THE "PUB " AND THE CLUB

By R. L. REISS

LEISURE and social intercourse form a large part of life. After the war, the more successfuily we plan for full employment and industrial organisation the greater will be the reduction of working hours. While the State cannot plan how men shall spend their spare time, it can plan the facilities available. Every effort should be made to encourage the best use of leisure, but to ignore pre- vailing habits would be to court failure.

Man is a gregarious animal and wants a place where he can mix with his fellows. Up to now, most Englishmen have preferred to do so °vet a pint of beer, and have found both beer and social intercourse in the public house. No place is more freely patronised or has changed less during the centuries. Falstaff would, today, find a pint of modern bitter sorry stuff compared with a cup of sack, but the bar of an evening would be a reasonably familiar atmosphere. Samuel Pepys would be at home in ` The Harp and Balls' sooner than in the Admiralty. Sam Weller's extensive and peculiar know- ledge of London would enable him speedily to direct Mr. Pickwick to a tavern where he could study human nature to his heart's content.

Where would he get more quickly a knowledge of the ordinary London workmen today than in a bar? He would find them better dressed, better educated and drinking less, and hardly anyone exceed- ing the limit. But he would find just as many people there in the evening, though he might note that bars closed most of the day.

What would surprise him most would be that so many people, whose standard of behaviour had so much improved, were still meeting in buildings so drab and dreary. He would obtain a thousand and one explanations from licensees, brewers, magistrates, Members of Parliament, chief constables, parsons and men in the public house itself. But he would establish the following facts:

Public houses are still by far the most numerous places of adult social intercourse. There are nearly two to every thousand of the population. In the last fifty years the number has been reduced, in England and Wales, from loo,000 to 75,000, but this reduction has been counterbalanced by two factors. Those closed have been small, while a number of the remainder have been enlarged, and many new ones are extremely large (e.g., Downham Tavern, on an L.C.C. estate, has lounges and halls totalling Ir,000 square feet, equivalent to twenty old houses in South London). Secondly, the number of registered clubs (licensed) has increased from 2,000 to 15,000. Nineteen out of twenty public houses are controlled by brewery companies. The overwhelming majority of those in the industrial areas are extremely unsatisfactory.

During the last fifty years the annual consumption of spirits has declined from a gallon to less than a quart, and of beer from 28 to x3 gallons per head, and the number of convictions for drunkenness from 54 to it per to,000 of the population. These reductions are due to a variety of causes—greatly increased price of liquor, reduced hours of opening, development of cinemas and other counter-attrac- • tions, improved housing conditions, and a higher standard of life generally. Despite this, an undue proportion of the income of many families is spent on drink.

Might not Mr. Pickwick, on a visit from the Shades, and repentant of the misuse of his own leisure, give his conclusions in some such f2-bion as this : " As in my time, the public house is both a drink shop and a social centre. To its owners it is primarily the former ;

to its users increasingly the latter. I was interested in Mr. Seebolun Rowntree's recent re-survey of York. In that city there are 175 public houses and 48 registered clubs (of which.29 can be described as working men's clubs), while there were only four or five clubs for adults which do not sell liquor. Despite reduced drinking, he estimated the weekly attendances at public houses totalled 18o,000, representing an average of nearly three visits a week for the entire adult population. In addition there are rx,000 members of registered, clubs spending Etoo,000 annually in them on drink. Obviously there's no chance of the public houses being closed after the war. Restrictive legislation is only effective if—as in the case of the reduction of permitted hours—backed by public opinion."

One of his audience might interject: " Everyone is agreed that we must finish clearing the slums, build good homes, multiply our playing fields and community centres, and develop our education. Won't the problem solve itself? "

Mr. Pickwick would reply: " That's the argument your M.P.s used. But it's wishful thinking because they are 'afraid to act. Many people in the pubs today have decent homes. They go there for social intercourse. In any case, all you suggest will take time. The public houses will remain, and for a long time to come will be well patronised. I want them to be real social centres with facilities for games, where drink is an incidental.. They will never be that so long as they are controlled by those whose business it is to sell drink. I appreciate that many brewers take an enlightened view, but, after all, business is business.

" You will never clear away slum public houses and replace them by real social centres—houses worthy of the public—until you eliminate private interests as was done during the last war in the Carlisle district. As you know, the State has ever since been the owner of all the public houses in the area. What has been the result? All the small pubs up back streets have been cleared away; the remainder have been remodelled and in many cases rebuilt; all kinds of counter-attractions have been introduced ; the sale of food and non-alcoholic liquors has been encouraged. The total number of houses has been halved, and they are not covered with

advertisements of beer and spirits, and, perhaps most important of all, they are managed•by men no part of whose duty is to push the sale of liquor.

" More could have been done if Members of Parliament had been more interested. As a practical man, it seems to me that if they think it has been a success, they should have extended it elsewhere; but if they don't, then I can't understand why they have continued it at Carlisle all these years. Twelve years ago the large majority of a Royal Commission reported favourably on the undertaking and recommended that public ownership should be extended elsewhere. Though adequate compensation was paid to the previous owners, the undertaking has not cost the taxpayers anything. On the contrary, the whole of the capital has been written off out of profits, so that there are no financial obstacles in the way of extending this con- structive solution of the problem."

Asked for his views on registered clubs, Mr. Pickwick might be reported as saying: " Mr. Rowntree found that in York the working men's clubs were well conducted, and says that 'Even if clubs lead to a slightly higher consumption of alcohol, that disadvantage is outweighed by the contribution they make to the social life of the citizens.' I believe this substantally true elsewhere. But I am informed that there are a number of bogus clubs which are really disguised public houses. A bogus club is worse than anything, because it is subject to no inspection, and the police have great difficulty in finding out what goes on there. I think the police and the magistrates should have power to inspect and that the licences of clubs should be subject to review. The genuine club would have nothing to fear from such a proposal."

* * * *

It was near midnight in a famous Pall Mall Club. We agreed with all he had said ; but somehow we missed something of the old Pickwick Suddenly his face broke into the well-known smile, and he turned to the Editor of a famous journal: " I've only a few _minutes more. I remember my grandfather telling me of the evenings he spent with your predecessors, Joseph Addisbn and ick Steele, at the Kitcat Club, but I gathered they did not only rink coffee. I suppose—? " We looked up at the clock, and the ditor said, " I'm afraid it's too late. But I could order you a lime Luce." "Don't trouble, thank you," was the reply. " I expect Sam ill have my cup of nectar ready when I get back—a soft drink, .nd you—but no! Not lime juice! "

We went down into the Mall and Mr. Pickwick rose swiftly into e air. .The sirens sounded, and the barrage broke out as a search- ight caught a pair of black gaiters in its beam. But it was not the ound of gun,s which echoed in our ears. It was that last, small isappointed cry.