The Pacific commercial advertiser. [volume] (Honolulu, Hawaiian Islands) 1885-1921, 1907-08-20
LICENSES AND
LIQUOR ON kauai
The History of the Traffic
on the Garden
island.


the account of the present situation
there given in yesterdays Advertiser.
According to Sheriff w. H. Rice, Jr.,
there were no liquor, licenses, at least
not for years, until 1898. AS the law
stood until it was changed by the legis-
Iature of 1905, the President of the
Republic and the Governor of the Ter
ritory had absolute power to grant a
license or to refuse it. Acting presum-
ably on the public sentiment of the
island, or at least on the dominant
sentiment, no licenses were issued on
Kauai until sometime in 1898. The
legislature of 1898 passed what was
known as the light wine and beer IL
eense law, and this seems to have been
used as the entering wedge to get the
licensed traffic into the Garden Island
Previous to this, people who wanted
liquor sent to Honolulu for it and had
it shipped to them. There was more
or less Illicit selling, most of the Chi
nese and Japanese storekeepers kept
blind pigs. W. G. Smith, the License
Inspector of the Kauai license board,
is the authority for the statement, that,
even in those days, the wayfaring man,
unless a fool, need not have gone
thirsty Those who did not get it from
Honolulu, or buy it at the Chinese
store, might on occasion, go up into
the mountains and distill little okole-
hao, and indeed there is considerable
local pride in the quality of okolehao
which Kauai produced.
MAX SCHLEMMER, PIONEER.
In 1898, according to Sheriff Rice, a
| light wine and beer license was issued
for a place in Waimea. Curiously
enough, it was issued to "King' Max
Schlemmer as to the very existence of
whose kingdom, Laysan Island, there
was for time some doubt. Under this
license only light wines and beers could
be sold-not ardent spirits-and there
were restrictions as to hours during
which business could be transacted.
The light wine and beer license seems |
never to have been very popular any
where, and after the organization of |
the Territory there seems to have been |
change of policy as to the granting |
of licenses ON Kauai, and in 1900 a |
jobber's license was issued to c. w.
Spitz at Nawiliwili. A little later Max
Schlemmer got another license at Wal
mea, and in 1902 place was opened at
Koloa with Morris Rosenbledt as man
ager, and in 1908 or 1904 j. 1. Silva
procured a license for Hanapepe.
THE 1905 LAW.
Matters stood about thus when the
law of 1905 was passed. This produced
what some people call a saturnalia of
saloons on the island, and what the
most moderate concede was a plethora.
In that year two wholesale licenses
were issued for Waimea, one to Ozaki
and one to the Waimea Wine Company.
There were three retail licenses, one
to Ozaki, one to Odo and one to the
Waimea Wine Company; and there
were four fifth-class licenses issued, one
to native, one to Jap, one to a
Portuguese and one to Chinaman.
The Americans, Porto Ricans and Kore-
ans seem to have been the only ma
tionalities left out of the ffth-class IL
cense crowd. In 1906, Odo dropped
out of the retail business and the Jap
out of the fifth-class business.
At Hanapepe in 1905 j. 1. Silva had
a wholesale license and retail IL
cense and there were two ffth-elass IL
censees, native and a Chinaman. The
latter quit the next year.
FIFTH-CLAsS LICENSES.
In Koloa, the Koloa Wine and Liquor
Company held wholesale and re-
tail license and Jardine Brothers held
a retail license, and there was one fifth
class hcensee, a japanese who dropped
out the next year.
At NawiliwiL c. w. Spitz conducted
both a wholesale and retail establish
ment.
At Kappa J. K. Gandall held re-
tail license, and there was in addition
one ffth-class license. This state of
affairs continued until July 1. At Ka
paa there was a wholesale and retail
license.
At Hanalei in 1905 there was a fifth
class license place, and in 1906 a re-
tail place was started at Kalihiwai
At Wainiha in 1905, while the build
ing of the Wainiha Electric system was
going on, there were FIVE, hundred dol
lar license saloons. In 1906 these were
reduced to two.
Thus it will be seen that the principal
reduction in the number of places in
1906 over 1905 was not very material.
and was practically all in the reduc-
tIOu of Gftb-olacc v.1oaaS |