New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1883-01-15
year not to take the place of the Democracy II
making bupders,
RxCISE LEGISLATION.

of its time will be taken up with this KIND OF
legislation. Every year many bills are taken I"
Albany by the representatives OF certain Dem
ocratic districts in New-York and Brooklyn'
with the apparent aim of making the retail
liquor business easier, safer and more profitable
for a not over scrupulous class OF dealers.
The excise laws are not the best, probably,
that could be devised, but the great fault is IN
their execution. Yet the legislative records
may be searched in vain for any attempt 10
.emedy this great wrong. On the contrary "
is the pui pose of these bills to make the eXecu-
ton of the excise laws more difficult. A person
found violating them can now be summary
arrested like any other offender. But senator
Grady, "Timn Campbell and Others active at
Albany want an act passed t. grant speciai
privileges to persons who violate the excise
laws. They seek to have arrests made only
upon warrants issued by Police Justices, in
which event dlsreputable dealers with political
influence will be safer from molestation man
at present, and will not run the risk OF
being locked up for n few hours when fouhd
breaking the law at night. Besides patrol
man is not anxious 10 provide extra WORK LOT
himself in serving warrants when Oil duty. III
is safe 10 say that no dealer anxious to obey the
law asks for any such change. The effect OF IL
would be TO increase the violations OF the law,
for the reason that dealers do not fear arrest III
the DAYTIME. 1t is always easy for them at such
times to get Aldermen and other politicians to
90 bail for them, and that, under the existing adj
m,nistration of the laws, IS the end of such
cuscs.
Durn. the last eight years the Police just
A.; ho1y tn
sions for trial over 5000 excise cases. Very
few of these complaints have ever been tried,
and unless a nOHe prOseqH has been entered I'D
most OF them by the present Dlstrict-Attorney'
there must be over 10000 of such cases still IN
his pigeon-holes A strfnge provision IN the
excise laws requires the magistrate to take the
defendants Iecvgnzance to the General SEES
ions, with surety in the penalty OF $loo'
The defendant regards the matter as finally DIE
n ,sed of. returns to his unauthorized traffic,
and, if arrested again, goes through the same
course of procedure. He can better afford TO
forfeit his bail. If it should happen not to be oil
the straw kind, in the event that his case
should be called for trial, than to purchase
license. As there is no jury at Special Sessions
these cases cannot be tried there unless the ac-
cused SO elects, and he never does. In re-
port upon this subject the Board of Police Just
ices note it as n peculiar fact that while per-
SONG charged with violations of the excise laws
elect TO 60 to the General Sessions for trial, be-
cause from many years experience they sup
pose that they will never hear OF their cases
. ncain." yet ain nlneteentwentieths of other
m sdemeanors the persons charged elect tn he
- tried by the Srecial Sessions instead Of the
General Sessions"
The lax adm inistration of the excise laws IA
shame and disgrace To the city and great
wrong to honest dealers, and for this the DIS
trict- Attorneys office is principally to blame
though the police are by no means gulitle's.
Mayor Grace endcavored to institute reform
in this matter. but he found himself powerless
10 accomplish anything. Reports made TO him
by the Police Board last year show that IN
eleven months 500 arrests were made for SELL
ing liauOr without license, with no convic-
tons, and that at one time there were l2t
grog-sbops known to the police to he selling IN
entire disregard of the law. Reports from
other sources showed that there were several
hundred such places open IN the city. About
the same state OF affairs exists to-day. Many
of these places are concert saloons and like dis
reputable places that haze been refused
licenses, but are evidently in the enjoyment of
police protection, a. arrests have been made III
only a few instances Some Of these arrests,
however have been Of prominent lawbrrnkers,
like McGlory and Geoghegan, whom District
Attorney McKeon has failed to prosecute in
the same way that he has failed in the lottery
cases, Notwithstanding his loud promises of
reform in the administration OF the criminal
laws A few wel-chosen cases, promptly
prosecuted, with an honest administration
of the police force, would put an end to
this disgrace under which the city now suffers,
and would be an act of Justice to
the 9,Os3 dealers who pay for their licenses.
The Board of Police Justices, in referring
to this subject. say: /" 1t is not true
that these laws cannot be enforced in this
I" city The history Of our courts shows that
whenever one of these cases is on trial con
viction by the jury is as readily obtained with
competent testimony as in other cases OF mis-
"demeanOrs."
The excise laws were enforced at one time
with beneficial results. Crime was dminish6d
and the city revenue increased. In 1865
there WAS 1901 900 paid in % the city treasury
from excise licenses In 1875, when there had
been large increase in the population aid i'll
the cost of the police protection, prisons and
asylums, the revenue from excise licenses had
been reduced to $53S,05S. Three years later,
under the same law, this revenue fell to
$251,I96. With D great increase in the
number OF grog shops, the revenue from this
source last year was, according to the Con-
troller's books, $51S,392, or $40, 666 less than
it was seven years ago under the same laws,
and $173, 900 less than it Was fourteen years
ago. These are facts which Legislators will do
well to bear in mind when told that the present
excise laws are too stringent and need modilica-
ton. The Board of Police Justices, which is
certainly a competent body to speak upon the