THE NEW CRITERION

NZ Truth, Issue 118, 21 September 1907, Page 5

THE NEW CRITERION

LOW DOWN BROTHEL OR LICENSED HOUSE. I- Are Green and His Wife Fit Persons to I Keep a Pub ? / LICENSING COMMITTEE SAY THEY ARE NOT. " Truth's " Strictures Thoroughly Justified.

The most sensational happening m 'Christchurch last week was the meeting of the Christchurch Licensing .Committee, when the case of the ; •New Criterion Hotel was considered. This- was the multy show that was so roughly dealt with m "Truth" some months ago. It was afterwards averred by the police'that ■the conduct of the place appeared to be good, and a Jicense was granted. They, have found out differently . since, and the revelations came as a perfect bombshell when the bench sat for three solid hours listening to what had been going on iii that Gloucester-street pubbery. It was scalding hot— far hotter than "Truth" stated m its article, and /that article was strong enough m all conscience. There have ■ eep. gay carryings on there for many months and the authorities didn't seem to •be aware of it. A number of girls gave evidence before the bench, and it would appear that Mrs Green, wife of the licensee. 'John George Green, is. very partial to customers who plank down the boodle and shout fizz. And there, are plenty of mugs, who have been parting seven and six and fifteen bob a time as the case might . be, too. Shouting fizz for a pretty girl is right enough when one can afford ithe cash. The case has struck Green pretty, hard, and he places his misfortune at the front, door, of 'John Norton's. New Zealand "Truth;" The gentleman states that the printed article was quite untrue, not founded on fact, , and all the rest of it. Green is wild, hut when it is alleged that a hotel is conducted, little better than a brothel, that girls have ftien 'm their rooms, and booze like blazes, it takes a hit of disproving; and a pa ncr bold enough to expose such things is doing the general public a great service. The police Md an objection against Green under subr section 3. of section 81, of the Licensing Act, which declares that one of the objections which may be taken to the renewal of a license is that a house has been conducted m *

AN IMPROPER MANNER. The improper conduct of the pub was alleged to have taken . place mainly during the time the Exhibition was on, when Christchurchians jndeavored to make money while the moon shone. No fewer than seven or eicht barmaids were employed at the Cri. during that delightful period, and they enjoyed themselves just as well as any visitor tp the big show m Hagley Park. It is alleged that these girls were employed m . order to induce customers to drink to. excess, and that the customers w.ere induced to shout champagne for the girls, and that frequently they were the w.orse for liquor, and often quite drunk. The girls used to' receive men m their bedrooms, which isn't exactly the place to receive drinky persons of an amorous nature. In fact, immoiv ality took place pretty often, and it is said that Mrs Green knew of it. This made out the Cri. to he more of a beastly, bawdy brothel than what 1 it was licensed for. If •» girl wanted to keep her billet, she would have to booze, amd the result was that the cash takings were considerably augmented. One girl was actually sacked because she didn't "wine - up" often enough. Mrs Green's conduct was most reprehensible right through, if witnesses are to be believed, because she not only tolerated the use of obscene language m the bar, but also openly chaffed the customers. And there are two- ways of chaffing customers. Mrs Green was very evidently boss, aiid her husband hadn't much to do with the place at all. Still, he was present all the time, and must have been damned blind not to know what was going on. He appears to be either that way -or a consummate ass who shouldn't have charge of a fruit-barrow.

The evidence at the hearing was voluminous. Mr Stringer, K.C., appeared for the police, Mr Harvey for the licensee, Mr Mosely for the Licensed Victuallers' Association, arid Mr T. G. Russell for Manning and Co., v/bo are largely interested m the swankey concern.

