Evening star., 1934-07-11

With the Districts new liquor law
in operation less than five months
there are more than four times as
many licensed establishments of all
classes now as there we're when
Washington went dry in the Fall Of
1917.
There are more than twice as many
licensed places now as there were "
1912, the last year prior to the act
of 1918, which raised license fees and
definitely restricted the number OF
bar room licenses that could be issued.
These comparisons are shown by a
study of the license statistics under
the new law and old records at the
District Building for the years pre-
ced1ng the advent Of prohibition.
Figures obtained from the Alcoholic
Beverage Control Board show that
from March l to July z 1855 licenses
Of various kinds have been issued,
with the flow of applications It'll COM
ing in. At this time the Alcoholic
Beverage Control Board has approx
mately $50 applications pending for
hearing within the next two or three
weeks Leaving out 19 temporary per-
mits issued for special occasions, the
total of annual licenses of all kinds
thus far is l,546.
So Applicants Refused.
Only SO applications for licenses
have been rejected to date by the
A. B. C. Board because of protests
filed by residents or spokesmen for
school, church or other types Of or
ganiZationS, according to an unofficial
survey of the boards actions.
The board has started a detailed
analysis of its actions on all appll-
cations filed since the liquor law be-
came effective and while this has not
been completed Chairman George w.
Offutt said the count of SO for re-
jections because of protests of various
kinds was substantially correct.
Offutt did not have available an
analysis showing the number rejected
for different reasons, but said some
were on the basis of dry sentiment OF
a community for which license was
sought; some because of objections Of
school interests; others because of
protests by church SpokeSmen, some
because the applicant was found not
to be a citizen of the United States
ana others because the applicant could
not show proper character. In some
cases applications we're thrown out be-
cause of police records of the appii-
cantS.
There were a number Of cases, Offutt
said, In which applications for per-
mits for sale of hard liquor were set
aside and licenses for the sale OF
beer and light wine substituted. This
was done in some cases with the full
approval of persons or groups who
had protested against the issuance oil
permits for sale of hard liquor.
Total Was 35S in 1917.
The annual report of the Commits
sioners for the fiscal year ended June
80. 1917. shows that at that time
Just before the Sheppard law closed
the doors of bar rooms and wholesale
liquor establishments, there were 269
saloon licenses and SO wholesale
places. or total Of 358.
-Four years earlier, however, in
March. 1918, Congress had enacted
new excise law for the District. plac-
ing various restrictions on the loca-
ton OF liquor establishments and re-
quiring the number of bar rooms to
be reduced to 800 by November l,
1914 That law did not undertake
to limit the number Of wholesale
licenses.
The situation just prior to the pas
sage of the 1918 law is shown by the
following statistics:
For the license year running from
November l, 1910, to october 81, 1911,
SIT bar room licenses we're approved
and Is were rejected; during the same
period. l27 wholesale licenses we're ap-
proved and seven rejected.
200 Establishments Eliminated.
For the year from November, 1911,
to October. 1912, there we're 5l4 lar
room licenses approved and u re-
jected; 125 wholesale licenses ap-
proved and 4 rejected.
The number of applications was
approximately the same for the year
1928, so that passage of the
law in 1913 called for the
of about 200 of the then
existing saloons
Wheras. the act of 1918. which con-
trolled the sale Of liquor during the
years Immediately preceding local
divided all liquor estab-
lishments into two general classes
bar room and wholesale-Washingt S
present liquor Law splits up the IL
censes into 10 groups Two classes
Of license apply only to manufacture,
leaving eight classihcations for the
and retailers.
The main object in having so many
kinds of license under the present
law is TO permit some places To sell