GENTLEMEN PLEASE
Ten o'clock or ten-thirty as the dosing-hour--that is the question which will be the subject of a keen tussle at the forthcoming Brewster Sessions throughout Yorkshire.
Thirty-two areas have the privilege of closing at 10.30, 52 areas have to observe the 10.0 o'clock rule.
"The trade" in Leeds, Bradford and Doncaster is applying for the extra halfhour.
Not only will this be opposed by temperance organisations, but the latter are carrying the war into the enemy's ramp by opposing the half-hour extension which is already in vogue in other areas.
The extra half-hour has given rise to a curious situation.
Leeds and Bradford close at 100, but the surrounding area has the benefit of an extra half-hour, and there is an exodus over the city boundary each night to take advantage of the extension.
The " Rush " Hour
Harrogate "waters" have a special attraction during that extra thirty minutes, and that is why so many Leeds and Bradford motor-cars may be seen racing homewards between 10.30 and 11.0 at night.
The "man in the street" is of the opinion that all licensed houses should observe the same closing-time.
While he considers 10.0 o'clock late enough, he does not see why "the other fellow" should have the extra half-hour, and believes that the urge to take advantage of it by those outside the area is responsible for excessive drinking in the rush period and—what is much more important—increased risk "on the road."