The morning news., 1898-11-15
SALOON MEN IN POLICE COURT.
CLAIM THEY ARE PROTECTED BY
HOTEL LICENSES.

W. II. Brown Fined $50 for Retailing
From His Bar-The Charges
Against Jacob BigIer and Patrick
Manning Postponed for Further
Proof by the ProsecutiOn-Under
"HoteI License" They Claim to lie
Authorized by the City to Sell
Liquors, But Efforts to show Their
Places Are Not Bona Eide Hotels
VIII BE Made-City Claims the
Spirit of the Ordinance Has Been
Violated.
The cases IN Police Court against Jacob
Bigler Patrick Manning and w B.
Brown, the latter colored, charged with
violating city ordinances by selling liquor
on Sunday. were called by Recorder Raw
enel yesterday. Browns case was the only
one tried however He was fined $50. The
cases against Bigler and Manning were
postponed until to-day
A paragraph at the end of section 2 of
an ordinance passed in 1891 to provide for
the observance of the Sabbath, is the
clause under which both Mr.. Bigler and
Mr.. Manning claim the city has authorized
them to'do Sunday business. The section
reads:
at shall not be lawful for any person
in the corporate or jurisdictional limits of
the city of Savannah to sell, in any guam
tity, directly or indirectly, or under any
device or disguise whatever, any spirit
uous vinous, malt or intoxicating liquor
of any character from u o'clock Satur-
day night to u o'clock Sunday night, ex-
cept that druggist or apothecary may
sell the same as medicine upon a regular
prescription Of a physician of Savannah,
which prescription, shall authorize only
a single sale. and then only when it ap-
pears not to defeat or evade the true in
tent or meaning of this ordinance. This
section shall not be so construed as TO pre-
vent a hotel furnishing its guests with
liquors at a regular meal, when they are
ordered as part of that meal, and when
this can be done without violating in any
way the first section of this ordinance,
which must be strictly observed"
The first section, which is referred to
in the last paragraph of the above section,
provides that every person who keeps or
maintains, within the corporate or juris-
dictional limits of the city, any barroom,
beer house. ale house, or other place for
the sale of spirituous liquors of any char
acter, shall close Saturday night at p
O'Clock, all doors, windows, or other means
of access to such Places until the follow
ing Sunday night at the same hour.
Ii is claimed that so long as the restau-
rant men have hotel licenses, and keep
their bars closed, they are within the
provisions of the law. In other words, they
| can pile the restaurant jam up with sup
| plies" Saturday night, and do business
| Sunday.
Brown s. case was quickly disposed of, as
| the charge against him was keeping his
! saloon open. The fact that soldiers got
drinks in the saloon was proven to the Re
| corder's satisfaction. With the others,
| however, the case is different. They each
| have a hotel license, which is $50 for places
with less than IS rooms Bigler obtained
the license for six months a few days ago,
paying $25 for it.
Mr.. Walter c. Hartridge, represented
Messrs. Bigler & Manning in court, and
was ready to proceed with the hearing
when the cases were called. Maj. Harrison
| provost marshal, who was present, desired
! to offer the evidence of witnesses not in
court and for this reason the cases were
postponed. 1t is understood the proof will
be of a character to show that both places
| are not bona fide hotels, such as are con-
templated in the ordinance. 1t seems to
| be generally believed that the spirit of the
| ordinance has been violated, and several
members of Council expressed themselves
| to this effect.
This provision is intended to embrace
the hotels, and not lodging houses, said
| Alderman Duncan. 1T seems to me the
mistake which has been made is in the city
issuing a license to persons, unless there
| is positive proof they are intending to run
a hoiel, such as is contemplated in the or
dinance. The city cannot afford to have
| restaurant keepers exercising such privi-
| leges. While there are some who know how
to conduct their places, there are Others
who do not, and under the cover of the law
would convert restaurants into saloons"
If the only proof required is for the res.
taurant men to show that they have rooms
with accommodations for dodgers, as vel
as an eating room, there is slight doubt
that the fact will be established in the
cases now before the Recorder. But it is
claimed that soldiers who visited Bigler's
restaurant Sunday We're required 10 pay
| forty cents for meal, which is twenty.
five cents more than the regular price. With
this meal they were given beer or whisky
The effort, it is stated, viii be to show chat
the object in getting the hotel license, was
TO do a saloon business.
Any applicants at the city exchange fol
hotel keepers license will be serupu-
lousy investigated henceforth. Clerk OF
| Council Bailey says they will be required
TO show that their object is to conduct q
! hotel, and not saloon business. Ii will
not be a difficult matter for the military
authorities to protect themselves against
those who already have the license, pro
vided the soldiers are served with drinks
on Sundays, as the number is not TOO great
to Inconvenience them in detailing suf-
ficient guards at all places.
GEN. MGLASHAN'S LECTURE.