The Cambria freeman. [volume] (Ebensburg, Pa.) 1867-1938, 1892-04-01
Judge Bark er on Licenses.

Before granting the licenses last week
Judge Barker took casiOn to deliver the
following opinion:
We filed in court last year. at the time
we disposed of applications for licenses. a
written opinion, embodying our views as
To the proper construction to be placed on
the Act OF Assembly, and. in addition to
this general opinion, we filed special
opinions in several cases for the purpose of
making clear and plain our method of APP
plying the law to individual cases. We
still retain the views expressed i'm that
opinion. and we have. in applying the law
and the facts to individual cases. endeav-
ored to adhere rigidly to the rules then
laid down. and we, therefore. file neither a
general nor any special opinions this year.
We have a few general suggestions to
make. however: We have received many
letters in reference TO licenses generally.
and many referring 10 individual applica-
tionS. most of them not signed. and those
i having signatures attached in nearly every
instance marked "Confidential'' or Per
sunal."
This is a useless and ScnSelcSS thing for
anyone 10 do. for the obvious reason that
the court cannot act on information so re-
ceived. Anonymous letters are not worthy
of notice. and every applicant is entitled to
have notice in open court of any charges
made against him: and, therefore. we take
no notice of information furnished in such
a manner that we cannot make ii known
in open court. There is one feature of this
correspondence. however, that has i'm
pressed us and that is the frequency and
pcrSiStenCy with which these letters as
Sert violations of the law on the part of
licensed hOtcl-keeperS. This fact, togcth-
er with the information that incidentally
comes to us in Criminal court forces us 70
conclude that violations of the law are not
infrcquent. notably in selling on Sunday and
to persons visibly intoxicated. Now while
il is not our province to admOniSh anyone
to refrain from violations of the laws of
this Commonwealth unless they are legal
ly before us, yet we feel like saying to the
persons To whom we now grant license that
they must remember they are privileged
class. directly responsible to the court for
the abuse of the privilege granted To them.
and that all allegations of violations of the
law coming from anv responsible source
shall have the benefit of a judicial invest
gation.
Second. We are convinced that many of
the evils flowing from the use of intOXica-
| ting liquors result from the facilities with
which liquor can be obtained at late hours
! of the night, and we. therefore, request all
persons to whom licenses are granted TO
| close their places of business at 10 o'clock,
| p. NJ, of each day, and refrain from selling
| liquor after that hour. We do not make
| this in the form of an order of the court.
| it will be observed. but we suggest that ii
may be considered as a condition on which
! licenses are granted.
Third. We do not regard females a. suit
! able persons to whom licenses should be
! granted. an in this view nearly all Judges
concur. and, hereafter. none will be- grant
ed them unless in exceptional cases.
BY TIE COURT.