Pittsburg dispatch. [volume] (Pittsburg [Pa.]) 1880-1923, 1891-02-01
Being Sought for by a Large Number
of Gentlemen Who Want Per-
mission From Court to
WHOLESALE AND RETAIL LIQUOR.
Two Thousand Applications for License EX-
pected to Be Filed by Next
Saturday.
THE SUPREME COURTS wABBLINGs
Leaves Many Petitioners in the Dark as to Their Best
Mode Of Procedure

believe there is money in selling strong
drinks is evidenced by the fact that applica.
tIons for licenses are coming in fast, and
that rush is expected during the present
week.
At the closing hour yesterday afternoon
there were 747 applications filed in the
Clerk of Courts office, and it is said that 10
per cent or more of the names are those of
people new to the business. OF the applI-
cations 645 were for retail license and the
other 1o2 for wholesale. brewers and
bottlers' license. This beats last years
record 65 to date. Next Saturday Clerk
McGunnegle will keep the Office open until
o'clock P. NJ.
The License Court will convene the third
Monday in March with, so far as known
now, Judge White on the bench.
Though there are not an unusually large
number of applications for license TO sell
liquor this year so far filed, e1-Sherif Hun
ter states that indications point to a consid-
cradle eventual increase over last years list.
They come in shoals toward the end of the
time, and have still a week. He thinks
there will be close to 9, 900, with a large in
crease for retail and diminution of appli-
cautS for wholesale license. Mr.. Hunter
also thinks it manifest to all who have paid
attention to the matter that an increase of
saloons such as would wipe out the speak
easies and low grade wholesale houses
would be great moral gain to the country.
Undertaking. Saloons for Patronage.
The reason assigned is that saloons must
be run with some regard to law and decency,
while unprincipled wholesalers have been
running the vilest kind of joints with
inpunity. Some of these have back rooms
fitted Up with the necessary conveniences
for distribution and party going in at the
front with pony purse buy bottle or jug
of liquor and adjourn to the back room to
divide and get fuddled at their leisure, and
there is no way to stop the abuse. The
amount of liquor consumed in this way is
apt to be much greater than it would be
were the drinkers to patronize i saloon, for
thev can drink pretty fair quality of booze
at cents a drink, by buying it by the
bottle
Since some retailers were driven into the
wholesale line they have also done much
mischief in the promotion of drunkenness
in families. Women who would not go into |
saloons for liquor, and would receive a
chilly reception if they did, go TO a whole |
sale house without scruple or hindrance for |
a bottle of beer, ale or whisky, and troops of
children can be seen getting the family sup
plies at some houses where the sole object of
the proprietors is to make money, SO that
whether the police records do or do not
show it, family drinking has greatly in
creased in the last two or three years.
Wholesalers Who Dropped Money.
There are two reasons why there will be a |
decline in applications for wholesale |
license The first and most effective is that |
straight dealers in many sections lost |
money last year, some as high as 81 900, and |
worked for nothing. The second is tine |
wabbIing of the Supreme Court on the ques- |
ton as TO discretion on the part of license |
Judges The Supreme Court ruled in the |
Pollard case that when the prescribed quail |
ications, good character, citizenship, tenn |
perate habits, were presented, the Judges |
had no discretion. These qualifications |
were not all presented in the record in the |
Pollard case, but the higher court seems to
have overlooked the defect when that case
was reviewed.
A year ago Attorney Emmett Cotton |
called attention, through THE DISPATCH,
that the blanks furnished applicants did |
not furnish form that would stand scrutiny, |
and in those he made out for his clients he |
interlined the qualifications for which no |
blanks were provided. He suggested that |
some people might come short if they made |
out their blanks as prescribed by the forms, |
and the result proved that he was right. In |
all the cases certioraried the Supreme Court |
went back on itself so far as to allow that |
the Judges could exercise certain amount |
of discretionary power.
When a Pimple Becomes Serious.
Thus, if a man had pimple on his nose, |
or had accidentally gotten black eve,
either might be sufficient in the estimation |
of Judge to prejudice the case of an ap- |
plicant, and vet that pimple might oe moth |
ing more than the evidence of the consump- |
ton of too much pork or of an extended |
diet Of buckwheat cakes, or it might be the |
result of an Impoverished condition o. the |
blood caused by unavoidable overwork or |
worry or might be the result OF the appli- !
cant's ancestors having eaten sour grapes or |
of many other things for which the appli- |
cant should not be held responsible; but, |
nevertheless, the rejected has no chance to |
submit his photograph for the inspection of |
the Supreme Court, and the Judge is not re-
viewable. These things along with Judges |
possible bias cannot be certioraried, so some |
of those who have fears that their platform |
is shaky Will apply for retail license rather |
than for wholesale, which they went after |
with vim last year under the impression that |
their position was impregnable.
A Defective Application Blank.
Attorney n. W. Shafer, however, holds |
that if applications are made out in CON- |
discretion. He finds, as did Cotton, that the |
blanks furnished are defective, and unless |
amended leave a hole in the applicants |
armor through which Judge can attack |
him with success. One might suppose that |
proof of good moral character would include |
temperate habits. % but it is safer to do a |
little supererogatory work, even though it |
NAV be regarded as superfuous.
The circus that at frs: accompanied the |
hearings before the License Court is not |
likely to be a feature this year, as the |
Woman's Christian Temperance Union and |
the Law and Order associations have come |
to the conclusion that the matter is about as |
safe in the hands of the judges alone as as
sistance could render it. These organiza- |
tions may, however, be relied on to furnish |
pointers against some people, and the De- |
partment of Public Safety and tue ALLIE |
gheny Police Department are expected to |
throw the light on the dark side of some ap- |
plicants' record.