The Richmond Virginian. (Richmond, Va.) 1910-1920, 1910-02-08
BYRD LIQUOR BILL
UNDER REVIEW
Author Appears in Committee
and makes full explanation Of
proposed amendment.
INCREASED LICENSE
TO ALL DEALERS
No License to Sell in Towns of
1000 or Less Within 400 Feet of
School or Church Except Where
License is Already Granted.

The House Committee on Counties
cities and Towns gave a hearing
tuesday morning on the amendments
TO the Byrd law. There was a large
attendance and the hearing lasted
nearly three hours. Speaker Byrd
appeared before the committee and
explained the amendments he pro-
posed.
He proposed an increase In Hcens,
on all manufactures and dealers.
The privilege of shipping is taken
away from the retail dealer. A new
license Is granted. called retail
and shipping license, giving the
right to sell at retail and to make
shipments. and such license LIS nut
at $1,000.
No license shall be granted In
towns OF one thousand or less or
within four hundred feet of a pub
lie school. college, university or
ehareh. except at places where
license has already been granted or
10 hotels at summer resorts, except
Tor sale to bona fide guests.
sale OF Cider. i
The sale, of cider Is prohibited in
local option or no license territory,
except to be delivered to a common
carrier TO be transported to "a place
where ardent spirits may be legally
sold
The sale OF ardent spirits Is pro-
hlbated between the hours of 10 n
NJ. and A. M. No ardent spirits
can be shipped C. O. d. or delivered
to q fictitious address No order
can be taken for sale OF liquor Id
dry territory. When law is violated
license must be revoked and ne
license can te granted Tor sale Oh
liquor at that place for two years
Gives His Reasons
Speaker Byrd gave this reason fni
tAa amendments in his cha raceis-
ueaily forcible way, and was ready
to answer ary question pFepeuHdesa
Judge Woods ef Ciarksviile, apr
peared IN opposition to the provision
raising the limit to 1000 persons
and said IS per cent, of the voters
of that town insisted upon the main.
tenance of the saloon. That the one
saloon paid a license of $4,000 and
that to take away the money would
paralyze every effort of the people
/ toward progress. IA
Colonel Eugene Massie represented
the cider interests that is to say the
factories, and insisted that ii was
wrong to prohibit the sale of cider
as the bill proposed
Tho Other Side.
MIR. Blake appeared for the retail
: liquor dealers and insisted that thu
license was high enough already.
/ Mr.. s. l.. Kelly appeared as tho
representative of the Liquor Dealers
Association, and insisted that the law
ought not TO be amended EXCEPT IN
I the matter of the increase OF license.
| He objected specially To the 10
o'clock closing provision, saying thai
the saloons should be open until after
| the theatres closed. He thought that
/ hotels at summer resort should he
/ allowed freedom as to sales; that the
| man owning property ought not to
! be punished for the act of the rentte
OF his property. Mr.. Kelly thought
! the present law was stringent
! enough
DIR. Cannon's Reply
/ Rev james Cannon, superintendent
! of the Anti-Saloan League. mazda
! reply to all the speakers and IN
order that the hearing might be
concluded at one sitting took only
| fifteen minutes. He stressed es-
| pecially the increase in the popula-
| ton to 1000, the sale of cider and
the early closing feature. In reply
! to Judge Woods. of ciarksvilfe, he
said that the policy Of the State had
already been outlined in tho Mann
| law. which forbade the granting OF
| license In communities of less than
! 500 persons. The purpose underlying
| tflaA law Was tQ PIOtttI the Country
districts from the greed of the small
towns. which lured by the bais OF
a heavy revenue would grant license
to the great damage of the sursounNp
! ing territory. Clarksville had ahoti4
| $50 people and charged the ono
saloon $4,000 license. twas evidenI
that the saloon did not pay Its license
| from the sales to- the citizens of the
small town. The town was parasite
~ <frs,-
country had right to projections.
| II there was more disorder before
the saloon license was granted. III
was probably because the same man.
! Mr.. Gooch, who now runs the safoosSs
ran a distilling joint across the riverS
II the people Of Mecklenburg c0un1
| tyo wanted saloon at Ciarksvtllcl
/ they could petition their representa-
I tives in the General Assembly to pass
| a special act. but the principal of this
bill was right and should not be-
violated at the request of a town
at the expense of the outside
which was reaping $4,000 revenue
| at the expense of the outside terri
| tory.
Object or Cider Measure.
DIR. Cannon called attention to this
fact that Colonel Massie voted In
1908 for the very provision concerns
ing cider which was now propoeedS
and that he now appeared M thu
| attorney for the cider factories
/ factories against the measure for
which he had voted. The object
of the cider measure was 70 prevent
the nuIlification of the Will Of the
people in dry territory hy the cider
4 factories Speaker Byrd had des
\ clared that the farmer had no real
interest In this measure. He wnn
being used as stalking horxa fpr
cider factories and III proof ~ th3a
/ the speaker had Grad = letter fr0G8
/ him that there WAS biz motey 4n IN
sale OF cider. that he could aAN II
even II II did produce infoxt1a
4 and that X he would set ~
he would have : s'ctnch's ~ tliI "