Oxford Democrat. [volume] (Paris, Me.) 1833-1933, 1911-08-15
How License Laws arc Violated.
VAIpARAIso. NEB

How License LAWS arc NloIateo'
VALPARAISO, NEB
Editor Democrat
On one occasion, an applicant for
saloon license filed . worthless bond
under circumstances hardly less anus
ing than exasperating. Our temperance
men BY this time were on the alert TO
give any saloon applicants bond care
full examination as soon - 1t was fled In
the clerks Office, also to Investigate the
financial standing and character OF the
bonds men who signed 1t. But this
time repeated calls for the document
were answered by the clerk that he had
seen nothing Of It. Much curiosity was
aroused In regard to 1t and quite crowd
gathered at the first meeting OF the
license board. But the bond had not
yet materialized, and after the trans
action of some town business, the meet
ing adjourned. Not little excitement
was crested the next morning when, at
an early hour, the saloon man opened
his saloon and commenced serving some
thirsty customers. Under. the fire of
much indignant questioning, the secret
came out that after the meeting adjourn.
ed the previous night and the people had
gone home, Mr.. Saloon Keeper with
some members of the board had slipped
into the clerks Office, filed his bond and
received bis license. He had taken the
bright idea into his head that II he could
get bis "boozery" opened before the
people saw his bond, he would be all
right, nothing would be done about It,
Of course there was rush to see the
document which was found to be like
some others that had been accepted by
license boards. One OF the bondsmep,
when interviewed, declared coolly that
he wasn't going to sign any bond that
would make him liable In case of a
damage suit against the saloon keeper.
One indignant temperance man set OH at
once to Lincoln to consult legal authori-
ties and had the saloon man enjoined to
shut up his shop till he could put up q
good bond. After several days of lively
hustling, he succeeded in producing one
that was pronounced satisfactory.
II was afterwards announced 10 our
local paper that new society had been
organized 10 town, namely, 1.-THE indie
pendent Order of Artful Dodgers;"
also there was parody on q portion of
that old well-known poem, "The Burial
Of Sir John Moore" which began In this
wise: "We filed, It darkly at dead OF
night" II one could never have got any
fun ont of these tirssome saloon fights,
recurring every spring, one after while
would have been pretty nearly worn to
FRAGILE.
Once by an ingenious trick, saloon
was foisted on us which had but doubt
full legal right to place. A license board
had been elscted and an applicant for a
saloon license appeared who, according to
report was far from having any claim
to the "respectability" demanded by the
law for engaging In the saloon business
Our temperance leaders looked up his rec.
ord In his home town where he had been
prosecuted and convicted of notorious
violations of the law. Ample proofs OF
the fact were presented to the board; the
man withdrew his petition and another
applicant appeared to whom license
was granted. The opening of the saloon
was followed by so much drunkenness
and disorder that after while some of
the stanchest supporters of the institn.
ton began to complaint most unusual
thing-and fiually 1t leaked out that the
first applicant was owner of the saloon,
furnishing all its fixtures and supplies OF
wet goods and the second simply his
hired man whom he had sent to run the
business, evidently under the strlctest
orders to make all the sales he could
whether within the law or not. Another
hired man was sent to replace him, and
the business was afterwards conducted
with q little more outside show Of de-
cency.
l could give other instances In detail
showing how continuously in different
ways license laws have been violated In
our community. In fact, our saloon.
keepers themselves have not claimed
they run their business according to law,
and 1t is quite true their profits must
have been much less II they had observed
strictly every provision of the law. In
the earlier days one of them kept a
gambling table In his establishment; one
at least kept even his front door open on
Sundays; some sold to habitual drunk.
ards, as was evident from the fact that
drunken and half drunken men were seen
about their premises; nearly all OF them
probably, sold more or less to minors
and one broke the record once by allow
ing more than q dozen boys to become
helplessly drunk In bis saloon.
Yet from all that has been learned
during these years of other saloons
throughout tho state, ours have been Nc
worse, no more lawless than the average
Selling to minors seems to be common
besetment OF ssloon-keepers. In Lincoln
when the new mayor and excise board
all of them wets-held one OF their fra
{, sessions, they added to the stringent
regulations of the state law, such a Ions
list OF the strictest ordinances for tht
conduct of the twenty-five saloons, one
could almost have believed the people Of
Lincoln we're to see, under their admins
tration, the ideal saloon OF the Mode
License League perfectly realized. o.
the other hand, one could but wonder
how any man would pay two thousand
dollar license fee to put himself In sucl
. a strait Jacket of laws and ordinances un
less be knew there we're many cute ways
by which he could often slyly wriggl.
out of It. Yet before even q month had
, passed, the chief of police lodged com
plant against three of the twenty. five
saloon-keeepers pr selling to minors and
the charges w1ke proved. A Lincoln
paper, commenting on the matter, re-
marked: "The only way to make saloon
behave is to stand over 1t with an elm
club with q determined and reasonably
hostile man behind It," In fact, one can.
not help believing that one strong reason
why the liquor interests with their sym,
pathizers fight always so strenuously for
the license system, 10 because they know
how easily in many ways, license laws
can be violated for the increase Of their
profits. q. Z. NJ. A.