USA > California > Los Angeles County > Pasadena > History of Pasadena, comprising an account of the native Indian, the early Spanish, the Mexican, the American, the colony, and the incorporated city, occupancies of the Rancho San Pasqual, and its adjacent mountains, canyons, waterfalls and other objects of interest: being a complete and comprehensive histo-cyclopedia of all matters pertaining to this region > Part 31
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There was no further trouble on the saloon question until 1884. During this year one Jerome Beebe, erected a two story frame building on E. Colo- rado street (now No. 47 and occupied by E. H. Lockwood and others), professedly only for a billiard hall, with tobacco and cigar counter included. But in a few weeks after opening up for business he put in a stock of liquors also, in spite of the fact that T. P. Lukens had gotten up a respect- ful request, and every business man in town had signed it, that he would not start a liquor saloon in Pasadena. He said his business wouldn't pay without a stock of liquors, and he had got a license and was going to do a lawful business. The matter soon became notorious ; and the liquor interest of Los Angeles for awhile took special pains to send their tourist friends out this way, to patronize the Pasadena saloon and help Beebe to hold his grip here, in spite of the strong local sentiment against it. This was the state of affairs in October and November, when H. R. Case went to Los Angeles and got some large handbills printed calling a mass meeting at Pasadena on November 10, 1884, to consider what should be done or could be done to get rid of the liquor saloon recently started there. These bills were posted up through Pasadena and vicinity ; and by the time the day arrived the matter had warmed up so much that Beebe was pretty badly scared, and kept himself armed with two loaded revolvers, swearing that he would shoot on sight anybody who should attempt to interfere with his business. He also procured a deputy sheriff to be sent up from Los Angeles for his special protection on that mass meeting day ; and, to guard against a night raid of those wicked temperance people to destroy his stock of liquors, he kept an armed companion to sleep with him in his saloon building. At last the day arrived and a large gathering of people took place, whose proceedings I here quote from a report published in the Valley Union of November 15,
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1884, then edited by J. E. Clarke and J. W. Wood ; but I have added some explanatory remarks in brackets :
"A saloon having been started in Pasadena, against the unanimous protest of every business man or firm in the place, a mass meeting was held on the subject November 10, 1884, in the public school grounds [nearly where the Eldridge block now stands]. B. F. Ball was made chairman, and C. B. Ripley secretary. Rev. S. S. Fisk, pastor of the Baptist church was called for, who responded by brief remarks, and moved that the sentiment of the people of Pasadena here assembled be taken in regard to the saloon question. Pending a vote upon the question as to whether the people of Pasadena desire a liquor saloon in their midst, speeches were made by Rev. J. B. Britton, Rev. L. W. Hayhurst, Calvin Abbott, Rev. A. W. Bunker, Hon. P. M. Green, Mr. C. C. Thompson, Col. J. Banbury, Rev. Williel Thompson, J. W. Wood ; also a letter was read from H. W. Magee, who could not be present.
"The following set of resolutions were offered by Rev. A. W. Bunker, and unanimously adopted, and a copy ordered to be furnished to the Valley Union for publication ; also that the editor of the Union forward a copy to the Board of Supervisors of Los Angeles county ; also voted that a copy of the resolutions be taken to the proprietor of the saloon with a demand that he stop the sale of liquor in Pasadena at once. It was voted that a commit- tee, consisting of Rev. S. S. Fisk, Rev. A. W. Bunker, and Col. J. Ban- bury, and as many ladies as would accompany them, take the resolutions to the saloon-keeper at once, and report to the meeting his response. Mrs. Russell Case, Mrs. Mary C. Lord, Mrs. O. S. Barber, Dr. Rachel F. Reid, and others accompanied the committee.
"' WHEREAS, Many of us citizens of Pasadena, procured land and built our homes in this settlement because it was a temperance community and we were led to believe that it would always continue thus ; therefore,
"RESOLVED, That we regard the opening of this liquor saloon, under the circumstances, as a base injustice and an unmitigated insult to us, the citizens of Pasadena. That words utterly fail to express our contempt for, and righteous indignation against the party or parties who have so deeply wronged us in disregarding our desires and trampling upon our rights, and for all who assist or support them in their nefarious work. That, as law- abiding citizens, we demand of this State such a change in the laws of the commonwealth as will protect us and other communities from the curse of the liquor traffic, where this traffic is not desired by a majority of the people of that community. That we will use our influence and cast our ballots only for such men, irrespective of party, who favor and will work for the enactment of such laws.'
