The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1909-04-19
EARLY ANTI-DRINK LAWS.
The Liquor Question in other Days
Efforts to Combat Drunkenness.
New York SUM

In this day Of high license. no license
and local option. with a strong ten
dency in the country to prohibition. the
liquor question seems to be reaching
some sort of crisis. But il has always
been troublesome issue to lawmakers
and executives from the dawn of colo
NAL government down, and each gen.
Grafton, although it may learn some
thing from the last. has to begin the
irrepressible conflict over again. If the
crisis is not ever present, experience is
always working up to it.
In Connecticut a recent examination
Of the records of more than 26O years
disclOses many curious developments in
legislation. There was even a tirae
when the privilege Of selling liquor went
begging. In 1643 the general court had
to pass an order that the towns upon
the river (ConnecticuO select zone
sufficient inhabitant to keep an ordinary
for provisions and lodgings in some
comfortable manner. that passengers
or strangers may know where to re-
sort" For each month of neglect a
town was to be fined forty shilIings. At
that period and later the innkeeper
could not sell above half a pint Of
wine to one person at one time and it
was enjoined that no customer could
N'AAtAAtGN NARAAtIS dbONt lilt TBctNG u
half an hour" The state recognized
the necessary use Of houses of COM
mon entertainment in every common
wealth and of such as retail wines. beer
and victuals"
Drunkenness or disOrderly conduct. as
the laws calls il in these euphemistic
times, was punished, but the Connecti-
cut lawmakers were careful to define il
as a condition whereby the offender
was ''beTeaved OF disabled in the use of
his understanding. appearing in his
speech or gestures" The American
habit of treating can perhaps be traced
to law of 1908. which required the GUS
toner TO drink on his feet The act of
that year declared that no licensed inn
keeper should suffer amy inhabitant to
slit drinking or tipling." For 175 years
this was the law in Connecticut In the
early part of the century there must
have been more drunkenness than was
tolerable. for in lbs the legislature lin
tied the sales of liquor to travellers.
No person -fdwelling in any town shall
be suffered TO drink any rum Cor other
liquor in any tavern in that town.
-Four Fears afterward the legislature
had to take notice of blind tigers and
holes in the wall" The "speakeasies'
were not, however. known under the
names III modern use. ABOUT lf25 the
first law making retailing a misde-
meanor on the Lords day was put
on the statute book The first excise
law was not enacted until 1875. As time
went on intemperauce became so vexed
a question that bills regulating the
liquor traffic We're always before the
general assembly. Cards. dice and
tables were not allowed in inns By
law of 1884, and at that time minors
servants and negroes were excluded as
customers A curious statute Of 1905
"outlawed' a liquor bill in two days.
What was called the Maine law
brings Connecticut legislation down to
1854. No fee was required of innkeep-
ers, but liquor sold must be drunk on
the premises and in houses of enter
tainment there must be two beds for
guests and stabling for four horses.
County commissioners might authorize
all persons to manufacture LIQUOR,
but they could sell to town agents
only. The town agents in turn might
sell 20 others than innkeepers, but only
for sacramental, chemical and medici-
nal purposes. Their books surviving
show that most Of the male inhabitants
needed a good deal Of liquor for such
purposes.