Evening star., 1934-03-11
SCHOOL AREA BAN |
0NL|QUOR SOUGHT
Educational and Citizens
Leaders to Offer A. B. c.
Unit Proposals.
Continued From First Page)

which it could refuse licenses as we'll
as grant them.
This whole question is one of pub
lie interest" Mr.. Quinn asserted, land
iC is incumbent upon this board to
satisfy itself that the public inter
est-and what public interest could
possibly be greater than the interest
OF our school children-will be served
In the granting of any licenses for the
sale of liquor which it chooses to
issue
The act authorizing the sale of
alcoholic beverages here says very
clearly that you must consider
whether the place for which the
license is to be issued is an appro-
pirate one. considering the character
of the premises. the surroundings,
and the wishes of the persons re-
siding or owning property in the
neighborhood Of the said place"
Control Law Reviewed.
Mr.. Quinn said too much atten-
ton has been paid to the boards
power to grant licenses and not
enough to its power to refuse them"
In consideration Of liquor license ap-
plications, Mr.. Quinn contended, the
liquor control law placed the burden
OF responsibility to show that license
should be granted on the applicant
and not on the opponent to show
specifically why 1t should not be
granted.
1T is therefore incumbent on this
board to ascertain to its own salts
faction whether a license should be
granted in view Of the character of
the premises. its surroundings. and
the wishes of the residents" he said.
Andrew Howsley. the assistant cor
poration counsel. recently appointed
from Texas, had reviewed features
Of the liquor control law in an ad-
dress before Mr.. Quinn spoke. Mr..
Howsley, speaking ''unofficially,'' as
he explained, said that it was his
Interpretation of the law that places
OF business established prior to jan
uary "a, 1884. have a definite right
to their licenses even though they
are within 400 feet of church or
school" He added that when you
60 beyond 400 feet, the board may
refuse the license"
Addressing himself to Mr.. HoWS-
ley's statements, Mr.. Quinn said he
was surprised" that an assistant cor
poration counsel should take such
views. He told the board that the
man who framed the law, Corpora
ton Counsel Bride" had held, in con-
Versations with him, that the A. B. c..
Board had discretion in its license
granting and power to refuse licenses.
Quinn held that the 4OO-foot limi-
tation in the Commissioners regula-
tions had no particular Importance
and when members of the A. B. C.
Board sought, at the end Of his ad-
, dress, to draw from him a suggestion
as to the distance from schools which
the School Board would prohibit IL
censes. he replied that "the danger
and evil to children cannot be meas
ured by feet"
DR.. Frank W. Ballou, school super
intendent, in his own brief testimony
before the board, said that If the
A. B. c. Board finds it has not the
power to refuse licenses near schools,
on the basis of protection of school
children. move should be made at
once to amend the liquor law.
Cannot Offer a Yardstick.
Replying to an interposed state
ment by an attorney for an applicant
as to the rights Of an owner of the
establishment or taxpayer, Dr. Ballou
said:
I'VE must lift this matter Of the
protection of children above the level
o Of the question of the payment of
taxes. No taxpayer or any CONNER
. cial interest has any right that tram
: scends the rights of the children"
) The superintendent said also that
he could not offer a "yardstick" by
: which could be measured the dis
tance a licensed liquor establishment
should be from schools. He said it
/. might be possible for a place within
. 100 feet of a school to offer no temp
tation or danger to children, while
, another place, 1000 feet away, might
conceivably be dangerously offensive.
DR.. George F.. Bowerman. librarian
of the D. c. Public Library. read to
the board a resolution adopted by
I, the library board of trustees, urging
that licenses be refused to places
near Libraries as we'll as schools.
DR.. George Havenner said the
Chamber of Commerce had taken no
official action on the pending ques-
tions, but that as chairman of It's
Committee on Education he was con-
vinced members of the chamber would
be opposed to the sale of liquor in
"the immediate vicinity" Of schools.
Pressed for specific distance by
members Of the board. DR.. Haven
ner contended that licenses should
/ not be granted to places in the block
in which a school was located, re-
. gardless of the distance
Robert j. Cottrell. executive Secre-
tary Of the Washington Board Of
Trade, asked the board to deny IL
censes in areas for which the Board
Of Education requested protection and
which the A. B. c. Board itself found
to be reasonable"
James G.. Yaden, president Of the
Federation Of Citizens Associations,
said he would not lay down any hard
and fast rule on the distance liquor
establishment should be from a school
I1OWtNcI, lie ut1llltu pldCeS III lIe
vicinity Of school" as "those places
OF business which are regularly and
reasonably patronized by school chill
dren."
Protest From Catholic U.
Mrs. Wiley Endorsed Mr. Quinn's
position on the license question.
c. A. Gilmartin. purchasing agent of
Catholic University protested the
granting of a license to an estab
lishment near the university on the
ground that "this place could have
no patronage but by students"
Mrs. Lucy P. Eastwood, speaking
for the Columbia Heights Citizens
Association. asked the board to grant
no more licenses at all. contending
there were plenty of licensed places
t(, serve the entire District