The Washington times., 1914-10-30
WOULD HALT ACT
BY EXCISE BOARD
w. and O. D. Railway Seeks to
Restrain Body From Grant
ing Two Liquor Licenses.
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Continued from First Page)
tiuuor business shall be licensed, main
Tained, or allowed in the territory west
of the following lines: The westerly line
OF the fire limits, as now established
80 At the time the law was passed,
according to the petition, the westerly
fire limits terminated at Thirty fifth
street
Without Legal Opinion"
1t is claimed that Warden & Carr. be-
l!eving they would not be eligible to
receive licenses under the new law, pre-
vailed upon the Commissioners to ex-
Tend the fire limits to a point west OF
the location OF their barrooms. This
action. it is claimed, was taken after
The passage OF the excise law. which
was approved March 4, 1918.
The excise board then ruled. the Pc
titioner recites, that the section of the
law governing the fire limits should not
be in full force and effect until after
July l, 1918 The suit is based on the
contention that the law as II passed
Congress made il clear that all terri
tory outside of the fire limits as now
10 wit then established, must be con-
sidered prohibited territory for barroom
establishments, and that unuuestion-
a5ly the word now related to the time
when the act, by approval of the Presi-
dent OF the United States, became a
law, 10 wit, March 4. 1873
Regarding the action of the excise
board IN making its ruling, the petition
says:
"Plaintiff further says that it is :n-
formed that this legal opinion was not
only reached by said board without an
opinion being obtained for their guld-
ance from the corporation counsel or
others learned in the law, but was
merely the conclusion attempted to be
reached by the members OF the said
board no one OF whom was learned J
The law, and that said opinion was
therefore a mere conclusion attempted
TO be reached by laymen. and amounted
TO no more than the individual opinion
OF three laymen composing sa'd board.
Company Explains Position.
The railway company explains Its
posttion IN Sling the suit by reason OF
the fact that in the operation or lts
trains il is necessary to have motortnen
end conductors Of the best obtainable
skill, that the company's employees be
thoroughly sober and therefore every
temptation toward Indulgence in alco-
holic LIQUORS should be eliminated. 1t
is further pointed out that the exist
ence oil lne SALOONS HldheS ~ ooJSc
able for women, many Of whom travel
over the company's lines every day, to
use The terminal The petition alleges
also that by reason of free transfers
between the Capital Tratcion Company
and those operated by the plaintiff, evi-
dence has been obtained showing that
persons not having occasion to use the
transfers which they receive, have par
tered the transfers in the two barrooms
for drinks The claim is made that the
territory south OF Aqueduct bridge oeins
ia what is known as q dry section, great
ANNOYANCE has been caused by pSoplc
coming from that section who desire
"a obtain liquor congregating in the
vicinity of plaintiffs railway station
and creating objectional- conditions Tor
ycaceably inclined passengers.
Upon presentation of the petition, Jus
tice Mccoy granted the writ prayed Tor
r,.t1IrnabIe for a hearing November Z.