Evening star., 1934-05-09
PRETTYMAN CALLS
RUM LAWS SILLY,
BUT SAYS OBEY
Enforcement to Letter As
sured District by Cor
poration Counsel.
UP TO PEOPLE TO GET
CHANGE IN CONGRESS
Foxhall Village Citizens Given
Outline of Policy of Liquor
Control in D. c.

CCuLIOl III ~. v.
Convinced personally that there's
no sense to many of the liquor regula-
tions," Corporation Counsel E. Barrett
Prettyman proposes to enforce every
letter" of the Districts liquor control
law.
II the law is wrong, he believes 1t is
incumbent upon the people of Wash
ington to get Congress to change it,
but he is determined that Washing
tonians shall have an opportunity co
judge for themselves whether the
present law is what they want by see
ing it enforced completely.
Mr.. Prettyman expressed his views
and outlined his policy on liquor
control at the meeting of the Foxhall Il
Village Citizens Association last
night.
At the outset of his address Mr.
Prettyman said that his observations
on the liquor-control problem in
Washington were addressed to the
facts as they are today and not to
the merits or otherwise of prohibi-
tion.'
Il have two propositions to put
before the people of Washington, he
began. The first is: There's no sense
to many of the liquor regulations be-
cause it's utterly impossible to have
sense in this subject.
Saloons Defined
I'VE said we didn't want the return
of the old saloon; both parties agreed
to that. All right, when it came time
to write the law to ban the saloon,
the definition of a saloon had to be
determined. Well. saloon, everybody
said, was a place where men stood
at bar and drank liquor. All right,
make EN- sit down to drink There's
no sense to that, but that's what was
done and that's what's in the law.
What's the difference between a table
and a counter? There's no reason
able difference.
Then We said a saloon was place
where drinks were mixed. All right,
If We don't want the saloon. keep
them from mixing drinks. Make them
mix the drinks behind a screen.
There's no sense to that either.
Then there's the 400-foot rule. A
license can't be given to new busi-
ness within 400 feet of a church or
school, One man is within 395 feet
He can't get a license. Another fel-
low is 405 feet away. He gets Ii
cense. And there's no sense to thai.
What's 400 feet got to do with any
thing?"
Sandwich Taverns.
J Continuing, Mr.. Prettyman cited the
definitions and regulations of "tav-
erns." A tavern, he said the law as
serts. is a place where sandwiches
are prepared and served" If man
buys his sandwiches prepared and SIM
ply sells them. he does not run a
tavern, but if he buys sliced bread
and sliced ham and puts the two to-
gether on his own premises, he has
a tavern and may sell beer.
They come in to me and tell me
that there isn't any sense in that,
the corporation counsel declared, land
I agree with them: You're right.
brother, there's not bit Of sense to
it, but it's in the law"
Mr.. Prettyman also cited as non
senSical the legal ban on the display
of signs advertising alcoholic bever-
ages for sale, and the the regulation
that permits the display of the bottled
liquor itself.
The corporation counsel's second
proposition to the people of the Dis
trict, he continued. is the question
of breaking down liquor control. One
way is the bootlegger's business, which
simply ignores law. The other is to
"chisel away at the regulations until
they cease to mean anything at all to
authority"
To Enforce Law.
my proposal to Washington is to
enforce the liquor law literally" Mr.
Prettyman declared. Now understand
we know there's no sense to it, but
it's the rule and we're going to en-
force it. If the laws wrong, gel
Congress to change it, but while 1t
exists. there'l be no chiSellng away
of regulations or We'll have the same
kind Of trouble we had when our peo-
pie turned to prohibition as a protest
against the existence Of thing they
felt couldn't be controlled. I want
the support of the people Of Wash
ington in this program. and want
the support of the liquor business IT.
self. Then We'll have on our books
only the laws we actually want"
Mr.. Prettyman added he had INC
sweet illusion" about his status in nj:
program. He said he expects some
body will try to open the window ano
pitch me right out of office" He
added he was not speaking in any
sense as a prohibitionist-quite, in
fact, to the contrary"
During the business session pre-
ceediing Mr.. Prettyman's address the
! Foxhall Village Citizens Association
voted to adjourn its monthly meet
ings until September.
Edwin c. Reed, chairman Of the as
sociation's Public Utilities Committee
reported on his efforts to secure I'M
proved bus service for the village
inspectors for the commission, he ad-
vised the association, had agreed with
earlier contentious made by him fol
the association that newer busses
should be put ON the run.
097 phY p0II TAY