The Bemidji daily pioneer. [volume] (Bemidji, Minn.) 1904-1971, 1913-03-21
Court Holds License is Good Even #
Unsigned So Tibbetts Will Occupy
Former Marin Place.
STANTON RAPS CITY CHARTER
Says Present instrument is so CON-
pick It is Hard to Find Law
on Any Point.

Denying the writ on the ground
that liquor license does not need
the signature of the mayor in order
to be valid, Judge G. w. Stanton this
morning refused to grant F. S. Tib-
belts writ of mandamus. While
the victory was a technical one for.
Mayor McCuaig, Mr.. Tibbetts is al
lowed to open a saloon in the former
Marin PLACE without the mayors sig
nature to his license.
Action in the case was brought by
Mr.. Tibbetts after the city council
had granted him a license to open a
saloon in the building occupied by the
late Sam Marin. The license was
granted at the first meeting of the
new city council after Mayor Nc
Cuaig had asked that it be not grant,
ed. The mayor refused to sign the
license and although City Attorney
Russell ruled that the mayors sigma
ture was not necessary, no saloon was
opened and the action on mandamus
was brought.
In the argument before Judge Stan
ton this morning, counsel for the
mayor alleged that the facts contain
4 in the petition of Mr. Tibbetts did
not constitute sufficient grounds on
which to base his action. He also
alleged that there was nothing in the
charter or general statutes of tho
state which made it mandatory on
the mayor to sign any license.
His last argument apparently pleas
ed counsel for Mr.. Tibbetts since if
the writ was quashed on that ground,
as it subsequently was, he could open
saloon without a license signed by
the mayor. Counsel for Mr.. Tibbetts
did not attempt to argue the point
but allowed it to rest. It is UNDER
stood that the saloon will be opened
at once.
A case in point cited this morning
was that of a member Of the Flood
wood council who had brought an
action before Judge Dibell of Duluth.
on a mandamus case. The writ was
denied him but on the ground that by
being a. member of the council It
would put him in dual position is
he was to operate a saloon and SO
would be contrary to public policy.
The settlement of the Tibbetts case
means that the hands of Mayor Nc
Cuaig are tied when it comes to cut
ting the number of saloons doing bus
mess in Bemidji. He has the right to
revoke any license but the council has
the right to grant one in it's place so.
in case of any real fight between the
mayor and the council, an endless
chain Of grating and revoking Ii
censes could be the only result.
Two bills bearing on the question
nave UCCA 1AIAOuuCCu 1ASO Ct1C ASSAo-
lature. The first is an amendment
to the present law limiting saloons to
not more than one to 500, but allow
ing as many as were in existence at
the time the law passed, to read that
as fast as a. license expires they shall
be dropped until the number reaches
one to 500. The second is the Nelson
bill which covers practically the same
ground. The difference is that the;
Nelson bill will cut the number at
once whereas the other, if it passes,
will take longer.
Judge Stanton took fling at the
present city charter this morning
when he said that in order to find out
the law in this city, the whole charter
must be read each time.