Seattle's War on the Saloon 'Ladies' Entrance'
Aldermen want every drinker—and every woman—to come through the front door, arguing side doors lure respectable girls into saloon wine rooms.
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.
Leander Miller, president of the board of aldermen, has started a crusade against what are commonly termed "ladies' entrances" to saloons, and proposes to advocate an ordinance which will compel all persons desiring to partake of liquid refreshments to enter a saloon through the main entrance. The matter will come up for consideration at the meeting of the council tomorrow night, and from general observations it is safe to say that the measure will carry. Mr. Miller says the ordinance will be introduced by Alderman Lovejoy and, so far as he has investigated, will receive a unanimous affirmative vote.
When seen by a Post-Intelligencer reporter yesterday afternoon, Mr. Miller replied in his usual way to a question as to what he intended to do:
"Yes, I have taken this matter in hand and propose to have an ordinance brought before the council at its next meeting to do away with these back-door entrances to saloons. I think that, if people have any business in a saloon, they ought to be willing to enter through the front door. I have consulted with the corporation counsel, and he is of the opinion that an ordinance can be passed doing away with this evil and at the same time not in conflict with the constitution. I have talked with a number of the aldermen and delegates, and so far have not found one who is not in favor of the ordinance. Alderman Lovejoy will introduce the ordinance."
Delegate Kistler, when asked for his views on the subject, said:
"Well, I am heartily in favor of this proposition and, if it had not been taken up by others, I would have gone ahead myself. There is no question in my mind that these rear entrances or 'ladies' entrances,' as they are called, are productive of great evil—yes, greater than the variety theaters and dance halls. A respectable girl will sometimes find herself in the wine room of a saloon by way of the 'ladies' entrances' without realizing what she has done. With either the variety theater or dance it is different. If a girl enters either of these places, she knows where she is going and what she may expect to find. I have always thought it is for the best interests of the city to have a variety theater. It brings the trade of a certain class of people to this city and puts money in circulation. In this matter I find myself at variance with other members of the council.
"I heartily concur, however, with the efforts of Mr. Miller in relation to doing away with the 'ladies' entrances' to saloons. They are entrances to evil ways. They are the ruination of many good girls and ought to be stamped out. The evil that the back door of a saloon can do in a year is incalculable."
“They are entrances to evil ways. They are the ruination of many good girls and ought to be stamped out.”
In 1895 Seattle's council treated the saloon side door as a moral emergency, blending temperance reform with anxieties about women in public. The fight over who can enter which door—and who is responsible when they do—still echoes in modern debates over bar licensing, nightlife safety and public space.
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