Belmont chronicle. [volume] (St. Clairsville, Ohio) 1855-1973, 1875-11-18
Temueratice Meeting.

| Inc 1OHOWlnS fetltlOn was adopted by the
meeting held in the Methodist Church, on
Monday evening:
To the Honorable, tie General assembly Of
the STATE Of Ohio;
We, the undersigned citizens of Belmont
County, respectfully petition your honorable
body:
First-For the passage of an act conferring
upon municipal corporations the power to reg
ulate, restrain, and prohibit ale, beer, and por-
ter houses, shops and houses, and places of
notorious or habitual resort for tippling or in
Temperance, within their corporate limits
| lSecOnd-We pray that tht law known as the
''Adair Liquor Law" be restored to its original
provisions, as it was prior to the Act Feb. 18th,
1915.
Third-We also pray, that law be enacted
providing that the selling of intoxicating hq-
uors to person intoxicated, or in the habit of
getting intoxicated, or to minor, that the
act of selling such intoxicating liquors shall
be made priRad Jacid evidence of seller of the
state, habit, and minority of the person or
persons to whom sold.
Judge Kennon presented in writing the fol-
lowing argument
By law of this State, all municipal corpora
esoAo Aiod PO"Si, oiu plOflUC ny
nance for the exercise of the same, and among
other powers conferred. upon them, were
given power to regulate, restrain and prohibit
ale, beer and porter houses or shops, and
houses and places of notorious or habitual re-
SORT for tipping or intemperance. In pursu-
ance OF this power conferred, the town coun-
ell of McConnellsville passed an ordinance pro-
hlbiting house, shop or room, booth, arbor
cellar or other places for tippling or intemper-
ance. Afterwards the question came before
the Supreme Court of OHIO, as to the validity
of said ordinance. The members of the court
unanimously decided it was valid ordinance
See Ohio State Reports, Vol. 20, page 3l2 I
AND WHEREAS, The Legislature of Ohio re-
pealed the law comforting such power OH town
councils, thereby deprived the citizens of the
village or corporation of the power to prohibit
such houses, shops, &c, within the corpora
ton, although the citizens of the corporation
might be OF the unanimous opinion that such
houses should not be within the corporation.
AND WHEREAS, A law of the State of Ohio
commonly known as the 'Adair Law" pro-
vided that every wife, child, parent, guardian,
employer, or other person who shall be injured
in person, or property, or means of support,
by any intoxicated person, or in consequence
! of the intoxication, habltual or otherwise, of
any person, such wife, child, parent, guardian,
employer, or other person, shall have right
of action in his or her own name, severally or
jointly, against any person or persons, who
shall by selling or giving intoxicated liquors,
have caused the intoxication, in whole or in
! part of such person or persons.
AND WHEREAS, BY an act of the Legisla-
lature, passed Feb 18th, 1875, it is provided
in substance-"That no wife, child, parent,
guardian, employer, or other person who shall
be injured in person or property, &C., by any
intoxicated person, or in consequence of the
intoxIcation shall have right to recover either
real or exemplary damages for the alleged in
juries which they may have sustained by the
intoxcatlon of any of the aforesaid persons,
unless the wife, child, parent, &C., who are
liable to receive injury from intoxicating iq-
uors, shall give notice to all liquor dealers, not
to sell to such person or persons any intoxi-
eating liquors from and after ten days from
the time they have received the no.
tice, verbal or written" That is to say ten
days before they have received any injury
whatever, notice must be given; if verbal, be-
fore witnesses, if written, it must be filed by
Clerk of Township and recorded by him in a
book kept for such purpose, which said book
shall be kept open for the inspection of all
those who consider themselves interested. 1t
is very delicate and painful matter for a
wife, or child, &c, to give verbal notice be
fore witnesses, or TO have recorded IN SAID
book. And the saloon keeper knowing that
fact, and relying on the fears of the women
and children, and others, to give notice, on
this account the saloon keepers are not notified
at all, they therefore escape just punishment.
AND WHEREAS, The question is often raised
in criminal and civil proceedings, whether the
saloon keeper or vender of whisky knew the
person he was selling to was drunk at the
time, or an habtual drunkard, or a minor; as
no one has a better opportunity of knowing
that fact than they, the law should be that the
act of selling such intoxicating liquors shall be
made prima tacia evidence of the seller, of the
state, habit, and minority of the person or per-
sons to whom sold. The saloon keeper, or
persons selling intoxicating liquors, should be
required to know to whom they are selling.
A committee of ladies-Mrs. Sallie Close,
Miss Caroline Osborne, Mrs. c. Lewis, Mrs.
Hammond, Miss Mary Adams, was appointed
to circulate the Petition, and furnish the Edi-
tors of our county papers with copies of the
Petition and Judge Kennon's argument, with
requests to publish them.
On next Monday evening another meeting
will be held al the same place.