Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1913-10-26
EXCISE BOARD BUSY
WITH APPLICATIONS
Holding Night Sessions to
Pass on Pleas for Liquor
License Renewals.
DECISIONS ARE EXPECTED
MIDDLE OF NEXT WEEK
Two Important Questions to Be
Thrashed Out at Hearing Set
for Tomorrow Morning.

Midnight oiP' has been burned the
past several nights by members of
the excise board in an effort to finish
the task of going over applications for
licenses before November /, the be-
ginning of the fiscal year. Under the
new law applications for renewal of
licenses have to be filed not later than
September !. the intention Of the law
being. 1t Is stated. to give the board
an opportunity to make investigations
and act upon the applications before
the beginning of the license year. and
1t Is only by holding night sessions
that the board can complete its la
bors by that time
Numerous lengthy sessions of the
board have been held and 1t was given
out yesterday that the result of it's de-
ltberations probably will be made
known about the middle of this week.
Every effort Is being made by the board
to transact the business of going over
the applications as rapidly as possible
and to keep their own counsel regarding
results, SO that the first intimation appli-
cants have as to what has been done with
their applications will come when the
board announces the result Of it's deliber-
attonS in all cases.
Hearing Tomorrow Morning.
It is the belief Of interested persons
that the board will not follow the prac-
uce Of the old board in the matter of
holding UP applications for hearing dur
ing the course Of the year, but that all
will be disposed Of next week and the
dealers compelled to comply with the
boards decision. Heretofore many cases
dragged along several months, some until
about the close of the license year before
they were acted upon.
Notices have been sent out by the
excise board of a hearing tomorrow morn
ing at 10 o'clock.
town breweries required to take out
licenses under the excise law, and If
so, can such license be granted with
in the one-mile limit of Soldiers
Home?" are two Of the questions to be
Both questions involved in the hear
ing are considered by Attorney Albert
E. Shoemaker of the Anti-Saloon
League to be of more than ordinary
Importance. His contention is that they
are required by the law to pay the tax,
and he also will argue that the trainers
of the mile-limit law intended to keep
intoxicants outside the prescribed zone.
Quotes From the Law.
''That on and after the passage OF
this act no license for the sale of in
toxicating liquor within one mile of the
Soldiers Home property In the District
of Columbia shall be granted" Mr..
Shoemaker quoted from the law.
THAT simply means what it says" he
added. land the granting of license
to do business in that prohibited zone
- hn iv1 yir1n j1~, 80 %I,4
letter and spirit of the law, and I
have a number Of authorities in sup
port Of my contention.
The question of requiring agents of
nonresident brewers to pay the license
tax" added Attorney Shoemaker, lis one
in which l am not SO particularly inter
ested but 1t does seem that it would be
manifestly unfair to local brewers to per-
init such persons to do business without
the payment of the tax
Attorney Shoemaker has filed a pro-
test against the issuance of all licenses
in the prohibited zones and those against
which the police reported or in which
neighbors of the licensees have protested.
filed this year, Mr.. Shoemaker saws. for
the reason that there was a misunder-
standing on part of some who wanted to
file protests.
Reduction Presents Problem.
Much has been said about the manner
in which the excise board is going to re-
duce the number of saloons to 800 by the
beginning of the license year 1914. and il
has been stated that the board probably
VIII have some trouble in reducing the
number. but there are others who think
the number will fall far short of 300.
Last year the retail licenses totaled
4Ss A number already have gone out
md c.t;
thought. will close their doors Novem-
Der l. by reason of being rejected by
the board or otherwise, but just what
number will be in business November
the deliberations of the board is made
known.
If the provisions of the new law
were made effective the coming Novem-
be far less than 500 saloons in exist
ence. l think the number would not
De many In excess of 200"
"A statement of the 46s applications
licenses has been prepared by Attorney
Shoemaker and Jesse Suter, representing
the Anti-Saloon League, showing the
reports made by the police 1t shows
that there are .seventy-eight saloons In
residential sections, where the new law
provides they cannot remain. The num-
Der within the four-hundred-fo foot limit
OF church is given as forty-nine, and
sixty-tWo are too near Inhabited alleys.
Several Transfers Granted.
In number of instances several oh
jections are registered against a sim
gle saloon and the total number be-
lieved to be legislated out of existence
by the provisions of the new law Ia
estimated at about ITS. All these sa-
will not go out of business
however. some having already been
granted transfers from residential to
business sections, and the coming year.
it is stated, will see a large humber
of similar applications for transfers
filed.
The question of reducing the number
of saloons to not more than three on
one side of square and not more than
a total of four on both Sides it is
thought, will prove troublesome
problem to the board. Just what sa-
looms in such squares are to be elimi-
mated is not known. the board not hav-
ing adopted any rule to guide them
in the matter.
1t is rumored. however, that the
board will adopt standard whereby
the work of elimination will cause
very little trouble. Previous good
records of licensees will be considered
police reports will be scrutinized and
the cleanliness of the places will be
taken into consideration. The ques-
ton of the sanitary conditions Of sa-
looms, it is stated. is to be considered
in the future.