Harrisburg telegraph. [volume] (Harrisburg, Pa.) 1879-1948, 1918-04-01
PERRY COUNTY
HOTELS ALL DRY
BY Refusal of Court to Renew
Licenses Bars in Ten
Towns Close

NC" blOuIuiCiu, IA, ApTll l.
Twelve o'clock Saturday night
marked the end of liquor-selling as
a legalized business in Perry county.
At that time fifteen Perry county
bars closed their doors for at least
one year. Legally their licenses were
good until IL p. m. March 81, but
inasmuch as the last day fell on Sun
day, the business came to an end one
day before the licenses expired.
The grand finale was experienced
with less noise and general mischief
than had been expected. Street
singing in each of the ten towns
losing their licenses was the chief
cause of disturbance. No serious dis
order was reported.
At Maryseille G.. w. Rhoads, pro-
prietor of the Central Hotel, re-
moved from the building. There a
large number of beer kegs were
taken to outyards, where they were
secured by some of the vacchanalian
knights and distributed promiscu-
ously through some of the principal
streets of town. Several places of
business were piled high with these
kegs, decorated with demijohns and
beer signs secured at the Rhoads
Hotel More "drunks" than usual
were reported In all towns.
Fiften licenses expired in ten
towns. They were those of:
Mcclellan Cox, Hotel Dimm,
Blain.
II. r. Rhinesmith, Hotel Rhine
smith, New Bloomfield.
Mrs. Martha Harmon, Mansion
House. New Bloomfield.
Oran +. Stouffer, Union Hotel,
Shermansdale. Carroll township.
IL Ill air ir1
cannon.
Samuel E. Mayne, Hotel Johnston,
Duncannon.
Clares o. Mitchell. ownes House.
Liverpool.
Blanton +. Blattenberger, Com
mercial Hotel. Liverpool.
George W. Rhoads, Central Hotel.
Marysville.
William E. Dressler. National
Hotel. Millerstown.
Peter r. Shenk, Ward House. Mill
lerstown.
Charles ]. Reeder, Mingle House,
Newport.
Paul r. Flurie, National Hotel,
Newport.
Howard \. Keim, Sherman's VAL
ley House, New Germantown, To-
boyne township.
I
Elliottsburg, Spring township.
John G. Hench. of Elliottsburg,
was the applicant for the Cox Ii
cense for Hotel Dimm, of Blain, and
William S. Mckay, of Harrisburg,
for the Rhoads license for Central
Hotel, Marysville, at the license
court.
The fight against liquor in Perry
county has been long and~hard. Some
thirty years ago. when local option
existed in Pennsylvania, Perry coun-
ty was dry for several years. Again,
at the license court of March, 1915,
no licenses were granted. At that
time President Judge William n.
Seibert and Associate Judge S. f.
Bernheisel were sitting. The other
associate, L. C. WoX, of Marysville,
was confined to his bed through ILL
ness, which resulted fatally for him.
Judge Seibert wished to grant no
licenses. while Bernheisel wished to
grant all. With this division, no Ii
censes were granted and the matter
was taken to the Superior Court at
Pittsburgh, where the action of the
court was held to be illegal. The
matter was brought back to Perry
county court, where ten licenses
We're then granted.
The following year DR.. W. A.
Meiser. of Newport, became associ-
ate judge. He. together with Asso-
ciate Bernheisel, at the license courts
of 1916 and 1917, overruled Presi-
dent Judge Seibert and granted five
licenses that Seibert did not wish.
This year George E. Boyer. of
Duncannon, q "dry" associate. as
cended the bench. succeeding Bern
FTNt. . L, ,,F
"drys," who proceeded to get a Wig
orous campaign under way. Then
President Judge Seibert died. The
"drys" were somewhat downcast, but
they continued their campaign. Then
jeremiah Z. Keller. of Miffintown,
was appointed president judge. He
was a known dry" man.
When license court opened on
March s, such an array of evidence
was presented against numerous
saloons in the county that it seemed
certain that almost all, if not all. IL
cenSes would be refused. On March
Z the court adjourned until Satur-
day, March 10. On that morning
court assembled and President
Judge Keller announced that all Ii
censes We're refused. No opinion
was handed down by the court, so
there is no basis of appeal for the
VETS" Consequently, Perry county
will be dry for at least this year,
there being no opportunity to bring
back the saloon as there was in
1915.
Perry county was the fourteenth
county in the state to go dry. Since
then another county, Warren, has
been added to the list.
The addition of Perry county. to
the dry list furnishes a string of five
dry counties in Central Pennsylva-
MIA. Bedford, Huntingdon and Mif-
fin county. all of the same district,
have been dry for approximately
five years, while Juniata of the Jun
district, has been dry for
four years. With the addition of
Perry county to the dry list, there
is no licensed bar between Tyrone
and Harrisburg.
SCHAEFTER-GR WEDDING