Jessie Moir wasn't a- very diffident witness. As a police wit:.c_ss she was all" right. Six months did she hand over the fermented wet to people who were out on the boozeroo, and she saw a good deal of excessive drinking and champagne imbibing. This happened once a fortnight, and Mrs Green was aware of it. That lady had told lovely Jessie to ask customers if they cared to shout "cham." and ' the instructions were carried out by herself and the other girls. When that happened they got 'a trifle top heavy. On several occasions Mrs Green participated m the drinks, which were supplied m all parts of the house. Grog was supplied to servants m the kitchen, and had heen TAKEN UP TO fHE BEDROOMS of the barmaids.' This happened fluxing the lunch hour, and sometimes on Sundays. She had seen drink taken to Miss .Fox's room more than once. Mrs Green was sometimes m the bedrooms when tins' tap was turned on. She was always handy when champagne was being shouted, and always had a cut m when it was run into the office near the bar. . It appears that Jessie had too much shicker one taight, and was so ill m the morning that the missus told her she

had better take, her luggage hence, or words tp that effect. It isn't everyone who can stand an overdose Of cham'. and face breakfast, and the customers, and the Missus, and the "buttons" with a smiling face. Miss Moir wasn't used to inordinate drinking, so she had to catch the next bus. It may he that Jessie was biassed the other day, but she swore that the bosses wife was a gay spark, as she sat on customers' knees m the office when they shouted gold top. The frivolous lady ! Where was the boss at the time ? But it is said that Green knew what was going on. If Miss Moir is to be believed, she was stuck up by the Missus after she left . the Ori. and offered a tenner if she would go back on a statement she had heard she had made m regard to the conduct of the house. The conversation took place m a bedroom, but the deal didn't come ofl. Miss M. denies that she was sacked herself because she took a whisky neat for supper one night. She took ginger ale, because she was already absolutely tanked. She had seen, a lodger at the pub m the- room of a barmaid while the latter was m bed. A free and easy pub that, right enough. Another girl who was boozed was Mabel Randolph, ex-bar-maid, who hasn't long left the Cri. She was dismissed for not being able to stand her liquor. The reason why she absorbed so much moisture was because she was told to ask the -fellows to shout champagne. She didn't always succeed, hut Mrs Green knew all about the game that was going on. The modus operandi was" simple. Whenever anybody dropped m witli a cheque, or for change of a fiver, she had to ring the bell, and when Mi:-" who ■bro.isht the oof. happened m, she would hint that she should get the cash out of the customer." Her invariable sentence was

"KEEP HIM GOING," and going he was kept. Most of the harm aids used to get swanlafied through drinking with customers, and often at that. Kitty Taylor is a neat little lass who wprtaed m the Cri. for a year, filling the cash register, but she wasn't disposed to "tell the court very much about what happened there. She didn't want to give her pals away. The lady vouchsafed the information., however, that at all hotels frarmaids were allowed to drl^k with their female mates who wiped up the glasses. There was no mor© excessive drinking m the Cri. than there was at other hotels, and if Hebß got the worse for drink it was, her own bally fault. She- had seen her mates with a glass or two m— * no thing more. And perhaps they did not want any more. Personally, she had had top much herself, but the occasions were as rare as the appearance of a comet. However, it was a fact that barmaids had wine m their bedrooms, 'but the lucky "Buttons" took it to them. Being pressed as to her little personal self Kitty admitted that she became pregnant whale she ©rafted at the Cri. so. some wicked man must have been hanging around there at that time. This open confession of immorality didn't seem to astonish the crowded court, which, at this particular stage, 'bjegan to take things as a matter of cpurse. -But he only stayed with me for an hour or two," said the lady. Kitty complained that it would have heen better had Mrs Green been stricter with the girls, They wouldn't have gone to pot like they did. She had never seen Mrs G. balmy drunk herself, hut the girls were too kindly treated.

Barmaid Maud Kempstor was a very sudden bottl&rshover at the Cri. She, only stayed there ten days and shut up like a clasp kinife. Maud .is of religious tendencies, and used to do a lot of Sunday-school work m her young days- So, although she took on bar work, • she wouldn't deign to sleep at the pub. But she was warned by the pious young men who visited the place to have a glass of soda water, that it was no better than it ought- to he, and that the girls weren't angelic, and that they'd lift their skirts ahd sing "Ta-ra-ra-boom-de-ay" on the slightest provocation., She was told that the Cri.

