The Morris County chronicle. [volume] (Morristown, N.J.) 1877-1915, 1900-04-20


spoke as follows;
In taking This chair / would say =
and | know that | express also the
feelings OF the Commissioner whc
holds over with me-that | am pleas
ed that the Eew appointment 70 this
Board is the reappointment OF the
one who has served so long upon ~,
a business man OF Morristown widely
known and as highly honored-Mr.
Charles McColum.
In entering on tile work Of the
Board tor another year it may be
well for us to make a survey OF con
ditions.
The sale and use of alcoholic liquors
is liable 10 occasion disturbance OF
the public D ace. Therefore, as the
manufacture and sale of gunpowder
might as dangerous business be re.
strlcted by law, SO the sale of ntoxi-
eating drinks is permitted only 10
certain persons 1t devolves upon
this Board to name such persons III
and for the town OF Morristown
In this municipality there are 1886
enrolled. voters. And The suburbs of
the town are more thicklY settled
than usual We have therefore, in
and Immediately around Morristown
from twelve to fifteen thousand peo-
pie
There are now outstanding under
grant of this Board five hotel and
seven saloon licenses, twelve places
in all in which liquor is sold by the
glass. There are seven grocers who
have license to sell by the quart and
upwards, not o be drunk OH or about
the premises, while one of the hotel
keepers and three of the saloon
keepers hold also licenses to sell at
wholesale, making in all twenty
three licenses held by nineteen per-
sons.
When business is restricted by
law to certain persons, they being
thus protected from general compe-
tition, it is not unreasonable that
from their receipts thus increased,
they should pay certain amount in
to the public treasury. Therefore,
on each of the licenses granted by
this Board there isa charge of $3.50,
and there is passed over each wear by
this Board 70 the town authorities
the sum of about six thousand dollars.
There are, | say, in this town but
twelve places in which liquor is sold
by the glass, less than one to each
thousand OF population. What this
means cab be understood only by Ia
comparison with other places As
siStance in such comparison is found
in the reports of the United States
Internal Revenue Dept. Every man
engaged in the sale OF lIquor must
pay a tax to the United States. Nor
is he excused from such payment by
the Tact that he is doing business in a
Prohibition State. From these re-
ports therefore, we can find out some
thing about sales even in districts
under prohibIrory law.
La Augusta, Maine, the capital Of
the original Prohibition State. Il
town not SO large as ours. there were
recently reported fifty drinking
places paying u. s tax-more than
-four times as many as we have. Nor
does this give the whole dispropor.
ton, for the Y. $. tax will be paid
only by those who are in the business
on a somewhat extended scale, no,
by the man who sells from a keg in
the wood shed or peddles IN lanes
and alleys from bolt les carried in his
overcoat pockets Again, the selling
which is done in defiance OF the law
must be the worst kind of selling, de
void of all restraints. In our own
town, however, there is, so far as |
can find, no unlicensed selling and
the absence of complaints would in
dictate that the dealers are generally
observing the restrictions imposed
on them by the terms of their licen
SEES.
Nor does il appear that Augusta
is an exceptionally bad place. In
Waterville, Maine, college town,
and one little moie than half the size
of ours, there are reported double the
number of registered retail LIQUOR
dealers. The city of Portland has
four or five times the number of re-
tai liquor dealers in proportion to
population that we have. The same
condition is found even IN small
villages in Name.
In the u. 5. Internal Revenue re
ports for 1892, the average number of
retail liquor dealers paying U. s. tax
TO each thousand of population
stands as follows: In the whole
United States, 800 In the five Pro
Inhibition states taken together. .. 2s
In the town of Morristown we have
Tess thGglone.
II now any of our fellow citizens
should feel moved to criticise this Board
for its action in this or that instance
we can not only plead that we have
sought to do what was right in each
ease but can also claim that our adj
has been fairly success.
full since the sale of LIQUOR is now more
closely restricted than il would be il
this were No-license town. ASSUMING
that the people of Maine or Kansas
are as law abiding and law enforcing
as the people of New Jersey heaI
of no Prohibition town Of twelve
thousand inhabitants in which there