Seattle's Liquor Lobby Calls for a Crackdown
Local saloon owners, tired of paying high license fees, push the Mayor to shut down unlicensed competition in pharmacies and cafes.
The Retail Liquor Dealers' Association appeared before the mayor yesterday to report that druggists and restaurant keepers were violating liquor laws. The association argued that because saloonkeepers pay an extremely high license fee, it is unfair for them to suffer competition from those who pay nothing. Mayor Phelps replied that the dealers should provide the specific names of any violators. The association's attorney stated they preferred to avoid the humiliation of arrests and requested that the mayor issue a public notice that the law would be strictly enforced, promising to initiate proceedings only if the warning proved insufficient. Mayor Phelps agreed and instructed License Collector Taylor to announce that any further infringements would be subject to prosecution. Additionally, Frank Lindquist of the Mint Saloon and John Nelson of the Great Northern Saloon were arrested for employing musicians without proper licenses.
“The association did not desire to put any person to the humiliation of an arrest if it could be avoided.”
This 1894 dispute echoes Seattle's ongoing civic struggle to balance industry regulation with the high costs of business licensing. The tension between established, taxed businesses and 'gray market' operators remains a persistent theme in the city's commercial life.
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