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About Daily capital journal. (Salem, Or.) 1903-1919 | View Entire Issue (Jan. 1, 1910)
DAILY OAPITAIi JOURNAL, SALEM, OREGON, SATURDAY, JANUARY 1, 1010 PAGE FOUR oaiBiaiQCfltPiPici isier bio igitti i A Business Man's Review of the Salem Plan of Regulating the Liquor TV?if f if 1 1 gH--Wfgi-gW As an example of the Salem method of dealing with the I To the average business man and taxpayer the Salem lawless saloon might be cited the following instance, I system of dealing with these problems is satisfactory because Marion county and Salem, the capital city of Oregon, have never fallen in with the prohibition theory of handling the problems growing out of the liquor business, The Salem plan of dealing with these problems is uni que, original and progressive. The City of Salem has today, with a population of about 20,000, only fifteen licensed saloons, This is considerable 'ess than one saloon to the thousand population. Tiie license ordinance provide that there snail iijI be more licenses issued than one to ifco thousand population, By provision of the city charter saloons are confined to a restricted business district, and no saloons whaever can be established in the suburbs or residence part of the city, While the city is three miles long and two miles wide the saloon district is confned to a territory three blocks long and two blocks wide, The license ordinance provides that there shall be no screens blinds, paint, or otierr covering on the front or side windows higher than five feet above the sidewalk. Inside the drinking saloon there are no screens, boxes, partitions, or side rooms permitted, Large signs at the entrance and over the bar proclaim that no minors are permitted, whether attended by parents or not. No slot machines or gambling devices of any kind are allowed, Women are prohibited from frequenting the saloons un der any circumstances, Licenses are suspended for any infraction of the city or dinance, and upon repetition are revoked. A saloon keeper forfeiting his license cannot secure a re newal in his own name, or in that of a barkeeper, A saloon that becomes noted for being disorderly has its license revoked and cannot again be opened as a saloon by anyone, This, places a responsibility upon the property owner, and prevents running a saloon in violation of law by the prop erty owner or tenant. t The police department of the city extend no more pro tection to saloon keepers than to any other citizen, If they violate a city ordinance, the law is enforced against them just as it would be against any law-breaker without fear or favor, Men showing any signs of intoxication on the streets of Salem are arrested and taken to jail, no matter what their station, As a matter of fact, an intoxicated man is a very trare sight at Salem', During the Cherry fair and State fair, when tens of "thousands of people visit the capital city, with its open and regulated saloons, the entire week will sometimes pass with out a single arrest for drunkenness. Strangers from other states comment upon the sobriety of the people, and frequently say that Salem is the most or-. deny and most sober community in the United States, This condition is not the result of prohibton, but the pro duct of license under stringent regulations, A man came from California and rented a well-known Salem saloon, He proceeded to run an open house,' and . at times a rough house, Evidence was placed before the city councii ihat he al lowed women of dissolute character to enter by the back door, His licen.se was revoked. Friends of another saloon keeper put up the money to buy out the fixtures and have a license issued to the new man, This proposition was refused by the city because the new man was a "booze fighter" and not- considered a re sponsible man to place in charge, The premises were permanently closed as a saloon, and have remained closed, No license will be issued for a saloon in those premises, The Salem plan is founded upon the idea that the re tail liquor traffic should be in the hands of responsible par ties, It is based upon the proposition that the community is a sharer in the revenues as well as in the evils of the liquor traffic, and that there is to be a maximum of the former, while the latter is to be reduduced to a minimum without depriving the citizen of his personal. liberty or invading the social customs of the people. If any better conditions' prevail in any city under prohib ition or any other system it has not been discovered and brought to our attention, It will be seen from the above that the Salem plan of handling the liquor traffic makes no provision directly for dealing with the social vices, ' The Salem theory does not admit the hypothesis of pro hibitionists that the liquor traffic is necessarily connected with gambling degradation of youth, or social vice, These problems have also been reduced to a minimum in the capital city of Oregon. Not thai there is no gambling