Savannah morning news. [volume] (Savannah) 1868-1887, 1886-01-01
The New I,iouor Tdcense.

Inc NOW Liquor Incense
The City CouRcil is to be commended
for the step it has taken to lessen the
number Of groggeries which are to be
found in almost all parts OF the city. The
question which presents itself, hawever,
is whether the retail liquor license which
has been decided upon is sufficient to ac-
complish the purpose aimed at. The
probabilities are that 1t is not. A license
OF $500, payable in full before barroOm
ND be opened, would have caused a
cry considerable decrease in the num-
Der Of the lowest class barrooms. The
license which has been decided upon,
however, payable as it is in quarterly in
stallments, will not prove to be too heavy
a burden for very many OF them to carry.
Even the groggeries which look to the
very poorest class of customers for sup
port will manage to keep their doors open
even if they have to lower, il possible, the
grade OF their whisky.
In increasing the license the council
did not, it is probable, have in view an In.
crease of the city's revenues. All it
sought was to rid the city of some of it's
barroOms, which are such a fruitful
source of crime and suffering. 1t ought,
therefore, to have taken hold of the matter
with a determination to ACCOMPLISH what
was desired. To have dealt with the
matter firmly and vigorously would have
swept away opposition and insured sue
cess. A timid policy is generally losing
policy, because it encourages opposition.
There are very few OF those who do not
give this barroom matter careful consid-
Grafton who have any idea how great an
evil barroOms have become ia this COM
munity. 1t seems that there are $50 re-
tail liquor dealers within the city's linn
its, or one to about every 100 Of the city's
inhabitants. A moments consideration
will make it apparent that a very consid-
cradle portion of The peoples earnings is
expended in Intoxicating liquors. The
amount that is expended for liquor, how
ever, might be to a certain extent over
looked if it were not for the fact that nine
tenths OF all the crimes of violence which
are committed are directly traceable to
the lowest class of groggeries. lit were
not for these groggeries the expense of
preserving order and Furnishing crime
would not be anywhere near as great as
it is.
The liquor license, however, is fixed for
the coming year, and while there is
scarcely room for doubt that, in order to
give the high license system fair trial.
the license ought to have been fixed at
much greater sum, there is doubtless a
feeling of satisfaction that a beginning
has been made in Kidding the city of some
of its groggeres.
There is another thing in connection
with barrUOms which the Council ought
TO do at once. 1t is to prohibit the loca-
ton OF a barroom on any block unless the
consent of at least two-thirds of the
property owners OF the block has first been
obtained. Barrooms, particularly those
which are patronized chiefly by negroes,
in the residence portion of the city cause
property to depreciate in their vicinity.
No one cares to have home close to a
GROCERY, where at any time noisy ne
grOes are liable to congregate. If there
must be barrOOms, let them be located
where they will do the least possible
harm and where they Will attract as
little attention as possible. NOtwith-
standing the fact that barroOms are iu-
creasing so rapidly il the city that they
are actually crowding each other, prop
erty owners still have some rights which
they are entitled to have respected.