MOST INHUMAN. INFLUENCE IN NEW YORK.

Dominion, Volume 1, Issue 125, 19 February 1908, Page 5

MOST INHUMAN. INFLUENCE IN NEW YORK.

I Magistrate Whitman) of New. York City, in 1 addressing' tho 'New York Lawyers' Club, re- % jently,'' ; inade' : ;a ; : mbst~.scathing arraignment of tho liquor traffic. Ho said: -"Personally, if I-had the power,-1: would close every salcon ' in tho United States, and I am not a crank or fanatic on itho'liquor question. I drink my- , self,'whenever. I caro to, and probably shall continue to do so. I ain willing that every qthcivman shall haye;the .same rights: that J have. .But when you sit on the bench that'l Bit on and sco 70' per cent, of the cases' which come before* you,'and see the. misery, distress; and/crime',; all .'due 'to liquor selling,. I''sayany/man .'with red 'blood' in.his veins' likely .'to feel, that 'the !world would be infinitely better off if- the liquor saloons could be cruslicd out, .cost what it' may. I believe jt ; is the most abominable,-the most outrageous, and the most'inhuman influence-in New \ork City ,to-clay."/.'' /".' ■ •' ;■ WOMEN AND CHILDREN IN DRINK : shops. ;. , | Some time ago the Home Secretary sent- . communications to the chief • constables in the principal cities of England as to; the practice of women and children frequenting public-houses.-. Tho replies received are ' interesting'.' In : London 23 houses' were under observation "for four days,' ; during . 'which poriod 39,541 women and 10,746 "children wero • seen ito enter. Of the .latter ; 1164 in ~ arms, and'.the remainder wero under sixteen years of ago. The' arorago number'of child-, roil per hour was 9.02. In Liverpool nine houses wero observed during certain hours on ■ B.ss;!days,;!when 7800/ women and '316 children -entered;' 75 of tlio latter'being in arms ' and< tho remainder . under/ eight ' years, /' the average .being 1.2., In' Manchester, the'averagejnu'mber of .'children per house per hour was ;highor than'that in Liverpool, the figures being',3!B9. In . Manchester were under , observation, when/8793 . children entered, of whom, 6471.were under five years, and the. remainder under 14 years. In Birmingham,, tho averago per hour was 2.41; Bristol, 0'.43 ;" and- Sheffield, '1.79, the number of children being .2949; 2441, and 1181 respectively. : : : " /;