Omaha daily bee., 1885-08-05
WILL THEY PAY ?
The Troubles Of a License Ordinance
Uldtr State Prohibition.
Talk About the Experiment.

A number of the s~aloonihts have al.
ready paid Into the city treasury the IL
cense for August under the new ordi.
nance which licenses the sale Of drinks
not prohibited by law, the amount being
| S25 a month In advance, making $500 a
year instead of $500, payable quarterly,
as before. The quiet understanding lying
beneath the written law Is that if the
saloon men contribute this amount
promptly they will not be interfered with
by the city authorities, but that those
who do not thus pay will be shut up.
Since the passage Of the ordinance the
question has been heard on every side,
"Will they psy?' The BEE has been
trying to get an answer to this question
to enlighten Its readers, and as
nearly as can be learned by
talking with the saloon men
themselves, it appears that the true an
swer is, "That's depend" AS Is already
manifest some are willing to pay. A
large maj ,rity is In favor Of paying
But there 10 o grave doubt in the minds
of these as to whether the city will and
can close those who do not pay. 1t Ia
said that under the old ordinance, many
paid but some did not, and those who
did not pay were not closed up, and
those who paid hsd no advantage over
those who refused. This was naturally
looked on as unfair. Now they soy,
they will pay, If all pay, or If the city
authorities keep their promise TO close
those who do not pay.
This month will be an experiment,
therefore, and can be taken as no in6ics-
tlon of what another month will develop.
Several are paying this month as q trial,
and they will watch closely to see what
the city will do with those who do not
pay. If some are allowed to run without
paying while others are required to pay,
the opening of another month will ses o
large falling off In the number of those
paying. One thought about the doubt is
whether the city eau close those who do
not pay, and whether the city will not
meet the same obstacle the prohibition
ists have met, and the matter hang fire a
long time In the courts.
The idea of the city authorities lower.
ing the license from $500 to $500 a year,
was that the saloon men could have the
benefit of the other $10Oa year to protect
themselves against the prosecutions of
private p~srties. The saloon men sub
scribed 1926 each to make q fund to fight
the cases now pending, but those having
the collection of this have found no little
difficulty In getting some of the subscrib-
ers to pay. Now If those do not pay the
required license to the city are proceeded
against by the city, they may under the
state law proceed against those who are
allowed to run by virtue of the license,
and dissentions may arise in the ranks,
which will make it still more diff suit to
ksep up an organization aud a fund for
fighting other cases brought by private
parties.
THAT depends" Is therefore the truest
answer to be gained to the question:
evil they pay the license2" If q large
majority of the saloon men pay this
month, and the city succeeds In closing
the unlicensed places, her the other
months will see an increased number of
those willing to pay. But il the city
simply gets what monsy 1t can by voluu-
tary contributions aver those who pay
this month will not pay another month.
The working of tbs scheme is therefore
largely an experiment. There is already
a little chatting, II a feeling that all arc
not used alike, and much more of this
ctafng will spoil the experiment.