o check intemperance, for the satisfaction
of thirst is its principal attraction, and its prime function is to
furnish drink, but the law can be more easily enforced if other social
centres are available where the average man can feel equally at home.
A model saloon managed by church people or labor unionists has been
tried, but has failed to solve the problem. The Young Men's Christian
Association on its present basis does not reach the class of men that
frequents the saloon. Coffee-houses, reading-rooms, municipal
gymnasiums, and baths, may each provide a small part, but none of
these nor all together fill the gap that is left after the saloon is
abolished. Attractive quarters, recreational facilities, and a spirit
of democracy and freedom appear absolutely essential to any successful
experiment in substitution. The patrons wish to be consulted as to
what they want and what they will pay for, and unless the substitute
is self-supporting it is sure to fail. The most promising experiment
is an athletic club maintained by regular dues, where there is
abundant room for sport and conversation, and where it is possible to
secure food at a moderate price and to enjoy lively music at the same
time. Under a reasonable amount of regulation such an establishment
cannot become a public nuisance, and it supplies a social need on a
sound economic basis.

252. =Monopoly Experiments.=--It has been proposed to draw the virus
of the saloon by removing the element of private profit and placing
the traffic under State management. The South Carolina dispensary
system was such an attempt. It broke up the saloon as a social centre,
for drinking was not allowed on the premises, but it did not stop the
consumption of liquor, the profits went to the public, and the saloon
element became a vicious element in politics. The Norwegian or
Gothenburg system was another experiment of a similar sort. The liquor
traffic was made respectable by the government chartering a monopoly
company and by putting business on the basis not of profit, but of
supplying a reasonable demand of the working class. Fifty years' trial
has reduced consumption one-half, has improved the character of the
saloon, and has removed the immoral annexes. The system is not
compulsory, but the people must choose between it and prohibition. The
main objection raised against State monopoly or charter is that the
government makes an alliance with a traffic that is injurious to
society