The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1877-09-17
NEW YORK'S LIQUOR MUDDLE
HOW 1T STANDS AFTER All THE WOR-
RY ABOUT LICENSE PAPERS.
The Dealers Preparing TO GO to Albany with
For otmidabio Lobby at their Bncks-The
Movements of the Crosby Prohibitionists.

Movements OF the crosby Prohibtttonists.
On March 81. OF this year, the Court of
Appeals concurred Ia an opinion. prepared by
Judge Folger. which not only gave the law
abiding liquor dealers In New York much anxi-
ETY.. but also put such difficulties in the way Of
the Excise Board IA now seem almost insur-
mountable. Briefly. that opinion put in force
the law OF 1857 regarding the sale Of liquor and
and the penalties for violating tho restrictions.
although 1t was held by as able jurist as Judge
J.. Darwin Smith that such construction not
only made the later law OF 1870 nullity but an
absurdty. So far. the result has been to confne
tho granting OF licenses for the salo OF liquors
in a less quantity than five gallons to be drunk
on the premises to the Keepers OF inns and tav-
erns. Six thousand dealers. who in good faith.
and in accordance with what they were in
structed by tho Board OF Excise was tho law.
had paid for licenses. have been told that they
were breaking the law by selling.
Soon after this opinion had been nlcd. test
case was made. the Board OF Excise being sum
moncd Ito strip the matter OF legal phraseolo-
Cyl to show what right they had to grant licenses
TO sell ale and beer 1t was held that. even with
the Court OF Appeals Interpretation. ale and
beer did not come under tho law of 1857. and
that the Board OF Excise had the right to issue
licenses to sell these beverages to persons OF
good moral character. under the act OF 1870.
While this case was pending. the police began
their mysterious and so fur unexplained raid
upon the liquor dealers Of the city. In July the
| Police Commissioners. acting ostensibly on an
Interpretation Of the opinion and OF their duty
under 1t which was given by the Corporation
Counsel. Mr. Whitney instructed the police
captains to enforce the law /. e.. arrest every
| liquor seller in the city who was seen selling.
! except those who had licenses as hotel keepers.
Many liquor dealers forthwith went to the
Board OF Excise to ask what they should do.
The Board could give no adyicc. Its members
were ms greatly confused and rcrplexed as the
| dealers At President Mortou's suggestion,
! however between 5000 and 900 dealers ap-
| piled for Licenses us tavern keepers No one
| supposed that the great majority of these ap
/ pii i'Wnts seriously intended to keep hotel hut
| they argued that the public would he satisfied,
/ and the authorities ought To be-, with technical
majority Of those applicants intended to put
/ three h"is somewhere in their place. and pant
/ the word hotel or inn over their doors.
On the liquor dealers .ttlng in their appli.
| cation and paying the license tee the Board Il
Excise gave receipts to that cfert instructing
| the holders Of such receipts that they were not
| licenses, but only evidences that such holders
| had gone as far rs they We're able to obtain the
| licenses and intimating further that probably
the police would respect such receipts.
But the police did nothing Of the, Kind. Men
| who had never been arrested, who We're tho
victims q some ones hlunder in framing laws
| that could he construed HI the Court Of Appeals
into the noisome police cells Receipts went
for nothing II was only newspaper discussion
ton ton tn that led superintendent waine" w " to in
struct the police captains that such arrests must
be stopped Since then the excitement. has
quieted and affairs are now pretty much as
they were when tho Court OF Appeals an
As a result Of ali this however, combinations
have been made in the trade. The first TO COM
bine were the lager beer dealers. They were
| aroused TO the last point of leaccabe endur-
ance by the action of the police, and at the last
meeting Of their society. held before Justice
Smith practically decided that they did not come
| under the operation Of the law Of 1851. they
gnye out that unless immediate redress was
| obtained they would have n mass meeting. and
would not he Responsible for the consoluen '-s.