WASN'T A" RESPECTABLE PLACE for any young girl to be m. The way pious blokes spoke to -her made her believe that such was the case. However, Mr and Mrs Green conducted the house as well as any other hotel was conducted that she had known. The barmaids could please themselves whether they took drinks or not. Still Mrs Green had told her that she didn't take enough gonce over the bar ; that she didn't • sell enough waipiro, and that Miss Fox's till showed almost double the amount, and that things wouldn't do- This seemed to Maud to be an imputation of dishonesty, and she told her that she had better get another girl. Mrs G. offered to try her m another bar, hut she preferred to pack her swag and walk. Agnes Burns used to be a waitress at the pub and didn't think things were right.^ $he had seen the missus putting her arms around the neck of a man m the dining room. Girls used to go along to the kitchen and swankify, and ' she had seen men m Miss Taylor's room. Also, m that of another barmaid's room. She justly thought that that wasn't qnite the cheese. At half-past two o'clock m the morning she was returning from a dance and saw four

men emerging from the pub. Whether they had been soaking their skins or mashing barmaids m their rooms she didn't know. However, that was the bare, (bald, beautiful fact. As Agnes had to look after the linen and the silver and the tucker for the hungry portion of the house she didn't know of the carrying's on m front, and apparently, didn't care a cuss. ,

William Henry Allen is, a tall, spectacled coot who shouldn't get into a witness box at all unless he oan keep his mouth shut. That's Irish, or Scandinavian, or something, buit let it pass. He used to tucker at the Cri. and sleep m his elongated cot. AI3O, he used to grog up now and aigain, but he could afford it because when other men have their tongues hanging out of their mouths Allen has means %o buy the collar of the dog that hit him, and other sundries. The gentleman isn't staying at the show now but at another, one much better conducted. But he is an ass 3 , is Allen, because he swore that Green's was conducted much the same as other hotels. This jdrew a retort from Mr Bishop, who presided,, .that it was

A LIBEL' ON OTHER PUBS. And that is the fact. However, Allen said that he had seen as many as eight barmaids m the pub, and some of them wined up too often. He didn't know -that liquor had been taken to the girl's bedrooms, but it had heen to his own. It was. true that girls had called at his room, but he assured the court m the most emphasic manner that "there was nothing wrong," a statement that provoked a round of ribald laughter. Nobody said there was anything wrong, but Allen should certainly be assistant to a vicar and shout cham for the poor, be. cause he can afford it, and the poor need it, anyhow. He saW some of the barmaids at the Cri. "get on" occasionally. On one occasion a bottle of cham was brought to his room, but the barmaid who called m was only there a couple of minutes. There were other occasions when barmaids had wine, which the silly nincompoop paid for, but it was not where he took his nightly doss. Mrs Green was always on the job when Pommery was about, and had a taste herself ; and she enjoyed her taste when she saw the money flashed m the direction of the cash register. He was a noodle, was Allen, and when she asked him to turn on a bottle he invariably did so. How often she did this Allen has no recollection, but it was apparently tons of times. The lady never encouraged him to turn it on, but chaffed him into doing so. He didn't feel inclined" to shout every time he- was asked to do so ; she asked him too often. At arty rate he had seen the girls tight 'm the pub. "Having regard to this," said Mr Stringer to the witness, "don't you -think you are rather libellous on other hotels ,m saying that the Criterion is as well conducted as any other hotel ?" "I have seen barmaids drunk m other hotels," was the response. Girls wouldn't be kept unless -tbey did a big business. Anyone they could "kid on" would be asked to turn on a small bottle.

