Omaha daily bee., 1906-01-17
WHAT ARE THEY DRYING ATT

WHAT ARE THEY DRYING ATT
On second sober thought it may dawn
upon members of the Civic Federation
that they have plunged into deep water
when their attorney filed formal protests
with the police board against the grant
ing of licenses to 40 liquor dealers on
the ground that they had violated some
of the provisions of the Slocumb law
during the year 1905. Similar protests
could have been filed against every re-
tial liquor dealer doing business in
Omaha, each and every one of whom
has technically violated some provision
of the law
If the object of the protest was to
prove that the Slocumb law has been
generally disregarded, there was no ne
cessity for protesting ITO licenses. Pro-
tests against twelve or fifteen saloons
promiscuously located would have an
swered the same purpose. If the object
was to close tough joints operated in
conjunction with disorderly resorts per-
manently, the prosecutions should have
been directed specifically against this
have met the approval Of all classes Of
reputable citizens and would have
created no embarrassment. If. on the
other hand, the object of the federation
is to close ITO out of the 240 saloons
licensed in Omaha permanently, the fed
Grafton should have figured out the in
evitable consequences.
Judge Sutton's ruling that no licenses
should have been issued by the police
board pending an appeal from it's de-
cision is undoubtedly the correct version
Of the law, but If the board is to re-
verse itself It must refund the $40 700
paid into the treasury by the applicants
to whom it granted the licenses.
That would bring up the question
whether the city treasurer has any au-
thority to refund the money after it has
been passed to the credit Of the school
fund. Should the court order the treas
urer to refund the $4,000, it would be
up to the school board to devise some
way to meet the demands of its pay
roll to teachers, janitors and employees,
as well as its current expenses. If the
money cannot be refunded it would be-
come a question whether liquor dealers
could recover by an action against the
city for accepting their money and with
holding the privilege for which they
paid.
| The most senseless thing of the whole
sale prosecution instituted by the Civic
| Federation is the request for 10 tran
scripts, which involves over $1,000 Of
expense that will have to be borne by
the taxpayers Of Omaha, when the ends
of justice could have been subserved
just as well by fifteen or twenty tran
scripts, or half a dozen for that matter
This muddle Is the natural sequence
of the disreputable practice that has
been countenanced during the last few
years of filing scores and even hundreds
of protests with the police board, either
for the purpose of downright blackmail
or for the purpose of forcing a compro
mise by which licenses which the board
had held up were to be granted on condi
ton that the protests would be with
drawn.
From the political point of view the
entire proceeding looks very much like
a search after campaign ammunition fol-
the benefit of the preferred candidate
of the Civic Federation rather than an
attempt to suppress disreputable resort.
or to secure a rational enforcement OF
the law relating to the liquor traffic
This view is fully borne out by the fac
that last year. when there was no mu
nicipal election in sight. the wholesal,
prosecutions were compromised by al
alleged agreement with the liquor deal
ers, regardless of their location or no
toriety, to observe the midnight closiny
ordinance and the dismissal of all tn,
protests against saloons that were op
Grated by the reform brewery of Waite
Noise & Co.