The Midnight Saloon Bill Fails in Olympia
Washington state legislators reject a proposal to force saloons to close at midnight, with some arguing that patrons should be allowed to stay warm by the fire.
The legislature is working hard on the most important measures before it. The senate took up Miller's bill to close all saloons at midnight. Washburn offered a motion to indefinitely postpone. Senators Dorr, Lewis, Belknap, Range, and Crow wanted the bill passed. Helm said he didn't understand any particular reason for closing at 12 o'clock, after the patrons had become disabled. He thought they ought to be allowed to remain by the fire instead of being turned out on the streets. The ayes were 11, noes 9, and failing a constitutional majority, the bill was lost.
“He thought they ought to be allowed to remain by the fire instead of being turned out on the streets.”
The debate over 'midnight' closing times for bars remains a perennial issue in Seattle, balancing public order against the realities of nightlife. In 1895, the argument for keeping saloons open centered on the basic human need for shelter from the cold, a stark reminder of the lack of social safety nets at the time.
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