or social vice, but that the city in no way undertakes to' license or regulate those evils, or in any manner to recognize them upon the same plane of business, with the saloons, There are no gambling places permitted in the salons, or in connection with them. There is some gambling in clubs and the back rooms of cigar stores, but there are no places where money games are permitted in such places, There are minor gambling devices, such as throwing dice for cigars, playing cards for chips, whatever they may represent, but not in saloons, The city government does not legalize recognize, or tol erate professional gambling in any form, such as faro, poker roulette or any other of the commoner forms of gambling. If gambling is carried on for money to any extent it is entirely without the knowledge of the police, without their sanction or protection, Botli the state law and the city laws are rigorously en forced against gambling and gambling games as soon as dis covered are ruthlessly broken up and prosecuted. it is logical, easily understood ana founded upon good sound business principles, If there can be found a better way of dealing with these problems the people of Salem are ready to investigate. In conclusion, it will be seen that the Salem plan as sumes that so long as there is a demand for the retail liquor traffic well regulated places, where everyone who enters does so in full view of the community, distributes the responsibil ity where it properly belongs. Men are not driven to practice in secret what they hon estly believe as citizens they have a perfect right to enjoy, and are willing to do open and above board before the world, The Salem plan does not go to the extreme of robbing the saloon of all its furniture and removing all the tables. If the treating habit is a pernicious evil as many per sons hold it to be, it is far better that saloons be furnished with comfortable chairs andtables, where men can sit down and visit while they have their drink, To force all consumers of beverage to stand up to a bar or else go without is a serious mistake in the regulation of the liquor traffic. The German custom of each man buying his own drink and sitting down to a table in social converse is 'far less injurious than the American plan of standing up to a bar and literally pouring down the liquor by the glassful, one man treating after another, There is such a thing as ifnodjerate drinking, and the equipment of a saloon should be such as to encourage that rather than intemperance. t Laws that are framed to remove all furniture from sa loons are certainly helps to intemperance, and really in the interest of the unregulated liquor traffic, The Salem plan' of regulated, licensed saloons is pro ductive of far better results than any such iron-clad regu lations that only drive men to drink more than they really want to. The City of Salem collects a saloon license of $600 a year, payable semi-annually, which is not transferable, with out a new bond and action of the city council, and no money refunded in case a saloon goes out of business or has its license revoked, Salem saloons are not permitted to be open on Sunday, nor after midnight. In justice to the representatives of the liquor traffic it should be stated that they have been helpful in bringing about the conditions that prevail at Salem and assisted in framing the regulations under which they are carrying on the business, They voluntarily have adopted the custom of posting the names of drunkards and refuse to sell to such persons, and even cut out men, in co-operation with the police depart ment, who are inclined to squander money needed by the fam ily for its support. The saloon men of Salem are all men of families and en joy the general respect and confidence of well-thinking and conservative people, Skyscrapers Invade the Peerless Metropolis of the Willamette Valley Tho 11 rut class A stool mul roln forood onnoroto fire proof business block In Siilom wns orootod tlw past year by tho Northwest Hrldgo "Works of Portland. Tho plan mul npocltlcntlons of thin building wore drawn by Frod A. l.ogg, the Salom architect. This is a Htuol mul brlok building of the boat known type of construc tion on concrete foundations with reinforced footings. Tho partition wiUIb nro of tllo, tho Hour nro of oonorste, and tho whole live stories nro fnoud with beautiful cream pressed brick nindo by tho Piusllle Vnoe Urlok Co,, of Portland. , There U a largo basement oxtondlng on thvly undor U tho sldownlk Bpnoo on Statu u ml Conunorolul BtrootB. Them Ik nn oluotrlo olovivtor. and wide, own Htuol stairways with oak ml. Tio well-lighted basement Is equipped with h hydraulic sidewalk olovatOr and a atoam heating plant that itutH Htenm limit and hot and uolcl vator Into ovory room on oneh floor. All the ollloe rooms and suites nro equipped with oleotrlo ami ' wis fixture mul nil the wiring of tho building Is carried in conduits surrounded by oonoroto. The bank apartments are furnish d