DRINK AT DANCES

Greymouth Evening Star, 21 July 1927, Page 11

DRINK AT DANCES

SIX O’CLOCK CLOSING BLAMED. (Special to "Star.") CHRISTCHURCH, July 21. The allegations recently made, regarding young women joining ‘‘flask parties’’ at dances, were referred to at the annual meeting of the Licensed Victuallers’ Association, yesterday, the president (Mr Arthur Rose) expressing the opinion that if the allegations were accurate, the curse is traceable to six o'clock closing. “During the past few weeks,” Mr Rose said, “a lot has been said in the newspapers, and the newspapers have been going round all the leading lights of the city, to get their opinions as to ladies and flappers joining flask parties at dances. We, as a trade, have refrained from passing any opinion. Some of these good people are very decent, and are really concerned about things they have heard, but not actually seen. Quite a number of the clergymen waited on by the reporters, said they did not think there was anything in it, because they had not seen anything of it. From the hotelkeepers’ point of view, I want to tell the public that if there is such a thing as girls drinking at dances, it has been brought on entirely by the prohibitionist interest of this country. When we went to dances in our young days, we never dreamt of taking a bottle. If we wanted a drink we got hold of a pal and went to the hotel. The cause of drinking at dances is six o’clock closing, which was brought in not as the result of a vote of the people. The cocktail girl to-day has been brought about because hotels are closing at six o’clock, forcing the young men to take liquor with them.”