WOMEN IN HOTELS

Hawera Star, Volume XLVII, 7 March 1928, Page 9

WOMEN IN HOTELS

ENCOURAGEMENT TO DRINKING. AUCKLAND LICENSING COMMITTEE DISAPPROVES. (BY TELEGRAPH —PRESS ASSOCIATION.) AUCKLAND, March 7. The Auckland Licensing Committee to-day expressed disapproval of the practice of encouraging women to drink in hotels, and gave a general warning to licensees. The practice, of serving women with drink in hotels was brought under the notice of the committee by Inspector Hollis who is in charge of the central police ’district. He particularly referred to the Imperial Hotel, where, he said, women were served with bottles of beer in a small upstairs room. O'n Friday afternoon be found three women drinking beer. They appeared to be the wives of wealthy men. Each woman had a small bottle of beer. On one occasion there were twelve men and eight women in the room, and on another occasion sixteen men and five women. The licensee had insisted that he was within his rights, but Mr. Hollis contended that from the moral point of view women should *not be encouraged to go into hotels to drink small bottles of beer. Counsel for the licensee said that his client made special arrangements to serve women in one room_ He wanted to conform with the law in every way.