la very lioavy Hngllah-velned Italian marble .and . solid mahogany. The ivorlc ollloes In the bank are surrounded by gold plntod stool ratlings and oqulppod with honvy furiflturo. Thoro Ir a bonutlful Di rector's room with lochtora and toU lota for tho employ oh. Thoro la an elognnt olllco connected with tho doposlt vnulta and a ladles' watting room all furntahod In mahogany very highly polUh'ed. Thoro aro three vaults In tho bank, two lire proof and one burglar proof, coating upwards of $12,000. Tho later la of tho Moslor pattern, hoavy chromo steol Riirrounded by twonty-throo tons of stool railroad rails, bedded In ooncroto and Inter loakod nt tho corners. Tho safety vault department la equipped with private counting rooms. ThV four stories of ofllco rooms nbovo tho main tloor are finished In Orogon fir, stained to bring out tho natural grain. All tho hallways nro laid In moHiilc tllo of a bountiful pattorn. All the rooms aro equipped with basins. Thoiv are toilets for men and women on ooh lloor. Tho windows of tho on tiro building are of plato glass with tho partitions lighted by prism glass. All the out side oxposuros are covered with wire plato. Adjoining tho bank thoro Is a meronntllo room 26x100 toot, which will be used by a prominent retail establishment. The people qf Salem are Justly proud of their flrst steel uuUdlng. The building lot between tlio bank building and the alley on State street has been sold to 1). A. White & Sons, for a line brlok building for their feed and seed store now on Commercial stivet whleh will be built this coming year. Greater Salem Movement Is On in All Social and Commercial Clubs Commltfaeos aro at work to raiso a largor publicity fund thnn ovor pui up hoforo to ndvvrtlso this olty bo foro tho world. Thoro Is n distinct movomont on for a greater campaign for a Oroater Salem, with n largor and moro com prehensive organization back of it, to promote publicity In a more offoc tual and economical mannor for all Interests concorned. To obviate tho handicap of main taining throe organizations, a move ment has been started and is woll undor way to consolidate tho Illlhee Club, tho Hoard of Trade and tho Huslnoss "Men's hongue, and purchase- a proporty. have n conunerolnl organization, with nt lonst 500 work ing, active momhors, and start tho campaign for n city of 50,00,0 by 1916. That will bo going some, but ,t will bo possible. Tho keynote was sounded at tiro annual mooting of the Hoard of Trade, when Dr. II. C. Kploy de clared tWe time had oomo for that organization to have a moro commo dious homo, and that It should be made a cent or for social oontnot for all business men and professional men Interested In the growth and development of the city. At the ilrst meeting of the Hoard of Governors a speolal committee was named to consider tho question of a new home for the Hoard of Trade, and provision for a mad-day lunclwon, composed of It. C. Hlshop. J. It. Linn and M. O. Huren. who are considering locations for a larg er and better headquarters. Seemingly, la the same spirit of progrese. n special committee lias boon at work to revlso tho constitu tion and by-laws and articles of In corporation of tho Illihoe Club, which is a very conservative social organization with a largo Income from its various features of ?ntor talnmont, and which closed tho year's work with a grand New Year's ball last night, which was attended by the fashionable people of tho city. With all Its largo Incomo and ovr 100 members, the Illihoe Club fools tho noed of advancement to moot tho growing community, which it sorvos in an admirable way, so n spoclal committee was named by President Gilbert to revise tho or ganic laws, composed of E. P. Mc Cornack, George G. Hlnghnm. C. L. McNnry, J. A. Carson and W. H. Hyrd. Thoy hnvo had sevoral meet ings, and will report a sot of amend ed by-laws and constitution at an early mooting of tho club, looking to enlarging its membership, and put ting In a grill room, whoro mem bers caa meet at least once n day and have meals servod, as do all the larger social clubs In Portland and other places. It le likely that the billiard room will be oxtonded to the east and a dining hall added In that direction. Tho directors of tho Hlks lodgo are H. W. Mejvrs. Govrgo K. Waters and Frank Meredith, and that or ganisation is anxious to sell the pres ent Klks' building, and erect a tem ple for their order, to cost from $60,000 to $60,000. The Hlks lodge would be glad to toll their present building, and it would be admirably adapted la many respects for a com mercial headquarters wltk the social features that are part of the clubs elsewhere. The Engine Is the Best All Purpose Engine For Prices Call On Jiarry P. Chase No. 101 Front St. f f4-t1ffH'nffi1frllftlfiHTl1ffilffinnwfiiT-riiiiTi'-.------ , . - Qj . w w I VTVTW WIWIVIVIWIVI Wt auuin Mim iUAKKfcl I'Uifc POISAL & SHAW General Grocery Store We also carry a full line of cigars, tobacco, candy, paints, drugs and stamps. Phono 76s ft
