Evening star., 1896-03-02
DISTRICT AFFAIRS
The New Excise Order for the
Division.
HOW IT CAME AB0U
Health Officers Report on a Med
icaI College.
w ARM NTER'V lew

to prohibit the sale of intoxicating liquors
in the "Division,' except in regular IL
censed places, and to treat those guilty of
violating the law the same as other speak
eas;es originated with the excise board.
Lest week a conference was held be-.
tween the Commissioners and the men,
bcrs of the excise board, upon the subject
Of the amendment to the bill regulating the
sale of liquors, and increasing the license
tax. 1t was at this conference that the
subject of liquor in the Division" came
up. During the latter part of last year,
The Star called attention to the fact that
the excise board, through majority Of its
members, was iii favor of wiping out every
liquor saloon in that locality. The result
mas been that up to this time not single
lquor license has been granted 10 any one
within the limits Of the division" All
cases We're held UP by the excise board.
Every week the board has been urged to
dispose of these cases, but final action was
put off from day to day. 1t was openly
limited that there was division In the eX-
else board, and SO action was deferred un-
I'll some action could be unanimously
agreed upCn
1t is understood the Commissioners ask
ed what had been done concerning this
matter, ara the reply, it is stated,
that the cases were stlll pending. Then the
general subject of selling liquor in that
section was discussed, and, it is said, the
excise board called attention to the viola
houses of i'll repute, and then it was that
a member of the excise board first sug-
gesied that the sale of liquor in these
Lcuses be prof. ihited 1t was argued that
it would be unfair and unjust to those
men who paid license in that section to
shut up. and allow the houses cf i'll farie
to sell liquor. So strong was the case rep
resented that the order to prohibit the il
lesya! sale of liquor and TO treat the Of
tenders as any other violator was mme-
diateiy given.
The order issued Saturday concerning The
sale of liquor by the deni-monde element is
not new one From time to time as cru
sades have been made against the section,
the order has been revived, but after shor:
time 1t fell into d!suse. and the sale of liquor
went meffliy on. Not SO with the present
order The Commissioners propose to see
that this order is kept alive, and within a
snort time, or as soon as a case can be made
their policy OF dealing with the subject will
be thoroughly understood. 1t is said that
within short time a copy of the liouor law
ard regula tions Will! be served upon the
Keepers OF these houses in order that they
ma! re gwen q chance to dispose of their
STOCK OF hqueTsaon hand. For itsis not gen
eiaily understood that the mere presence of
liquors is sufficient evidence to convict un-
der the liquor law
The rigid enforcement of this ordar will
nave the effect of closing a number of
houses in the Division. Nearly all of then,
pay exorhitan; rents. and they depend upon
the sale of liquor almost entirely for their
revenues The people who own the prom
erty are some Of them prominent in society.
The order will be fought by them, for its
sillorceinehi means number of vacant
houses on their hands, or a great reduction
In the rents. Already the Commissioners
nave been hesieged but they maintain a
digniEed silence. and give no hope of re-
voking their order.
Washington HOmeOpnthic CoIlaua
There was midsummer whIrlwind at the
Commissioners office this morning. The
,rip
hill TO incorporate the Washington Homeo-
path-c Medical College. Secretary Tindail
Fad read Health Officer Woodwards adverse
report. when Mr. r. b. johnson questioned
me right OF the health officer to make re-
ports upon bills. II was within his province
to report upon nuisances, he said, and the
gentlemen were present to prove the pro-
posed college was not a nuisance. Referring
to the health officer, the speaker COM
n.enced by saying: Being a common scav-
enger-'
But that ended it. Commissioner Ross
promptly raped for order. and said: The
Commissioners do not propose to hear the
health officer abused"
The speaker said oh" and withdrew
Dr Woodwards recommendation, which
it WAS stated some time ago in The Star
would be adverse, is as follows:
while purporting to be a homeopathi
institution, there is not a representative
homeopa thic physician among its incorpor-
ators, nor does it receive recognition from
practitioners in the District the Washing
ton Homeopathic Medical Society chartered
by act of Congress, April 22, 1876.
AN institution styled the Washington
Homeopathic Medical College is at present
in opera ton in this District, having been in
corporated January IS, 1895, under the gen.
eral Incorporation laws; it is the successor
of the National Homeopathic Medical Col
lege, which was Incorporated in the same
way. The reputation of the latter institu-
ton among medical men not connected with
1t was by no means good, and its character
Was at one time attacked by the board of
dental examiners of this District; the for
mer has not been in operation long enough
to establish a reputation Of any kind and
its character can be judged only by the
fact that it is under the control of the same
men who controlled Its predecessor 1t IS
not entirely clear why it was deemed ad-
visable to change the name of the institution
if the operations of the one already in ex-
estence had not discredited the title by
Congress seeks to establish by special char
ter the college already in operation under
a charter obtained as stated above
1.-The apparent object of obtaining such
special charter is to relieve the institution
of the possible supervision of the Commits
sioners of the District Of Columbia, as to
the sufkciency of its facilities for giving In
struction in the branches which it is pro-
posed to teach, which 1t is sought by pend
ing legislation to impose on such institu-
tions as are OR may hereafter be incor-
porated under the general Incorporation
laws of the District. This supervision on
the part of the Commissioners cannot be
made to operate to the detriment of any
properly equipped institution, and is, there
fore, not inimical to such an institution.
The exemption sought from such super
vision should, therefore, not be granted.
1.-The most important reason however,
why this bill should be adversely reported
appears in section Z. In this section the in
corporators of the proposed college ask from
the government authority to confer the de-
grees of doctor of medicine, doctor of
homeopathic medicine, master of homeo-
pathics and doctor Of dental surgery; they
do not propose. however that the govern
ment shall limit this authority by specify
ing the requirements to be enacted of candi-
dates for any of these degrees, or by any
supervision over the methods of instruction,
the sufficiency Of the equipment, etc. The
proposed college could, under such a char
ter as is sought, confer, by authority of the
United States government, any of the de-
grees mentioned above, on any person whom
the faculty might designate, without regard
whatsoever as to the physical, mental or
moral fitness of such person. Such right
maaifestly should not be granted to any
body of men, and certainly not to one, a
part Of whom, at least, have already asso-
ciated in the issue of diplomas by a college
OF questionable reputation"