Under Justice smiths decision. tho hoard now
| grants them licenses that are respected. and the
lager beer dealers are no longer anxious.
| The most active work on tho part ~ tho liquor
deniors is being done hy the Wine and Spirit
Tredars' Assoniation. They are taking .teps
| TO get the opinions Of the leading men IN the
trade. and Of the Excise Board. and TO harmon
| ize them. to compact them into "A hill, and 10
| present the hill before the next Assembly with a
strong .obny To- baek il. Probably the greatest
| stumbling block tlry will encounter viii le the
diverse views among themselves regarding the
| sale II liquor on sunday. some strongly favor
itsome as strongly opuos" IT,
There ia a general impros-,o ION among the deal
| ers. however. that the pole" VIII not trouble
them any more; thntthc lay n ia"t pe'omea
the dealers in the city Will have u license. In
fact outside Of the iona tte hotels "s- than 100
licenses Ind been granted by the tNris" Board
up To- Saturday. Last year. Of tho 5000 deal
er- in the city G.jOp were licensed; about loo
applications. wore rejected. AMI tho rrSt sold
without a license. About 900 nle and heer
| licenses had been granted w TO saturday; 80
,hnt a99u 7o2o H,qifrs IN tsc cy are snii,mG
| Of these hold receipts from the Board II ENci-".
| but only few have given the bonds required
an inticat that tney intend u let things rest
President 5rton although he will not say so
! officially, has utlmaird tuat as long as the
law stand, a. il docs II must he practically Of
no avail. Sulthc Board of Excise will 20 on
eNaln nlng al eppil'n' ons: ana VII grant IL
c"ns's where the app i'ahis character seems
good. and where they show that they can enter
some Of the lcnlors who pad for licenses last
year talk seriously Ol suing the city for ihr rt
turn oi the none but th" Beard Of Excise in
der the licenses they rcceiycd. they hni th"
rlghi 10 s.ll ale and beer, and m bourl hnd the
right to charge, within certain limits 81 IN fea
RS IL s9w NJ. for an ale ana becr licrn-e. 4 suit
l,,,-t the Board ius no holds.
lilt another dan 'uliy las lately been de-
IT, society for to Ireyeniion Of crime.
iis's its purpose 10 he slill more SO. Its main
efforts will bee directed totho detection and pros
ecutiOn ol deners VINO ar found selling on sun
| s} tomau' work Ia this wHy. In one Ward they
OF the sunday law are moro especially TO bee
! watched. the selling without license Will also
be- c9mylninci o. TINS last, however. tho
hoHrd ot Excise has no control over, and tho
| Bo1rd IL very doubtful whether. under the opin-
| ion OF tine Court oi Appeals, It hHs any in tho
first ct-'. For the Commissioners say. if
We nave no right to. grant hoouses eNcrit 10
tavern Keepers, and have granted only 100 81
these. how can We revoke what We have no right
| to grunW' OF course. this does not apply to
persons licensed under this now nterpr. ation;
but there are ycry lew Of these. Further
| under tho law of 1857. n civil court WAS the
authority that revoked licenses, and n license
SO revoked could not DO renewed within three
| years.
Ii the Inv Of 1857 is revived. can the Excise
| Board revoke and refrain from licensing for
three years? The Board OF Excise may revoke.
| but IT will be- done with grave doubts as TO its
right and the President says that aJudicial in
! trrpretution Will he gladly received, If the SO-
ciety for tho Prevention Of Crime or the counsel
for a defendant will bring it before IL court in
| proper shape-fOr instance. by summOnlnS the
| Board TO show why an Injunction should not
| issue TO restrain il from reyok INK Il license.
Had the law of 1870 been decided by the Court
| of Appeals to have swallowed that OF 1857. in
| stead OF rice rerSd, there would have been no
| trouble ot this kind. In this respect. as in all
| others, there would have been no confusion .
| now, the further the l}oarl OF Excise goes the
more ineXtricahe seems the confusion.
In Brooklyn tho only effect OF the law has
| been the iather general putting out of tho sign,
| - lnn," over the doors OF the saloons and other
| places where liQuOr Ia sold. Iircnsos are