The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1881-04-12

billiard table, and to make it unlawful
Tor such person to permit games to Do
played on such table after certain hourz
and on Sunday.
The power conferred BY the statute IL
the only power vested in the city, and, as
stated IN the Outstart, munic pal CORPORA
lions have no powers except those granted
10 II BY its charter. And ID il we must
.ook, and are 10 de ermine what they are
nom fair, logical construction OF the
lai guagei and the import of the words
used.
Authority is undoubtedly given 70
the City Council to license, 70 tax
20 regulate and 70 suppress billiard
tables. Do these two ordinances do
either or any of these thipgs2 Moth
ing Is said II the charter about the
owner or keeper of billiard table, nor As
70 the use Of 3 billiard table. The power
Is not given to license, to tax, to regulate
OF suppress the owner or keeper Of q bill
lard table, it Is only the simple naked
power 10 license, ETC., 3 billiard table. No
power is given to license, etc the owner
or keeper, or to regulate the owner or
person in charge, and an ordinance TO do
either Of these things spplies only to the
persons and not to the property. It
might just as well be contended that IN
der section 43 Of the charter, where the
City Council is empowered By exactly
The same language, TO liceAce, tax, regu-
iaIe or suppress haWkers and peddlers,
that an ordinance prohibiting the en-
ployment OF such hawkers or peddlers by
any one, was within the powers granted
BY the section, or that q person who en-
plOyed such hawker and peddler,
would have 10 take out q license be-
fore he make the employment, The
language OF the charter is directed to the
hing. the billiard table, it is the subject
II the legislation, and not the owner or
keeper. The language Of the ordinances
ls directed to the owner OF person, and
keeper, and not 10 the table, and l fail 70
tnd any power 10 impose license and
tax, or power 10 regulate such owner,
etc. By reference to the statutes Of other
states and ofthe United States. it will be
observed that the almost universal rule
adopted where the object is to license or
gulSte billiard table, Is to impose the
obligation OfIsking out license, or the
duty of observing restrictions upon the
person or persons owning and in charge
Of the tables. In the city charter "a
granted by the Legislature, that usual
form oflegislAti0n has not been followed.
L, saw fit 10 impose the license, etc., upon
the table, and we must take the law as We
and it. 1t is true, and may be said, that
he table being 81 inanImAie thing,
cannot be licensed or regulated, and
6eonly way 70 get at the intention Of the
Legislature, is to impose the obligation OF
obtaining the license, ETC., upon the
IWner or keeper oft. But was it the in
tention Of the Legislature to require the
owner and keeper to take cut the license.
We might, BY the interpolation Of the
EOrds the use Of into the statute. give it
that meaning, and so might the Legisls-
ure Courts are not permitted to sup.
ny omissions in legislation. When
passing upon statutes they are to take
hem as they find them, giving full i'm
Jort aud Supplying no more force 10 the
.anguage used than the subject warrants.
bile under this lection 1t is not pos
bic 10 license and regulate, II is possible
% tax and suppress, and TO this extent the
. Wers granted to it can be used, and 20
nat extent only does it confer authority
up n the City Council.
IL is not necessary to pass upon the
tf-ct of section II of the city charter.
The applicants will be discharged.