The Cecil Whig. [volume] (Elkton, Md.) 1841-current, 1875-02-20
An Open Letter to the Citizen OF Cecil
County.

You are no doubt aware ere this that our
last Legislature passed law that makes
radical changes in the mode of granting
licenses to sell "spirituous and malt liquors
in our county"
The former law required all applicants
for ordinary licenses to be sworn that he
had and expected to maintain certain ac-
Communications for man and beast specified
in the act, and to be recommended to the
Clerk of the Court by taco respectable free
holders in his immediate vicinity, after
which conditions have been complied with,
the Clerk shall issue to him license. The
law further provided that any one could
get an oyster house or restaurant license
for the sum of $25 without any provisions
for the entertainment of travellers. In
every town of any size in our county, this
sort of licenses have been issued hereto
fore to all who should apply and the major
ity of the recipients have never pretended
to even keep oysters as a regular thing or
any other substantial eatables, and have
been in nearly all cases an unmitigated
nuisance.
In conversation with a prominent hotel
keeper of our county, he complained of the
manifest injustice that was done to him
and every other man who was at the ex-
pense of keeping up regular and decent
accommodations for man and beast by this
granting of indiscrimiuate license to 9TH
ers.
These saloons will sell man drinks so
long as he has any money! and then turn
him out in the street to freeze to death or
be taken care of by the kinder-hearted
keeper of the regular hotel or some private
citizens. He admitted that the sale was of
no profit to him to overbalancc the mis-
chief it did him.
Our present law requires every applicant
for license to be recommended by the Grand
Jury at the term next preceding the list of
May in each and every year. This law.
though it may be liable to objections, and
though it may be entirely perverted from
its purpose by packing of the jury were
a Judge disposed, is yet a manifest i'm
provement on the old order of things, mas
much as it is not likely that any 90 men
can be found lall tax payers so blind to
their own interests and the interests of
tax payers in general, were they influenced
by no better motive, as to give loose rein to
business that is giving our Grand and
Petit Juries so much unnecessary labor.
Stop the sale of liquor and you stop nearly
all the assault and battery cases that you
have recently had to deal with, and most
OF the cases OIL petty larceny.
There are very few of you agreed as
to how many hotels are necessary in our
county, but nearly all agree that 81 licensed
places are too many. Neither are we all
agreed that license is at all necessary to
the keeping of good hotel. Every one
knows that the moral atmosphere of the
place is better without the temptation to
vice spread before every one. The open
bar and its Accomplishments is known to be
distasteful to large part of the travelling
public and many will go long way to
avoid stopping at house where there is
no place for the gentleman to keep warm
except in filthy bar-room. No one would
now insult lady by asking her to be seated
in such place, and it is just as disagreed.
BILE to the olfactories and ears Of true
gentleman.
The petitions that may be presented to
you for your signatures by the temperance
men of our county, ask that no license be
granted, and they could not consistently
ask for any Thing less, although they are
not So unreasonable as to presume that all
the Grand Jury will act on their principle,
yet they ask you to sign these as they are
against the licenses in general and allow
the iuryto do the selecting as to the excep-
tons.
1ney tnlnk you can properly 90 TINS,
especially in town like Port Deposit or
Elkton, for, although there may be two or
three granted in each, you do not wish to
decide who they may be, and by lending
your aid to general remonstrance, you
strengthen the hands of the jury in resist
ing the applications for an unlimited num-
Der of entirely useless places.
You cannot be ignorant of the fact that
this business that our legislators have
dropped from their hands upon the Shout
ders of the Grand Jury is one of grave
responsibility, involving as it does the val
ues Of property, the moral and educational
interests of the community and affecting
the very foundation upon which all our
prosperity as State must rest. Do not
fail then to do your duty in this impending
crisis. There is no room for neutrality.
You are either on one side or the other of
this question or the course of the current
will inevitably drive You there. On whose
side do you desire to be found when all
hope of temporal greatness or wealth are
fading from your view?
behold come quickly, and my reward
is with me. to give every man according as
his work shall be."-Rev. 22:l2.
ANTI LICENSE.