" While the committee were absent, H. N. Rust, Mrs. Sigler and others addressed the meeting. It was voted that the sense of the meeting was in favor of incorporation ; and it was also voted that a committee of five be appointed by the chairman to take steps toward incorporation.
The chairman appointed H. W. Magee, Col. J. Banbury, H. N. Rust, S. Washburn, and J. W. Wood as such committee.
"The chairman of the committee to wait upon the proprietor of the saloon reported that the resolutions were read as directed : and that he re- plied that he was selling liquor according to the laws of the land, and that he should continue to do so ; he would, however, sell his whole property
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and not engage in the saloon business again, for the sum of $7,000. It was voted that the meeting did not want to buy saloons at any price. It was voted that a committee be appointed to wait upon Mr. Stamm and Mr. Nay and request them to discontinue the sale of wines, beer and liquors, as the people of Pasadena were opposed to their sale in any form. It was voted that the people organize for mutual protection. Mr. B. F. Ball was elected president of such organization, Dr. Rachel F. Reid vice-president, and Mrs. Russell Case secretary." [Mrs. Case is better known as Miss Florence Royce, who was for seven years a favorite teacher in the Central school of Pasadena .- ED.]
The Mutual Protection Association mentioned in the above report ap- pointed an executive council of thirty business men, with a committee from the Woman's Christian Temperance Union as co-laborers. For several months meetings were held twice a month in the Library Hall, to confer on ways and means. Committees were appointed from time to time to ascertain from lawyers in Los Angeles what possible legal process could be taken to rid Pasadena of its saloon pest. C. B. Ripley, Geo. A. Swartwout, C. W. Abbott, Dr. H. A. Reid, Martin Mullins, and Dr. Lyman Allen served in this special work at different times. And Mr. Swartwout especially procured citations of law enough to make a book of themselves; but there was nothing found in California law to help Pasadena a particle in her desired riddance until she should become an incorporated city. After making all these efforts, and finding no resource at law, a document was prepared in March, eventually signed by 272 voters and taxpayers, [ten more names were added later] sixty-three of them being business men or firms of the village, and published with all the names attached, both in the Valley Union and in a circular, June 12, 1885, reading as follows :
AGREEMENT.
"We, the undersigned, citizens of Pasadena, realizing that the indis- criminate sale of intoxicating liquors in our midst depreciates the value of our homes, retards immigration, injures our business interests, endangers our lives and property, leads our young men and boys into habits of vice and crime, and lowers the moral tone of our society.
"THEREFORE, We declare ourselves opposed to this traffic in our midst, and in favor of using all lawful means for its suppression ; and to this end
" We agree that we will not patronize or in any way give support to any person who is engaged in the indiscriminate sale of liquors in Pasadena, and that we will not, knowingly, employ, or retain in our employ, or in any manner lend support to any person who patronizes such traffic in our midst."
Copies of the agreement were circulated by a committee consisting of Mrs. Mary Case, Mrs. S. Townsend, Dr. Rachel F. Reid, Mrs. M. C. Lord, Dr. Lyman Allen, Amos Wright and C. M. Skillen. Copies of it were also kept for signature at the Valley Union office, at the Pasadena Bank, [now First National], and at the Free Library. While the work of procuring signatures was going on, the Valley Union of March 27th published the fol- lowing statement with regard to it :
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HISTORY OF PASADENA.
"For ten years this colony had no liquor saloon, no criminal record, and no paupers. And the practical business object of this anti-saloon agreement is to keep out of our midst that class of men who would spend their earnings at the saloon, thus sustaining the nuisance here, with all the crimes and other evils that naturally occur at such a place or by reason of it, and leave their families to be supported by their industrious and sober neighbors. One hundred and sixty-two of our well-known citizens and leading business men have already signed this anti-saloon agreement, and it is desirable that every man among us who is willing to stand with them on this matter should add his name to the list. All who refuse to sign it will, of course, be understood to stand in favor of having a saloon here."
