs fit about and the
sidewalks have many strollers. What
is called ''revelling" in the restau-
rants is, however, not in evidence.
The patrons sit and listen to the
music, cat or sip their wine or other
drinks, but, as an American observer
put it, "There are no high jinks."
1t is considered that a prohibition
movement i'll Argentina would find
very strong sentiment to over
come. Recent dispatches from the
United States telling of the intention
of North American prohibitionists
to invade South America did not
appear to cause much concern here
where indulgence in some sort of
alcoholic liquor is almost universal.
One entire province, Mendoza, is de-
voted 10 the wine industry. and just
as in the Latin-American countries
of Europe, the drinking of wine
seems to be regarded almost as
natural as the drinking of water.
There are probably as many bars in
Buenos Aires in proportion to popu-
ilation as there were in New York in
.preprohibition days. In these bars
thirsty Americans just arrived from
the United States find familiar
drinks. The Manhattan" Bronx
and "Clover Club" cocktails are as
well-known by the same names as in
New York. The Martini" however,
is here called "San Martin" which
is the name of one Of the patriots OF
Argentine history.