Bismarck daily tribune. [volume] (Bismarck, Dakota [N.D.]) 1881-1916, 1909-10-12
LIQUOR PERMITS.

LIQUOR PERMITS. f.
Judge Burke of the Fifth district
takes the ground apparently that no
druggist If he complies with the let
ter and spirit of the law, can af-
ford to take out a permit to sell in
toxicating liquors, except as pub
lie benefactor and for the possible re-
lief of very few applicants for H.
quor for medicinal purposes. At a
recent term of court in LaMoure
county, the application of druggist
for a permit was denied, after a
cross examination by the Judge,
which apparently brought out the
fact that the druggist was either a
wilful or an unconscious violator Of
the law in a great number of cases
in which intoxicating liquor was dis
pensed. The Verona Chronicle, in
speaking of the case in question,
says:
Perhaps the most interesting and
significant feature of the term was
the hearing on the application for a
druggists permit made by J. X.
Clauson, of Verona. This was the
first case of the kind to come up in
LaMoure county since the issuing
of druggists permits was placed I'M
der the jurisdiction of district judges
by a law enacted last winter.
Mr., Clauson showed that he was
registered pharmacist, that he owned
a stock of drugs and was in every
way legally qualified to receive a per-
nit The showing in this respect
vas entirely satisfactory, but Judge
Burke wanted to know how Mr.. Cla,l-
SOL had handled this branch of the
drug business under a permit granted
by the county court. The records on
file in the county judges Office were
called for, and the stubs showed that
during the first eight months Of the
present year Mr.. Clauson had made
about thirteen hundred sales of liquor
for medicinal purposes. Coughs,
colds, govt, stomach ache, heart burn
the same old maladies that have
done and are still doing yeomen SER
vice throughout prohibition North Da-
kota, were all there. Judge Burke
asked Mr.. Clauson to pick out Of the
lot Of stubs one-just one-thal he
would say represented genuine case
of sickness, but the genial druggist
ibid not undertake to do so. DR..
Wentz, who appeared as one of Mr..
FrYTf
there had not been anything like
1900 cases Of illness around Verona
during the past eight months which
required alcoholic treatment. As a
result of Judge Burka's investigation
he naturally declined 20 issue a per-
NIT. Two or three other applications
for permits had been filed, but the
applicants evidently did not care to
run the gauntlet of Judge Burke's in
terTogations, and no appearance was
made In this connection it is pretty
safe to say that when Druggist Claus
son failed to Connect" the hopes Of
the other applicants vent glimmer-
ing. We think from the fact that
Judge Burke was heard u remark
that Mr.. Clauson's record was the
best he ever saw, "That young lnan
meant to comply with the law" said
the judge, land he thought he was
doing so. But there seems to be
something in the handling of liquor
that dulls the moral sense. The pal
try excuse offered by druggists that
the applicant said he was sick is In
point. The whole thing is simply a
farce. As matter of fact, assum-
ing that there is any medicinal value
in ardent spirits, ten dollars would
cover the legitimate output in town
like Verona for a year. But it costs
druggists about fifty dollars to make
applications for permits. How can
they be expected to handle the bust
ness In strict conformity with the
spirit as well as the letter of the
law? The proposition is absurd"
We have recently the testimony of
pretty capable medical men that al
collol as a medicine is very seldom
indicated, and that In great num-
Der of cases, other simple and less
harmful remedies will do the neces-
sary work. This bting the case, it
would seem that there is no espec-
iaI emergency for the maintenance
of d depot where liquor for remedial
purposes can be maintained at any
profit at all to the dispenser. -
All, the last session OF the iegisla-
ture. the druggists Of the state were
generally in favor of the law abol-
ishing drug permits altogether, place
ing the sale Of liquor solely under
the prescription Of physicians. It