Imperial Valley press., 1909-11-27

The attempt of the Eagles Hall barkeepers to get even on the citizens of Fl Centro for their demand that the anti-saloon ordinance be enforced was brought to a futile end last Tues day night by repeal and repudiation by the City Trustees of the Conk- ling spite "ordinance' that purported to have been passed by the votes of Trustees Pearson and Blackinton.
 Blackinton disclosed the animus of hls action when he made the disin- genuous explanation that he voted for the Conkling abortion because the people had demanded that the Eagles Hall bar be closed and he supposed they wanted citizens in their homes treated the same way"
 City Attorney Smith made it per fectly plain that the alleged ordinance was defective and not enforceable; that it purported to amend ordinance No. and might be construed as a partial nullification of that law; that the effect of retaining the defective measure was to leave the city with out an effective liquor law and make the prosecution of any case of liquor selling so uncertain as to give vir tual immunity to blind pigs. In the face of that exposition of the city's predicament, Trustees Pearson and Blackinton voted against repeating the futile ordinance and putting into force the ordinance, forbidding traf- fic in liquor that the citizens of Fl Centro had approved and asked them to maintain.
 Trustee Brown presented and nov ed the adoption of an ordinance re- pealing what purports to be Ordi- nance No. fl and restoring to full force and effect the original anti-sa- loon law of the city. Trustees Black inton said he was taken by surprise and asked: Where does this put us?"
 Trustee Brown did not reply: Tn the hole that you dug for others" :" He said: Tt puts the city just where it was before. Everybody was satis- fled with the original ordinance and nobody wanted any change. Nobody asked this board to pass ordinance forty-one.'
 Blackinton-"If we pass this, can families or persons club together to supply themselves with beer or li- quor?"
 City Attorney Smith-"Ordinance forty-one is imperfect in many ways. It was not drawn in accordance with the statute and does not contain the words The trustees of the City of Fl Centro do ordain.' An attorney might plead that it is fatally defective. Some of it's language is neither good gram mar nor good English. It cannot be enforced, for the people are not in favor of enforcing it. The judge of the Superior Court is reported to have said repeatedly that it is in valid. The people believe it to be invalid and of no avail There is not and never was any objection to or dinance number six. The only com plaint was that it was not enforced. It was intended to make the sale of intoxicating liquor illegal; to reach the bootlegger and the blind pig. It did not forbid a man to offer a drink to a friend in his home. It's author and City Attorney Conkling agreed that such was the proper construc- ton of the ordinance. I will say in direct answer to Mir Hlackinton's question that ordinance six forbids traffic in liquor, open or evasive. If any undesirable citizens-and I will call them by name if the gentleman wishes me to do so-want to make trouble for the city over this ques- ton and the ordinance is found in
 'equate to deal with them, I will draw an ordinance that will be eff fective. I will say also that the city should not be put to the trouble of prosecuting trivial cases, and the city attorney will not be tricked into taking up weak cases under such an ordinance as the one you are now asked to repeal"
 Blackinton-"Would it be illegal for a number of young men to combine to get beer in quantity and distri- bute it among themselves?"
 City Attorney-"It has been decid- ed by the courts that the California Club case does not apply here. It is not lawful here to sell liquor at