The Telegraph-courier. [volume] (Kenosha, Wis.) 1888-1946, 1925-06-18
Opinion from Atty CENTS
Office Closes LoOphole
In Ordinance.
BACKSPOWELL'S STAND
Backs Stand of Dis. Attorney
that "InvitatiOn Dances"
Are Public Dances.

dance hall ordinance was plugged up
today when District Attorney Lewis
= Powell received an opinion from the
attorney generals Office unfolding the
stand that dances, where admission
was supposedly free but where charges
were made for dinner or for pop or
other I'm lieu Of this, were under the
provisions of the county dance hall
ordinance and could not be held with
out securing Of permit. The opinion
was handed down by Assist. Attorney
General J. e. Messerschmidt in ans
wer to an inquiry made to him by the
district attorney of Kenosha county.
The opinion was sought as a result
of a report to the effect that a dance
was held last Sunday at Happy
Henry Lang place at Pikeville in the
town of Bristol where no admission
was charged but where the price OF
pop was advanced to fifteen cents pei
bottle to meet this loss. District At
torney Lewis Powell Immediately adj
vised Lang that this was violation
of the law and the opinion of the
attorney generals Office upholds the
decision of the district attorney. The
decision also would include the So
called "Invitation Dances" which it is
said are being planned in Kenosha
county as another subterfuge, declar-
ing that these are also public dances
under the meaning of the ordinance.
Opinion Gives Ruling.
The letter from the assistant at
torney general, handing down the
"You enclose a copy of the dance
hall ordinance adopted by the county
board of supervisors of Kenosha
county in accordance with subsec-
ton of section of 59.08 statutes
and you inquire:
would a person who runs free
dance to which the public in general
is admitted as his guests violate the
state law or the ordinance or would
a dance hall proprietor violate either
the ordinance or statute by issuing
hundreds of invitations and permit the
guests to dance without any costs
to themselves the proprietor expect
ing to make his profits on his
concessions?"
In the dance hall ordinance of your
county, a public dance is defined
as follows:
"a public dance as used in this
ordinance, shall mean any dance at
which admission can be gained by the
public generally upon the payment OF
an admission fee or by the purchase
possession, or presentation of ticket
or token, or in which a charge is
made for the caring of clothing OF
other property, or any other dance to
which the public generally without
restriction may gain admission with
or without payment of fee, or a
dance operated for profit"
And public dance hall' as used in
the ordinance shall be taken to mean
"Any soft drink parlor, road-house,
room, place or space at which pub
lie dance may be held, or any hall or
academy in which classes in dane
ing are held and instruction given
for hire"
Under the facts stated, it is appar-
ent that this dance is operated for
profit although the profits are made
on the concessions.
I am of the opinion that the ordi-
nance was violated.
I believe that under the facts stated
by you, section 4599-m statutes, is al
so violated for it provides that
"No person shall conduct any dance
to which the public generally is ad-
mitted, or conduct, establish or man
age any public dance hall or pavilion,
amusement park, carnival, street fair,
Il 6
amusement in any county in which
the board of supervisors has adopted
an ordinance or resolution or enacted
bylaws in accordance with the pro-
visions of subsection s of section
59.oS without first securing license
therefor from the county board"
Invitations sent out in such large
numbers are evidence of the fact that
the public is invited and the invita-
tions are simply subterfuge, which
will not prevent conviction under
said section.
Very truly yours,
J. E. Messerschmidt,
Assistant Attorney General.
Approved by c. A. Erikson, deputy
attorney general.
Another County Worried
Word reached Kenosha today of q
warning sent down by Governor
Blaine to the district attorney OF
Barron county regarding the Sunday
closing question. District Attorney
Powell declared today that the ques.
tion at issue in Barron county was
not analogous to the one here and that
the law was being enforced uniformly
in this county in keeping with its
provisions. The county dance hall or
dinance does not pretend to regulate
dances within the city and for that
reason the district attorney is not
in charge with enforcement in the
city of Kenosha.
In Barron county there has beer
trouble over the closing of two movie
houses in the county on Sunday. A
complaint was filed with the governor
that the Sunday closing law is mo-
being enforced impartially Throughout
that county with result that Cover
nor Blaine warned the Barren county
district attorney that failure to i'm
partially enforce the law authorize.
the governor to suspend from Office
It is said that the fight in Barron
county has a political angle.
FALL DOWN ON PILFERING LIST.
One of the poorest base-stealint