Omaha daily bee., 1902-07-20
AFFAIRS At SOUTH OMAHA
sslOsnm,n Propose 70 Keep Open the Back
DOsu on Sunday,
ONLY REGULAR POLICE WILL Be ON DUTY
VIII Make No Special Effort
to Enforce Hit Sunday Closing
order from A~nti-saIOOn
League.

Some Of the South Omaha saloon keepers
propose to keep their places Of business
open today.
1t appears that legal advice has been OBJ
tanned and the opinion is that the mayors
sweeping closing order cannot be legally
enforced unless all Of the provisions Of
the slocum law are included. What the
liquor dealers propose to do today is to
close and lock their front doors and draw
the shades. The rear doors will be open
for those who care to enter. IL Is under
stood that an agreement among those in
the combine Is to the effect that no minors
will be permitted to enter. neither will
beer in cans be sold to anyone.
Mayor Koutsky when asked about this
matter admitted that he had heard rumors
to this effect, but said that such action is
without his sanction. 81 shall do all I can
with the force at my command to carry out
my Sunday closing order" said the mayor.
IL shall not, however, ask the night force
to do double duty, as I did a week ago;
neither shall i swear in any special po-
llcemen, as 1 do not consider the increased
expense to the taxpayers warranted. II
any Of the members OF the Anti-Saloon
league desire to have a saloon keeper ar
rested for violating the closing order 1
shall direct him to apply to the police
Judge on Monday morning and swear to a
complaint"
Some OF the members Of the Anti-Saloon
league have applied to the mayor, asking
that they be sworn in as special policemen
for the day, in order that they might watch
the saloons to better advantage. The mayor
declined to do this.
Wins Important Suit.
In the test case Of the C. F. Adams COM
pany to determine whether or not the ped
dlers' ordinance Of the city is valid, Judge
Estelle has decided that the ordinance is
constitutional and that arrests made under
It are legal. Some time ago one OF the
Adams company's agents was arrested for
peddling in South Omaha without a license.
Before the day Of trial was reached a writ
Of habeas corpus was served upon the chief
OF police, ordering him to produce the de-
PENDANT before the district court and show
the legality of the ordinance under which
the arrest was made. For this reason the
prosecution In the police court has been
abandoned. The habeas corpus case was
continued from time to time and was
not finally brought up for hnal hearing
until last Thursday. 1t was then argued all
day by the attorneys for the different
parties and Judge Estelle took the case
under advisement until yesterday morning.
This case has the effect, It is claimed,
of legalizing all Of the license tax ordi-
nances OF the city, around which there has
been so much doubt for a long time. Among
these ordinances the ordnance providing
that all persons soliciting for mercan-
tile houses Of the city shall first pay a
license fee, and which ordinance has been
declared illegal by Judge King on the
ground that the fee asked is excessive.
Judge Estelle based his decision on the
provision In the old charter Of the city,
which was in effect when the ordinance
was passed, which provides that revenue
may be raised by a city by the imposition
Of a license tax.