Arizona republican., 1914-07-01
The New Liquor License Ordinance

The valuable privilege of selling liquor to women and girls, or whoever wants to buy it, Sundays or week days, is confined by the ordinance adopted Monday night to hotels having at least fifty Less imposing hotels barred, and so, We gather from the ordinance those restaurants and din ing connected with hotels having the required number of For this privilege the favored hotels pay a quarterly license of s3OO and We have doubt they will pay it cheerfuly for they left practically without restrictions and without competition.
 The ordinance is extremely liberal toward the few places which avail themselves of it's pro- visions. It is required only that guest of a hotel of the class described in the ordinance must register at the hotel in order that may be served in his room at one time with much two gallons of liquor or an equivalent of twelve quart bottles of beer This limitation presume, was not fixed so much for the purpose restricting the guest or the saloon in connection with the hotel as for humani- tarian reasons. to prevent the overlooking of the porter. Two gallons of hard liquor three gallons of beer is as much any servitor of hotel ought to be required to carry But this restric- ton imposes hardship upon either the hotel or its guest. When the latter has slowed away one cargo the porter may be supposed have so far recovered as to be able to deliver another, The ordinance permits at least fifty debauches in one hotel.
 It is not required by the ordinance that the shall personally and individually consume two gallons of liquor three gallons at one sit ting As the temporary proprietor of the room, he may entertain as guests whom he pleases without restrictions to their ages, their condition with respect to inebriety though saloons allowed to sell to minors or persons already under the in- fiuence of liquor. With the delivery of the liquor at the of the guest all responsibility of the seller ends and nobody else assumes it.
 The ordinance fixes for week days the hours for the sale of liquor by hotels of many fifty at from o'clock i'll the morning to midnight giving them hours advantage over the saloons in the morning. On Sundays the hotels have selling hours from o'clock in the morning until o'clock night, the liquor be served with bona fider meals. What d bona fide meal is do not know If the commission knows, it has learned something that nobody else has ever known though the sub- ject has been much discussed since the enact ment of the New York Raines law twenty five years ago.
 The saloons may avail themselves of the dining privileges conferred by this ordinance by the payment additional license tax of $50 a quarter making s1200 year. the that fifty room hotels will have pay. The saloons may then establish eating places in the in an adjoining room There is nothing in the ordinance prohibiting booths and wine rooms, and far discover. there is nothing to prevent the cessful bidding by the saloons for the and girl trade. We may, therefore expect early ex- pansion of the saloon business in Phoenix.
 This ordinance is a long step backward toward those conditions of ten years ago which created a demand for the regulation of the liquor traffic in Phoenix When the ordinance becomes effective Phoenix will be wider-open than it has been for many years
 bad feature of this legislation is the precau- ton the commission has taken to prevent the ex- pression of the will of the people, by making it an emergency measure. It must be most overwhelmingly disapproved by the citizens of Phoenix, but citi invoked against it. The ordinance had the approval in advance of those who will profit by it. and that expression popular will has been deemed by the commission to be sufficient.
 In the end the liquor men and the hotels where liquor is sold will be the sufferers. One be amazed at the short -sightedness of the men whose influence has brought this thing about In enacting this ordinance the commission has made in this city and in the county votes for the pending pro- hibition amendment than the state temperance fed eration could make in six months of steady educa- tional effort.