The Newport miner. [volume] (Newport, Wash.) 1899-current, 1909-08-26

quired to present to the board certif-
cate OF good moral character, signed by
twelve reputable persons, who should
be property owners and residents Of
the community. The board should be
required to hold public hearing on all
applications for license, and an oppor.
tunity be given to remonstrants, should
there be any, to present their objec.
tions. After this hearing, the board
should have full discretionary power
by majority vote. to grant or refuse
any application. And there should be
no appeal from their decision. This
power to grant licenses is the most i'm.
portant of all. It is the key to the
whole situation. And this key should
be placed in the hands of the people
most nearly affected. If we can pre-
vent unfit persons from getting into
the liquor business, we have, at the
very outset, solved ninetenths of the
problem of regulation. The trouble
now is that almost anybody that has
the price, whether he is morally fit or
not, can get license and start up a
saloon. The law may require that the
icensee be person of good moral char
acter, but that requirement amounts to
simply nothing at all unless some per-
son or persons be empowered to deter
mine in each case the question of moral
fitness. And who is better qualified
to exercise this power than twelve men
elected by and responsible to the people
of the communitys The board should
also possess the sole power to revoke
licenses. On the complaint of any citi.
zen that certain liquor dealer was
violating the law or that he was main.
tanning nuisance of any kind, it would
be the duty of he board to hold pub.
lie trial of the matter, summon and
swear witnesses, and give the accused
person an opportunity to defend him
self. After hearing all the evidence,
the board should have power by a two.
thirds vote to dismiss the case or sus-
pend or revoke the license. And there
should be no appeal from their decision.
OF course it will be objected that
this plan places too much power in the
hands of the excise board. Well, if
you give men in this position so little
power that they could not possibly do
any harm, you make it impossible for
them to do any good. There is not
the remotest likelihood that such a
board, elected by the people, could be
unduly Influenced to grant license to
man of known unftness or to drive
a decent, law-abiding liquor dealer out
OF business. There would certainly be
far less likelihood of abuse of power
under such a system than there is now
under the localoption system. For,
under the latter system, bare ma
Jority of the voters can, at one stroke,
revoke every license in the town with
out trial or hearing or reason. The
most reputable liquor dealer is no
safer than the dive keeper. The pro-
posed plan is home rule of the right
kind. 1t gives the people all the power
they need to regulate, but no power to
destroy and coniscate. Under this sys-
tenn, the liquor business would be
placed on a permanent footing. Every
dealer would be absolutely sure that
his license was secure as long as he
obeyed the law and conducted his bust.
ness decently. The only persons that
would be put out of business would be
the disreputable liquor dealer and the
prohibition agitator.