Historical Newspapers of South Carolina

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A YEAR OF SUBWAY TAVERN. Row "Bishop Potter's S.zloon" Looks Today-What the "Bar Keep" Said About It. W. E. Barton in Boston Transcript. It is now just a year since the Subway Tavern was opened in New -York City. Thus far nothing ham been given to the public in the way -af a report, and those in charge ol -the business do not know whethei -he management intends to print any thing or not. So, at least, I was told an a recent visit to the place, but I gathcred some facts from observatior and inquiry which furnish some ground for an estima-te of this ef 5ort to promote the cause of temper ance by the sale of alcoholic drink. I had to ask several men employed zalong the stbway before I could lo .::axe the Subway Tavern. They did -not know it by that name. It is call -ed *Bishop Potter's Saloon." I en tered by the front corner door intc the "water-wagon.' 'or soda fountain room. I had intended to begin b3 purchasing a glass of soda. But I changed my mind. It was a gooc morning for soda, as might have wit nessed the attire of the young mar hind the counter who was coatlesc .and collarless, with the neck of hiE shirt unbuttoned; but no one waE buying soda. The fountain and the glass above it were fly-specked. The -ounter looked untidy. Half of the syrup bottles had no stoppers, anc the flys were crawling in and oul of the necks, one or two of which were broken. I cannot say that the soda was dirty: I can only say 'hai ~ was thirsty for soda until I came where the soda was, and that I did not buy. I engaged the young man in con versation. He said in answer to my questions that they were doing pret tv well; his tone did not add strength to t'.e assertion. The presence ol someone in the room brought a man somewhat older from a room in the rcnr. who offered to show me about, I thanked him and went with him. Immediately in the rear of the soda water room is 'he reading room. Or -the tables lay two one-cent morning -papers, apparetnly unopened. A bad -1y worn copy of Collier's Weekly -was there also, and a magazine ir <.loth cover. I opened it, but it was :a ~back number, and the title page was gone. There was one leaf torr irom the Outlook. -That was the stock of current literature in sight. The room was dark, midway be tween the two light rooms front and -rear. No one was using the room. 2 -fhought any one who ca;ne there :to read must be very much in earnest. I went back into the barroom. Facing a side door and occupying -me+*t the side of this largest room -athe oar. with its bottles ::nc 2Ises. :n no wise different fror i e ar f th orinar saoen Al be= ng done( in the estabishmnicr -w~as at the Dtar, s I deferred closet inpeetion of thi romt tomi anothte: tim-:- It wvas far the most attract:ve roocm in the hot-se, withi some g'oC -pa:mng~s, L1ad an honest at- empt a :heerfulness. There is a basement department - md I went dlown there. It was va cam cf human life. There were ta 10e. indiuding three in wall recesses a'uki:g like what T ::ave seen in oth r negon sal>ans. In the cor ner was a part of the reserve stock 01 iquor. There were nine casks in all two of them of five gallons each two of 16 gallons each, and the orhe: full barrels. I did not see the label: on all, ibut in general the small casks had the milder liquor. One of tt< ihe gall on kegs was wmie: one o: :he barrels was gin, another wa: >ech.. and two were rye whiske: ~-renciled "Subway Specia!.'' Som< of myA friends who professedi to know~ ha wid me that n :hi saoon uni mig drnks. ine an d beer wereC ' :oom smeU and maw' withi:t the rega ~ar barroom crowd. In the "read ngro" three men were eating th Raise Our Ver 1 AT Quattl special supper which the tavern was advertising, and they had good large mugs beside them as they ate. I came out of the front door, through the soda water place. No one was buying anything then. There was a sign "Ice Cream Soda, 5 cents. Broadway Quality at Bleeker Street Prices.", But the sticky lines on the inside of the syrup bottles did not seem to have gone down much during the day. At the beginning they had an arrangement for selling beer to women at the soda fountain; I do no* know if it continues. I am glad to say that I saw no women buying it. I waited for another day, and came again. I had been twice on a hot Saturday. I came at 9 o'clock on Monday. "This time," I said, "I must -buy something. I will try that ice cream soda. It cannot be very bad, and if at all good would be very agreeable this hot morning." But I did not buy it. Instead I ordered a non-alcoholic drink that comes bot tled. And I have faith to believe that the stains on the glass from which I drank it were all on the out side. The young man behin-d the coun ter had on a white duck cc -, but it was a last week's one. Two helpers were getting the fountain into shape for the day's business, and at that moment were rejacking the ice cream. They wore exceedingly dirty overalls and shirts likewise, andone of them was smoking a cigarette with a half inch of ash on The end which he held carelessly directly over the open vessel of ice cream. The flyspecks about the fountain ha'd apparently in creased. I regarded them more care fully as I talked with the young man and drank my glass. The flies still found the throats of the syrup bottles an open thoroughfare to something of interest to them inside. This was why, a'gainst my well considered res olution, I' did not buy soda. I went back into the reading room. There were some newv morning pa ners. There was the familiar copy * f Coller's som'e of the leaves now puled out. and the same nameless :''azme im he cover. Some one di added a single copy. and :not a late one, of a paper once excluded f* .:e mails. I 11 was after nine 'ctloc andthy er beginning to mor> the floor. I wen: into the barroom and en gaged t.he young man 'behind the bar in conversation. He had a damp twel over his shoulder, and was wiping a lot of glasses, which he ar ranged neatly on the shelf with bot tIes of 01(1 Tom gin and WVilson's whiker and the rest. I told him frakl th:at I was visiting the place to ask questions, and wasi interested in the movement on its philanthrop ic side. He had a waierv eve and a husky voice. I do not pretend to judge :he cause. "The only difference between this here and any other saloon," said he. then began again and omitted the word "other." "The only difference beween this and any saloon is. that a' man can't buv no more here when he full." This statement he repeated several ties; with slight n-odification. But ! dIscoveredl two other differences betee that and some saloons. hd lost the~ keyv to the rfont door: -but once a week the Subway Tavern -closes. I was glad to know it. [our N y Fine OUR STABL ebaun PROSPEI waiters are instructed not to approac men who sit at the tables until the are called. A man is not urged t drink. This seems to me a poin that deserves to be mentioned. I d not know how many other place where liquor is sold may be able t say the same, but I have the impres sibn that it is quite common for me who visit such places to be made t feel some compulsion to drink. I .asked him about the propoi tion of beer to stronger drink in thi as compared with a saloon. "No difference," said he. "We se what they want. In the winter, c course, they bought more whiske than they do now. 'Now we get ri of an awful lot of beer.' "How muc. beer?" I asked. Well, counting it in half barrel! though some come in other pac' ages, he thought from five tc. si half barrels a day. "Do you allow treating?" I asket "Why, if four or five men come i here and one buys for the crowd an then the rest buy, do you suppose I'r going to let them go somewhere els and spend 'chat money?" he asked. "How many times might a ma drink?" I asked, "before you woul refuse to sell him more?" "It all depends," said he. "Som men can't stand more than five glass es, and some men can stand 5< But as soon as a man gets noisy an shows he's ha-d too much, we te' him we're very sorry, we can't sel him no more. That's the way w lose a lot of trade. They go an don"t come back." For myself I dourbted it, if what had seen was a sample; but if ther had been any profit on the busines done during my three visits, it wa certainly not on the soda or the res aurant, but on the saloon. The young man talked very free1b and with emphasis, wiping iP glasses the while and stopping one r twice to serve a' customer whi ame in. He also stopped now an then to spit oi the floor, but the floc looked little the worse for it. I have now related all that was es entia! in my three visits to th Subway Tavern. My prejudices an cnvictions are all against a mnove ment of this sort, yet I went wit.h candid mind, and if I had seen an: ther thing good about the place, certainly would tell it. And I sai to myself as I came away, that th devil must have laughed when h persuaded good men to attemptt help the cause of temperance in tha way. I .have heard much of fightin lre with fire. I suppose the expre: sion originated on the prairies, wher an immigrant's wagon, threatened h a nrairrie tire. finds safety in settin a fire a mile in advance of the on rushing sheet of flame and followin over burnt ground out of reachr the main fire.' Unde such excer tional circumstances it may be we to know how to fight fire with fir< But one hears the expression so ofte that he might suppose fire to be Uh usual and accredited foe of fire. A~ a general proposition,. however, it better to fight fire wvith water. have little faith in the similia simil u5 cure of the liquor traffe: but I had possessed much more fait i.a~ I did possess-' in igh:in <nv mani dlecived thereby. T eope who sang the doxology whc the Subway Tavern was opened wei lules at Jack, "PI ES ALL THE I& Lan UTY, S. C. 1785 College of ol CMIEAX=Xj!S 120th Year Begins 0 Letters, Science, Engineering. One sel s county of South Carolina. Tuition $40. o to to $12 a month. All candidates f for vacant Boyce scholarships which pay aHA] FOLLC WE ARE ALWAYS FOUNON F NO GRASS GROWS I d WE HU Long before the advance in cc chases for the fall 1905 were ma fall goods Aas arrived and is arri) the core and we propose to give REGULAR CUSTOMERS the One Word to d n A genuine bargain and a fair a e all who trade with us. We dc unless we can sell you better an n than you can find in any other st( d let them be wholesalers, retaile rag-a-bears. e Yours for genuine bargair 0. Kle No.2FC A wonderfully capable built on the Kodak pl satisfy experienced pl simple that children c PICTURES 29' ILoads in dayli - Cartri Fitted with menisci with ir .s diaphrag~m cs Home. aragon TIME. gforci, Charleston 1905 r.-oIlr. s. a. September 29th. la n g free tuition to each Bordandt=ghihed room in Dormi or admission are permitted to compete 100 a y ear. For cataloguie address RISON RANDOLPH. President. 1W US! WNT OF THE PROCESSION. JNDER OUR FEET. STLE. tton or cotton goods our pur de. A large portion of our ing daily. Profits are cut to to the public, especially OUR idvantage. Everybody. nd square deal is assured to )n't wan't any of your money d more goods for your money re this side the Atlantic ocean, rs, milliners. millionaires or is, ttner, ~he Fair and Square Dealer ldng Price, and accurate camera, m. Good enough to 10tographers, yet so anl use it. x 3'/ inches. ght with film :ges. ~s lens, and shutter AN~ KODAK CO.,~ Roh ester, N. Y.