November 10, 1911.
My dear Mr. Harrison: --
Your letter in regard to the saloons was received this morning, and while we appreciate the legal difficulties you may meet, could you not make a point of the fact that a school for tubercular children is conducted on the roof of the Boys' Club -- quite easily within two hundred and fifty feet? The pupils are taught by public school teachers, they are under the supervision of the District Superintendent and it is, in every sense, a public school.
I can quite see that we must appear to be inconsistent in regard to the Greek saloon directly opposite the Club. The undertaking was represented to us as a restaurant to be connected with a hotel. We know, of course, that the Greeks always drink liquor with their meals and it seemed to us to be quite unreasonable to attempt to interfere with a well established foreign custom. While the sign bears the words "Restaurant and Saloon" and the door has the word "Hotel" painted over it, it is in all respects a bona fide saloon with a stand-up bar and the rest of the paraphernalia.
We were about to enter a protest on the ground of misrepresentation but the officer who came to see us about the new license said that he thought it would not last very long as it was not doing well financially. However that may be, we should be glad to have it removed and the others kept out. About 9000 different people attend the clubs and classes each week -- more, of course, than attend the average school, and the majority of them are young men and boys. With appreciation of anything you may be able to do in the matter, I am
Sincerely yours,
Jane Addams [signed]
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