Deseret evening news. [volume] (Great Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1867-1920, 1910-12-26
Council viii Reconsider Ordi-
nance With Respect to the
Druggists.
A TANGLED ORDINANCE NOW
ANY One OF Three or -Four In.crrrc-
tations. Seems rs Reasonable rs tl,ce
Others rs II NOW Stands.

Tuesday evening. the city council
will cndcavor to straighten ont the
liquor ordinance tangle Of their own
making which Mayor Bransford aud
City Atty. Dininny gave UP trying 10
take the kinks from with no avail,
finally making an Interpretation of
their own by tho method of general
average. The fact tina; this lntcrprct;l
Ton was not to the liking of many of
me c"uhcilmen is responsible for the
reconsideration which will be given the
proposition tomorrow night.
1t appears that what the council
really intended trying to do was to
eliminate tho druggists entirely from
the field of action in regard to selling
liquor III any manner. The way the
finished product OF the council read,
after 1t was enacted at the session last
Monday night however. the mayor
could have placed any one OF three or
four Interpretations on 1t. He might
have decided it was the intention Of
the council to allow the druggists to
come under the classification OF rc-
tailers by declaring the new amend
ments annulled section s of the old
ordinance, In this event, 1t would
have been possible for them to insti-
tutc bars on their premises and retail
liquor by the drink the same as
saloons. Or he might have held that
it did not annul section and III that
event the license provision for drug
gists would have been merely pro-
hibitive measure. Again and this is
the view which was taken by the
mayor and the city attorney in strik-
ing the average. he might have held
that the old ordinance was unchanged
by the amendments and that the old
license of s4oo year still prevailed.
There is now little doubt, however,
but the intention of tho council was to
eliminate all provision for druggists
licenses. The trend of the discussion
previous to the passage Of the amend
ments Indicated as much. but the ordi-
nance was so twisted that this inter-
probation could not be mado when the
mayor came to attach his signature.
INTENTION is CLEAR.
Under the circumstances, there is lit
tic doubt as to what the action of the
council will be tomorrow night. The
intention is now clear and the or
dinance. when they have finished With
It, will either take from the druggists
tho privilege OF licenses by making no
provision for such or the fec of Sl,oOO
will be placed on such license which
will make it probibitve IL section is
permitted to stand undiSturbed. rms
section prohibits the sale OF liquor In
amounts of less than i half pint.
Judge LcGrand Young's request that
he he permitted to purchase certain
property In Emigration canyon Of the
city. which land he was of the opinion
he had purchased once before but found
through n new survey that he had not,
will be taken UP tomorrow night. This
will doubtless prccipitate fight, as the
council Is plainly divided as to the ad-
visibility of selling him tho land in
! question at the price he proposes to
pay. 81 an acre. This Is the price paid
by the city for the land when It was
purchased from Mr.. Young, and his
proposition in buying back certain Of
the land was to pay the same price
the city paid him, adding to this IN
! tcrcst on the money invested. He
desires to build a resort III the canyon
and the land In question is necessary
| for his purposes
Various estimates are placed upon the
| land by the councimen, and they Will
oppose its sale for the figure mentioned.
| Others hold that what land the city
| owns in the canyon was made more val
| liable by the Emigration Canyon rail-
road which Mr.. Young built and that
| by virtue OF this fact, tho city could do
| nothing less than permit him to buy