294 THE AMERICAN JOURNAL OF SOCIOLOGY
restrictions, it surpasses in spirit the organized club. That gen- eral atmosphere of freedom, that spirit of democracy, which men crave, is here realized ; that men seek it and that the saloon tries to cultivate it is blazoned forth in such titles as " The Freedom," "The Social," "The Club," etc. Here men "shake out their hearts together." Intercourse quickens the thought, feeling, and action.
In many of these discussions, to which I have listened and in which I have joined, there has been revealed a deeper insight into the real cause of present evils than is often manifested from lecture platforms, but their remedies are wide of the mark, each bringing forward a theory which is the panacea for all social ills. The names of Karl Marx and leaders of political and social thought are often heard here. This is the workingman's school. He is both scholar and teacher. The problems of national welfare are solved here. Many as patriotic men as our country produces learn here their lessons in patriotism and brotherhood. Here the masses receive their lessons in civil government, learning less of our ideals, but more of the prac- tical workings than the public schools teach. It is the most cosmopolitan institution in the most cosmopolitan of cities. One saloon advertises its cosmopolitanism by this title, "Every- body's Exchange." Men of all nationalities meet and mingle, and by the interchange of views and opinions their own are modified. Nothing short of travel could exert so broadening an influence upon these men. It does much to assimilate the heterogeneous crowds that are constantly pouring into our city from foreign shores. But here, too, they learn their lessons in corruption and vice. It is their school for good and evil.
The saloonkeeper, usually a man their superior in intelli- gence, often directs their thought. He has in his possession the latest political and sporting news. Here in argument each has fair play. He who can win and tell the best story is, not by election, but by virtue of fitness, the leader. The saloon is, in short, the clearing-house for the common intelligence the social and intellectual center of the neighborhood.
