Los Angeles herald., 1907-11-05
LIQUOR TAX
NOT FAVORED
PROMINENT PASADENANS GIVE
OPINIONS
CITY GOVERNS SALE, BUT GETS
NO REVENUE
"PureIy Business Proposition" Says
Minister-"License Would Hurt
Community's Reputation"
Declare Opponents
Pasadena Agency.
n North Raymond Avenue,
Phones: Sunset 1907. Home 212s.

PASADENA, NOV. 4.-Pasadena stands
in the peculiar position of permitting a
traffic in liquor to exist under certain
restrictions without deriving a cent of
revenue from it.
On the advisability of imposing license
tax on hotels and restaurants, as well as
agencies of breweries and wineries that
do large business in Pasadena, the
opinions of well known citizens differ.
Nearly all said they had given the ques-
ton no previous thought
Mayor Farley declares that as a source
of revenue he would be willing to have
such tax, but that he doubts whether
it would not compromise Pasadena If it
were known as a license city.
Councilman H. c. Hotaling says: "I
think it would be a good thing if it did
not tend to open up any wider the liquor
traffic in Pasadena"
City Attorney j. Berry Wood said that
the council had the power under the
charter to impose a license tax, and
Councilman G. j. Crandall favors a
license.
81 would like to see the business yield
a revenue, as 1t imposes an extra bur-
den on the police department and the
city's funds are insufficient to make the
department as efficient as 1t should be-
says Police Commissioner Medill. But II
it tended to compromise or hinder the
department in the exercise of its func-
tions would not approve of it,
Chief of Police H. H. Favour, when
asked for his opinion, said: 81 never sup
posed for moment that we were not
getting a revenue from the business. ]
would be in favor of it, as it would tend
to give the department better control of
the traffic.
G. d. Sargent, president of the Pasa-
dena board of trade, disapproves OF the
suggestion that it would reflect on the
good reputation of Pasadena.
Would Pay to Avoid Sales
John B. Dame, assistant of d. M. Lin
nard of the Maryland hotel, takes much
the same view as Mr.. Sargent. I'VE are
forced by the demands of a considerable
percentage of our guests to furnish them
with liquor, but we would be glad if 1t
were possible to conduct a hotel success
fully without doing So" he asserts. I'VE
would gladly pay a tax if some plan
could be devised whereby >the business
could be eliminated from all of our
hotels"
Rev. William MacCormack of All Saints
Episcopal church says: "It is matter
of business and not ethics, and / think 1t
would be good thing"
Rev. f. M. Dowling of the First Chris
tian church thinks that purely as a mat
ter of business it might be good plan.
But" he adds, II am opposed to licens-
ing the liquor traffic from a moral and
ethical standpoint. would rather bear
a little more burden of the tax myself
than to have it paid by the liquor trade
Rev Lamport of the First Methodist
church is strongly opposed to such a
license in any form, because, he says, the
tenets OF his church declare licensing to
be sin.
cat first thought it seems to me-" says
Police Judge Mcdonald, that 1t would
not be wise thing to do, as the traffic
is tolerated in Pasadena primarily for the
accommodation of our guests. 1 for one
would not like to see any more legal
cognizance taken of the business than at
present"
The need of large revenue for the city
is shown by the fact that the council has
been unable to make the increase In the
police force requested by the chief and
one of the police commissioners.
The burden that the liquor traffic inn
poses on the police department is indi-
Gated by the large proportion of the
charge of drunkenness to the arrests
made