For a while this seemed to be effective ; but Beebe was sustained by his Los Angeles backers,* and also by a few men in Pasadena, probably twenty in all, who pretended that he was being persecuted, or for various reasons had refused to sign the "Agreement," and who began to decry it as a boy- cott." Some who signed it entirely disregarded its practical application, while others lived up to it in good faith ;; though population was changing and increasing so rapidly that the matter became every week more difficult, for the great historic "boom " was then already beginning to blow up a few preliminary bladders. Col. Banbury was this year elected to the legislature ; and a local option bill was prepared here by T. P. Lukens and others and sent to him. He introduced it in the Assembly, so as to have a law by which communities that were strongly opposed to saloons, like Pasadena, might vote them out; but it was received with levity, referred to committee on public morals, and never heard of again. This was February 13, 1885 ; and it was entitled " A bill to prohibit the sale of liquors within 2000 feet of any school-house or church in California outside of any incorporated town or city." Penalty, fine from $50 to $500, or imprisonment twenty- five to 250 days, or both.
Meanwhile the " boom " crowded along and swept everything else into its rushing stream. In August, 1885, a duly framed, legally signed and formal petition for Pasadena to be incorporated as a city was laid before the county board of supervisors ; yet it was not until May 13, 1886, after nine months of dickerings and bickerings and technical delays, that the order for incorporation was finally granted, and June 7th, set for an election to be held within the prescribed city boundaries on the question of incorporation, and choosing of city officers. And all this time the saloon had been gaining a stronger foothold by the great influx of a drinking class of mechanics and laboring men who flocked to Pasadena in swarms-drawn by the high wages paid, and the great demand for labor in the booming rush of new buildings, street gradings, water and gas pipe layings, cement walk con- struction, etc.
*" It is claimed by the proprietor's mouth-pieces that he is well backed by the whisky interests of Los Angeles and elsewhere."-Editorial in Valley Union of November 15, 1884.
+"It is said that more than fifty workmen have been discharged from the Raymond hotel job at dif- ferent times for drinking liquor or patronizing liquor saloons."-Valley Union, February 5, 1884.
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When the election took place, incorporation carried by 129 majority. There were eight candidates for city trustees, and the five who received the highest number of votes were the ones elected, which proved to be two democrats and three republicans. When the time came to act on the saloon matter they licensed it, but fixed the fee at the highest rate which they thought would be paid without making a legal contest-$100 per month. And thus a full-fledged dramshop went on in Pasadena, with the formal consent of its city authorities. The original saloonkeeper, Beebe, having been engaged to be married, his prospective wife refused to marry him while he remained in that disreputable business (so I was informed), and therefore he sold out to a man named E. I. Campbell, who paid his $100 license promptly each month, and pushed the business for all the money there was in it. He employed two sets of bar men and kept the thing open continuously, days and nights and Sundays. It became rumored that he was the son of a Baptist preacher ; and a committee of W. C. T. U. ladies went to labor with him, appeal to his moral nature, etc., and show him what an evil business it was, and so persuade him to give it up. He re- ceived them most politely, listened with gracious composure to their plea, and then replied : "Ladies, you cannot tell me anything new about the evils of this business. I know all about it. I could give you blacker points in it than you ever dreamed of. But I am doing a lawful business. I have both a city and county license, and United States tax permit. I am not in the business for the fun of it, nor because I like it, but because I can make more money at it than anything else." The ladies retired, with some new ideas about " moral suasion " for saloon keepers.
Much talk was indulged in, in a loose way, against the saloon. But no definite action was taken again until January 23, 1887, when I find the fol- lowing record in the Y. M. C. A. secretary's book which is still preserved :
"A meeting was held this Sunday afternoon in Williams Hall, at the close of the Y. M. C. A. meeting. C. B. Ripley was chosen chairman and Geo. Taylor, secretary. Remarks were made on the temperance work by several speakers ; and 56 of those present signed a petition to the city coun- cil, offered by Stephen Townsend, to abolish the saloon. Voted that a mass meeting be held in Williams Hall next Thursday evening, at 7:30 o'clock (January 27). The chair appointed Frank Wallace, S. Townsend and P. G. Wooster, a committee to arrange for this meeting. On motion it was voted that the following committee be appointed to ascertain and report what can be lawfully done towards the suppression of liquor saloons in our city and to report at the mass meeting :
Dr. H. A. Reid, of the Congregational Church.
Stephen Townsend, of the Methodist Church.
