Shepherdstown register. [volume] (Shepherdstown, Va. [W. Va.]) 1849-1955, 1873-04-12
OUR NEW LIQUOR LAW.

istactorilv in other States, (and when
has in substance been adopted within a
few DAYS in Tennessee and Mississippi
petitions were circulated in this County
requesting the County Court to with
hold all licenses which the Court was
e,onowered TO withhold. Unfortunate
" Drug Stores were under the OLD law
independcnt of the Court, and Is con
sequence. in the Counties such as liar
rison County, in which the Court, at the
will Of the people, withheld licenses, the
Drug Stores become the tipping shops
of the County. Now all are upon the
same ieyel. The Court "l"y grant a IL
cense to any one upon the conditions
annexed. which are such as to render the
license about the most difficult thing to
obtain, and the most dangerous piece OF
property when obtained that we know
of. The law is said by Wheeling pa
per to be the same as that which 1t cop
led from the Register 1t would take q
great genius to imagine any harm
which can result from the law, while Il
child of twelve years who has had any
/ instruction can tell of the immense good
which ii has done elsewhere and cannot
we'll fail to do any where. That it is
the expression Of fixed public opinion
there can be no doubt. Unlike former
laws, which upon the lulling of the PEG
pie into security, the ever vigilant and
active liquor interest was able TO get re-
peaed, until the community were again
roused-this law where ever adopted
has only grown stronger and stronger.
1t places the responsibility for all the
evils of intemperance where it belongs-
not upon helpless drunkards and
thoughtless youths, but upon those who
spread the poison.
When the petitions were circulated it
was found that more than nineteen out
Of twenty eagerly subscribed, and no
one who will sean the list below and
consider the classes and interests repre-
sented, can doubt that more than nine
teen out of every twenty would have as
eagerly signed, if they had had the OPP
portunity. a large number OF women
subscribed whose names are here omit
ted, as it may be assumed that with
scarce an exception all women are fori
and would themselves form majority.
The petition, with a portion Of the
signers in this pa't Of the County, and
in Smithfield and vicinity, is here pub
lished, not to influence the County
Court, now happily relieved from its
iormer responsibility in the premises, but
to show that the public will is such, as
not only to call for the law, but to IN
| sure its execution =
JEFFERSON COUNTY, W. VA,
January, 1878.
The undersigned would respectfully
represent to the County Court towhich
the power of granting license to sell in
toxicating liquors is now RENTED, that
the numerous places in the County to
which license has been granted for the
sale of such liquors, are VIGOROUSLY
places for tipping ard drunkenness
that the law never contemplated the Ii
censing of such places-that they are
nuisances which it is the duty of the
civil authority to abate and that the
great mass of our citizens desire them
to be so abated.
The undersigned, therefore, respect
fully but most earnestly request the
Court entirely to withhold such licens-
es, save only 10 Druggists under exist
inr laws, which render them liable I'M
der heavy penalties for selling for any
other than mechanical and medicinal
purposea, tie burden Of proof that they
sell for no other use resting on them.
. wide Code Of West Va, Chapter 81,
Sec. 4.
And inasmuch as complaint is made
that Drug SITS have in some cases a
double license,-i. e., a Druggist license
and tippling-house license, Sand also
that the Druggists license is in some
cases abused to purposes OF drunken
ness contrary TO law-your petitioners
also request that this matter lie looked
into and that such protection be secured
to the community by the Court as law
and justice cntiJle it TO.
| G. w. Andrews, c. r. Butler,
David Billmyer, J. VIII. Taylor,
A. r.. Botclcr, G. 7. Licklider,
J. II. little. A. \. u. Neel,
ID. :. Omdortf. {. II. Knott,
J. +. Ockcrman. +. II. ilesSey,
Y. W. Latimer, {. y. Llckllder,
Lee ii. Moler, Lloyd Lickllder,