OPEN AIR CAFES FOR DRINKING

Press, Volume LXXIX, Issue 24093, 1 November 1943, Page 3

OPEN AIR CAFES FOR DRINKING

“TEA, COFFEE, WINES, BEER, AND SPIRITS” VIEWS OF AUSTRALIAN ARMY CHAPLAIN From Our Own Correspondent SYDNEY, October 12. The Rev. F. R, Burt, an Anglican padre who has been on active service ir New Guinea and is now attached to J a military hospital near Perth, believes light wines should be deJveloped to a great industry and that Australians should be encouraged to , drink them. He strongly advocated establishment of open-air community cafes, and declared that England had retrogressed when tea became •' the national drink instead of beer. The passing of the old traditional Supday, where everyone went to church in the morning, and repaired to thevillage green for community dancing and drinking had been a loss to England and the Dominions. The spirit of Sunday as a feast day had been replaced by a puritanical Sabbath. Continental style cafes, to which a working man could take his wife and family for a night minimum expense in attractive surroundings, would do much to minimise drunkenness, Mr Burt said. “Such cafes would develop a community spirit which drinking behind closed doors in bars and lounges does not foster,” he said. “In European cities a man can take his family for a good night’s outing for the equivalent Jttwo shillings. Those who pleasd can lave more expensive drinks, but the point is, that the whole community can get together. “In this country the man on the basic wage can have his one or two drinks after working hours if he is fortunate enough to reach a bar before closing time, but his wife and children cannot join him for any entertainment at a price comparable with that spent by the European worker. “The comparative rarity of drunkenness in the Middle East and Europe is due to the fact that strong' liquor is consumed mainly in the open air. What . happens here in hotel lounges would ho* happen _in public because the real controlling influence in a community is public feeling and opinion. Bars should be closed and people should be allowed ?? fj* down at tables to drink and eat “Rwli Tea, coffee, all nonalcoholic drinks should be served side hy side with wines, beers, and spirits m community-owned gardens. Profits ttom these gardens should be spent to culture in the form of ballet, music, and theatres.”