The Salt Lake tribune. [volume] (Salt Lake City, Utah) 1890-current, 1911-01-16
THE LIQUOR BILL.

| ty introduced in the lower House o1
the Utah Legislature ON Saturday the
Evans liquor bill. This is measure
that evidently has been prepared with
a great deal of care 1t is double
barreled measure, being prohibition on
one side and local option on the 9th
er, choke.bore and scatter, as it were
Whether Il law that should provide To-
cal option for one part Of the State
and prohibition for another in posi-
| tive, Affirmative terms is consistent and
valid. is n matter that doubtless would
have to he passed upon by the courts
in ease this bill were cnscjed into law.
1t is quite a long document, apparently
designed To cover every emergency,
both on the prohibition and on the
local option side A good summary of
It was in yesterdays 5 Tribune.
Many drastic provisions are carried
in this bill on both accounts, and it
may fairly bo regarded as doubtful
whether such A measure can pass In its
present form. II looks rs though 1T
might he the Official BILL although that
| apparently is not entirely decided;
| bence the caucus called 20 consider it.
| The effort is to make the liquor law
| that will be enacted conform to the
Republican State platform adopted by
the Republican party lat year in its
convention at Ogden.
Perhaps the most sensational feature
of the bill is The high rate Of popu-
lation required to each saloon-two
thousand. Cities usually consider that
they have kept the saloon business in
pretty close limitations when they
make the unit of population for each
saloon a thousand. AS applied to salt
Lake City, this bill would reduce the
number of saloons here to forty six;
but already ono hundred and thirty
thirty.two drug stores also pay liquor
licenses. 1t does not appear, however,
that the bill would interfere with The
licensing of drug stores to sell liquor.
as many drug stores as the Council
might sec fit to license might sell
liquor at their pleasure. SO that in
ease the bill were made into law, per
haps Il large number of the saloons
would put in some patent medicines
and apply for license as drug stores.
There has been good deal Of dis
cussion in this city for some time past
upon the number of saloons that ought
TO be licensed. And there has been
growing feeling, especially among
American party men, that the number
of saloons should not exceed one to
each thousand of population. This
would make the number of saloons
ninety three, in place of one hundred
and thirty. eight, cutting down the
number by forty-fve. 1t would seem as
though this might be feasible propo-
sition that would work fairly we'll in
practice. But we do not think that
the unit of two thousand, fixed IN the
Hayes bill, would at present fit Salt
Lake. 1t might be that in time we could
work down TO it, but not now, without
great friction.
As to regulation, We doubt whether
the Hayes bill Cor the Evans bill, as
perhaps it will be known) is any bet
ter than the ordinance that we have
now for this city. Perhaps, it is not
as good Certainly our ordinance has
been admitted by all candid Judges TO
be the best anywhere known, unless 1T
may be in the matter of limiting the
number of saloons. There is this to
say in favor of limitation: If we had.
let us say. one hundred saloons in this
city, and no more until the population
of the city was proved to admit of
more on Il basis of one To each thou
sand of population, the liquor license
would have a value considerably above
the original value, as granted by the
City Council. Anyone wishing to start
d new saloon would search out and buy
a license from some one holding ii, at
a premium. And this premium would
be "A powerful deterrent upon the hold
er of the license IN the way of forcing
him to conform moro strictly to the
law and the ordinance in his business.
lie would not allow any disorder; he
would keep the closing hours: he would
do things that his license contract calls
upon him to do, and would refrain from
doing the things forbidden therein.
Frequent consultations of American
party leaders have called forth decided
expression i'll favor of the limitation of
the number of saloons; and we believe
that a limitation within reason would
work well in Salt Lake.