The Pulpit Against the Saloon
Rev. Wallace Nutting argues that legal prohibition is the only way to shield Seattle's youth from the moral decay of the saloon.
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At Plymouth Congregational church, Rev. Wallace Nutting delivered a follow-up to his Memorial Day sermon, titled 'Something Worth the While of the People of Seattle.' Nutting challenged the notion that saloons provided a 'restraining influence' or a controlled environment for drinking, calling such ideas a sad excuse for loose living. He argued that public opinion must be translated into law, specifically advocating for the closure of saloons on Sundays and holidays, and the prohibition of liquor sales near schools and churches. He emphasized that for a city to be a proper place to raise children, the community must prioritize moral education over the economic interests of the saloon trade.
“The moral, or rather immoral effect of the saloons, here and at every time, he thought, could never be reckoned. It was immeasurable.”
Nutting’s 1892 campaign to use zoning laws—like keeping bars away from schools—to regulate public morality mirrors contemporary civic debates in Seattle about zoning, public safety, and the role of local government in managing neighborhood character.
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