The times., 1899-02-12
DISTRICT BILLS REPORTED.
The Gcnsure to Prohibit Sale Oi
Liquors on Suada..

Ec 'iSnSUrS 10 trchtbit w
Liquors on sunday.
Several reports from the District Com
mittee were turned in 10 the House yes
terday. Among them was one on the bill
to prohibit the sale of beer and ether in
toxicatiHS liquors on Sunday. The bill
provides n fine of from $3.50 to $500 The
District Commissioners, in their letter -
the committee, say that a growing evil has
manifested itself in the past year inciden,;I
TO the effective work accomplished by tnc
police in eradicating the "speakeasy." The
latter name is applied to out-of- the-way
places where liquor is sold without license
and where the patron is expected with
bated breath to order his potations. The
police were long puzzled to know where
so many intoxicated persons procured
drinks on Sundays. The mystery has been
revealed, and despite the fact that our
hreweries have extensive sales throughout
the week, they sell to customers on Sun
days in quantities of an eighth of kes or
more of beer without fear of molcstation
or prosecution.
There is no law which will reach this
class of sales. In some sections il is no
uncommon sight TO see an individual car
rying a sack containing a lieg OF beer to
some suburban, lot or alley stable to be
eagerly feasted upon by his companions IN
waiting. The evil is extending, and il.
the absence OF law to cover this class OF
barter the Commissioners recommend such
amendment to the excise law as will enable
the police TO prosecute this class of Of
tenders.
Another report is on the bill for the
further distribution of the Compiled Stat
utes OF the District of Columbia.
By the provisions of an act of Congress
approved March 2. 1895, 5000 copies of the
mil la1 fnt, 81.
lumbia were delivered to the Department
of the Interior for distribution to certain
departments and officers of the Govern
ment and for sale at $3.75 per copy. Sub
/ sequenuy the price was reduced to $3.50
per copy, and further distribution was
! made by order OF Congress to Senators and
Representatives and to repositories of pub
lie documents The entire distribution,
| however, to date has amounted to only
l.i69 copies, leaving 3,53t still undstrib-
uted.
At present there is no demand whatever
I for the work in the way of sale, nor is
! there any probability that more than few
additional copies will find purchasers. so
/ that unless some provision is made for the
1 further gratuitous distribution of the vol
ume those now on hand will remain per-
manently undistributed. Under these cir
| cumstances the bill authorizes the Secre-
| naming copies as follows: To each SEN
ator, Representative, and Delegate in the
| Fifty-ffth and Fifty-siXth Congresses not
| already supplied with the work, one copy;
| to each of three public. university. or col
! lege libraries not repositories of public
! documents, to be named by each Senator
! of each State, the Representative of each
| Congressional district, and the Delegate
| of each Territory in the Fifty-ffth or Fiji
| ty--sixth Congresses. one copy; and to
such executive and Judicial officers of the
! Government not already supplied as may
require this work in the discharge of their
duties, one copy.
third report is on the Senate bill to
provide for an appropriate national cele-
! bration of the establishment of the seat of
! Government in the District of Columbia
The purpose of the bill is to authorize
/ the appointment OF committees 10 prepare
! plans for an appropriate national celebra-
/ tion, in the year 1900, OF the first session
! OF Congress in the District and the estab-
| iishment Of the seat of Government therein
| The national character of the event and
! the peculiar conditions which do now, and
doubtless will, surround the national his
| tory of the United States make it desirable
| to elevate the celebration beyond purely
| local aspects. II marks the creation and
| growth Of the capital of a great country;
| it indicates the rapidly opening possibili-
| ties OF the future. The country has, ap-
parently, completed one phase OF its de-
velopment. The coming century opens for
it a world wide field which it has not
| hitherto sought to enter.
! The measure has been recommended by
| President Mckinley.