C. W. Abbott, of the Friends Church.
Geo. Taylor, of the Baptist Church.
Geo. A. Swartwout, of the Presbyterian Church.
The Valley Union of January 26, made a brief report of this meeting,
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HISTORY OF PASADENA.
and from it I quote a few additional points : "Remarks were made by per- haps a dozen different persons on various phases of the problem, and finally a committee was appointed to ascertain and report what can be lawfully done toward the suppression of liquor saloons in our city, and to counsel and co- operate with our city authorities for the abatement of this great public evil. * * A general mass meeting was called for Thursday (to-morrow) even- ing, at Williams' Hall, to hear a report from the committee. They have already in hand the result of test cases in the supreme court from Los Angeles, Riverside, Butte county and other places, besides opinions from high legal authority on other points. Also, Mr. Hardy, mayor of the city of Lincoln, Nebraska, will be at the meeting and give the experience of Lincoln, Omaha and other cities with the famous 'high license law' of that state."
[The fact was, Dr. Reid had been already at work on the matter, collect- ing court decisions, copies of ordinances, lawyers' opinions, etc., with the knowledge and co-operation of F. J. Culver, general secretary of the Y. M. C. A.]
The mass meeting was held as proposed, and the hall packed full, Col. O. S. Picher acting as chairman. A full report was published in the Union of January 29. Dr. Reid for the committee presented the results of legal contests with the saloons in Butte county, and city of Los Angeles, and at Riverside-all showing that the courts were against them, and that they could be outlawed. Yet this meeting resulted chiefly in talk, and an en- larged sanction to the continuance of the Anti-Saloon Committee, for whose aid a collection was taken, amounting to $44.65. The chairman of the com- mittee had prepared a schedule of five specific inquiries, covering every possible method of dealing with the liquor traffic under California law ; his intention being to secure eminent legal counsel upon all these points, as the basis of the future work of the committee.
On the ensuing Sunday evening [January 30] a vast congregation as- sembled at the Methodist church to hear a temperance discourse which had become somewhat famed as "Dr. Bresee's hyena sermon." At its close some resolutions were adopted, and a committee was named, consisting of Dr. Reid, S. Townsend, Dr. Wm. Converse, Chas M. Parker and Rev. A. W. Bunker, to carry out the purpose of the resolutions. Before leaving the church this committee held a meeting and formally consolidated with the committee appointed at the Williams Hall meetings on Sunday and Thurs- day previously, and named Dr. Reid chairman of the joint committee.
Now it should be noted that the city attorney, N. P. Conrey, in common with a majority of lawyers at that time, held the opinion, and so advised the city council, that there was no law in California under which they could enact a prohibitory ordinance in Pasadena ; and the Pasadena Star [H. J. Vail, editor] thrust this doctrine continually into the face of its readers, thus prejudicing them against the efforts of the Anti-Saloon committee. Dr. Reid took his five questions to ex-Lieut. Gov. Mansfield, who had been a
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member of the State convention which framed the present constitution of California. He said there was no doubt as to the city's right, under Article II, Sec. II of the constitution, to abolish saloons or any other evil thing, by a proper exercise of the city's police power ; but as he could not take time then to prepare a brief on the questions of law submitted, he recommended Williams & Mckinley, who he said, were the best posted on that subject of any law firm in California. Dr. Reid then went to them, got points of instruction, and engaged them to prepare a full professional brief on the five inquiries submitted. These things he reported at the second mass meeting in Williams Hall. The next historic step in the case will best be seen by the following extract from the Pasadena Union's report as published at the time :
"At a very large meeting in the new Methodist Church on Sunday night, January 30, a committee was appointed to take measures for bringing the saloon question before our city trustees in the best way possible to secure their prompt action. Monday morning the chairman of the committee went to Los Angeles and prepared under advise of good legal counsel a form of petition which covered only such ground as is within the recognized and established police powers of municipal incorporations. At 2 p. m. the com- mittee met, and by 9 o'clock Tuesday morning the petition headings were in the hands of canvassers to solicit names.