Measuring round the calf of the leg appears to have been a favorite diversion at the Criterion. The missus would say to a likely man with cash that she would measure him round the calf. It was a catch ; she would measure his calf, but it does not appear that he would measure hers. A solicitor now struck off the roll was had i-r,i this way, and was induced to shout champagne. The police were always m and out of the place every five minutes after the appearance of the torrid article m

'JOHN NORTON'S "TRUTH" reflecting on the house. He was always able to afford a small bottle of cham if he was asked to turn it on. There was nothing crook at all about what happened m his bedroom. This observation provoked more laughter. Why Allen left the pub was on account of a row with Mrs Green.

This fellow Allen is now staying at the Masonic Hotel, of which Mr E. Power is proprietor, and having said m effect that one hotel was no better than any other, or that the Cri. was as well conducted as any other, he was compelled to insert the following apology, m a local rag next day : — APOLOGY, WITH regard to the evidence given by me on the hearing of the application for Renewal of License of the New Criterion Hotel, I desire unreservedly to withdraw any remarks made by me reflecting upon the conduct of the Masonic Hotel or the Licensee or the Barmaids employed m the said Hotel, as I have always found the Masonic Hotel to be particularly well conducted, and any remarks I have made regarding the ■ same were made by mistake, and I wish publicly to retract anything I may have said regarding the said Hotel or its .Management, as such evidence was given m a state of excitement and is quite contrary to facts. Dated this 13th day of September, 1907, W. H. ALLEN. So much for spectacled, misguided young man Allen, who said that he bad seen girls throwing glassware round tlie bar and otherwise acting the giddy goat under the influence |

of hops, or whatever was on tap. A couple of witnesses gave evidence for the police, including Henry John Davis, bookbinder at- the "Lyttelton Times" office, who said that on one occasion he had seen one barmaid the worse for liqnor ; and James Irvine, who had drink with three of the barmaids m the kitchen. The conduct of the house was good, and he had never seen Mrs Green drunk. For the defence a number of citizens gave evidence as to good conduct, including .F. J. Fanning, land ap-ent, Harr*^ Thompson, printer (who said he had never heard bawdy talk) ; Walter Rutherford, a sheep farmer ; John McAlpine, and Frank Tymons, dentist. Then a peculiar thing happened. E. Nordon. secretary of the Licensed Victuallers' Association, E. Fox, chairman of the Vigilance Committee, and J. L. Carl, formerly chairman, and 'Tec Bob Neill, who gets four quid a week for doing his duty, all testffied, and they did not tally at all. Neill watches every pub m the Ohristohuroh district, and reports whether they do after-hour hlusiness, or Sunday trading, or anything out of the way at all. But whereas he said that he had

REPORTED ADVERSELY against the Criterion Hotel on six occasions— sending the reports to the president— Nordon said that only one had reached him. He had never seen the other five. Now, what became of these missing reports ? Carl said that the Vigilance Committee, consisting of Fox, Burke and himself, ha/d read and considered them, and that they were afterwards handed to Nordon. The latter repudiated the assertion, and said that the only report he rem epi ber ed was m connection with a bicycle that was standing up against the pub wall . However, Fox swore that he had only seen, one report against the house, and that he had perfect faith m Neill. So had Magistrate Bishop ; he said so. Now, where did those reports go to? Who was the infernal liar ? The public would lite to know. It will help to smash the Licensed Victuallers' Association m Ohristohurch up if anything willFive reports have been ' wantonly and deliberately suppressed or somebody is telling lies. It was a queer thing for reputable members of the one Association to enter the box and swear m direct, opposition m that fashion. Somebody must have, made pipe-lights of those reports. In any case if six adverse reports were written it was the plain duty of the Licensed Victuallers' Association to make a few remarks about the house, or brothel, or whatever it is supposed to he instead of leaving the task to "Truth."

