The Hawaiian gazette., 1905-01-10
THE PACIFIC CLUB DECISION.

The Pacific Club has for several
years past been selling liquor to Its
members without paying for a liquor
license. The club is a bona fide social
club. the liquor selling being simply
an incidental feature. without proht
to anyone, other than a nominal one
to pay expenses.
Whether or not this was an infringe
ment OF the liquor license law was a
doubtful question, but as there was no
abuse OF the privilege, no one raised
the question, and but for an unexpect-
ed development, the probability is that
IL would not have been raised at all
Someone with a laundering to sell I'D
uor without a license conceived the|
idea of patterning after the Pacihc
Club. to the extent of forming CLUB,
TO whose members liquor could be sold.
No sooner said than done, full
fiedged Club was formed among the
aristocrats of Kakaako and Magoon-
vile. with palatial quarters in lean
20 on a back alley. and every Saturday
night the beer frothed swipes sizzled
and Joy was unconfined. On Sundays
also. Joy with its liquid refreshment
accomplishments cut still wider
swath, for was not the club the social
home of its members, and Is not
mans home his castle, and cannot
man do any old thing in his castle. on
Sunday or any other day?
The plan worked so well that In the
course of a few weeks the club-promot-
ing industry had boom and all SUM
dom became club members In good and
regular standing, each with consti-
tuition and bylaws, and a generous
hacker. who furnished free quarters
and kindly undertook to furnish booze
to the members without salary.
At about this time the police and the
regular retail sellers awoke to the fact
that a large percentage OF the retail
liquor business of the city was being
handled by the clubs whose chief
social function was to guzzle cheap
liquor. As no license had to be paid,
this was actually sold cheaper than in
the saloons.
To each charge of Illicit selling the
reply was made that the seller was the
manager of a regularly organized club,
''all same Pacific Club"
This brought matters to focus and
forced an answer to a question which
would not otherwise have been raised.
An agreed statement of facts was
therefore prepared and submitted to
Judge " hitney, requesting his dcci-
sion as to whether the Pacific Club hal
the right, without a retail license, TO
sell liquor to It's members.
Judge Whitney has decided that 1t
does not have such right The deoi-
sion Is logical and supported by prece-
dent.
1t is difficult to see how. under the
statute any other decision could have
been rendered
A club is either selling or II is not
selling. II 1t Is selling, It makes no
difference whether the sale is to ten,
fifty or one hundred and fifty selected
men or to the great unwashed.
What constitutes the gist of the Of
Tense of selling liquor without a license
is the selling; not whom the sale is to.
The sale of 81 quart of champagne
to Governor Carter, by the Pacific
Club. is the same in logic and in the
eye of the law, as the sale Of five cents
worth of molasses swines to Jack, the
bum-boat man, by the Royal Kakaako
Hula Club.
II the Pacific Club can sell cham
payne to it's members, without a IL
cense, the Hula Club can sell swipes
to its members on the same basis.
One of three things must happen,
viz:
l. Judge Whitney's decision must
stand; or
2. The law requiring licenses for the
sale of liquor will be utterly nulli-
fed: or
g. There must be a complete read
justment of the liquor laws of the Ter
ritory.
Which shall It be?