| Show THE LIQUOR TRAFFIC CAN BE restrained THIS THE supreme court of the territory has made a very important decision in the liquor license case it extends much further than the mere question of allowing intoxicant sto be sold in a building where a variety theatre is in full blabe it embraces the general powers of the city government over the liquor traffic we believe the great mass of the people of this city eo en the action of the majority of the city council in refusing the license to the variety show people the pretence predence pre tence that it was wantai for a separate firm were to sell liquor la in the basement of the building and not in the theatre itself was too transparent to deceive the public the evil of such places would be aggravated tenfold by association with the liquor traffic le but sentiment to is one thing and law is another and very often a different diffene i nt thing we scarcely think that all the in members embers ot of the council who voted for the license were in favor of the bust nese itself but they believed that the city had no power to refuse the license asked for and grant licenses for the same purpose to other ober persons and pla places ees and it was this question that was at issue and which to so evenly members and made it necessary for the mayor to giva the casting vote it will stand to his credit that he was on the side of law Rie aad order dorder and public mom morality lity the court rules with but one dissentient out of four justices that the city council possesses the power to license licens regulate and tax the liquor business and that in the use of such authority it may exercise a reasonable discretion in determining who are suitable tei table persons to entrust the business to io the places where it may be conducted and the number of licenses it may issue this to is power enough to restrict a business that throughout the civilized world is recognized as one thia that should be held within certain Il limits the council need no longer be under any doubt or apprehension as to exceeding its authority in determining who may ot or may not receive a licen license seto to sell intoxicants or where or where not HARY be sold of courso course this power must not be ex excised in an arbitrary way or with any species of favoritism A general principle must govern and the authority must be used rationally and for the pu public bafo benefit there are an many people in utah who alvor entire prohibition ot of the liquor traffic lo their arguments may pa b sound to in theory but they are not applicable cities as practice in the first place the city charter confers cAwn fers aa powers of prohibition upon the council that settles the question thus thug far the liquor business cannot be legally kup suppressed pressed in this city cily because the municipal authorities have no powers except those by the egarter ph eh arter but if this power were included ithol eded in their functions tue the city fathers would have a hard time in attempting to enforce a pro hibi tory ordinance it could not be done in a mixed population like that which now resides here it is useless theu then to discuss the theory of prohibition as applied to salt lake city the only thing to do is to favor a full enforcement of the ordinances regulating the traffic this should be expected of the city authorities they can not only keep saloons closed on sundays and see that they are conducted when open in an orderly manner but they can refuse licenses to improper persons and improper places and limit the locality and the number of places where the traffic may be carried on all this to is ably set forth in the opinion of the court and fortified by numerous erous authorities city attorney mer ritt did good work in taking so 80 strong a stand in favor of the right and it is gratifying to see that he was as sound on the law as he was on the moral side of this important quntion tion chief justice zane has always stood firm for the lawful powers of the city government in relation to the liquor question and his decisions both in the district court and supreme court have been a strong barrier abst the flood of im Ini temperance and disorder that threatened to sweep away all civic restraint we are glad that so many of the judges ate are in accord with him for the sake of the good name of the city and in view of the great preponderance of public sentiment it is hoped that the city council will use not only the power but the discretion which it ills Is now judicially decided that body possesses and that the result will be a wise restraint on a traffic chat cihat has been much abused and is growing into a great and crying evil |
