The Detroit times., 1913-11-01
Commissioner Announces Plan
a. Part of Movement to Elm
mate Unfair Competition"
ut For SalOOnkeepers
ALL LIQUOR DEALERS TO
BE ULTIMATELY GOOD"
..r
Information Being Gathered in
Campaign to Weed Out the
Undesirables

Police Commissioner Gillespie plans.
as part OF his campaign against viola
'ors or the Sunday saloon closing law,
10 compel all club bars TO take out
nQuor license, thereby eliminating
what the commissioner terms "un-
iair competition" for the law-abiding
saloonkeepers.
friday morning, the commissioner
stated that he has a plan under way
10 ultimately make every saloon in
Detroit law-abiding. and that he vii
lot have to surround each place with
omcers to accomplish this. In brief,
me commissioner plans. with the as
ISSUANCE or the council committee on
iiQuor regulation. the council itself, the
prosecuting attorney and the judges
Oh the recorders court TO improve con-
uitions for the good" saloonkeeper.
= that the strict observance of the
-" VIII DE certain inside Of year
or two. Meanwhile. the police de.
Dartment will keep strict tab on each
INDIVIDUAL saloon and the undesirables
VIII be weeded out in the commission.
ers patent process without resorting
10 the usual brass-button methods.
All this talk about wide open
town mas been most unfair to me.
SAID the commissioner. II have al
ways said that | would not allow any
saIoohkeeper to enjoy unlawful priv.
iieges. and insist that have lived
up TO, and will continue TO live up 10,
that statement
know that saloon conditions IN
Uetroit are not exactly what they
should be, but | know, too, that con.
ultions nave improved greatly in the
past year and that they will continue
to improve
There is problem 10 work out III
connection with enforcing the Sunday
Closing law. and | am now studying
II from every possible angle, Just rs
did the vice problem before | made
q decisive move"
The commissioner said that he was
having prepared for his personal H..
formation, a detailed report on the
history OF every saloon in Detro.,
The report. when completed. will be
most thorough and will furnish val.
liable Information for the guidance OF
the next council committee on iiquor
regulation when the time comes to
pass on applications for licenses
II want to know something about
the men that are conducting saloons
In Detroit" continued the commis-
sioner. II am satisfied that some OF
our present saloonkeepers are not tit
TO be In business
How will you put them out OF
business"
Leave that to me. There is a way
to get at this liquor problem, and as
soon as | am satisfied that have
solved 1t. then will go right ahead.
Then you will see how far can 60
Regarding the licenses ofeall bars
In private clubs, the commissioner
declared he was satisfied that ne
could compel some of these places to
take out liquor licenses. The RESI-
he intimated would have to 60 out OF
business.
Many Of these so-called private
clubs are simply Incorporated drink
ing clubs he said.
Because OF the unfair competition
40 the result OF these drinking clubs
and blind pigs. the licensed saloon
keeper, nine times out of ten, simply
cannot make q living by doing bust
ness six days a week. He Is willing to
take a chance with the law and keep
open Sunday because he has little II
anything TO lose. .u.
DuI thC VI odiOOhc 10 W.
down to the point where it will be
possible for every saloonkeeper to
make a living without keeping open
seven days in the week. and II the
value of q license 10 advanced from
$4,000 TO $4,000, then II will be an
easy matter for the police department
to make the saloons toe the mark. The
would-be law violator would have
something to lose then, and he would,
naturally, be afraid to take the risk.
1T would be an easy matter Tor
me to issue an order closing every
bar In the city, but 1t would be an
ether matter to have that order prop
erly carried out at the present time.
Conditions are such that strict en-
fcrcement Of the Sunday closing law
IL impossible. am going to improve
conditions BY the methods have stat
ed. 80 that when do issue such an
order I will know that will be obey
ed to the letter.
People are wrong when they say
that the power to regulate the saloons
In the city Is conferred In the police
commissioner. The council commit
tee, the council the prosecuting attor-
ney and the judges of the recorders
court all have a prominent part In the
work of regulating saloons, and II will
require concerted effort to accomplish
the task of making every saloon
keeper In Detroit law-abiding citi-
zen.
Even the most liberal minded citi-
sens must agree with me that cutting
down the number OF saloons and i'm
proving conditions for the law-abiding
saloonkeeper will not work any injus-
tice. just as much liquor will be sold
and just a. much will be consumed.
but saloons will be made law-abiding
places Of business"
Since Commissioner Gillespie has
Eeen In ONCE. 70 blind pigs" have
been put out Of business by the po-
lice and 100 disorderly houses selling
beer, have been closed, he says.