Page:American Journal of Sociology Volume 6.djvu/317

 THE SALOON IN CHICAGO 303

saloons. Because of their neatness, and at least the semblance of elegance and beauty, and of the music, which is of itself a strong inducement, they are patronized, not only by those who drink, but by hundreds who are willing to go where they can get the best for the least. The proprietor of one of the down-town restaurants said that he could afford to lose $30 to $75, or even $100, a day for the sake of advertising the beer under whose name and auspices his place was run.

That the saloons are able to compete with the restaurants so successfully is partly due to the fact that many of them are united under the control of the brewing companies gigantic monopolies. Likewise, here the free lunch is well patronized. Hundreds, who breakfast and dine at their homes, especially those of sedentary habits, find sufficient for the midday lunch in that served with the glass of beer, usually several slices of cold meats, an abundance of bread, vegetables, cheeses, etc.

Here, as everywhere in Chicago, the social vice flourishes in connection with the liquor traffic. Here the proportion of the saloons in which the stall system is in vogue which are used as houses of assignation is relatively small. The saloons having any connection whatever with this evil all have a dance hall in the rear and a house of ill-fame above, all under one management. These, however, are not scattered throughout among the business blocks, as are the stalls in the workingmen's districts, but are clustered about certain streets, principally parts of Clark street, State street, Dearborn street, Custom House place, Wabash avenue, Plymouth place, and others. Suffice it to say that few enter these places who do not know the character of these saloons, so that in reality they amount to houses of ill- fame, with bar attachment.

THE SALOON IN SUBURBAN DISTRICTS.

In the suburban districts the saloon takes on still another character. The family saloon, the beer-garden, and the road- house are more in evidence. Throughout the entire city the saloons pose as family saloons, hanging out the sign "family entrance," but it is more particularly in the suburban saloons