Evening star., 1933-01-16
Y HEN the Subcommittee on
I Judiciary Of the House Dis
A..... L. IL.

nave before IL measure winch uPOI
close examination. is shown to be IA
les strict than the regulations en- th'
liquor traffic in effect before this cit!
went dry with the Sheppard act
The license fees proposed in the Blacl
bill would be 500 for an 'on sale
license fee allowing drinking on th'
premises and an of sale" license fe'
of S25, allowing sale of liquor to b
taken away from the premises. Thi
compares with the higher license fee
Of $500 for wholesalers and 81 500 pc
year for retailers. in effect before thu
Sheppard act. In the Black bill, how
ever. there is provided tax Of $3.50 |
barrel. apparently to be Superinposee
on the Federal beer tax. This local ia,
was not applied here before prohibition
Proposed Law Lenient.
One OF the big differences betweel
the old regulations before prohibition
here, and the proposed Black bill lie
In the regulations concerning saloons
In the old days there were strict re
Strictions as to the location of saloons
whereas the Black bill contains no au
thority restricting the number or To-
cation of places where beer shall b.
sold.
The Black bill does provide however
that no brewer or wholesale liquo
dealer shall have any financial inter
est in places where beer is to be re
tailed.
Text Of Proposed Bill.
The text of the new proposed Dis
trict Of Columbia bill is as follows:
"A bill to provide revenue for the
District of Columbia by the tax
alton of certain Notwithstanding
liquor and for other purposes.
Il. Be it enacted by the Senate
and House of Representatives of the
United States of America in Con-
gress assembled, that there shall be
levied and collected by the District
of Columbia on all beer, lager beer,
ale, porter, and other similar fer
mented liquor, containing one-half
of l per centum or more of alcohol
by volume, and not more than 80
per centum of alcohol by weight,
sold within the said District of Co
lumbia by whatever name such
liquors may be called. tax of $3.50
. for every barrel containing not more
than 81 gallons, and at like rate
for any other quantity or for the
fractional parts of a barrel author
lied and defined by law.
-. When used in this act the
term beer shall be deemed to in
clude lager beer, ale porter and
other similar fermsnted liquor.
"3. Sections 319 to $50, 332 to
339, and BAL to 344. inclusive, Of the
Cooe of the District of Columbia
are hereby repealed.
-. The superintendent of licenses
ha ro1 Nf
beer These licenses shall be of two
kinds:
"D On Sale licenses shall per-
NIT the licensee or seller of beer to
sell beer for consumption on the
premises only:
"(2) of Sale licenses shall per-
nit the seller or licensee to sell beer
in original packages for consump-
tion off the premises only. On
Sale licenses shall be granted only
to bona fide restaurants. clubs, eat
ing places or hotels.
"5. ON Sale license fees shall be
500 per annum: of Sale license
fees shall be s25 per annum.
IS. No brewer or wholesale liquor
dealer shall have any direct or in
direct financial interest In the busi-
ness of any licensee or the premises
licensed.
~. ON Sale licensed premises
beer shall be sold and consumed at
tables only. The hours Of sale shall
be limited to from IL noon to / am.
No beer shall be served to persons
under l8 years Of age.
"S. Each licensee shall pay to
the collector of taxes of the Dis
trict Of Columbia on the 10th day
Of each month $250 per barrel On
all barrels or fractions of barrels
sold by him during the preceding
month.
Wholesalers OF beer shall fur
nish a statement to the collector
of taxes on the 10th OF each month
for the preceding month, showing
the number of barrels Of beer sold
during the preceding month to each
and every customer in the District.
10. Penalty for violation Of this
act shall not exceed a fine of
$1,000 or one year in jail or both,
and forfeiture of license for one
year."
Old Regulations Recalled.
At the time the Sheppard act becam,
law in the District its saloons were
regulated by board OF excise, createt
by Section 9 Of the appropriation act
for the District of Columbia for tn.
proved March 8, 1913, Public No. 435
third session, Sixty-second Congress.
This act defined intoxicating liquol
as that containing more than 2 pei
centum by weight Of alcohol and pro.
hibited. under appropriate penalties. it.
sale, manufacture, etc, except by per.
sons or corporations, etc, licensed unde,
the act. There were two classes Of
licenses, those to wholesalers and thos<
to retailers. The fees we're $500 ant
81, 500 per annum, respectively. These
fees yielded the District revenue, as fol.
lows:
1914. $5l2,4 400 1916. .S480, TOO
1915. 527,600 1917. 474.7OO
AS for the retail licenses. they could
be granted to saloons or bars, and tc
hotels and clubs. No hotel with les,
than so bed rooms for guests could get q
saloon license
Restrictions As to Locations.
No saloon could be located within 30C
feet of places commonly called slums'
except by unanimous vote of the excise
board. Nor could any saloon be licensed
under any circumstances within 40(
feet Of any public school house, or col
lege, or university, or any house oi
religious worship. No saloon license,
could be issued at the depots Of steam
or electric trains, nor could any license
be granted for a bar room in ANY
residence portion Of the District" except
for such establishments as sold tht
liquor in packages not to be consumed
upon the premises. 1t was left to thu
board to decide in the case of each
application whether 1t was proposed tt
set up saloon in a business or resi-
dence section Of the town. Not more
than three bar room licenses (exceptins
those for hotels or clubs) could be is.
sued in any one block for any one sidt
Of the street, and not more than foul
in any one block, taking in both sidei
Of the street. No saloon was permitted
within a mile Of Soldiers Home.
The act set limit Of 800 barrooms
for the District, but the superintendent
of licenses says that he remember
that there never were as many as SOC
under this law. The number had beer