The San Francisco call., 1909-12-30
SALOONS WILL NOT
Be. CLOSED TODAY
City Attorney Interprets the
Law as Not Applicable to
Special Elections
Doubtful If Police Department
Could Secure Conviction in
Event of Prosecution

San Francisco saloons will be open
today. For the first time since Edward
Robson Taylor assumed the office of
mayor the parched San francisco throat
may be irrigated in the ordinary man
ner during the hours prescribed by law
for the polling of the popular vote at
a special election.
The special election for the Geary
street bonds will mark departure in
the police regulation methods of the
Taylor administration. On all those
several days which have been devoted
to the submission of special questions
to the people since the appointment of
the poet mayor San Francisco has been
a arid zone between the hours of 6
o'clock in the morning until at night.
No such governmental cruelty is to be
worked upon a superheated electorate
today. While the fate of the Geary
street bonds is in suspense the average
San Franciscan without a pull may
take his logwood in suspension in the
usual way and at the usual hours.
This humanitarian departure from the
accepted order of things is the indirect
result of an executive fear that special
elections have been attended by un-
necessary cruelties and the direct re-
suit of an opinion rendered by City At
torney Percy V. Long.
The city attorney advised the mayor
that his worst fears might be justified,
and that in any event the subject in
volved grave doubts as well as applied
barbarism. If the mayor had any opin-
ions on the subject they were not given
to the world yesterday. Longs opinion
was transmitted to the chief of police
and the department passed the word to
the retail liquormen.
Long did not advise the mayor that
the law would not be fractured by an
open buffet door today. He did inform
the inquiring executive that it was
doubtful that the state closing law ap-
piled to special elections called for the
purpose Of submitting bonds and that
he entertained grave doubts about the
ability of the police department to Sc
cure conviction should it attempt to
prosecute for the sale of liquor on
special election day.
The penal code of California makes it
misdemeanor to sell or give away any
intoxicants on any day set apart for
any general or special election.
This section said City Attorney
Long, was enacted in 1874, before the
adoption of the present constitution and
before there were any bond elections
held in this state or contemplated by
the legislature. The section was en-
acted to prevent candidates for office
from improperly influencing electors by
giving them sufficient quantities of
liquor 70 destroy their judgment.
$50 far as / have been able to dis
cover it has never been held that this
to bonding elections. l have grave
doubts of the possibility of enforcing
an Interpretation of the statute that
would compel the closing of saloons on
days set aside for bond elections. The
legislature had in mind special cleo
tions to fill vacancies.
There has never been any attempt
to enforce such a construction in any
other California city and never in San
Francisco. until recently. During the
Phelan administration the saloons were
open on all the special election days.
1 am inclined to believe that the police
department would not be warranted in
attempting to close the saloons upon
such day, and l have so advised the
mayor"
The mayor, the police department and
the retail hquormen have accepted the
city attorneys opinion, and if munich
palities be not as ungrateful as repub-
lies are said to be the absence of the
customary election day drought today
should serve to perpetuate Long in
office.