Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1893-01-06

VARIOUS views ON the PENDING License Bills.
WHAT REPRESENTATIVES, OF LIQUOR INTERESTS
sAY-THE VIEWS OF wHoLEsALE DEALERS
AND BREwKRs-wHAr OTHERS HAVE TO SAY,

sAr-THE VIEWS OF wHoLEsALE DEALERS
AND BREwKRs-wHAr OTHERS HAVE TO SAY.
| Speaking today in reference to the liquor
problem as it stands now in the District, Rev,
DIR. Bartlett Of the New York Avenue Presby.
terrain Church said that while he had not studied
the subject very deeply he was heartily in favor
OF the enactment Of some legislation putting
stringent restrictions on the traffic .sIhave read
all that The STAR has had to say on the mat
! ter, he continued. 'And heartily concur in
| the stand it has taken editorially. / am in
favor OF stringent measures, and they should be
I taken without delay. The restrictions should
be Just az stringent a. the sentiment of the COM
munity will support,an they should be active
upon all classes Of people alike, rich and poor,
upon all places where LIQUOR 10 sold and upon
all classes Of the business, both Wholesale and
retail. OF course am not supporter Of any
measures that are so foolishly severe that they
cannot be approved by the sentiment Of the
people, for then they would simply be inoper-
alive and We wonld be no better off than we are
now"
MR.. sCHADE AGAINST HIGH LICENSE.
Mr.. Louis Schsde being asked his opinion
about the proposed new legislation stated that
there WINS no need for any Legislation beyond
passing the Hunton bill and the Caruth one
mile limit bill. Under the present law wo had
acquired the reputation of having the best and
most respectfully conducted Restaurants in the
country. Congressman who had been living
here for years and bad had full observations, had
frequently corroborated that assertion. If
there had been a disorderly place 1t had not
been the fault of the law, the Commission
ers had claimed and exercised for years prohib-
itory power In granting and refusing licenses.
Though he would be very glad to have the
signer clause so amended as proposed In two of
the bills introduced, yet he was afrai to 60 on
the Ice. remembering what had been done In
previous Congresses, though then tho Commits
sioners themselves had advocated ia their bill
such q change. 1t had been the first thing
struck out soon M the bill had come up be-
fore the House, and he was unwilling to risk 80
much, while making great concessions other
wise, as proposed in those bills.
High license in this District" said Mr.
Schade, lis not q tavern question. 1t concerns
all the citizens, as under our system it il q tn 4
on all, even our Temperance people included
The tavern keeper merely hands the money over.
he takes 1t out Of the circulation cash In the
District and 1t goes on the already too big pile
OF District taxes in the Treasury Depar tment,
where 1t remains until Congress appropriates it.
And the latter will not appropriate . cent more,
whether the license fec is 100 or 81 900. The
Commissioners In their report estimate the pro-
ceeds from high license up to $500, 600 per
annum. Let that AMOUNT be taken out OF cir
culation and added to the 81. GOO, 900 collected,
for instance, last year. from our citizens beyond
everybody, will feel its loss for loss it is as it
does not come back to them.
High license is not temperance. No tavern
keeper monopoly should be established. The
small beer tavern does less injury than the
costly marble saloon. The former cannot pay
high license. for there Is less money in the sale
of beer than in that of whisky. That explains
why some tavern keepers desire high license
Neither should the tavern keeper be degraded
below the bawdy house keeper as the Meredith
bill, Tor instance, proposes, by allowing the
police entrance to licensed premises. e., the
whole hotel or house by day and night Any
refusal forfeits the license. Nor should there
be any discrimination between the rich and
poor, as proposed in the Campbell bill, by Civ
ing especial privileges to the big hotels with
over 100 rooms, &c.
THE Soldiers Home limit BILL now q dead
letter, the work of real estate spectators, should
be repealed. II was passed upon false moral
pretenses. 1t was to protect the old soldiers
but though during the whole year a large num-
Der Of places have been open. more, in fact
than before, and all selling without license,
there has been no increase Of drunkenness nor
any riotous proceedings on the part Of the old
soldiers, or any other persons. The old soldiers
have now their canteen, just as they have at
Milwaukee, Dayton, Hampton and other homes,
or regular army posts. They need no longer
such laws"
Mr.. Schade did not think that the overdemo-
cratic House would pass high license bill for this
District and do what the republicans themselves
had never done, thereby creating unnecessary
opposition to themselves at election time, as the
republican papers of their respective districts
would certainly take advantage Of any such
blunder, unbecoming the cosmopolitan char
acter OF the capital Of the nation. The law
should be such, he said, that any decent people
could engage in such a business. The restau-
rant and hotel keepers should not be treated as
suspected criminals or ticket-of-leave men
upon whom the police c&h pounce at any time.
He had a small opinion he said Of the intelli-
genee and self-respect OF such tavern keepers
who would themselves ask the passage Of bills
| deprivipg them of the inalienab!e rights of free
American citizens.
MR.. CHRISTIAN XANDER.
Mr.. Christian Xander who has been in the
liquor business for longer time than half OF
Washington has been in existence when asked
by STAR reporter what he thought OF the pro-
posed new legislation said: There are acceptable
points, he replied, 'in all OF the bills-points
based on fairness and justice to all concerned.
Then there are again other clauses which are
very unsatisfactory and greatly Objectionable.
As general rule the wholesale dealer is dis
eliminated against instead Of protected, and
the fact that he il surrounded by more than
ordinary business difficulties, ignored when in
stead, his hardships ought to be mitig tied
The present license fee ia not burdensome
notwithstanding the fact that our line of bust
ness bears the lions share of the burden of
furnishing the revenues derived from all bust
ness sources. / might point out in this connec-
ton . great injustice under which our line of
business suffers in common with many other
District interests, and which has often been
referred to in The STAR-that OF allowing the
indiscriminate sale Of goods of all kinds in the
District by the drummers Of other places in
competition with the District merchants who
have to pay heavy licenses. and spend most of
their money here. too, to say nothing of other
benefits conferred upon the community by
them, while the gay and festive drummer.
after paying his little hotel bill and giving
the porter quarter with the
condescending air Of q millionaire phian-
thrOpist, laugh in his sleeve for hav-
ing disposed OF his goods without cent of tax
upon his business. There has been some pretty
lively kicking done about this matter by some
Of our merchants in other lines of business, but
the liquor men remain silent because it is only
one OF many determinations they endure, and
according to the views of some people, as OK
pressed through The STAR, they ought to be
mighty glad that they are allowed to live. What
makes this outside trade all the more injurious
TO our business in particular is the fact that
among the dozens of unlicensed so-called
clubs many obtain their supplies from dealers
in other cities, and that their custom carries
with ii very large family trade thus unjustly
taken away from the city dealer, who has to
bear his share OF local burdens and taxation.
The community in general. and the legitimate
reasonable dealer in Dartlcular Oupht tn he