Windham County reformer. (Brattleboro, Vt.) 1901-1906, 1903-11-20
TWO LICENSES GRANTED
CECIL c. TURNER AND p. /. SHEA
EACH RECEIVE ONE.
They Will Begin Business Immediately
in the American House and Whet-
stone BIock-Action on BrattIeboro
House Application Deferred.


stone Bock-Action on BrattIebor,
House Application Deferred.
Brattleboro will become full fedg
ed license town again next week whef
Cecil Turner, the new proprietor of thu
American House, and Patrick l.. SheS
will begin doing business with frs
class licenses which have been granted
them by the local board of license
commissioners. The new licenses are
substitutes for two of those which were
revoked and will expire April 25, 1904
The commissioners made their de-
cision Monday night when they a.
greed upon granting first class licenses
to the two above named applicants
and deferring action upon the applica-
ton of George II. Danyew for the Brat
tleboro House until Nov. 2S when that
of Harry b. Haus for the Use
House in West Brattleboro will be con-
sidered. Mr.. Shea also applied for a
second class license but was refused.
Mr.. Shea began making extensive
| improvements in the MILESTONE block
store Tuesday and expects to receive
his bar and fixtures by the first of
next week at the latest. The Ameri-
can House is already fitted up and Mr..
Turner will begin selling as soon as
he receives his license.
over 100 interested persons. only
about a quarter of whom could get
within hearing distance, were on hand
when the license board met Saturday
evening The first application taken
up was that of Cecil C. Turner for the
American House. No one made any
objections to the granting of this IL
cense but Rev III. r. Miles asked if
there was any evidence which showed
that Mr.. Turner had sold liquor to
minors at the time the American House
license was revoked for that reason
Lawyer Z. w. Gibson. counsel for Mr.
Turner, said he did not understand that
any such evidence was brought out
and that no action was brought against
Mr.. Turner at that time. Mr.. Miles
then said that he was not making an
objection but simply thought that if
any such evidence had appeared it
ought to be taken into consideration
by the board.
The application of George H. Dan
yew for the Brattleboro House was
then read and objections called for,
but none appeared.
Two petitions against granting a Ii
cense to Patrick L. Shea for the vacant
store in the milestone block were re-
ceived by the board just before the
hearing, one signed by four property
holders in the neighborhood of that To-
cation and another from several resi-
dents of Canal street. In discussing these
petitions Robert C. Bacon, counsel for
Mr.. Shea, said that the first could not
legally be taken into consideration by
the board for the reason that the law
required such a petition to be signed
by a majority of the property holders
within 400 feet of the location desig-
mated whereas only about one third
We're represented. The second petit
ton, he said, objected to the license
being granted on the same grounds
as the one that was circulated in
West Brattleboro at the time of the
Melrose hotel application. The sign
ers were nearly all prohibitionists and
did not believe in license under any
conditions. Regarding the fitness of
Mr.. Shea in comparison with the other
applicants Mr.. Bacon said that he was
the best qualified to con-
III SupBOli VI ILLS al gu
ment he read from testimony taken at
the time of the American House Ii
cense revocation showing that three
minors had testified to buying liquor of
c. C. Turner at that hotel.
In urging the matter in behalf of his
clients. Messrs. Turner and Danyew,
Mr. Gibson said that both had bona
fide leases of the respective hotels and
that no actual evidence had been
placed before the board relative to sales
to minors by Mr.. Turner. He said
the business could be handled better
in the hotels than in a saloon and that
the hotel keepers were entitled to first
because of their proper
ty interests. In answer to the latter
Mr.. Bacon said that neither
of the new proprietors had any ac-
tual property interests in the hotels, |
the Brattleboro House being mortgaged |
to almost the full extent of its value |
with the second mortgage. covering the |
furniture. held by the Springfield, /
Mass, brewing company, and the I
American House being owned by Cros-
by & Adams and its furniture covered |
oy mortgage held by H. r. Brown.
s. B. Emerson said he understood I
hat the license law was required be-
,ause the hotels needed to sell liquor
n order to do a profitable business and
f they were not to have licenses then
he occasion of the law was wiped out.
He then went on to praise the personal
character of Mr.. Shea and appealed to
he commissioners to refuse him Ii
,ense on the grounds that he was too
rood a man to sacrifice on such an al
ar.
Fred w. Putnam, chairman of the
icepse board, then called upon H. F.
Brooks who headed one of the petitions
or an expression of his views, but
.Ir. Brooks was not nrAsant The
tearing was adjourned with the de-
isions withheld.