The Scranton tribune. [volume] (Scranton, Pa.) 1891-1910, 1897-01-22
American Liquor Laws.

digeSts the results of the investga-
tions of a committee of sociologists
who four years ago undertook to make
a comprehensive study of the liquor
problem in the United States The
committee reviewed exhaustively the
workings of the liquor legislation of
eight representative states, including
Pennsylvania; and President Eliot in
turn condensed and edited its work into
shape suitable for public print In
what follows we avail ourselves liber-
ally of the Ledger's abstract.
The fist point deduced by President
Eliot from the committees inVestiga-
tions is that licenses should not be
granted for longer than one year The
limitation of licenses as to popu-
lation has worked favoraby in
Massachusetts, reducing the num-
Der of saloons, and making the
license holders more observant of
the law; but the writer remarks that
the evidence does not warrant the state
ment that such limitations would work
as well in every locality In Massachu-
setts one license is permitted to every
1000 of population, and in Boston one 70
every 500. He recommends the Missouri
restriction prohibiting the location of
a licensed house within 800 feet of
public park, and the Massachusetts law
providing that no license shall be given
to house within 400 feet of a school
house.
What bCdy shall constitute the licens-
Ing authority is a query to which Presi-
dent Eliot devotes much space 1t ap-
pears that county courts are the COM
mon licensing authorities in the states
to which the investigation was applied.
A recent Massachusetts law provides
that three commissioners shall be APP
pointed by the mayor, each commission
or to serve six years, one retiring ever,
second year This arrangement, fresl-
dent Eliot remarks, provides "a toler-
ably stable and independent board,
without violating the principle of local
self government" One point strenu-
ously insisted upon is that the licensing
authority should have the power to re-
woke or withhold a license, no matter
how complete may be the compliance of
the applicant with the preliminary con-
dtions."
AS to the impropriety of investing the
courts with the power to grant licenses
the writer speaks in no uncertain terms.
He writes: THE objections to using
courts as licensing authorities are
grave. In cities licenses are large
money prizes, and whoever awards
many of them year after year is more
liable to the suspicion of yielding to
improper influences than judges ordi-
narily are in the discharge of strictly
judicial duties. Wherever the judge
ships are elective offices 1t is difficult to
avoid the suspicion that they have Civ
Ell pledges to the liquor interest Since
judicial purity and reputation for purity
are much more important than discreet
and fair licensing, it would be wiser
not to use courts as licensing author
tiles"
i has been the experience that whole
sale dealers, by signing the bonds of re-
tailers, secure control of the latter. This
has been controlled in certain states
among them Pennsylvania, by prevent
ing those engaged in the manufacture of
liquors from becoming bondsmen. Pres
ident Eliot suggests that the appear
ance of the names of office holders and
politicians on numerous license bonds,
may be prevented by prohibiting the
holders of elective office from acting as
bondsmen in such cases. President
Eliot seems to prefer the Ohio system,
which has no licensing authorities.
Licensing is prohibited by the Ohio
| constitutions; but when any one chooses
| to sell liquor he must pay a tax of
| $3.50 and give bond conditioned upon the
| observance of certain restrictions.
| While the tax is much too low, in his
opinion, the plan, he says, prevents
| in some measure the evil effects of
| liquor legislation on politics. There are
| grave inherent objections to the whole
! license system when resting on the dis
| cretiOn of commissioners, which the eX-
| perience of these eight states cannot
be said to remove. No other element
connected with a license does so much
TO throw the liquor traffic into politics.
! 1t comDels the traffic to be in politics
| for protection. 1t makes of every
| licensing board powerful political en-
| gine. \ tax law avoids this result, and
is SO far an Improvement. The Ohio
| law is a case in point"
! We do not see why the law should
| practice discrimination as to persons in
designating whom may sell intoXicants,
provided it's general conditions are
obeyed In other words, all applicants
should succeed who can pay the price
and sustain the collateral responsible
tiles That would clearly be the fair
course to pursue.