The Unintended Consequence of Sunday Closing
When Seattle’s city officials tried to enforce strict Sunday liquor laws, the city's saloons found a loophole that turned a day of temperance into a day of public defiance.
The story, cleaned up
A cleaned-up reading of the newspaper page: spelling and layout repaired, one story lifted off a crowded page. It follows the original closely but it is not a transcription. The original page is below; read it if a detail matters.
The municipal authorities, in an effort to enforce the law, have insisted that the saloons must close on Sunday. But the saloon-keepers have discovered a loophole. If they have a kitchen and serve a meal, they are no longer a saloon; they are a restaurant. Consequently, the Sunday closure has had an unintended effect. Rather than keeping the men at home, it has driven them into the dining rooms of the saloons, where they consume their beer alongside their Sunday roast. The result is that the saloons are more crowded on Sunday than they ever were when they were legally open. It has become a matter of civic irony: in the name of temperance, the city has successfully promoted a weekly public dining event that keeps the liquor flowing just as freely, if not more so.
“It has become a matter of civic irony: in the name of temperance, the city has successfully promoted a weekly public dining event that keeps the liquor flowing just as freely.”
This 1887 report on the 'Sunday loophole' mirrors the recurring frustration of Seattle officials attempting to regulate nightlife and alcohol consumption. Just as today's zoning or permit disputes often produce unintended consequences for businesses, 19th-century 'Blue Laws' frequently backfired, transforming policy intent into urban theater.
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