The Washington times., 1911-10-25
CHANGES IN THE
EXCISE LAWS.


bad system that ought to be changed.
There will hardly be serious disagree
ment on this, point. ttt,.-s
There are other weak spots in the
excise system which ought to have
attention. People who have taken the
trouble to infosm themselves about
the management OF saloons, the con-
ditions on which licenses may be
secured, etc, have long been agreed
that general oyerhauling is neces.
sary; and this, altogether aside from
any such conditions as have been sug-
gested during the Investigation of the
Horstmann charges.
An egregious case of excise idiocy
has been brought sharply to the pub
lies attention by the opening of a
freak saloon at the corner of Fifteenth
and G. streets, Immediately opposite
the Treasury building. For many
years very profitable saloon had been
conducted at this place, in the old
Riggs Hotel building. Recently that
property was sold, and the new owners
started pulling it down, with the pur-
pose of replacing it with fine modern
structure.
The license for a bar in the corner
room was very valuable. The owners of
the property discovered that if they
allowed their rights to lapse for non
user, they would probably be unable
to get the necessary consents for a
renewal of the license.
So they concluded, to keep the saloon
going, nominally at least, and the
license in actual operation. at such in
tervals during the process of rebuild.
ing as would be necessary to prevent
lapse from non.user. "A shack of
rough boards has been rugged up on
piling, and in this, stilted shanty liquor
will be sold while the new modern
building is being constructed all
around it. IL recalls the engineering
feat of Western railroad that re-
built single-track bridge over the
Mississippi river into q new, double
track structure, and never missed the
passage of a single train.
There is good reason, in a railroads 3
case, for conducting such a difficult
and expensive engineering operation.
There ought to be no need for it i'm
order to preserve saloon license. If
that license at Fifteenth and G was
entitled to indefinite continuance in
the old building, then there ought to
be common sense provision by which
it. could be continued in force after
a suspension necessary. to construct a
new building. If there is a good rea-
son why it should be terminated, then
it ought to be terminated. In either
case freak performance ought not
to be permitted, and ought not to be
necessary. ~>- ..
There is altogether too much non
sense about the excise law. The
owners of the old Riggs property are
put to big expense and vast difficulty
in order to protect their license. On
the other hand, in different circun,-
stances, the law makes it altogether
too easy to secure licenses in some
cases. There is one well-known case
in which a saloon owner found that
property owners on his block were
unwilling to give him the necessary
proportion of consent signatures te
allow him to open bar. The saloon
man, being a resourceful person, di
vided his lot into five narrow strips
placed each strip in different owner
ship, got the five owners to sign hi
] consent petition, and by this juggl'
had increased his proportion of con
sents to the. legal percentage.
Its an utterly indefensible- Law
which makes it as easy as that tt
force saloon into an up town neigh
borhood that doesn't want it, Will,
compelling a downtown business, lonl
established and comparatively unob
jectionable, to perform a lot of en-
gineerins gymnastics in order to re
tain a license. - -..t :.
Such things as these, in the excis
laws, need to be remedied. The ex
else authorities may be as completed!
beyond reproach as they insist the.
are; but at least they would commen'
themselves more to the confidence o
good citizens, anxious for Washing
ton to, be decent, well ordered, clean
ly administered city, if they woul
show some interest in getting bette
| law. ....- '.&
The excise board is probably to
busy with its multiplied duties of as
sessing property and bossing tn
saloons to get time to study int
needed reforms in either field. Their
are plenty of reforms needed in boil
They are unlikely to be secured Will
the present law continues in forc'
under control of the present bifurcate
board organization. 49, ..'