It is only natural that licensee Green is incensed at "Truth" m having laid' hare his awful show. He spoke bitterly m the box a>bout the police attention he had been subjected to since the appearance- of the accursed article. He said that he had been practically accused of carrying on a brothel. He had been licensee of the Cri. for sixteen months, and had his license renewed m June last. At the meeting of the Licensing Committee the Bench were informed by the police that inquiries made into certain allegations made by John Norton's "Truth" into the conduct of the hotel showed that there was nothing to support them. He had only one slight report made against h-inn by the Licensed Victuallers' Association, a young fellow coming out of the pub after hours and riding away on a bicycle. He was a friend of his 'stepson. It was quite true that he had to dismiss three or four barmaids lately through groggy habits.- When engaging the girls they were told that they could please themselves whether they clrank with customers or not, but if they did they . must take a light non-in-toxicating Hlqiuor. Those who infringed this instruction were discharged. Champagne wasn't often shouted m the bar, but was m the office, chiefly by commercial travellers and others of that ilk. He married Wis missus ten years ago, and had nevei* seen her even under the slightest influence of drink. He had never heard of drink being taken to the barmaids' rooms. Miss Moir got balmy m the kitchen and got the sack m consequence. Well, she must have had a fair amount there, or she had it before she left the bar, or she can't stand much. Anyhow that was what Green said. The girls were allowed 'X LIGHT DRINK WITH THEIR SUPPER.

and usually had porter gaff, or shandy. Np mention of the effervescing champagne, or any other champagne. On the occasion mentioned above Miss Moir took something colored with iginger ale and ' immediately had hysterics. Green's ginger ale is strong, sure enough. "Hysterics" wouldn't be a bad name for a new drink. Miss Moir had teen: previously discharged for having ginger ale or hysterics or something, but she was given another chance. Green didn't, Know what was going on upstairs m the girl's bedrooms although he had been constantly supervising for sixteen months. The fact that barmaids were encouraged to get customers to shout for them was a damnable lie. When a customer had champagne he usually drank most' of it, and no objection was made to a barmaid having half-a-glass of it. Miss Taylor had been carrying on with a hoarder, and he was told to do a polite get. Although he hadn't paid his board he was allowed to take his luggage away. Which was very kind of Green. Mr Nordon had called on him and said that there were nasty insinuations about the house, and advised him to apply for a transfer. This he absolutely refused to do. He refused to apply for a transfer until thc whole case was threshed out. All he possessed m the world was sunk m the hotel. The property was now worth £5000 more than when he took it over, ,and if the license was wiped out he" would lose fully £10,000, apart from the amount of the mortgage. After the present charge was threshed out he would be quite will mp: to transfer. In May last after the appearance of the article m John Norton's "Truth" the police commenced a constant inspection of the premises and he had raised no objection to their action. Misses Kempster, Moir and Randolph were dismissed for being boozed. It was quite possible that Mrs Green said to Allen (who had plenty of money) m the morning that a small bottle was A' GOOD PICK-ME-UP, but he couldn't swear that she had. He would transfer his license after i

this enquiry because. Mrs Green was m bad health, and he couldn't stand running up against a policeman, every, five minutes m Ms own house, as he had to since the appearance of that article m John Norton's "Truth." He had the insufferable cheek to say m the box that he had had the article m question pointed, out to him, but some Mr Six-and-eightr-pence told him that no name was mentioned, and even if an action did lie he would probably get no satisfaction. This really means that as the proprietor of this paper is m Australia the verdict vi-ould be no good to him, as no action could he taken to secure the coin awarded by a jury. It is just as well to tell this fellow Green and his adviser that John Norton always pays his debts, and has ample security m his Wellington property ahd plant. It is a pity Greion didn't bring his libel action : the truth would have heen disclosed to a shocked, sensitive public sooner than it has heen.

