The Caucasian. (Clinton, N.C.) 188?-1913, 1905-09-07
SUBSCRIPTION RATES.
THE LIQUOR QUESTION INRAL


Kaleigh now has dispensary. A
petition has been circulated In the city
for vote OH saloons with high license
or dispcnsary. The list was purged
some days ago Of all the names who
were not registered voters and there
was still IA sufficient number 10 order
an election. The advocates of the dis
pensary say now that 40 more names
who voted in the last election. must
come off the list az the parties had not
paid their poll tax before May list The
Watts law, under which the election
would be held does not say that. But
law doesn't cut any figure with the
News and Observer and its -horts
when it would cause them to lose their
pet way Of selling liquor
The Raleigh Times Democratic)
commenting on the situation says:
Here is the situation: A petition
was presented to the board of alder
men Mt meeting previous to last Fri
day night, asking that the board call
an election on the question of dispen-
sary or saloons. The petition contained
many more signers than the necessary
Onethird of the registered voters re
quired by law. The board, through a
committee of its members compared the
names Oh the petition with the list of
registered voters at the last election,
after purging the registration books of
names of voters who had died, and of
such as appeared twice on account of
removal. The result was that the cor
rected petition contained some eighteen
names more than the necessary one
third of the registered voters. Then it
was decided that at the next meeting
Of the board any one so desiring could
take his name off the petition or any
one who had not yet signed could put
his name on. The board met last Fri
day night and proceeded, according to
Z,
that the petition finally showed 534
names, IL more than the required one
third.
Then it appeared tho those who
were opposed to holding the election
wanted about ITO names stricken from
the petition on the ground that they
had not paid their city poll tax prior
TO the first of last May. This would,
or course, carry with it the further re-
vision of the registration books by
striking therefrom the names of all
who had not paid poll tax this year.
1.-The city attorney advised the board
that the Watts law read as follows on
this point:
That it shall be the duty of the
governing body of any city or town,
upon the petition of e-third of the
registered voters therein, who were
registered for the preceding municipal
election, to order an election to be held,
after 80 days notice.
Accordingly, as the city attorney
said, the question of the qualification
OF voter for coming election on
any ground whatever, could not enter
into the consideration, in face of I'M
equivocal language of the law, which
left no opportunity for Interpretation
other than according to its specifically
expressed words.
But the board did not accept the
advice Of the city attorney employed
to safeguard the legal interests of the |
city, and accepted instead the advice
of lawyers who got from SOMEWHERE
certainly not from the statute ITSELF
what was called an Interpretation of |
its meaning. According to these law
yers the law means third of the
qualified voters at the next following
election, and not what it actually says
-"one-third of the registered voters
therein, who were registered for the
preceding municipal election
$50 the petition and the registration
books have been again turned over to
the committees, one member Of which
has refused to serve in the work that
is contrary to the specific provisions
of the law.
The board adjourned until next
Thursday night to take final action
upon the committees report. If that
action is according to the determination
reached last Friday night, it is under
stood that the petitioners for the cleo
ton will take immediate steps toward
procuring a mandamus to compel the
board of aldermen to obey the law and
call an election.
'The situation is as unfortunate as
1t is amazing. Not even the Jesuit
cal proposition that the end justifiesl
the means can be pleaded in this
stultifying proceeding, for no moral
question is at issue, but only the one
whether the city should itself monop-
Ollie the sale Of liquor or license some
OF its citizens to conduct the business"