New-York tribune., 1867-02-19
THE RrlfSELLERS IND TIE EXCLSE LAW.

paign at Albany for the repeal OF the Excise
law, and have persuaded Mr.. Travers, Re-
publican member from Wcstchester, to intro
duce bill to ) accomplish their objects. Not
daring to propose the repeal of a law which
has commended itself to the best part Of the
community they purpose killing it by amend
ments.
What are the essential, valuable features of
the law as it standsq Clearly, the discretion
given to the Board to refuse licenses, the
power to arrest without warrant and the
power to revoke licenses. BY the amendments
of Mr.. Travers, licenses are to be granted to
persons of good moral character; but the Board
of Excise are not, as now, to be the judges OIL
that character it is to be established by the
affdavts of five freeholders residing in the
Congressional District. All that is necessary
for the worst rumscer to do, in order to pro-
cure license for his den of thieves, pimps,
and prostitutes, is to get the athdayits ol hye
persons and. lest he should have trouble Ill
doing this, he is given fifth of the City to ilnd
them in. He only needs to take care that the
names are not too conspicuous on the Police
records
Mr.. Trayers's regard for personal liberty Is
so great that he will not allow any liquor-seller
TO he arrested without warrant from the
nearest magistrate. A policeman may see an
unlicensed vcnder selling TO crowds, and he
must not interfere till he has found magis-
trate and got a warrant. This is an admirable
arrangement for procuring free rum" on Sun
DAYS, when, except for a short time, no magis-
| trate is to be found. How would it look for
the Legislature to provide that no policeman
| H. a
mtted should interfere or make an arrest till
he had procured a magistrates warrant 7 In
point of fact, this power of aTrcsting so soon
as the violation is seen, is the most valuable
! feature of the law The viOlatOr knows that,
| so long as it exists, he is pretty sure of some
punishmcnt-usualy, night in the police cells.
If warrant is TO be required for his arrest, he
will take his bail along with him, elect to be
tried at General Sessions, and be released
10 repeat the ofiense. But Mr. Travers's
regard for personal liberty exhaasts itself
on the rumsellcr. He has no regard for
the rum -drinkcr; for he expressly pro-
yidcs that when intoxicated, he may be
arrested without n warrant rat this arrest must
not take place in the rtinshop, unless it is
public place" The rarnscller's liberty would
be infringed even hy on arrest in his presence.
Mr.. Tayers is even bOder with the other
valuable feature OF the law, the power to an
nul a license. lie expressly takes this away.
"Oncc licensed. always licensed is obviously
his maxim In the matter of fees, he is equally
tender of the rumsellcrs. Under the present
law, the limits are from $50 up to $3.50, but the
Board have fixed a uniform rate of 500 for
beer licenses, and $3.50 for liquor licenses Mr..
Tmverss bill proposes that for malt liquors
the fee shall be $50 and for spirituous liquors
$50, except that hotels having 100 rooms shall
pay $3.50, those having 10 rooms, $50, those
having 80 rooms 500, and all others $50. The
only argument urged. for such a change is
that il is unjust to charge rs large license
fce to the corner um-sh0p rs to the large
hotels. There is force in this, but it does not
prove that the corner rum-shop pays too much;
it mthcr proves that the hotels pay too little
II these provisions of the proposed law show
clearly the object of the liquor-dealers, the next
one shows with equal clearness their stupidity.
1t is as follows: Licenses granted as above
shall not authorize any person or persons
"to, nor shall any person or persons
publicly keep, sell, give away or dispose of
"any strong or spirituous liquors, wines, ale or
beer. on Sunday between the hours of o'clock
"a. IN. and o'clock y. m" In other words,
after 4 p. M on Sundays rum may run riot.
| These aslute men are so convinced OF the
peculiar cxccllenccs Of intoxicating liquors that,
while the law forbids, and has for at least
half century forbidden, the sale of anything
on Sunday except some necessary articles for
a brief PEI iOd in the morningl they purpose
now to legislate especially in favor of intoxi-
eating liquors, and to enact that these may
hereafter be sold on Sunday after o'clock,
though nothing else shall Another amendment
proposed is to allow the liquOr-shops to open
at in the morning instead of at sunrise, and
to keep open till at night instead of IL.
Save in very exceptional cases, it seems To us
that thirsty human nature can drink as much
liquor as is good for it in the seventeen or
eighteen hours per day allowed by the present
law.
This bill of Mr. Travers is understood to have
been prepared by the associated liquor-dealers.
BY it, they endeavor to render practically in
effective the law of last year ; which, owing to
Cardozo has really been in operation but about
month. The burden is certainly on them to
show why the law should be so soon altered.
The Excise law is not perfect law; but the
mode of perfcctng it is not in the direction
that Mr. Travers would have us go nor is now
the time to change it, Let it work quietly un-
til we have time to judge of it. If it is not
then found just and beneficent, will join
in any intelligent movement to improve the
law.
COLORADO.
The House Of Representatives will soon vote
conclusivcly on the question of admitting Colo
4 - AIirIc Loin1r roo,nniroI 10.