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100 Years Ago - City to crack down on saloons disobeying closure order

Times-Tribune - 10/21/2018

Oct. 21--Oct. 21, 1918

Cracking down on saloons

Scranton and state officials were aware that some saloon owners in the city were operating despite a statewide closure order due to the influenza epidemic.

"The city administration is not going to assume the responsibility for the saloons being open," Mayor Alex Connell said. "We're putting it up to the court. If the judges would revoke the licenses that the city authorities have attacked, it would serve as a lesson for other offenders."

He directed Public Safety Director Ezra Ripple to carry out closure orders on the saloons and "to spare no violators."

Influenza cases still rising

Health officials reported that 180 new cases of influenza had been identified in Scranton, bringing the total to 3,347, with 247 deaths. The city's hospitals were treating 410 patients.

Hotel Casey remodels

The Hotel Casey in Scranton reopened after major alterations to the flooring of the building in an effort to control the spread of disease.

To accomplish this feat, the hotel was closed for a few weeks while all the carpeting on the hotel's first floor and dining room was replaced with vitreous, nonabsorbent encaustic tile. The same tile replaced the flooring in the hotel's pantries, serving rooms and kitchens. The operators said carpet that could not be replaced would be sterilized and fumigated daily.

BRIAN FULTON, library manager, oversees

The Times-Tribune's expansive digital and paper archives and is an authority on local history.

Contact Brian at bfulton@timesshamrock.com

or 570-348-9140.

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