Sacramento daily record-union. [volume] (Sacramento [Calif.]) 1875-1891, 1890-11-12
POWER OF LOCAL POLICE REGULATION

A man named Christensen maintained
a saloon in San Francisco which the police
authorities held to be nuisance. They
SO reported to the license officials, who
thereupon declined to renew Christian
sens license when he applied. He was
then compelled, under an ordinance of the
city providing how licenses should be ap-
piled for, to present a petition indorsing
his application signed by not less than
twelve property owners in the block in
which the saloon was located.
But it happened that all the property in
the block is owned by eleven persons, and
that Christensen could not procure, there
fore, the Endorsement of twelve, though
evidently if he got all, the intent of the
law was fulfilled. He therefore defed the
authorities and was arrested for selling
liquor without license. His defense was
that the ordinance required an impossi-
bility of him, and that it conferred upon
the police and property-owners an arbi-
trary power dangerous to the liberty of
the citizen. In the State Courts Chris
tiansen did not succeed, they holding that
if the eleven owners signed the petition it
would comply with the law and insure the
license to the applicant, if he was worthy
to receive it. Christensen accordingly
was remanded to custody, and came before
the United States Circuit Court at San
Francisco, Judge Sawyer presiding, on a
writ of habeas corpus, and the Court dis
charged the prisoner on the ground that
the ordinance was discriminating, unequal
in its operation, because it left the ques-
ton of the issuing of licenses to the arbi
trary and unregulated will of the police
and property -owners, who could not be
punished for arbitrary discrimination or
held to account for dangerous use of the
power conferred.
Now comes the decision of the Supreme
Court of the United States reversing the
United States Circuit Court, and holding
that it is within the sovereign power Of
the people, through their legislative me-
diums, to confer upon a board or body Of
officers the power to grant or refuse Ii
censes on certain conditions, and that no
rights of the defendant were infringed by
such exercise of authority in local police
regulation.
This is precisely the decision the
REcoRD-UNIoN anticipated would be
made. 1t COMFORTS with the celebrated
decision of the late Judge Sanderson, OF
the Supreme Court of this State, in ex
parte Annie Smith, where he held for the
fullest exercise of the police powers of mu-
nicipal government and the bringing OF
government as close to the people as pos
sible. On the 10th Of September the
RECORD UNION, commenting upon the de-
cision of the United States Circuit Court
in the Christensen case, expressed the be-
lief that the Court was in error. What
we then said, taking issue with the Court,
may be quoted now as a correct view Of
the law "The belief has obtained these
many years that municipality authorized
to issue licenses may attach conditions to
the grants calculated to reasonably regu-
late the number of the places of business
and their frequency within certain areas,
as well as to attach other conditions, such
as Endorsement by petition, the filing of a
bond, etc. Certainly Philadelphia has
proceeded in her license reforms upon that
basis. and the New York excise law ha:
been enforced for twenty-five years under
a similar system.
''The objection the learned Judge takes
to the ordinance requiring given number
of signatures toa petition as q condition
precedent to the granting of license, i;
that it confers upon single individual
as, the last person required upon the petit
tiop--an arbitrary power which is incon.
sistent with constitutional liberty.
1t is, then, question whether requiring
petition by given number of property
owners is delegation of municipal author
ity. We are compelled to think that it i.
not, but that it is a regulating means tc
inform the municipal mind as to the ad
visibility of Issuing the license; that it i,
not delegation of power, but method o
ascertaining the wishes of the people mos
intimately and Immediately to be affected
by the location of the business in thei
midst"
cn0n VETO