Clearfield Republican. [volume] (Clearfield, Pa.) 1851-1937, 1881-04-20

!: licenses IN all the counties referred [,
VI In one Of the counties whore / hav
if seen it sometimes stated, and other
o intimated, that there was never an
y license, the number of licensed hotel
g and saloons has lately been reduced {,
Q something less than one hundred.
Y is certainly strange that falsehood
:. should be published when they ar,
s capable of easy detcctlon-but it some
l times happens that ialsehood is sue
: eessiul from its very audacity, especl
0 ally If the statement comes from re
! spectacle man, who has HIMSELF beeI
t imposed upon by the authors OF the lie
= For your information, as well as 70,
0 the information Of others on a subiec
. about which you nave right to bC
informed, | now give you the language
of the Supreme Court, and although
you are not lawyers, yet as men o
= common sense you can see for your
: selves what the law is:
whether any or all license should
be granted is a legislatiye-not q
judicial question. Courts sit to ad.
minister the law fairly, as il is given
TO them, and not to make or repeal it.
The law Of the land has determined
that licenses shall exist, and has i'm.
posed on the Court tho duty of ascer.
tanning the proper instances in which
the license shall bo granted, and there.
fore has given it to the Court to de.
eide upon each case as it arises, in dne
course Of law, the act of deciding is
judicial-not arbitrary or willful. The
discretion vested in the Court is there.
fore sound judicial discretion, and to
be rightful judgment it must be ex-
erciscd in the particular case, and upon
the facts and circumstances before the
Court, and they have been heard and
duly considered-in other words it is
to be exercised in each case according
to the rule given by the Acts of As.
sembly. To say that | will grant no
license to any one, or that l will grant
to every one is not to decide judicially
on the merits Of the case, but to de.
termine beforehand, without hearing,
or else to disregard what has been
heard-it is, to determine not accord.
ing to law, but outside of law-and is
not legal judgment, but the exercise
of an arbitrary will. Discretion is
thus described whore anything is left
to any person to be done according to
his discretion the law intends it
must be done with sound discre-
tion and according TO law, and
the Court of Kings Bench hath a
power to redress things that are other.
wise done, notwithstanding they are
left to the discretion of those that do
them. 1t is the duty of the Court
therefore to hear each case on its evi.
dence and iaots-to ascertain the fit.
ness of the applicant-the necessity of
his house for the public accommoda.
tion as q hotel, and to see that the ap-
plicant has fully complied with the
law, before his license can bo granted"
This language is perfectly clear, and
no person in Pennsylvania, outside OF
this county, has ever pretended that it
would admit of the least misunder.
standing. Now, look at the remon.
STRANGE you sent the Court, in the light
of this decision, and you will see that
it is nothing more than protest
against the license law. You say the
sale Of liquor is unnecessary for the &C.
commodation of the travelling public.
| think so too-but the Supreme Court
say that the propriety and policy Of
license is not question for the Judi.
ciary-but for the Legislature. If the
evidence showed in any case that the
house of the applicant was not nee.
essary for the accommodation of stran.
gers and travellers, a Court could re-
fuse the license on that ground, and
yet be acting according to the law.
The sale of the liquor, you know, is
not mentioned even by tho Legisla-
ture, in connection with strangers and
travellers. They are the people the
house is intended to accommodate
the liquor was designed for all whether
strangers and travellers or not, except
minors and others to whom sales are
If the necessity for liquor
or the general policy Of license were
questions for the Court, what use would
II be to hear each case on its own par
licular facts-the duty to do which is
50 strongly taught in the opinion noted2
A hearingin any case would be merely
ormal and wholly useless, for every
application would be condemned in ad- {
vance, and thrown out OF the Court if
,he opinion of the Judge was against
he necessity for liquor, or the pro.
)riety OF license law, Have you {
,ver stopped to think how a Court (
would 60 about trying the question ais
icense necessary Z" What would be {
he process How long would the '
rial last2 What would be the nature t
# the evidence adduced2 One side I
would introduce witness after witness
Who would state, in bis opinion, license, d
o far from being necessary was q posi-. j
ively bad thing-that it produced q
othing but mischief and sorrow. A d
million witnesses would probably all b
wear the same way When the FIRST
ide got through then the other side, if 4
till alive, would begin. Witnesses a
1ould bo called to swear that, whether &
here be license or not, liquor will be Il
old and that, in their opinon, it is bet Fl
or to have responsible seller with u
ood sureties on his own bond, than to o
low whisky dens, whose f
eepers, when convicted and sentenced, L
annot pay their fines, but 90 to Jail G,
nd board for season at public ex. II
ense, and then como out under the N
lsolvcnt laws, perhaps to begin the 81
licit traffic again Now when the h
caring is onded the Judge has the io
lme opinion about the general pro- X
riety Of license and the necessity for b.
quor that he had when II began and b,
Q sets his foot on that application. q
ut as each case must be heard on ITS aI
wn facts, he takes up the next appli. hi
ltion, and goes through the same sa
rocess of opinions for and against the he
,ense law. You sec what nonsense m
lis is; and that license is question be
public morals to be passed on by the
legislature, and is not such disputed
iestion of fact or law as is proper to Oh
y in a Court. II IL was for the Court, al
zen the question instead of depending w
! the will Of tho people who make pl
10 laws through their Legislature th
ould depend on the will of the Judges th
no don't mako them, and have no pa
ore voice in their making than any W,
her number Of voters in the State. m
whisky necessary What man in qu
,ssession Of bis senses will say that is W,