The Telegraph-courier. [volume] (Kenosha, Wis.) 1888-1946, 1920-05-06
THURSDAY, MAY 6, 1920
LICENSES, LICENSES, WHOSE GOT EN-

81
Passing ordinances is one Of the easiest
things that the common council OF Kenosha
does In fact if visitor would just look over
the ordinance books Of Kenosha he would be
convinced that Kenosha was one OF the best
regulated cities in the world He would know
that the rights of men in trade were protected
against the aggression of peddlers that the
morals of children were protected against the
illegal use of pool rooms, that junk dealers
were kicking in their annual mite to help sup
port the city, that the jitney on the street was
wholly regulated by city license law, that
milk dealers, meat dealers, the baker and the
candle stick maker were all members OF hap
by family of properly regulated trades under
: city license.
Passing license ordinance is one thing out
enforcing the license is a horse OF an entirely
different hue in Kenosha The interesting fact
was brought out at meeting OF the council
that most of the men supposed to be licensed
by the city of Kenosha have never come to
learn the meaning of the word 1t is admitted
that once in while the force at the office OF
the city clerk is startled by some one coming in
and asking for license but usually the man
who should get license does not even know
where the office Of the clerk is located
The junk dealers send word to the common
council that they would pay license if the
ordinance was amended so as to meet with
their approval, other people who ought to have
license take the same course OF action. The
iitney man in the city tells the clerk plainly
that he isn't going to take out license until
the city makes the rest of the men who drive
automobiles for hire take the same license and
there you are.
Regulation Of anything by license in Kenosha
is a farce. Either the police do not know the
ordinances or they get no orders to enforce
them and the latter seems to be the solution
OF the problem. Men and women in Kenosha
have disregarded the license ordinances until
they have come to think that the ordinances
mean nothing and that there is no reason for
them to obey them The first of May is the
time set for checking up and taking out new Ii
censes. There has been no demand for licenses
and the clerk has his blanks in the drawer mel
lowing with age and he has little reason to be-
lieve that any Of them will ever be used.
The action of the city in permitting the IL
censes ordinances to become dead letters can
not be defended, There was plenty of reason
for the passage of every one of the ordinances
providing for license and so far as any one
knows every one of the ordinances will stand
not been designed to bring revenue to the city
In fact the enforcement of them in the proper
manner would probably cost the city more than
the city will receive from the licenses, but the
proper regulations of certain trades and the
proper restriction of certain near nuisances de-
mands that the license ordinances be enforced
There should be no temporizing with the men
who are to be regulated with these licenses
Possibly every one Of them has his own idea
as to how he wants to conduct his business and
in most cases the decision would be to conduct
it for the man who has the business rather
with any view for the protection of the rest of
the people Of the city.
If these ordinances can not be enforced be-
cause they conflict with state law they should
be stricken from the records of the city If
they are in keeping with the law they should
be enforced to the letter and not enforced or
not just as the people who are directed to get
licenses happen to feel about it,
The farce has gone far enough. Let the Ii
cense ordinances be enforced to the letter with
out partiality Let the officials of the city
show the council that they can enforce and will
enforce these ordinances and give the people
the reasonable and seasonable regulation of
trades and businesses that the licenses provide
for. The only alternative is to have a meeting
of the council and repeal every license ordinance
and have it go as you please race for the flu
ture It's time to quit making monkeys out of
some of the officials and to make law abiding
citizens out of the people who have repeatedly
and constantly refused to pay any attention to
these ordinances
The New York World says: "There is only
one constitutional method Of terminating
war, and that is by the negotiation and ratifi-