Chapter 18: The Reign of Rum

This chapter is about the negative impact the sale of rum and the prevalence of saloons (or bars) in poverty-striken areas. Jacob Riis is concerned that this reflects badly on society, noting that there are tenfold more saloons than churches, and that more people frequent saloons than they attend church. According to the opinion of the time, which urged good, upstanding citizens to be devout churchgoers that stayed away from alcohol (the “devil’s drink”), this was a sign of decadence and sin. Drunken men were known to beat their wives and children, commit infidelity, and spurn work – all destroying the community. Riis cites statistics from poor precincts, where saloon arrests accounted for over a quarter of the crime. Even worse, the saloon owners grow rich selling “treacherous poison”, and rise to positions of influence and power. There are many unregulated saloons, shady, dangerous areas, including many that even flaunt the law to sell to children. Riis condemns saloons as a force that will “breed poverty and corrupt politics”. Though he doesn’t speak about specific ethnic groups in this chapter (being that alcoholism and the problems it brings span all races), and there is no talk about immigration to which we can compare current views, Riis does explore the impact of rum – one of the many substances those in poverty abuse, and one that plays a big role in a community’s downward spiral.