El Paso daily herald. (El Paso, Tex.) 1881-1901, 1899-02-22
SALOONS AND
GAMBLING HOUSES
Judge KlttrelI's Suggestions As To
Needed Legislatlon.-He Believes
that Present Laws Should Be
Enforced and Further ReStriC-
lions Made.

Enforced and Further ReStrlC-
tons Made.
| In concluding his address to the
members of the house February 10,
says the Post, Judge Kittrell gave q
synopsis of his proposed remedy for
the evils of the saloon and gam ding
house. He said:
Today, scorning the statutes mac
by the people, holding their corrupt!ng
power in terrorem over your officers
1.-THE supposed guardians of law and
order) the saloon and gambling house
fiauut defiance in the face of the people
and calmly ask: What Can you do
about it?'' 1 will tell you what l
would have you do:
First Make the keeping OF gam
bling house felony; the running of =
house for gaming a felony; aud the ex-
hibiting of any banking game felony.
Second. If a saloon keeper permit
gambling of any kind in or about his
saloon, or any house under his control,
make conviction of such offense oper.
ate to cancel his license aud forbid It's
renewal to him or to any one for him.
Third. If q saloon keeper violate
any of the conditions of his bond, make
judgment for ssuch uviolation operate
lpsO facto, to cancel and annul his
| license, with the prohibition of renew,
al.
Fourth. Fix thu license for every
saloon for the retail of alcoholic
liquors at $500 per annum. payable
cash in advance, before taking out the
United States revenue license. You
| will thereby reduce the number OF
saloons and consequently .educe the
evils that flow from them. If the state
is to be partner in the saloon bust
ness, make the partnership as limited
and respectable as possible. AS was
said forty years ago about the constltu-
tion Of the United States, as it related
to slavery, but with less truth than the
same can be said of the contract be-
q league with death and q covenant
with hell"
Fifth. Since the law presumes tn at
of every form of trade or business, the
saloon alone will violate the law, and
puts the saloon keeper under bond, as
one 10 whose case the maxim of pre-
sumption of innocence is reversed,
make any violation of law by him oper-
ate to annul his license.
| Sixth. Put the same license on the
private, social or fashionable club that
is put on the saloon. The state should
be fair. She has no right to tax the
public saloon keeper for the privilege
of selling liquor. while she allows the
bar up stairs across the street to run
| free.
| Seventh. So frame the law that If
any citizen makes oath before magis-
trate that he has reason to believe that
q gaming house is being run in viola
tion of the law, such magistrate shall
at once issue proper process to some
peace officer to arrest the violatOr in
either regard, and If either of the two
officers named shall fail or refuse to
perform his duty, then remove such Of
fcer from Office.
Eighth. If gaming house be proved
to have run so long as five days in any
city or town make such fact prima ia
Gle evidence of neglect of duty on the
part of the sheriff of said county, or
marshal or chief of police of said city
or town.
Ninth. Amend the law of arrest so
| as to authorize and compel any officer
to arrest, without warrant or complaint,
any offender for any misdemeanor COM
mitted in his presence, so that he can
not excuse failure to close saloon I'M
lawfully open or to stop the running of
q gambling house on the ground OF
no complaint having been made in legal
form.
Tenth. So make the law that If any
two or more credible citizens shall
ney or county attorney, of the violation
of the condition of his bond by any
saloon keeper. and such officer shall
fail to proceed against such offender
by suit on his bond, then, upon the fact
being shown to the attorney general,
he shall institute suit to remove such
district or county attorney from office;
do the duty enjoined upon him, then
provide for his removal from Office.
Eleventh. Pass a civil liability act,
| such as exists in many states, making
him who sells liquor whereby a man Is
made drunk, responsible in damages to
any person injured by such party so
made drunk, and liable also in dam
ages to the family of the person who is
made drunk.
Twelfth. Provide by constitutional
amendment, or If need be by new
contitution, that no man shall vote in
Texas who has not paid poll tax, and
who has not, if he be not a native OF
the United States, taken out his final
papers of citizenship, and that no man
s Soan O o0'e foreisn nh''hs who n'' ase
the English language. Such should be
the constitutional provision relating
to suffrage, without special reference
to the matter under discussion; as nc
man who can not read the organic law
of the state of which he is q
citizen in the language in which
it is written, should be permit
ted to have voice in making the laws
of the land or in choosing it's public
servants. Such provision might ex'
clude from the ballot some worthy
citizen of mature age, but provi.ion fol
such cases could be easily made, so as
not to work injustice. While in the
cities there are thousands of intelli-
gent, law abiding citizens, YET
there are also thousands OF the
idle, ignorant and vicious who pay nc