Arizona republican., 1914-07-05
SUNDAY MORNING, JULY 5, 1914.
The face Of the fields has often
cOmforted me more than the faces
of men. John Burroughs.
The Commissioners Statement


The Republican printed yesterday morning a
defense of the widely-condemned liquor license tax
ordinance enacted by the commission last Monday
night. The statement, it will be observed, is
satisfactory than the ordinance. 1t is
rather the defects of the old license ordi-
the regulation of the liquor traffic. though
the chief defect of that ordinance not in the
ordinance itself but in the lack Of its enforcement
We told by the commissioners, with respect
to the liquor traffic of the hotels and restaurants
that it deemed better by the commission to
prohibit the sale of liquor in the latter because
many of the restaurants owned by Chinese and
cannot be controlled. 1t decided therefore,
put the traffic responsible hands, the RESPONSE
bity being determined by the ownership or control
of a hotel having least fifty rooms This is a
disposition of the traffic which leaves it apparently
the control three hotels which appear to have
interest in common constituting trust
monopoly, far the handling of liquor by hotels
is concerned
This ordinance permits these three hotels to
sell to any registered guest and any woman
may register gallon liquor and three gallons of
beer delivered the room of the guest every hour.
every half hour every minutes. BY whom
the liquor is drunk it not required that the hotel
young girls by boys who could not buy a drink of
liquor any saloon in If enter
upon deep prolonged and undisturbed debauch, the
ordinance affords him the opportunity to do it.
Where is the rigid restriction of which the
commissioners speak in their statement?
We do not say that all of the hotel
keepers any them would permit such orgies
as might take place on their premises under this
ordinance But they could do under it's plain
terms without any abuse of ordinance; in fact,
it is possible abuse it. The evil of a law lies
in what is likely to be done under it, but in what
may be done under it. There is hardly length to
which the evil-disposed could go under this
ordinance
The statement by the commissioners that the
liquor selling privilege was withdrawn from the
restaurants because the Chinese may abuse it. would
be specious but for one thing concerning which the
statement is silent The ordinance provides that
saloon, any saloon may avail itself of the dining
privilege allowed the hotels by establishing
eating place in the saloon in adjacent
separate room, not necessarily adjoining"
Contiguous That may be anywhere in the vicinity,
for instance, in the block, upstairs in a
basement. Does the commission still believe that
this arrangement it has made is restrictive the
old ordinance was?
The lowest dive in Phoenix is granted privilege
which is denied the wel-regulated restaurant. If
the saloons should avail themselves of this privilege
and Of them will doubt-if in the
SALOON business should do so-there will be
congregation of without regard age.
This provision would be infringement
upon the privileges the fifty room el-quor-
selling But it is 1t creates resorts for
class of persons who might find it difficult i'm
possible to gain access to the hotels. 1t relieves
undesirable pressure upon the hotels. Nor, does it
all with the Sunday selling privilege of
the hotels. They have that all to themselves. The
hotels are satisfied, and So we presume, the
saloons
The commissioners take credit in the statement
for having provided the ordinance for the
cation of saloon licenses for There has been
criticism by anyone of that provision. 1t is
good one But it necessary make this
iniqutous ordinance vehicle for it. Could we not
have had a provision without throwing down the
bars utterly?
With the exception of this revocation provision
the ordinance is bad in all its parts. worse one
was never enacted in Phoenix. The particularly bad
points these:
J. The creation of monopoly of the most de-
spcable and dangerous branch of the liquor traffic
2. The official recognition of the sale, by the
trust of liquor Sundays in hotel rooms and din
ing rooms.
g. The permission to sell liquors Sundays
and week days in ridiculOusy immoderate quantities
without any responsibility the made of it.
a. The snap judgment taken upon the people
of Phoenix in Section II of the ordinance in the
declaration that it is emergency measure, when
emergency exists thereby deprivng the people of