Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1926-07-28
RUM ACROSS RIVER
KEEPS,C|TY MOIST
Hull, in Wet Quebec, Is Boon
to Thirsty-SaIoonles
Ontario Satisfied.
continued from First Page,

,Continued from First Page)
ing untouched on the tables beside
the beer. 1t is understood that In
the wear of the Big Wind one man
actually unwrapped a sandwich and
ate it. But he was laughed out OF
town. They long since have become
known as rubber sandwiches,
served only to comply with the law
that there must be food. Actually
thew contain a. slice of cheese
II beer was provided to satisfy the
workingman, he needed 1t all right
and there was demand. The place
is filed with that class anonymously
and conveniently labeled the work
ing class" Men in overalls. shirt
sleeves and raiment stained with toll
sit at these tables and drink peer.
OF the potency of this beer there
will be more anon.
Taverns Less Formal
Having made way with his quart
the tourist will saunter out or the
restaurant and with senses keenly
alert for further facts walk through
the streets of the city OF Hull. he
passes more restaurants. hotels ana
taverns, their proximity heralded oy
an odor of stale beer which emanates
from windows and doors. me amer
ence between the taverns ana the
restaura nts is that in the former one
NAV get beer without sandwich,
while in the restaurants and hotels
one NAV order wine or beer only
with food. All of the places seem
well filed, and from appearances
large proportion of the worklnsneh
have stopped working.
With a, general impression OF con-
ditions In Hull, the tourist returns 10
ottawa and finds out whether motner
and the children enjoyed looking at
the Parliament buildings and whetner
the car has been washed up, AND then'
tf interested, he will ask some Ques-
tions in Ottawa to determine the gen
eral situation here regarding the Gus
toms of its people.
In the first place. Ottawa Is an.
other one Of Ontar1o's wet cit1eS-lnal
is, wet by preferences ana airy py
legislation. In the last election the
CITY voted wet by a good majority.
That would infer that most OF its IN
habitants want their liquor. But
further inquiry shows that there Is
little trouble in getting it. Fog Few
dollars. plus the purchase price AT
one of the government stores in Hull'
a taxicab driver will run over TO
Hull and procure anything from q
bottle Of champagne to one OF scotch
and deliver 1t at the hotelt Or, II the
stranger wants to. he can 90 the
same thing himself. When the On
tario law first went into erect the
police were determined TO prevent tne
ponulace from bringing liquor back
from Hull. The fines for having or
TRANSPORTATION" were made to apply
here and those, caught were fined $500.
This fine was eventually reduced TO
$50. for it was explained that q nne
of $500 will put the average man out
of business" for some time. But
while the fine of $50 remains as
warning not to get too free or care
less in bringing back your liquor
from Hull. it has little effect in pre-
venting the practice. Street cars run
every few minutes. Automobiles are
constantly crossing the bridge. IL
would be impossible, unless an army
of inspectors was put to work on the
lob, to search every man who crossed
the river.
Bootiegging Is No Problem.
Bootlegging, therefore, is not so
much of a problem in Ottawa. 1t
would be foolish to hire a bootlegger
to do what a man can do in safety
himself The only Bookkeeping the
police have to contend with Is when
some ambitious fellow in the poorer
quarters Of the city comes into pos
session of a gallon or so or alconoI,
hours IL in a tub, colors 1t with
brown sugar and dilutes 1t with water
and sells it at ten cents a drink. Or,
every now and then. taxicab driver
becomes too openly active and the
police nab him, fine him and put him
in iail for time. But there Is no
organized bootlegging going on; there
Is little demand for it.
The city residents have been canny
enough to locate all of their country
clubs in Quebec, where are the IA
NOUS golf and tennis clubs, where
the Prince of Wales was entertained
so extensively when he visited this
mart of his royal fathers domain.
And at these clubs every member Is
allowed to keep his intoxicants in his
locker and have them served in any
way. shape or form when he desires
MANY of the Ottawa residents also
belong to private clubs in Hull. It's
a question of only Few minutes 10
get on a street ear and run over TO
ones club In Hull for lunch or din
ner with any liquid accompaniment
desired.
According to those who ought to
know, the people of ottawa will not
have to put up with such small in
conveniences after the next election,
which will come within the year.
They are firm in the belief that the
province will adopt some modifed
form Of the Quebec law, which per-
mits government operated liquor
stores. They likewise believe that the
saloon will not come back and that It's
modified form, the beer tavern, Will
never be allowed in this province
They say. they want no public drink
ing places, even for such mild bever-
ages as beer. Hull has shown them
that, they say. One does not find
here. however, the keen interest In
the prohibition issue manifest in To
ronto. The answer may be that, with
Hull so near, those who do not want
prohibition don't have It, while those
who do are satisfied to let well enough
alone, for the time being at least.
Ottawa Has Few Arrests.
If anybody has the desire to get
drunk, he goes to Hull. If one seeks
resorts of vice. he finds them in Hull
According to police figures, in Ottawa
last year there were 291 arrests for
drunk and disorderly conduct. OF
tawa's population, remember, is 140,.
900. Hull, with population Of 10000,
arrested 424 on the same charge. OF
these 95 per cent were from Ottawa.
According to a policeman who stood
with watchful eye outside one of
Hulrs beer taverns, the workingmen
in Hull come In for a quart of beer at
lunch, another one in the evening
after work, then go on home. Those
from ottawa or from outlying con.
structioni camps rush over for drink
at lunch time, rush back to be at
work in the afternoon, then. after the