Lancaster daily intelligencer. [volume] (Lancaster, Pa.) 1864-1928, 1889-06-29

oA141ks PA, June 20, 1859.
4 Sogn1 Declsloa.
- supreme court has overruled
ncense court Of Allegheny and
1elphia counties, unanimously
with great emphasis, in de
- res1 by Chief Justice Pax
construlng the authority Of the
- court IN granting or Withholding
gsale licenses. The retail license
allows large latitude to the
etIon Of the license courts, as
the number of the licenses
they may grant. IT is practically
nsir hands 70 say whether there shall
Une or . thousand they may pro-
= entirely the retailing of liquor, If
BE proper to say that no places Of
RI sale are needed In q community.
e ) understand that the supreme court
y decided that it cannot review the
1Cise their discretion In this regard,
- Il IL exercised by direction Of the
= NJ the license courts of Philadelphia
Allegheny have undertaken to con-
- an entirely distinct law, regulating
granting Of wholesale licenses, rs
Sng them like discreet ion as to the
Imber Of the wholesalers they may
nee and as to the character Of the APP
6onts; basing this assumption Of power
- no stronger ground than that the
says that the wholesale licenses
~ be granted "in such manner rs is
yitied by existing laws !" which they
traed to mean ns retail licenses are
nnted but the supreme court says
a It means as wholesale licenses are
nted and that the license
1T has no discretion to refuse
j Wholesale license, provided the
Indications provided by law are
- by the applicant. Allegheny
nty had q special law passed in 1872,
1ch declares that Wholesale licenses
= be granted, upon payment Of the
Dnse fees, to "citizens Of the United
- Of temperate habits and good
~ characters" and these are all the
<scat1ons which the license court can
uire. II cannot limit the licenses In a
block; the wholesalers may sit down
ht alongside each other, ten In row
they please, and a. 1t Is generally the
~ Of wholesalers 10 10 do. Nor can
~ 1icense court demand that the whole
IN shall only sell to licensed dealers,
the license to sell is general and con-
- no such restriction.
! 3re are delighted with the robust good
= Of these decisions, which must
keevery unprejudiced mind rs found
topon solid reason and defended by the
[nr law. How sensible judges could
misread the law as to call down
I'm them this whitening stroke from
II supreme court, we can only un.
stand by believing that their intelli-
Ince was clouded. There may have
"a passion and prejudice in it but
>ninly there was the influence Of
~ conviction Of the evil that
lid flow from the unrestricted
Ne Of Wholesale licenses. And
may be an evil; but what they
onid have seen was that 1t was moi
ear business TO correct 1t, but that OF
- Legislature. In their anxiety ia
tE5ect an evil which they thought would
Nv from the free grant of wholesale
)onses, they overlooked the evil which
1puld certainly follow from the under
ling of court to stretch its power
(YOnd the provision Of the law, and a,
me to execute this usurped power SO
TO arbitrarily deprive the citizen OF
- property They made the license court
~ arbiter Of the fortunes Of the liquor
nufacturers; since II undertook to say,
- Of its volition, whether the manu-
[1urer might have a license to sell his
duct and for its decision Il proposed
kE1ve no reason save its will.
lsch exercise Of arbitrary power was
- enough In aspect, one would think,
koppal even highwayman; that II
nd smell sweetly In the nostrils of a
nber Of Pennsylvania judges, seems
|eedible and can only be explained
an insane infatuation that they were
N 70 the use Of arbitrary power as
|wjOrs Of their race.
4hey do not think themselves SO much
Rlors a. they once did nor a. great
4ges. They are not Daniels, truly.
w are taught that u good judge Is not
- that strains the law, or looks over It ,
strike down an evil; but that
5executes II as he finds il.
}ndge Gordon, who is one of the judges
the Philadelphia license court con-
Inned and cOnfounded by this decision,
~ nothing better to urge against II
~ that the result will be To put a
An0lesale liquor store in every corner,
- bottle In every house. But If SO,
u consequent evil TO the community
oalts, 1t wiz be one for the Legislature
(eorrect. Judge Gordon shows by this
ntenent that IL was not the law he
nght to read, but rather the liquor evil
fundertook to suppress.