The Forgotten Law That Listed Walla Walla's Drinkers
A judge in Walla Walla is shocking the state by enforcing an 1883 statute that forces saloon keepers to post lists of 'habitual drunkards' in their establishments.
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.
Terrified lest their names shall be posted in every saloon, habitual drunkards are making careful investigations of the provisions of an ancient Washington statute. Although the law was passed in 1883, it has remained for Judge Brents, at Walla Walla, to dig it up from the musty recesses of oblivion and startle the state with an enforcement of the statute. Judge Brents has had published a list of the drunkards of his county and has announced that they must live up to the letter of the law or there will be further and more startling developments. By the provisions of the enactment, any person addicted to the use of intoxicating liquor to excess may, upon complaint thereof, be adjudged by the judge of the superior court an habitual drunkard. A relative or friend may complain to the court, and if it is proven the man is squandering earnings, neglecting business, or maltreating his family, he may be placed on the list. The judge shall furnish a list of all habitual drunkards in his county to every saloon keeper, and the notice must be posted in a conspicuous place. Failure to do this will be followed by punishment similar to selling without a license.
“The judge shall furnish a list of all habitual drunkards in his county to every saloon keeper... The notice must be posted in a conspicuous place in the saloon.”
This 1903 report captures an era of moralistic public shaming that feels jarringly intrusive by modern standards. While we no longer post 'drunkard lists' in taverns, the tension between civil liberties and community-led moral policing remains a persistent theme in Walla Walla's civic discourse.
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