The Salt Lake tribune. [volume] (Salt Lake City, Utah) 1890-current, 1911-04-13
DEFECTS IN LIQUoR LAW.

The thing which The Tribune pre-
| dicted as a necessary consequence OF
the passage of the giant liquor bill at
| the recent session OF the Utah legls-
| lature, has come TO pass. The liquor
question, as the legislature found 1T,
| was fully adiudicatcd. There was no
complaint. excepting the partisan com
plaint made for political advantage, and
evidently against the public interests.
A cry was raised that the people ought
to vote upon the question of "wet' y or
"dryr as applied TO the sale Of liquor
The fact was ignored that every com
munity in the State could do exactly
that under the settled status OF the
liouor question as the Legislature found
it. But, merely to meet partisan
emergency. and to claim party dement's
that could by no possibility be justly
earned, the Republican bosses of this
State insisted upon the legislation.
Now that we have this political liquor
legislation, it is found to be assailable
on many points, and long -drawn-out lit
igation is assured, this on a measure not
in the popular interest in the least, but
which was enacted merely to serve the
purpose of few designing politicians.
But, even according to these politicians
the utmost that they claim. the liquor
situation was in sounder condition
prior to the passage Of this law than
under this legislation they claimed the
alleged was already secured before
hand So that even according them
good faith, the very purpose that they
proclaimed had already been reached
and had attained settled condition,
through the ample adjudications of the
courts.
1t is evident, therefore, that the par
tisan demand Of the Republican bosses
has thrown the State into utter con-
fusion upon this absorbing question, II
was inevitable that a law OF this char
acter would present vulnerable points
of attack, Some of these points have
been developed by the lawyers employed
TO look into this bill and make an
ANALYSIS of its provisions. Conflicting
sections are found. and requirements
that appear to be impossible to fulfill.
This is what might naturally be e1-
pected in a law that, although there
was ample time to frame it, was not IN
fact framed until Just at the close OF
the session, and then was thrown to-
gether in promiscuous sort of way
that was sure to leave defects, and 10
call for the interference of the courts
to find what was really meant.
The specifications of defects found
on the first examination by the attor-
news were set forth IN yesterday morn
ing's Tribune. They are conflicting In
part, and in part they show iapses IN
the law which makes its administration
impossible on the face of 1T.
The result is, that we are In for
lot of long-winded and acrimonious lti-
CATION on the liquor question. and after
the litigation is all over, we shall find
that we are in no better position, II IN
deed in as good a position, as we were
prior to the passage of this Jumoled
political liquor enactment. 1t is real
disaster to the State to be confronted
with the contentious that will neces'
sarily arise over this law. and the Ut
ipation that is sure to spring from u.
And all this contention and litigation
were absolutely needless, because we
had before the passage of the law
exactly the condition which this law
processes to establish, but attempts IL
in such a way as to make legal inquiry
imperative to find out what is meant.