Evening star., 1953-11-26
Board Ordered
To Reconsider
Liquor Permit
New Fight Brews
Over Tavern License
In Prince GEORGES

A brand-new fight was brewing
today over a much-disputed liz
cense for a tavern described by
a judge as a former thorn in
the flesh of the people of Colmar
Chief Judge John B. Gray, jr..
spanked the battle yesterday
when he ordered the Prince
Georges County Liquor Board
to reconsider its August ruling
granting a whisky permit for use
at Rays Tavern. 1929 Bladens-
burg road.
The courts without-prejudice
edict, placing the squabble back
in the, laps of the county's liquor
board, was handed down at Up
per Marlboro after argument in
an appeal action filed by town
authorities.
Mayor John N. Torvestad
and Councilman Robert v. Yost,
leading the fight against the
license, were in court to aid
Blair H. Smith. their counsel.
An application for the on-sale
permit was presented to the
board by Raymond Smith, John
l.. Zimmerman and Hinda Wau-
sau, officers of a corporation
planning to reopen the tavern.
"Burlesque Queen"
Miss Wausau, erstwhile Gaiety
Theater strip-teaSe star, was de-
scribed by Blair Smith as a
woman "who has reached fame
as burlesque queen"
At the August meeting of the
liquor board, opponents objected
chiefly on the ground that there
are IA alcoholic beverage spots
in the Colmar Manor-Cottage
City section. They claim that
the building at 1929 Bladensburg
road was perhaps the first in
the Nation to house a whisky
dispensary after repeal of pro-
hibition and that it has been a
scene of recurring disorders
through the years.
The place. formerly known as
Smiths Tavern. was ordered to
cease selling liquor for 60 days
in 1851 and was closed in April,
1852, when the County Liquor
Board revoked the license issued
to an operator not connected
with the Rays Tavern Corp. No
criticism of the company's per-
sonnel was voiced at the August
hearing or yesterday.
Technically Is Basis.
In reaching its August deci-
sion, the board based its findings
on a technicality and did not
consider citizen objections. Judge
Gray took the same course yes
terday. He said:
1--WE feel that the $64 ques.
ton Of whether it is in the pub
lie interest to issue the license
should be considered by the
liquor board, and the court does
not express an opinion as to
whether the permit should be
granted" That, he added.
should be determined primarily
by the administrative agency,
and we feel the courts should
neither accept that responsible
ity nor usurp the boards func-
tionS
Liquor Board Counsel Ernest
A. Loveless gave the court the
boards reason for granting the
permit. He said the board be-
lieves it was bound by dcci-
sion given by Circuit Judge ].
Dudley Digges in a controver-
Sial College Park tavern case.
In that case, the tavern
owner obtained the permit and
transferred it to a lessee. The
lessee vacated the tavern and
refused to retransfer his license.
The board denied the owner a.
new permit because of opposi-
tion from citizens who declared
there are 10 such spots in the
College Park area. n
Ruling Reversed.
Judge DiggeS reversed the
boards ruling. He remarked that
a license had been in use at the
place for many years and that
a new permit would, in effect,
constitute a continuance of a
long established business.
Attorney Smith pointed out
that no liquor law violations were
alleged in the College Park case,
but that the contrary was true
at the Colmar Manor address.
He contended that the cases
were not comparable.
Making it clear that he dis
carded other technical argu-
ments and based his ruling on
that one point only, Judge Gray
said:
In this case, we find an en-
tirely different set of circum-
stances. This location had been
for some years a thorn in the
flesh of the people of Colmar
We think the College
Park case. where a loss of license
was an innocent thing, is not
comparable"
THE courts view of the mat.
ter" Judge Gray said. 'is that
the grounds given by the liquor
board for its Colmar Manor de-
cision is untenable and unlawful
IN the sense that the precedent
cited was not a proper or a
valid one"