Evening journal., 1914-05-12

it, the license law in operation in New
Castle county is exactly what its title
signifies, that is, an act regulating the
sale Of intoxicating liquor
Mr. Wolcott said the regulation pro.
vided for in substance is entirely pro.
hibitory as TO the great mass of the
people, and is permissive as to the re-
strcted class 10 whom the license pro-
vided for is granted. II the case at
bar, Mr. Wolcott said. the defendant
does not possess a license and therefore
belongs to the great residum class, who
are absolutely prohibited to sell Inso-
far therefore. as the defendant is con
cened the state OF Delaware might as
well have total prohibitory law on it's
books, and the conduct of the defendant
would not thereby be any different from
what 1t is. II the first section of the H.
cense act stood alone il would be a pro-
hibition law and that is the section
within which the defendant comes.
This section of the act reads as fol-
lows: Section !. That no person. by
himself. his agent or servant directly
or indirectly shall sell any intoxicating
liquors except as herein provided"
Mr.. Wolcott continued "The opinions
of prosecuting officers can have nothing
TO do with the construction OF the
meaning OF law The judicial de-
lpartment OF state exercises the func-
tion of interpreting law, and we can
not concedc that the judicial department
is TO be ousted of its junction by either
the negligence OF the Misunderstanding
of Other officials in the state govern
ment
I'VE submit that the defendant being
! a person within the meaning of the
statute and having sold Intoxicating IL
quor within the meaning of the statute,
its request that the particular sale
made is TO be exempted from the opera
tion Of the statute amounts to nothing
more than a request that the court write
into the statute an exception exempting
from the general prohibitions OF the
statute a class of offenders whom the
Legislature did not sec tit to exclude
The court is asked TO constitute itself
a sort Of appellate Legislature and as
such TO review an enactment of thu
General Assembly and amend the same
by excepting from the act the class ol
persons which defendant thinks the Leg
islature should never have included IN
its terms.
I'VE refuse to cite before this court
any authorities to sustain the propo
sition that changes in the law are
never to be made through the Judi
cial branch of the government, the
proper place to apply being the leg
islature.
mo doubt clubs of the kind in
volved in this case find the act II
question to be inconvenient for theii
purpose, and greatly desire to be per
mitted to continue the dispensing o
liquors to their members. Their de
sire in this respect, however, hai
nothing to do with what the law pro
vides. There is no reason why mel
banded together in the form of al
incorporated club, should expect to b.
permitted by the courts to do thing
which the legislature has forbidden
them to do and which the courts hav
refused to allow all other classes il
the same category to do
If the defendants contention is cor
rect. clubs may sell to minors, the
may permit gambling and other i'm
proper practices about their premise
where the liquors are sold; they ma
t maintain secret drinking rooms an
they may sell to drunkards The
I may do all of the things which IL
{ the policy of the law to forbid an
man who sells liquor to do.
i Furthermore, in not having to ru
e the gauntlet of the court, in order {
{ secure the right to sell. men of unde
sirable character can, in managin
S clubs, be permitted to dispense liquor
r. and there is no power in the state I
. stop them In making this statemen
J, we do not mean to be understood I
j assert that a man can organize
o club as mere pretense for the purpOs
I of engaging in the sale of liquors.
e "What we do mean to say is that tn
v club may be a bona fide club, controlle
by men who are conspicuously unfit {
= handle liquors, and yet fall far shor
of being a fictitious or evasiye scheme.
In concluding his argument Mr.. Wol
colt said: "In conclusion we submit tn
defendant seeks to have the court adop
the construction of this act, which
adopted is violative of its letter. con
trary to its spirit and destructive d
its purpose
Court then took a recess until 2.3
o'clock this afternoon, at which tim
counsel for the defense will presen
argument.