A couple of girls were called hy way of" defence by Mr Harvey. Ethel Fox said that • she had heen employed at the Cri. for twelve months, and she had never seen Mrs Green 'drunk. It was untrue that the herself was m the habit of getting as drunk as Lord's ladies ; nor did Mrs- .Green instruct giirls to kid men to drink ; men weren't so 1 easily kidded. Any champagne ordered was ordered m the ordinary way. If she were asked by a customer to have half a. glass of champagne (why half a glass ?•) she didn't refuse, There was nothing to prevent a girl being a teetotaller even m the Criterion. Thc lady went on to say that she had never had too much champagne herself, nor had she to be helped up to her room _is the result of too much champagne. She never heard till recently that Miss Taylor had been m the habit of receiving gentlemen m her boudoir like a princess, nor had she seen any drinking m the bedrooms. Any girl who drank was kicked out, or words to that effect. The other witness was Maggie O'Connor, a pert housemaid, who never saw anything. The case was ultimately adjourned until three p.m. on Wednesday of this week.

The inquiry into the conduct of Green's New Criterion Hotel was resumed on Wednesday afternoon last, when Mrs Green gave evidence. She stated that she was the wife of the licensee, and that Miss Moir had been m the employ for about three and a-half years, and m July last was given the sack for getting shikkered. Before the case opened, she had seen Miss Moir, and had spoken to her concerning the statements made by her. and Jessie could not remember what she had said, as before making it. she taken some whisky. Miss Moir wanted to be taken back if she withdrew her statements, but Mrs G. said she could not make any _ promise till the case was over. Moreover, Mrs G. gave the lie direct to the assertion that she had offered a tenner to go back on her damaging story. To Mr Harvey : Sirs Green very indignantly denied the assertion that she had carted swankey up to the girls' bedrooms, and she h_vd no knowledge of any such ever having happened ; but she rather modified this statement by declaring that she did not know anything about it. She had kicked out. a couple of Hebes for getting potty, and she had sacked Miss Moir for being overloaded with alcohol.. Moreover, she never •stocked champagne m the bar. It has been stated that it was the practice when anyone came m with, say, a .-£5 note, to ring the hell and that you told the girls to keep such customers "going."— THAT IS A LIE. Is ; it* true that the man Allen shouted champagne ?— He may have done so. f I think it was Miss Burns who said that on one occasion she saw you with your arms around a man's neck "m the dining-room ?— There is no truth m it. You know the man referred to ?— Yes. You swear you made Miss Moir no" offer of. a £10 note, and never suggested anything of the sort ?— No, I never made such an offer.

Stringer, K.C., next took up the running, -and he gave Mrs G- a particularly warm time of it. Quite a number of the "tarts" that had been fired out fpr swank'i'fying were run through, and Mrs G. electrified the Court by saying that it was the rule that if any bar belle got overloaded, out they went. " You knew they were m the habit of drinking with customers ?— I could not ' say I knew. I hardly ever saw them drinking with customers. Have you never heard them ask customers to shout champagne for them ?— Never. You never suggested to any of the customers that they should treat these girls to a bottle of wine ?— Certainly not. Mrs G._ went on to say that one of the drunk girls had been taken back because her mother spoke a piece for her. Then things swerved round to Allen, whom' Mrs G. cheerfully denounced as a liar, because lie said that she was constantly m the habit of inviting him to turn on cham. She knew nothing about one girl constantly receiving a visit from a gent, and it was eventually decided to fire the said gent. put. The girl, thpugh, was kent on. PRESSED POR A REASON why this particular tart was not biffed out, Mrs G. thought it would have been very unkind to sack her. Considerate Mrs Green. Concerning Carl, she said that he had never communicated to her the intelligence that reports had been made to the Licensed Victuallers Association about the swankey stop. With great emphasis Mrs G. denied that she ever took too much liquor. She swore positively that she never took too much m her life.

Counsel then made lengthy addresses. ' '

After having retired for some time, the Committee returned to the bench. The Chairman said : The Committee are unanimously of the opinion that the house has been improperly conducted, and that neither Mr Green nor Mrs Green are fit and proper persons to have the conduct of a licensed house. As ths outcome of that decision, they are not prepared at this moment to say what their action will be, but wiU adjourn these sittings for seven days to enable the bench to consider the position of the innocent narties.

'ill-, proccedinevs were then adjourned till 3 p.m. on the 25th inst.