The Pacific commercial advertiser. [volume] (Honolulu, Hawaiian Islands) 1885-1921, 1907-06-13
CLUBS Up AGAINST
THE LIQUOR LAW
Nav Have to Go Back to the
Old Private Locker
System.

Fashionable clubs of Honolulu may
have to revert to the old locker system,
where every member has his own priv
vate bottle and may keep his own key
and counsel.
It is because the new liquor license
law has not apparently made provision
for just the kind of liquor service a
bona fide club wants.
Attorney General Peters made the
discovery of the mix-up in regard to
clubs while studying the law to give an
opinion on certain points of the law
asked for by the License Board.
..under the old law. before the Legis-
lature of 1906 said Attorney General
Peters, there grew up, as you remem-
ber. a lot of clubs organized for prac-
tically the sole purpose of drinking and
evading the license law. In effect the
members simply Clipped in money to a.
common fund which was spent for
liquor which was drunk in common un-
til it was gone and then there was am
other assessment. To remedy this evil
the law of 1905 specifically provided for
club licenses. The original draft OF
the 1907 law also contained such a pro.
vision, But for some reason it was
left out and clubs We're left to be dealt
with under the general provisions OF
the law.
provisions of the law and consider them
in relation to the requirements of club
practices it is not so easy sailing, es-
pecially if to the provisions of the law
are added the regulations proposed by
the Board.
"To meet all the requirements of a
club, with the licenses as limited by the
law and proposed by the Board, 1T
would require a saloon license IL there
is to be a bar, a restaurant license. and
a hotel license, and then the extra $3.50
license To sell after hours and on Sum
days. But under the proposed regu-
Iation of the Board a saloon license and
a restaurant license will not be granted
for one place. Under the law a hotel
and restaurant license cannot be grant
ed for the same place. If hotel Ii
cense is taken out there can be no
bar And if a restaurant license is
taken out the club can have no rooms
for members"
1t looks like the old fashioned locker
system were the only alternative.
The Board of License Commissioners
had another meeting yesterday after
noon. But beyond discussion of mat>
ters likely to come before it nothing
was done, as the Board has not yet
received an opinion from the Attorney
General on the two questions propound-
ed to him. One of these goes to very
and important point of
the law and that is whether the Board
actually has absolute control over the
licensing, regulation and revocation Of
licenses under the law, as apparently
it has, or whether its control must be
exercised by general regulations affect
ing classes and not individuals.
The two questions asked by the Board
are:
ID What quantity are persons hold |
ing a retail license under the provisions
of Act 119. Session Laws of 1907. author |
lied to sell: and whether the definition |
of the word "retaiP' as descriptive Of |
the license, places any restriction upon
the licensee as to the quantity hei shall |
sell.
(2) What power has the Board by |
reason of the wording regulate and |
control licenses in Section 4.