The Abbeville press and banner. [volume] (Abbeville, S.C.) 1869-1924, 1920-03-15
B|JENOs AIRES HAS
BEEN |: TAN|EE:D DOWN

| Buenos Aires, Feb. 16. (Corres-
pondence of the Associated Press.)-
Buenos Aires, which once had the
reputation of being "wide OPEN
city and "gayer than Paris" is mot
what it used to be" in the opinion CT
many travellers who were here be-
fore the war and have returned re-
Gently.
The gayety is still here, they say,
but it is more decorous and mean
time the lid has been clamped upon
many resorts in which the worse sort
of license was wont to flourish open
ly Public gambling places have been
also banned, dissolute women have
been driven off the streets, and be-
ginning this year the police have
begun the suppression of houses of
i'll fame. The claim is made that
Buenos Aires is today cleaner moral
ly than ever before in its history, due
to the reform" regulation of a recent
city administration and continued by
the present one.
The City Council also a few days
ago passed an ordinance imposing a
tax Of 10000 pesos annually on caba'
rets, which Is expected to put some OF
the lower class places out Of bust
ness. La Epoca, the government or
gan, in approving the measure, re-
fers to the Buenos Aires cabarets as
establishments Of corruption" and
demands that minors be prohibited
from entering them. What are term
ed "cabarets" in Buenos Aires are
merely dance halls with an orches-
ira, and, with one or two exceptions,
are poorly furnished. Drinks are
served, but there are none Of the on
tertainment features which made the
cabaret successful in the United
States. Here and in the restaurants,
both Of which are open all night, l.
where most Of Buenos Aires "gay-
ETY." centers.
Theaters Open Till 1880.
Theaters and moving picture
houses do not close until IL or 1890
o'clock. AS late as two o'clock
numerous restaurants and cafes are
still filled with men, and some women
with orchestras or electric pianos 60
ing 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 eat or sip their wine or other
drink, but, as an American observer
put it, "there are no high jinks."
It is considered that prohibi-
ton movement in Argentina would
find a very strong sentiment to over
come. Recent dispatches from the
United States telling Of the inten'
tion of North American prohibition
lists to invade South America did not
appear to cause much concern here
where indulgence in some sort Of al
coholic liquor is almost universal
The newspapers ignored the despat.
ches editorially One entire province
! Mendoza. is devoted to the wine in
dustry, and just as in the Latin Am
crican countries of Europe, the drink
ing of wine seems to be regarded al
most as natural as the drinking oi
water. There are probably as many
bars in Buenos Aires in proportion tC
population as there were in New
York in pre-prohibition days. In these
bars. thirsty Americans just arrived
from the United States find familiar
drinks. The Manhattan" Bronx
and Glover Club cocktails are as
we'll known by same names as in New
York. The "Martini' however is here
called 4 San Martin which is the
name Of one of the patriots OF Ar