Evening star., 1933-11-12
New York's Control Regulations.
What the end Of prohibition and The

PRONUNCIATION of liquor control regIla-
tons mean to New York City has been
succinctly stated by the newspaper
reporter who began his story with the
statement that:
Drinking of liquor at bars will be pro-
hibited in this State after December 5
under rules and regulations for the con-
duct Of the legal liquor traffic, as made
public today by the New York State
Alcoholic Beverage Control Board.
There is much drinking of hard
liquor at the bars in New York City
todar and there has been for many of
the prohibition years. In New York
the paradoxical situation is presented
wherein drinking at bars will be brought
to an end by the removal of the eight
zenith amendment from the Constitu-
ton. That statement, of course, re-
quires some qualification. 1t is the pur-
pose of the new liquor regulations, just
announced, to end drinking at bars
and prevent what used to be known as
the saloon. That was also one pur-
pose of the eighteenth amendment.
But 20 those who believe that tenn
perance and the abolition of many evils
associated with the liquor traffic can
best be dealt with by the States, there
is encouragement not only in the New
York regulations. but in the spirit which
has apparently actuated their framing.
The regulations specifically prohibit the
saloon and the speakeasy. Hard liquors
can only be served at tables in legiti-
mate restaurants, hotels, clubs. railroad
cars and ships. Licensed liquor stores
can sell package goods for consumption
of the premises. Their location will be
confined to business thoroughfares,
their number limited. The speakeasies
must transform themselves into restau-
rants or clubs or close up. The bona
fide restaurant must have been In busi-
ness for year, selling more food than
drink. The bona fide club must not be
organized for profit.
There is no great occasion for
optimistic belief that New York has
solved the liquor problem by these
regulations. But their purpose, Chair
man Mulrooney has said, sis to encour-
age the people of this State to
make temperance their goal and to
promote obedience to law and order"
This objective, Chairman Mulrocney in
dicates, is not to be finally reached
through the regulations just announced,
since some of them are plainly expert
mental and all of them are temporary,
inasmuch as the Legislature is to pre-
scribe a more permanent system of
control after next April. Behind the
regulations is the thought that strict
enforcement by license will make liquor
dealers independent of the police, poll
tics and graft" Absolute power of
license revocation within an independ- |
ent control board is more effective than |
all the laws which could be passed"
MIR. Mulrooney said. He believes that |
If the licensing system does not prove |
successful. 1t will be dropped in favor
Of monopolistic control of the liquor |
business by the State, with the estab-
Iishment Of State liquor stores.
The Empire State. of course will be
one of the most closely watched of the |
laboratories In which the new liquor
control experiments will be made There |
are elements of its population which, |
IN so far as social habits and tradi-
ions are concerned, are as wide apart |
Is the poles. What suits the Manhat-
,anite, may be utterly distasteful to the |
upstate, rural New Yorker. That is
why the New York problem is pc
culiarly complex. and why the new
efforts to solve it will prove of such |
general interest.