Drinking by Women In Hotel Bars

Press, Volume XCII, Issue 27738, 16 August 1955, Page 12

Drinking by Women In Hotel Bars

The Government is considering legislation to. prohibit women drinking in hotel bars, according to the Wellington reporter of “ The “Press”. If it persists in this intention it will find that people cannot be madp good by act of Parliament and will succeed only in making itself look ridiculous. Possibly the removal of liquor restrictions on all Maoris some years ago encouraged Maori women to try alcoholic drinks; but nothing suggests that reimposition of just one of these restrictions would cause them to lose the taste they have acquired, particularly if they are to be allowed to drink in hotel lounges. Even less reason could be advanced for imposing the same restriction on European women. The mischief, so far as it exists, does not lie in going into hotel bars but in drinking too much anywhere. Hotel bars are not particularly conducive to low standards in morals, though they could be attacked fairly on grounds of taste. Probably members of the Government are really influenced by the distaste they feel at knowing women go into smoky, crowded, unaesthetie surroundings. Surely the remedy for that is to raise the general standard of hotel bars, because men, quite as much as women, and perhaps more, should be encouraged to prefer decent surroundings. To prevent women from going into bars is to lose the refining influence they might exert to make New Zealand conditions for drinking more nearly comparable with the civilised conditions in other countries. If the Government goes ahead with this unnecessary piece of igrundyirm it will not only fail to eliminate any evil, but actually help to perpetuate one of the less pleasing characteristics of the male New Zealander—his toleration of unedifying drinking customs.