Los Angeles herald., 1910-03-05
OPPOSE PROPOSED ORDINANCE
IN COUNCIL MEETING
DEFINITE ACTION POSTPONED
UNTIL NEXT WEEK
cIamor of Various Interests to Be
Heard Takes Up Time of Sess
sion and Final Decision
Is Deferred


on every hand when the public well
fare committee of the council met last
night to consider the new law.
More than 500 persons, most of them
liuuor dealers, crowded the council
chamber to suffocation and as far as
time permitted, Representatives OF the
different branches of thePiiquor busl-
ness affected by the new ordinance
were heard. So many wanted to speak
that the committee found it necessary
to adjourn until next Wednesday
night.
w. ]. Washburn, chairman of the
committee, told the audience that the
new ordinance had been prepared as
a revenue measure and to regulate the
liuuor business so that legitimate deal
ers might have a chance TO get the full
benefit of their business by eliminating
the dishonest persons. He said the
committee might have made some mis-
takes in the ordinance and 1t was
there to hear both sides Of the ques-
tion.
One of the w4sest moves made was
that of the retail liquor dealers. They
did not have a silver tongued attor-
ney to represent them, but lnstead
Arthur McDevitt, who conducts the
saloon under the Athletic cluD, spoke
for the retail saloonkeepers. MeDeVltt
is handsome, clean-cut and unusual
ly intelligent young man and is Wldeiy
known. He had no prepared speech,
but he pointed out the difficulties that
lay in the way of the retail nquor
business under the proposed new ordl-
nance and mildly suggested changes
1t was evidently the intention or tne
saloon men, in selecting him Tor thelr
spokesmen, to impress on the members
of the committee the error OF the prev
alent idea that saloon men are an un-
desirable class of citizens. Several re-
marks made by McDevitt on TINS point
strengthened this conclusion.
Mr.. McDevitt said that on the whole
the saloons in Los Angeles are con-
ducted better than in any other part
of the United States. He declared the
impression that the limit of 200 mace
the saloon business a valuable one was
erroneous, as by far the greater ma
foritv were not able to pay their bills.
Objects to Increase
The nroposed increase in the retail
license fee from 500 TO $3.50 a month,
he said, would drive some or them OUT
of business and work hardship on
many others. The provision thal no
retail house can sell more than pint
at one time, he declared, could be Vlo-
lated in spirit by a saloon man selllng
one mint to q customer receiving the
nancy and completing the TRANSACTION
and then selling another and so on
until the desired quantity was solu'
Saloons are now permitted TO sell III
ouantinties of not more than nVe gal-
ions He declared that one gallon
would he sufficient and would be no
inducement to violate the spirit oil the
ordinance. p,
Instead Of the provision giving 81
nor cent of the frontage in given pIock
the right to protest q saloon out OF
that block. which he said would re-
suit in the confiscation of the proper
tv of many saloon keepers, he adNo-
Gated a frontage consent OF 81 per ceIlt
instead of the two-thrds now required;
rrhe surrender of license at the END
ne one year, all licenses expiring at
the same time, and eliminating booths
and drinking tables from saloons ne
also attacked. A..
Edmund Norton appeared for the
liberal alliance and the Crusaders
league. Mr.. Norton made speech
thai sounded much like an appeal for
single taxation. He denounced tile
whole scheme of license, not only on
the liquor business, but on every other
form of business that pays a license
fee into the city treasury. he declared
II was fning a man for going INTO
business. on the matter of licensing
the saloon business he said the city
has no right to say that the liquor
business is wrong and then participate
in that wrong by receiving part OF
the revenue it derives. AS a means OF
raising revenue, he characterized 1t as
folly. declaring there are hundreds OF
millions of dollars worth of property
in the citv not on the assessment
rolls that should be taxed. This, he
said, would raise more revenue than
anv amount of license. Mr.. Norton's s
sDeech made an evident hit with the
large audience present, and Chairman
Washburn had to work his gavel over
time to preserve order. Twice MT
Washburn had to call Mr.. Norton's
attention to the fact that he was wan
dering from the subject.
Rev. E. p Ryland, representing the
pastors of the city presented a resolu-
tion passed by the Ministerial associa-
ton yesterday afternoon asking that
the license fees be not raised. The
resolution expressed sympathy with
every feature Of the new ordinance
that regulated the liquor traffic, but
Mr. Ryland declared the ministers
were opposed to an increase in the
license fees because it more firmly
entrenched the liquor business in the
community He said the proposed In
creases would make the revenue from
this source 100000 whereas ii has
been $240, 900, and that many would
vote to retain the saloons if the mat
ter ever again come to vote, in order
not to lose this revenue. Increases in
the license fees, he said, tended also
to increase the evils Of the business.
Small Clubs Protest
Attorney Fred ], Spring presented
the sentiment of the small social clubs
and opposed the license fee of 800 a
month for social club liquor permits,
a new feature of the proposed ordin-
ance He spoke particularly of the
Walters Union club, and said that the
high fee would drive them out of eX-
istence. He asked that the amount Of
the fee be reduced to something less
than $25 month.
This social club fee is placed in the
ordinance chiefly to "get" the blind
pigs that operate under the guise OF
clubs and sell liquor without a license
of any kind. Mr.. Spring declared that
for purposes of regulation a small fee
would be as effective as a large one.
Al Levy said if the provision of the
ordinance relating to restaurants went
into effect he would have to close his
cafe at Main and Third streets. Res
taurants under the new ordinance
are divided into two classes. One
class is privileged to sell short drinks
with meals by paying $3.50 a month
and the second class liquor in original
packages at SIS month. He wanted
to be able to sell a glass of beer with