Democratic Northwest. [volume] (Napoleon, Ohio) 1869-1894, 1882-04-06
THE POND BILL.
Taxation, or What Is n!

May !, lSs2. by the provisions Of
the act " : Every person en-
gagged IN the traffic in Intoxicating
liquors shall within thirty days after
the taking effect of this act, and in ;he
first week Of May in each succeeding
year thereafter; and every person
hereafter engaging in such traffic shall,
before engaging therein, and in the
first week in May of each succeeding
year thereafter, during his continuance
in such traffic, pay into the treasury of
the proper county, upon the certificate
of the County Auditor, when his place
of business it located not within any
village or city, nor within one mile
thereof, 800; when within a village
having a population Of less than two
thousand by the next preceding ted
eral census, or within one mile thereof,
$3.50; when within any other village
or city having population of less than
ten thousand inhabitants or within one
mile thereof, 5000; when within any
city Of the second class, having pop
ulation of ten thousand or more or
within any city of the first-class, or
within two miles thereof, $500; and
every person engaged in such traffic,
and every person hereafter engaging
therein, shall at the time fixed by the
preceding section for making said first
payment into the county treasury, exc
cute to the State of Ohio his penal
bond in the.sum of one thousand dol
lars, with at least two sureties, resi-
dent of the county, and each owning
therein freehold estate, not exempt
from execution, worth at least double
the amount of the bond above incum.
brances
The condition of the bond is very
lamely defined, and although the act
provides that 1t shall be conditioned
for the faithful performance of all its
requirements, the only real require
ment seems to be the payment of the
money provided for as above, and this
payment seems to be a condition pre-.
cedent to the bond, so that the bond
is useless and idle thing incorporated
into the law for ornament.
In the l4th section of the act the
following exemptions are made and
special privileges accorded:
Sc 4; st the use and sale of intox-
icating liquors, in good faith for pure
ly medicinal purposes, by lawfully
authorized physicians in their regular
practices, or of pure alcohol for me-
chanical purposes, or of other intoxl-
eating liquors by druggists upon a
written order or prescription of such
physician for such purposes, shall not
be deemed traffic within the meaning
of this act.
The act also provides that nothing
therein contained shall "be construed
or held to authorize or license in any
way the sale of Intoxicating liquors" "
and that nothing therein "shaIl operate
to repeal, supercede or impair any
existing statute or any provision there
Of
The law will, without doubt. and at
an early day, he placed in the crucible
of the courts when its constitutionality
will be tested.
The provisions Of the Constitution
bearing upon it are as follows:
SCHEDULE SEC. 1S. No license to traffic in intox-
cating liquors shall hereafter be granted in this
State, bnt the General Assembly may, by law, pro-
vide against evils resulting therefrom.
ARTICLE I. SEC. . y x no special priyi-
leges or mmunites shall ever be granted, that may
not be altered, revoked or repealed by the General
Assembly.
ARTICLE XII. SEC. ., Laws shall be passed,
taxing by uniform rule all moneys credits invest
ments in bonds, stocks, joint stock companies, or
otherwise and also all real and personal property,
according to its true value in money; but buryng
grounds public school houses, houses used eXclrl-
svey for public worship, institutions of purely pub
lie charity, public property used exclusively for any
public purpose, and personal property, to an amount
not exceeding in value twJ nuI.Ggv. collars, for
each individual, may, by general laws, be exempted
from taxation; but all such laws shall be subject to
alteration repeal and the value of all property, SO
exempted, shall, from time to time, be ascertained
and published, as may be directed by law.
ARTICLE II. SEC. t. The legislative powers OF
this State shall be vested in a General Assembly,
which shall consist ofa Senate and House of Repre-
scntatives.
The mere assertion of the act itself
that it confers no license is like an
accused thief protesting his innocence
it establishes nothing, and if the
courts, even under this protest of IN
nocence should find that it does confer
a license to traffic in Intoxicating
liquors the legislation will Of course be
a nullity and be numbered among the