Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1893-11-02
TWENTY-ROOM HOTELS
Within the Church and School House
Limit.
A Hearing Today by a Sub House Dis
trict Committee to Consider
Proposed Amendment


ton was given this morning by a subcom-
| mittee of the House District committee
| consisting of Messrs. Cobb, Babcock and
cooper or Florida. Those present were At
torneys Hazelton and Hamilton, Mr. John
Magruder, Mr.. w. T. johnson, Father
| Richards OF Georgetown University and
Father Gilltspie of St. Aloysius Church
The question at issue was the Babcock
| amendment to the liquor law, which is as
| follows:
THAT section sixteen of an act entitled
An act regulating the sale of intoxicating
| liquors in the District of Columbia APPROX
ed the Sd day of March. 1Ss3 be- and the
same is hereby, amended so as to read as
follows:
Sec. 16. That license for any of the pur-
poses specified shall not be granted to any
person to conduct such business within 400
| feet of a public school house. private school
or houses of religious worship, measured be-
| tween the nearest entrance to each by the
shortest course of travel between such
place Of business and any school house
private school or house of religious wor-
ship. except In such places of business as
were located and licensed at the date Of the
said act or previous to the erection or occu-
patton OF such school house. private school
or place of religious worship"
The Twenty-Room Hotel.
Mr.. Hazelton represented the interests
OF the advocates Of the amendment Mr.
Hamilton represented the people who de-
sire to amend the amendment by adding
few words which will construe the present
law. Mr.. Hamilton's amendment is to insert
In the first line. after the word specified &"
the words In any of the sections of said
act The object of this, as Mr. Hamilton
explained, is to prevent saloon keepers es-
tabishing bar rooms within 400 feet of
churches or school houses by taking advan-
.ase OF the law winch authorizes hotel of
twenty rooms or upward to obtain a license
MIR. Hamilton explained that his clients
made no fight on the established dealers
whose places OF business were at the time
OF the passage of the act within the 400
foot limit, but the District Commissioners
have decided that hotels Of twenty rooms
are exempt from the limit and they NAV
invade the limit. The churches and schools
now wish TO make operative the intent Of
the law and to give them immunity from
invasion hereafter. They insist that no
license shall be hereafter granted to any
place within the limit
Father Gillispie corroborat ted Mr. papo,
toms statement. He said that an attempt
Is now being made to open a bar room
uhoer the guise of a hotel, right under the
SHADOW or an exempted place in a position
where no hotel was ever dreamed of as nee
essary. He would rather have a plain and
open par room established near his church
imam to have one of these alleged hotels
tnere, Tor the reason that the bar room
would close on Sunday. and some account
could be kept of its doings. That would
nor De the case with the hotel" however:
tne inlquity In such place is under cover
ana liquor could be sold on Sunday.
In the Way of improvements.
Mr.. Magruder objected to prohibiting alb
solutely the granting of a license to hotels
within 400 feet of a school or church and
illustrated his objection by a case in point
1t has been suggested, he said, to erect an
apartment house on the corner of Vermont
avenue and II street, and he has been an
preached upon the subject of occupying the
nrst moor with his store WHEREIN he deals
In liquors under a wholesale licensed but
under the operations of this amendment, no
license. either wholesale or for a hotel
could be granted, as the spot is within 400
feet OF a church. He feared the amendment
might also impede the progress OF similar
improvements elsewhere.
Mr. Hamilton said that IL discretion could
be lodged somewhere to grant a license
In cases not Objectionable and keep out the
class objected to. he would not oppose IL
but until such discretion is lodged he hopes
no loop hole will be left open for a 2o-room
hotel to creep in.
Mr.. Hazelton said that Mr.. Hamilton.s
amendment would not be objected to, and
after some further desultory talk upon the
liquor question the hearing adjourned 1t
is thought that the Babcock Amendment
win be reported favorably, with the amend
ment to II suggested by Mr.. Hamilton, as
above stated.
A Subsequent Hearing.
Later in the afternoon several LIQUOR
dealers. together with representatives of the
temperance and church interests who had
misunderstood the hour set for the hearing
appeared and were given audience by the
committee.
Rev. Mr.. Brown, pastor OF Foundry
church. spoke for the Methodist ministers
IN opposition to any amendment of the
present law. He expressed his surprise
that IL should be desired by any to amend
the law which had been prepared by wise
men. this early after its operation
When his attention was called. however
by Mr.. Cobb to fact of which he seemed
ignorant, namely, that under a recent con-
struction of the law a twenty-room hotel
can get a license within the 4O0-foot limit
he gladly acknowledged the desirab ility of
amending the law prepared by wise men
Mr.. Brown said he sees in the. proposed
amendment a concealed enemy which will
eventually breed many iniquities
Mr.. Hilborn asked Mr.. Brown whether he
would close the bars of the first-class hotels
of the city, but Mr.. Brown evaded the an
swer.
Mr. Cobb explained to Mr. Brown that the
proposed amendment which he was fightin0
does not enlarge the privileges of the IL
quor men, but restricts them and that in
reality, Mr.. Brown was opposing somethine,
which would benefit the churches and
schools.