Ashtabula weekly telegraph. [volume] (Ashtabula, Ohio) 1853-1873, 1870-07-30
The Present Liquor Law.

Under the laws of Ohio, as amended
at the last session of the Legislature, it
would seem that the opponents of the
liquor traffic could need nothing but the
Public sentiment to give effect to legs-
lation. The Sandusky Register states
the amendments as follows:
1t is provided that every husband,
wife, child, parent, employer or other
persons injured in body or estate by an
intoxicated person, or i'll consequence Of
intoxication, shall have right of action
against the person or persons selling the
intoxicated person the liquor resulting in
such intoxication. This right of action
is good, not merely against the liquor
seller, but the owner OF the building in
which the liquor is sold.
The law absolutely holds the landlord
responsible for the wrongs committed by
ersons who become intoxicated with liq-
uor sold on the landlords premises
This ought to be maintained in the civil
courts, and shall bring judgemnt, not
only for actual, but for exemplary DANA
ges. The wife of the drunkard thus has
a positive remedy against the person who
sells her husband liquor, not only for vio-
lence she may suffer at the hands of the
drunken husband, but for loss of time,
and we believe under this law for loss of
happiness. The child has the same right
| of action.
We doubtif the Legislature could pass
more sweeping act, and one more cal
culated to put every liquor dealer on his
guard For instance, If building be de-
stroyed by fire, caused by the negligence
or carelessness of an employee, when
such negligence or carelessness is the re-
suit of intoXica,ion, all the owner of the
destroyed property need do, is to prove
in civil courts that certain liquor dealer
| supplied his careless servant with the i'll
toxlcatng fluid and to show the amount
of loss, and he RECEIVERS, il the dealer is
worth the amount, the full measure OF
his damages as decided by the court. If
man is set upon or injured in person
| by an intoxicated person, he can recover
the full measure of his damages from the
dealer who furnished the liquor.
If two men become intoxicated, and
in the midst of drunken row one MUIR
ders the other, the wife of the murdered
man has right of action against the
| dealer Wuo sulIilSu lhO ihui iuSiSi anu
the murdered. with liquor; and the wife
of the murderer also has right of action
against the dealer for any damages she
may sustain by reason OF the husbands
crime. With such law on the statute
books, it becomes liquor dealers to be
careful.
This legislation is based upon the same
principle as that which holds the owner
responsible for all the damages done by
an OK "wont to push with the horn" or
by any other vicious animal. AS such
owner is presumed to know the charac-
ter of his animal, and hence bound to
keep him confined; sothe liquor seller,
and his landlord as partner, are held to
know the tendency of Intoxicating Ii
quors, and thus are responsible for the
consequences of what they sell. we
think that from the days OF Moses to the
present time, the correctness OF this prin-
ciple has never been called in question.
1t simply holds a man responsible for his
/ own acts.