Pittsburg dispatch. [volume] (Pittsburg [Pa.]) 1880-1923, 1892-03-01
CONFIRMED BY COLLIER.
The Judge Tells How the Coming
Hearings Will Be Conducted.
VIEWS OF THE LEADING DEALERS.
Some of Them Are Afraid There Will Be
Too Much Competition.
ATTORNEY CHRIsTY NOT A FEATURE

PATCH yesterday there Will be licenses
galore. The list Of prospective bars will
be swelled to ], 200 or more There will be
| none of the quiz game, and even B. G.
Christy and his doomsday book will be
among the missing Judge Collier, in an
interview yesterday, confirmed the state
ment made by The DISPATCH.
"Where no circumstances have been filed
we will grant licenses without hearing"
he said. "These remonstrances must be
| filed by March II, and after that date none
| will be received. No communication, an
| nonymous or otherwise, will be received.
A judicial examination will be conducted,
and we will consider nothing but matters
| Of record, and evidence heard in court will
be considered. We will consider it contempt
If such letters are sent in. In cases where
remonstances are filed we will have regular
hearings, and we will hear testimony on
both sides. If, however, the court has
doubt as to whether an applicant is entitled
to license, it may ask if the man is an
American citizen or whether there is q
necessity for the place. In nearly every
case, however, the application will be taken
as prima facie evidence that the applicant
is entitled to the license.
The Eject on tho Business
Liquor men generally are pleased with
this decision. Some think all can thrive if
the speak-easies are killed. Others say it
will drive the weak ones to the wall and
leave only the cream of the dealers in the
business. 1t is also declared that if 1000
licenses are issued in the county not more
than half of them will be taken out. They
all, however, indorse the plan and each
figures out good results from it. Matthew
Weiss, in speaking of Judge Golfers in
terpretation of the Brooks law, said:
cit is no more than right that every man
who is a citizen and who is capable of
handling. the business should be given Ii
cense the same as in any other business.
There is enough business for all if the
speak-easies are wiped out Pittsburg can
support 600 more saloons. The limited
number Of saloons has been the cause of the
speak -easies. There are now between 900
and 1000 speak-easies in Pittsburg. Some
of them are under the name of clubs, but
they are speak-easies all the same. and they
are doing more to ruin the people and the
saloon business than anything else. The
police cannot say word against single
licensed house in the city. The only trouble
we have is with people who get full in these
speak-easles and then want to create dis
turbance in legitimate saloons. 1t is here
that the speak-easies take care of q class of
people the saloon men do not want to
handle.
One Ward That Is Well Supplied.
"Just to show how numerous these speak
easies are, in one ward in the Southside
there are AZ. Nearly all of them are called
clubs, and on Sunday each one of these
clubs uses more beer than many of the
licensed saloons sell in week. Speak
easies are much freQuented by boys and old
men. They drink more than they would in
saloon. They are willing to drink q
poorer quality than they otherwise would
because stolen fruits are always sweeter The
boys get drunk and then the fathers blame
it on the saloons.
eff the trade that should 60 to the
saloons only goes to them there will be
money enough for all. People in the
suburbs will be as well able to pay the
81 900 license as those down town. Their
expenses are not as heavy, and matters will
even up. The Brooks law is the best thing
we have had yet. 1t has refined the liquor
business"
'sNot half the men who are granted will
CtCf tdhC OuI d lCcusc, sdlu OOuu NeWel1
last night. "Plenty of them apply in the
hope that if they get licenses some brewer
or wholesale dealer will set them up in busi-
ness. A third OF the applicants are not
worth 10 cents. I know one fellow who is
fitting up place on Smlthfield street and
he hasn't got money enough to put up as
a forfeit for his natural gas meter There
are a whole lot of people who don't have
any idea of the expense of running saloon,
and they will find there is not fortune in
it,
When James Piatt was asked about his
views, he said: eff thousand licenses are
taken out in Pittsburg there will be 500 |
Sheriffs sales within the first six months. |
don't believe there will be. half that num- |
ber taken out. Lots of those applicants |
don't know what they are there for. I |
guess they only apply for the fun there is
In it. % |
Expects Change of Hear.
Tom Wallace also declares that not more |
than half Of the licenses will ever be taken |
out. He says if three or four are granted |
close together, one man will take out a |
license and the others will not risk their |
81 900 fee. He does not believe that in the |
end the number of licenses will be very
materially increased.
When F. X. Woog was interviewed, he |
said: 81 believe this is the only Just |
method. The s., 900 fee will drive all those
to the wall who are not competent and only
the good ones will be LETT. The saloons are
all under the police surveillance and the
business will regulate itself. The law pro-
vides for the revoking of licenses and those
who do not observe it will be weeded out. L |
believe this will be the best thing that has
ever happened to the liquor business in
Pittsburg."
George Mashey was slow to believe that
the Court had indicated to anyone anything
in relation to the number of licenses to be !
granted for the coming year, adding: "If,
however, it has been decided to issue
thousand or more licenses we must be con-
tent Everybody is, of course, anxious to
get license, and one man has the same
right to apply to the court as another. If |
1 600 licenses are granted we will do inst an