The Washington times., 1912-05-07
HOW NEW EXCISE I.
! LAW ELIMINATES
! EVIL CONDITIONS
Palm Gardens and Fake
Hotels Would Go Out
of Business.
CONTINUED from First pase.)

Continued from First Page)
kross abuse of the privileges afforded by
these places. ~ Et
In but very few places, however, is
there any attempt made by the man
ayers to draw line on minors. Some
of these palm gardens are openly
connected with straight saloons, while
Others hide behind the respectability of
Ihoteis. A round Of the places on busy
nights will disclose the fact that boys
and girls in their teens and many old
Ter people of easy virtue make these
places rendezvous.
The authorities deplore their exist
Ience, but so long as no overt violation
Iof the law occurs in these places the
hands of the authorities are tied. There
is no law prohibiting such places; they
are not saloons, they are not subject TO
lregulation even indirectly by license,
land so long as those selling the liquor
ito minors can plead they did not know
the purchaser was a minor, or that the
purchaser said he was not minor. they
cannot be convicted
Under the provisions of proposed ex.
lcise law these Palm Gardens" will
have to go-be they good, bad, or In
ldifferent-notoriously the adjunct of a
saloon, or discreetly yelled by the pro.
lection of a hotel. Their abolition will
lgreatly assist the authorities in dealing
with the social evil and with juvenile
delinquency.
Hard to Draw Line.
Another evil that perplexes the
authorities is that of the pseudo-hotel.
There are hotels-and hotels. 1t is very
ldifficult, to draw the line of distinction
between the legitimate hotel and the
one which is a hotel In name only. 1t
would be unfair to say that the small
hotel is not legitimate. for that is not 10.
lexclusive. 1t would be equally untrue
and unfair to say that all hotels that
have bars attached are proper objects
Iof suspicion. But the "dinky" hotel
object of suspicion than the larger one.
and the proposed new law will remove
all doubt It will make II possible for
the man who lis in the hotel business
make 1t very Improbable and almost
impossible for the man who is in the
liquor business primarily to have
l"Rooms Upstairs" ..
evils to continue. When the present Law
was passed making 1t necessary for a
hotel to have Twenty-Five rooms before
It could obtain hotel license, a saving
clause was inserted that did not make
the law retroactive, and SO all places
then In existence calling themselves
hotels with less than twenty-five
rooms were permitted to remain. Some
posed law, no hotel shall be licensed
(which has less than fifty rooms, and
hotels now having less than fifty rooms
will have to close Oh enlarge. .'
Many to Be Affected.
There are a number of hotels havinl
over fifty rooms but which have no ba
attached In so far as the number O
saloons Is concerned this proposed lay
will not affect them. But there ar
ifty-rine "hotels." as now permitted
with a bar attached. OF these, onl
twenty-one can remain in bushes
either as hotels or saloons, unless the
make extensions in order to compl
with the law. Those which now hav
over fifty rooms for guests and hav
Dewey. Normandie, Continental, Coch
Shore ham, Grand Harris, Johnson, Ricf
mond, Metropolitan, Grafton, New VII
lard, New " lnston, New Varnum, RAJ
eigh.. Ebbitt. National, st. James, an
Vendome.
In addition to the Rooms Upstairs
and Dining Rooms for Ladies' an
the palm Gardens" that the propose
new law will put out of business-o
else divorce them absolutely from tn
on their own merits-there are the poe
and billiard halls. The new law wi
operate against the pool and billiar
room that Is run in connection with
saloon or bar. The two must be di
present 257 pool and billiard license
In Washington, and Of these, sixty-flv
are for rooms operated in connectio
with bar. These will have to clos
or move-or the bar will have to close
AS rule, in such cases, the sam
to take their choice between the two
uudpr the new law.