Albuquerque morning journal. [volume] (Albuquerque, N.M.) 1903-1926, 1922-07-22
WOMEN QUIT PURITY
MEET AFTER FAILING
TO BAN DANCE HALLS
CONTINUED From cage one.)

next meeting. Mrs. Anna Wilds
Strumquist, temporary president,
conducted the meeting.
Miss Lillian Franzen, chairman
of the league committee to seek
anti-vice measures from the county
commission, read lthe following
opinion of the assistant district at
torney, 4. ]. Mabry, in regard to the
license and supervision Of public
dance halls:
Referring to your oral inquiry
relative to the state law concerning
the license aHa supervision of dance
halls and whether there is any
power Of license revocation lodged
n any public official or court un-
der the said law, / will say:
First - Paragraphs 3314, 1915,
1916 and 1918, together with para
graph 1903 Of the compiled laws of
1915, seem to embody all the law
governing the licensing and man
agement of these places. There is
in addition to the above enumerat-
ed paragraphs of the law, an ad-
Iditional paragraph; viz: 1913, which
lis brought forward into the compili-
alton, but which, in my opinion (and
it has been so held by the district
court here) has been repealed and
is no longer in force. This later
paragraph in any event goes to the
question only of the amount OF
license that Is to be paid.
Paragraph '3314 above referred TO
requires the person who shall give
a dance to apply to some justice
of the peace or judge of probate
for license. who are hereby re-
quired to grant the same"
1t can be seen that there is nc
discretion left to either the justice
or probate judge. They "are re-
quired to grant the same" True Il
provides further that the person re-
ceiving the license must take an
oath to "observe good order anu
enforce this law" but there is no
provision for forfeiture of the righL
to do business under such license III
case the person in charge of the
dance halls to comply with the
oath he mas taken, which he ire
quently does.
This is all pointed out simply to
show the inadequacy of the law IN
respect to this matter and as an
explanation of the inability OF. the
peace enforcement officers to close
UP these so-called places Of amuse7
ment and dance halls which are so
generally complained Of.
A dance hall might be SO con-
Quoted as to be a nuisance Whlcn
could be enjoined On a court OF
equity either as a public or private
nuisance. But that a dance hall
that is open and run on Sunday
is neither a nuisance per Sc nor
violation of the Sunday law was
recently held in the district court
in o case brought in where the
district attorneys office and the
sheriff Of the county were en-
deavoring to stop the operation OF
dance halls on Sunday. Whether a
danceis so conducted as to be eth
er a private or public nuisance
which could be enjoined in court
of equity must be determined by
a court upon the particular facts
of each case presented, it seems.
A dance as any other public gath
ering might be so conducted and
managed as to be a nuisance which
could be enjoined, but the mere
fact that it is a dance instead OF
q chautauqua or picnic, for exam
pie, does not make it nuisance
per Sc, the court has decided. 1t
is the manner of its running and
the things done that determine
whether or not it constitutes a
nuisance.
I doubt also that. there is any
authority under our present state
laws to require the operators and
managers of dance halls and such
places of amusement outside of the
towns and cities at least, to per-
NIT official chaperons or matrons
If this is desired. here is another
place where the law needs
strengthening to permit of some
responsible overseeing and policing
Of such places.
1t occurs tonne that as prac-
teal matter there might be an ar
rangement made with the mana
gers of these places Of amusement
to permit Of chaperon for all
dances and social events where an
entrance fee or any. charge /
made, the chaperon or police Of
ficer to be compensated by the
said managers of such places;
those refusing to agree on such
an arrangement could and no
doubt would be given more strict
surveillance by the local police Of
ficers and offenses thus more