A ROYAL PUBLICAN.

New Zealand Illustrated Sporting & Dramatic Review, 20 February 1913, Page 26

A ROYAL PUBLICAN.

It will come as a surprise to most people to learn that the greatest publican - of ancient or modern times is none other than the devoutly orthodox Czar of Russia. Yodka, the national drink of the Russian people, has been a Crown monopoly continuously since the sixteenth century. To-day the Crown owns 30,000 habaks, or public houses, and 4,000 distilleries. The annual income from this source is approximately £lOO,000,000. Public houses are open by imperial command in that country. Every hamlet, no matter how small, must have at least one. When a new town is started, it is said the first two structures to rise are the orthodox church and the cosy “pub,.” In order that the latter may enjoy some semblance of nobility, and otherwise be distinguishable from the ordinary run of plebeianism, a picture of tlie Czar is appropriately hung over the bar, as if to extend a royal welcome to all who enter.

There are now some 300 Trust Public Houses in England under disinterested management. The movement began in 1900