The Telegraph-courier. [volume] (Kenosha, Wis.) 1888-1946, 1916-07-27
MAYOR WON'T VIOLATE Law
Answer to Petition for Writ Of Manda-
mus Declares That Place Can Not Be
Given License ON Account of Fact
That License Right Is Dead.

John Neubauer, who formerly oper-
ated saloon with dance hall and
pleasure attachment at the north limits
of the city and ceased operations when
license was denied him by the Com
mon Council of the city and the town
board of Somers, only to get new
lease of life when an accommodating
action and voted him city license, is
going to fight in court to make the ac-
tion of the council stick. Mayor Pfen-
mig after carefully considering the mat
ter and getting advice from the city
attorney, announced to Neubauer and
the brewing company interested, that
he would not sign the saloon license
regardless of the action Of majority
Of the members of the council. Now.
Neubauer has gone into court to force
the mayor to sign
Through his attorney, r: ". Baker,
he has fled in the Circuit Court petit
tion asking that pre-emptory writ
of mandamus be issued to force the
Hon. Charles HI. Pfennig to sign the
license The mayor was notified Of the
proposed action before he left for his
motor trip to Niagara Falls on Monday
and ne told the saloon men to go ahead
and mandamus but that he would not
affix his signature to the license until
after an order of the court had been
issued and that then he would think
the matter over and possibly appeal
the case to higher court
The petition covers a good many
pages of typewritten matter, but the
answer to the complaint which was
filed by City Attorney John G. Slater
today, is not nearly so extended.
Neubauer in his petition for the writ
of mandamus asserts that he had been
in business at the place in question for
a great many years and that his invest
ment there was between eighteen and
twenty thousand dollars and that if
he is denied license to sell liquor at
the place the value of the property will
not exceed five thousand dollars. He
holds that the fact that the council
had from time to time issued license
to him at the place led him to under
stand that the license would be con-
tinued and that on account of this fact
he went ahead with the expenditure
of large sums of money.
The petition was served on the city
attorney who accepted service for the
mayor and at once sent back an answer
to the petition of Neubauer's attorney.
Tn the answer the attorney states that
the Neubauer place went out of bust
ness so far as the city was concerned
on the both day of June of 1915 and
that as it had been out of business for
more than year that under the state
law the council acted illegally in vot-
ing to grant it a license The answer
shows that at the present time the city
has some ninety-seven saloons which is
a considerable more than is permitted
under the state law. He holds that the
mayor can not lawfully sign the license
for the place regardless of the action
of the council and asks that the petition
for the writ of mandamus be dismissed
"The question seems to be elemen-
tary," said the city attorney this
morning. IF the law means what it
says then there is no chance for the
license to be issued in legal manner
to the Neubauer place and the mayor
has let me understand that he will not
sign the license unless he is shown that
he can comply with the laws of the
state in signing it.
The matter is supposed to come up
in the Circuit Court before Judge
Belden on Thursday morning. Tt is not
expected that the court will hurry his
decision in the matter. Of course the
license could be signed by Acting
Mayor 2. J. Sullivan, president of the
council, but Alderman Sullivan was
member Of the license committee
which recommended that no license be
granted for the place and it is certain
that he will follow the course outlined
by tho 1naEoF and refuse to.4sign the