CONCERNING PUBS.

NZ Truth, Issue 103, 8 June 1907, Page 5

CONCERNING PUBS.

THE WBWSER AND THE

BARMAID.

Sheuld She be Banished?

The Man m the Street Says Emphatically "No." •

There is one reform m the realm of beer and kindred stimulants that. ! will find hearty support amongst the army of ardent consumers, and that is the cleansing of glasses with hot water.. The prevalence of the sportive microbe seems to call for treatment of this kind, and wrtiilst hot wa-; ter may not toe a thorough antiseptic, it is calculated to "disable the germ and interfere largely with its legitimate business. Same time ago the Wellington Licensing Committee recommended the use of hot water, and the President (Dr. McArthur), on Tuesday expressed regret that some publicans still compelled the beauteous bar-tender to redden her : lily-white dooks m the frigid liquid from the mains. Prcbiaibly mention of the matter with such pointedness will encourage reformation m the few cases where heating is unpopular.. From Auckland comes news of a committee's recommendation which has been wholly disregarded: The t Bench twelve months ago hinted broadly to licensees that the success of future applications would be made doubly sure were the applicants to

dispense with the services of the voluptous Hebe, and oonduct their bars m a pale 'brown, unattractive manner, with the aid of a mere man 'tender. The pub proprietors explain that they have been thinking the matter over, and av.er that twelve months is too short a period m which to carry ! out suoh a drastic refonm. Auckland runs Christohurch hard) m , the matter of weathercock changes !of public sentiment. It is the . home of that arrant oM humbug, Billy Richardson, whose anti-beer • convic- . tions -have worn a groove m his ! thinking apparatus and distorted his I reasoning power, on most subjects. The city is getting used to his vioi lently abusive tongue, and gathers enter tainmenit from his disordered whiskers, but 'he is the best friend of the publicans, because his loose ! INTEMPERANCE OF SPEECH excites sympathy for the ibeer-pullers. Nine years ago the publicans m the warm city raised the price of the hitherto threepenny pioit to 4d, and the indignant public, resenting this encroachment upon their most sacred privileges, promptly elected a cold tea committee. A similar committee seems to hold the reins of pubcontrol now, and is no doiibt the result of some grievance of the drinkers, whose name is tagion m "the hot northern centre. Talking to the man m the street on the subject of barmaid suppression, that individual told a "Truth" reporter the agitation was due to the woman suffrage. The married ones, lie sspiaißeiU gaa't stand aayj aths?

woman sharing any portion of hubby's fa,v,or, the unmarried ones resent the influence of the 'hussy over possible husbands. ''You will find the most magnificent womercj m tha coutaftry behind the 'bars," he said,; "tout, these jgiodesses, who are suffi Iciently intellectual to thus use their charms to attract, are not necessarily no better than they ought to 'beIn all phases of society you will find Bj similar 'display of personal attractions for the enslavement, of the brute. The adornment of Eve was much too scanty for an advantageous! .exhibition, but she made the best use of the 'beauties with which nature had | furnished her to trap AdamNowadays a woman would be arrested for a similar indecency, but m all grades of society she takes ofi as much as Mother Grundy will permit." "You are speaking from the barmaid's point of view." "Yes : it doesn't seem to occur to people that she ought to ibe consulted. All of these hysterical resolutions on the subject by parson-run meetings are actuated by anxiety for the barmtaAd's immortal soul. It is desired t&at she should be removed from the devil i»h temptation of the pub, and rescued from the clutches of the evil one. THIS SOUL-SAVING BUSINESS is, right- enough so long as moral suasion is the programme, but nohody has iuay right to pick the barmaid, out from the rest of.the community for compulsory salvation. She may not want to have her soul saved. We are assuming, of course.

that there is such a thing as a s,oul. 1 know plenty of parsons who have no souls. She 1 may not believe ffchat her soul is m danger ; or she may hold the opinion that the system of. intol'erajice and intimidation emptoy!ed by 'the parsons and their jackals is endangering the souls of the parsons and the jackals, and claim from the State the rigM to pluck those souls from the burning. It is within the bounds of logic that the barmaids should meet and pass earnest resolutions calling upon the government to restrain these prudish persons from interfering with the business of other people and making themselves a nuisance to a large and reputable section of the community. They f might . even claim the suppression of the churches as agents of bigotry and intolerance, and call for statistics showing- the number of cases of immoral ity traceable to the sensuous teachings of the pastors and the facilities for clandestine meeting offered by the bp/ohel and the Sunday schools. In tho garish light of the open bar suoh opportunities do not) occur for indulgence. Finally, it is desired to 'deprive the barmaid of her living ; to cut her throat to save her soul. Let me tell you, sonny, this country is getting top good, and within the history of a large and Wicked world, no country has become very good that did not later become extremely bad (by the mere process of reaction." The man m the street then borrowed a match, and) departed puffiing the p>p,e el i»kilss©p>y; wnd iontentmentj