Journal of the House of Representatives of the First and Second Sessions of the Forty-Fourth Legislature of the State of Texas Page: 9
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HOUSE JOURNAL 9
also has the power, if it sees fit, to
establish a state monopoly on the sale
of distilled liquors.
3
If regulation of private traffic in the
liquor business is determined to be the
proper policy, then this Legislature
must intelligently determine upon
what basis liquor shall be taxed. The
state needs revenues, not only for the
administration of the liquor laws you
may pass, but for the general treasury
as well.
4
This Legislature must pass laws to
preserve the absolute integrity of dry
territory.
This duty is of equal importance
with the mandate, to define and out-
law the open saloon. By the adoption
of the amendment on August 24th we
are once more dedicated as a people
to the principle of local self-govern-
ment. This means not only that the
people in wet territory are entitled to
liquor under proper regulation, but
that the community which has voted
dry has an equal right to expect that
it shall not be overrun by an outlawed
traffic beyond its boundaries. Great
care should be exercised in this re-
gard.
It will not be sufficient, in my judg-
ment, to simply prohibit, for instance,
"the manufacture, sale, possession and
transportation of intoxicating liquors"
in dry territory! Every other form
of traffic in liquor in such communi-
ties should be outlawed. In other words,
all needful legislation, such as pro-
hibiting the taking of orders, giving,
furnishing, etc., of liquor within such
communities, should be enacted.
5
This Legislature must make pro-
vision for the holding of local option
elections to determine whether the peo-
ple of a particular county, justice pre-
cinct, or incorporated town or city,
now desire to permit or prohibit the
sale of liquors containing more than
3.2% alcohol.
Until this provision is made, the
status of the district in 1919 (when
the prohibition amendment was adopt-
ed) will bind the people in such dis-
trict. It is, therefore, imperative that
immediate provision be made for the
holding of local option elections to de-
termine the present attitude of the
people.6
Provision must be made for super-
vision and regulation of the manufac-
ture and transportation of liquors
within the state.
The history of liquor legislation and
enforcement, within our own memory,
has demonstrated the difficulty of
dealing with this subject, under any
laws or no laws. Any system set up
by the state, whether regulation or
monopoly, should be simplified so far
as possible to expedite collections of
taxes and detection of violations.
Procedure in the prosecution of liq-
uor cases should be simplified so far as
possible. For instance, it may be dif-
ficult in some counties now to make
proof that a given political subdivision
was dry in 1919; or, after a local op-
tion election has been held, to make
proof of such election. As a matter of
fact, these matters are of common
knowledge in the counties or communi-
ties affected. No prosecuting attor-
ney would accept a complaint, and no
grand jury I am sure would indict,
for an offense against the liquor laws
in wet territory. It seems to me, there-
fore, that provision could be incorpor-
ated in any regulatory Act passed that
where an information is filed or indict-
ment returned for violation of the liq-
uor laws in a given community in any
county, the court shall take judicial
notice (without allegation or proof)
of the status of such territory at the
time of the alleged offense.
7
The laws of some states, as I under-
stand, provide that liquors can be man-
ufactured, sold or transported only by
corporations chartered by the state for
that purpose. Whatever provision you
see fit to make, I would suggest that
the books and records of any person
or corporation engaging in the busi-
ness be subject to inspection at all rea-
sonable times by whatever regulatory
or tax collecting agency you may
establish. This will simplify the cost
and expedite administration of the
law.
GENERAL
During the old open saloon days the
State's welfare was menaced by mo-
nopolistic and political practices of
brewers and distillers. It seems to me
that any law passed by you should
prohibit the ownership of any dispens-
ing agency or store, or the furnishing
of any fixtures, or financing through
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Texas. Legislature. House of Representatives. Journal of the House of Representatives of the First and Second Sessions of the Forty-Fourth Legislature of the State of Texas, legislative document, 1935; [Austin, Texas]. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth193853/m1/13/: accessed April 25, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting UNT Libraries Government Documents Department.