"Saturday morning, February 5, the committee waited on the City Fathers with the following documents :
To the City Board of Trustees of Pasadena, in regular session, February 5, 1887:
GENTLEMEN :- We appear before you as a committee duly appointed at a mass meeting of citizens of Pasadena, and bearing a petition properly signed by over 500 adult male citizens or taxpayers of this city. We also present herewith the legal opinion, with full citation of cases, court rulings, standard legal authorities, constitutional powers and statute law upon which our petition is based. And we respectfully request that you refer the matter of this petition, together with the legal opinion and authorities accompany- ing it, to your city attorney, with instructions to prepare an ordinance in accordance with the prayer of petitioners and lawful procedure in the case, and report the same at your next regular meeting.
H. A. REID, WM. CONVERSE, G. A. SWARTWOUT, Committee.
A. W. BUNKER,
CHAS. M. PARKER, S. TOWNSEND,
" The list of petitioners made a roll measuring fourteen and a half feet in length, mostly with double column of names as signed. At the head of the roll was a paper containing twenty or thirty names which had been taken from a canvasser by a saloon man and torn into shreds. It looked like a reliquary battle-flag of the G. A. R."
The list of 540 signatures was all printed in double column alphabetical order, so that every man stood up to be counted. The petition was received, placed on file, and Saturday, February 12, at 9 o'clock, set for a further hearing. Meanwhile a subscription paper pledging funds to meet litigation
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HISTORY OF PASADENA.
expenses if the ordinance should be contested, was signed to the amount of $6,680 ; and at the next hearing this was presented. But the council refused this, and required that the actual cash, or legal and collectible promissory notes, should be deposited in bank as a guaranty of funds, be- fore they would venture to pass such an ordinance.
The committee next prepared promissory notes, payable in 10 per cent. installments, and went resolutely at work to comply with the requirement of the council. February 16, a meeting was held in the parlor of the Pasa- dena National Bank (Mr. Swartwout, the cashier, being a member of that committee), and Dr. Wm. Converse, a director of the bank and member of the committee, was elected treasurer, to hold the committee's funds and pledge-notes in trust, subject to its order. February 19, they again appear- ed before the council, exhibiting lawful promissory notes amounting to $5,935, with 10 per cent. of the amount already in bank subject to the com- mittee's order. It seemed then, that with 540 voters and taxpayers petition- ing for such an ordinance, and nearly six thousand dollars of cash or notes in bank to relieve the city from any costs of litigation arising from it, there could be no further excuse for refusing to pass the ordinance as prayed for. But no, it was not so. Two members of the council, E. C. Webster and R. M. Furlong, both "anti-sumptuary " democrats, were somehow interest- ed in the then new Carlton Hotel, which was to be a "first-class " hotel, very high toned, etc., and they must have a clause granting this "first-class" hotel the right to serve wine or beer with meals. So here was another hitch. But Dr. Reid had already submitted this very point to Williams & Mckinley ; and they had replied :
"Do not put in a clause permitting hotels or restaurants to furnish liquors at table. That would leave the way so open and easy for evasion that it would be impossible to carry a case to conviction in the courts, on account of the endless technical questions that could be raised. It would thus defeat the whole object and intent of the law."
They had said, however, that " there was as yet no ruling of California courts on this point ; and it would probably be impossible to get a California jury to convict on it. Hence they would not be willing as attorneys to take a case into court that was based merely upon such a violation as the furnish- ing of wine or beer when called for with a meal at a hotel. Nevertheless, if you put in a clause giving this privilege, you might just as well abandon your whole project of prohibiting the liquor trade, for you never could en- force it."
The full board of city trustees, with city clerk, city marshal, city attor- ney, and the committee authorized to represent the 540 petitioners, were all present ; and after considerable further questioning and discussion on this matter it was finally agreed upon by all that the ordinance should be passed just as prayed for, without any excepting clause for hotels ; but that no
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arrests should be made for the furnishing of wine or beer with meals at the Carlton hotel. This was all and the only "concession" ever made or agreed upon in regard to this matter, although contrary assertions were publicly made through all the years later by parties seeking to break down the law ; for this special agreement was not made public at the time, being only known to those present and a few others who happened to be in some way personally interested in it. It should be noted that this was on February 19, 1887 ; and it was not until October 31-nearly nine months later-that the California Supreme Court decision was rendered, fully sustaining the ordinance just as it read when passed. And then, December 5, of same year, the United States Supreme Court rendered its decision in the celebra- ted Kansas cases, sustaining most explicitly and to the fullest extent every point of prohibition contained in the Pasadena ordinance. *
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