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Show BILLIARDS. ! j 1 Salt Lake Citv, July 30, 1879. Editors lITa!d: Tbo dtfcidiuu ol Associate Justice Emerson udvcrsely !"j tne city aiiibo-ritira aiiibo-ritira in the m U'it ul tbe;utet vvbicb liil:iirl Litres siuill be hceiiat-d eecma tj ma t) nwor o! the bair-eplitling bair-eplitling tbianecd ul paltry peitifoggiog or eophiaiiral special pleadiug, rather tbao of tlie bruad and compreheoeive view that u conaiuteni with proper judicinl diguiiy itnd ajust regard for tho public welfare The jadge'd opintoQ id llirtt thin lictrose is nut fcr reveuuo. Doi the law any where bay eo? Docs it imply jwjv thing of the kind? I cannot see that it either says or implies it. The judge's opinion is of the nature of circular reasoning, like the dog with its tail in its mouth, or the eld Bouthern cotton negro policy, which was to raUe more cotton to buy more negroes to raihe more cotton to'huy more negroes to raise mure cotton, and eo on ad infinitum. So the judge's po.icy appears to be lo license an i regulate uiliiarda to pay lor the expensed ot iicei'-siiu' and regain ting more biliitirdd to pay fur the expensed of licensing and emulating more bilhardo, and bo on. 'lo rue it appears to be supremely rid'culuus lor a iudte to a.-iv. as he docd virtuady in luia dec:atuii, that the city batj no i igbt to tide a dollar ol the revenue derived from tne liceus-iug liceus-iug of billiaida lor any other purpose than lo pay the expensed of licencing and regulating billiardd. But it io aiill more ridiculous, if possible, to say that Ihe local law sustains suoh a narrow construction. Tti's is putting judicial shackles on a municipality with avengeance. Wow I am not a billiard player, and consequently I am not prepared to eee uumixed good in billiard playing, though it may be as good "as any other saloon game ol skill aud chance, for both these c-iemcnla enter into billiard bil-liard piaying, as well as all other games. I have eudicieut discernment, however, to at-e that for the young men of the community to be allured nightly to ealoous or hotels lo play billiards is not advantageous to the youth nor to the community. Hence the iegitilnture authorized tbo city au ihoiiiies not only to license, but to suppress or prohibit, billiards, as well aa to tax and regulate luem. If, in reunlatiog billiard tables, the cilv is dtbiious, in the interest of the public good, to reatrict them to a certain number, how is it to be done? To hceusu one upplicaul and refuse another would be invidious aud uu plcaaimt, and would cause anything but good f rulings. To license at alow rate would be to liceuee all that ap-pliid, ap-pliid, and might fill the city with billiards, which would not he conducive to tho public good. How, then, cculd the number of billiard bil-liard tables in the city be kept within moderate and consequently desirable limits? Obviously the oly reaeonable method left to the city authorities would bo to put the license at as nigh a figure that only a moderate number of bouses wculd apply for licenses. This might no, be absolutely just to all persona who would wish to have billiard tables, but it would be as near, just as could readily be reached. I dftid tho only reasouablo method would be to put the license at a high figure, but I might have said that the city could lux as well as licenee the tablee, and tho HccnbB might be put low to please our eccentric judge, and the tax be put nigh in the interest of public morality. The judge- would hardly aay lhat license and tax together to-gether must only bo b'gh enough to cover the expenses of licensing, taxing, tax-ing, and regulating, (or then be would bo morally hound lo explain why tbo city wasempowertd to tfix as well as license, if licensing alone wculd easily produce revenue 3uili-cient 3uili-cient to pay the expenaeB of licensing and regulating, which would require a little more circular reasoning from uur learned judge. Soiio. |