Chapter 53. To prohibit the manufacture or sale of alcoholic liquors in the Territory of Alaska, and for other purposes
3,981 words·~18 min read·
/statutes-at-large/vol-39/chapter-53-3884132·A research copy — for the controlling text, always check the official state or federal source. Not legal advice.
CHAP. 53.— An Act To prohibit the manufacture or sale of alcoholic liquors in the Territory of Alaska, and for other purposes. February 14, 1917.[[S. 7963](/us/bill/64/s/7963).][[Public, No. 308](/us/pl/64/308).] *Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, * That on and after the firstAlaska.Manufacture, sale, etc., of alcoholic liquors in, unlawful. day of January, anno Domini nineteen hundred and eighteen, it shall be unlawful for any person, house, association, firm, company, club, or corporation, his, its, or their agents, officers, clerks, or servants, to manufacture, sell, give, or otherwise dispose of any intoxicating liquor or alcohol of any kind in the Territory of Alaska, or to have in his or its possession or to transport any intoxicating liquor or alcohol in the Territory of Alaska unless the same was procured andException. is so possessed and transported as hereinafter provided.
Whenever the term “liquor,” “intoxicating liquor,” or “intoxicatingLiquors included in prohibition. liquors” is used in this Act it shall be deemed to include whisky, brandy, rum, gin, wine, ale, porter, beer, cordials, hard or fermented cider, alcoholic bitters, ethyl alcohol, and all malt liquors, including all alcoholic compounds classed by the United States Internal Revenue Bureau as “compound liquors”: *Provided,* That*Proviso*.Wood alcohol excepted. this Act shall not apply to methyl or wood alcohol.
That any person or persons, or any house, company, association,Punishment for violations. club, or corporation, his, its, or their agents, officers, clerks, or servants, who shall, directly or indirectly, violate the provisions of this section shall be deemed guilty of a misdemeanor, and upon conviction thereof shall be fined not more than $1,000 or shall be imprisoned for a period of not more than one year, or by both such fine and imprisonment. Sec. 2. That before a pharmacist shall be authorized to transportPure alcohol.Pharmacists permitted to transport, for specified uses. pure alcohol for scientific, artistic, or mechanical purposes or for compounding or preparing medicines, as provided by this Act, he 904shall procure a permit for that purpose from the judge of the district court in the division where the applicant resides.
Sec. 3. Application to court That to procure such permit a pharmacist shall make and file with the clerk of the said district court a statement in writing, under oath, stating that he desires to transport pure alcohol for scientific, artistic, or mechanical purposes or for compounding, preparing, or preserving medicines only, as provided by this Act, and giving his name, the location of his place of business, a statement that he is a licensed pharmacist, that he is regularly engaged in the practice of his profession at the location named, and that he will not violate the provisions of this Act.
Sec. 4. Issue of permit by judge. That if the judge of the district court of any division in Alaska is satisfied of the good faith of the applicant he shall issue to such pharmacist a permit to transport pure alcohol for compounding, preparing, or preserving medicines or for scientific, artistic, or mechanical purposes. Such permit shall be substantially in the following form: Form.“Permit to pharmacists to transport pure alcohol for compounding, preparing, and preserving medicines only or for scientific, artistic, or mechanical purposes.
“District court, ________ division, Territory of Alaska, ss. “________ ________, a pharmacist, residing at __________, is hereby permitted to transport pure alcohol for compounding, preparing, and preserving medicines only or for scientific, artistic, or mechanical purposes. This permit can only be used for one shipment and will be void after six months from the date of issue. “By order of the district court aforesaid. Dated this ________ day of ________, nineteen hundred and ________.
“________ ________, “Judge of the district court.” Sec. 5. Contents, etc. That said permit mentioned in section four hereof shall be issued upon forms supplied by the clerk of the district court and shall contain the permit, a copy of the application for permit, and a copy of the provisions of section six of this Act, and shall be issued under Record to be kept.the seal of the said court and shall be void for transportation purposes after six months from the date of issuance.
The clerk of said district court shall keep in a separate book provided for that purpose a record of permits issued under this Act, wherein shall be entered the date and the number thereof, the person to whom issued, and the purpose for which issued. Sec. 6. To be attached to package transported. That said permit shall be attached to and remain affixed in a conspicuous place upon any package or parcel containing pure alcohol imported into or snipped in the Territory of Alaska, and when so affixed shall authorize any common carrier or any person operating a boat or vehicle for the transportation of goods, wares, or merchandise within the Territory of Alaska to transport, ship, or Cancellation, etc.carry such pure alcohol.
Any person so transporting such alcohol shall, before the delivery of such package or parcel, cancel said permit and so deface the same that it can not be used again. Sec. 7. Record by carrier. That all express companies, railroad companies, public or private carriers are hereby required to keep a separate book in which shall be entered, immediately upon receipt thereof, the name of the person to whom pure alcohol is shipped, from what city or town and State the same was shipped, and the name of the shipper, the amount and kind received, the date when received, the date Receipt of consignee.when delivered, and to whom delivered, after which record there shall be a blank space in which the consignee shall be required to sign his own name, in ink, before such pure alcohol is delivered to such consignee, which book shall be open to the inspection of the public at any time during business hours of the company and shall not be removed from the place where the same is required to be 905kept.
A copy of entries upon any such record herein provided toCopies of record as evidence. be kept, when certified to by the agent of any express or railroad company or any public or private carrier in charge of the same, shall constitute prima facie evidence of the facts therein stated in any court of the Territory. It shall be unlawful for any person, house, association, firm, company,Shipping, etc., by fictitious names unlawful. club, or corporation, his, its, or their agents, officers, clerks, or servants, to ship alcohol or intoxicating liquor to a false or fictitious name or person, or any person to receive or receipt for alcohol or intoxicating liquor in a false or fictitious name.
Sec. 8. That any common carrier or any person operating a boatWine for sacramental purposes. or vehicle for the transportation of goods, wares, or merchandise may accept for transportation and may transport to any place within the Territory of Alaska shipments of wine for sacramental purposes when there is attached to such shipment a certificate in substantially the following form: “I (or we) certify that this package contains only ___________ (amount)Certificate required. of ___________ (wine), which has been ordered by ___________ ___________ who represents himself to be a duly authorized and officiating priest or minister of the ___________ church at ___________, and that said wine is desired for sacramental purposes only.
“___________ ___________” (Signature of shipper.) Sec. 9. That whenever a shipment of wines for sacramental purposesCertificate to accompany shipment. shall have been transported for delivery within the Territory of Alaska the delivering agent of the transportation company must refuse to deliver the same unless it is accompanied by the certificate prescribed in section eight of this Act, and then only to the person to whom the same is addressed or upon his written order. The transportation company must keep a record of all shipmentsRecords, etc., to be kept. and deliveries of wines for sacramental purposes and must preserve for a period of one year after their receipt all certificates accompanying such shipments and all written orders upon which deliveries may be made.
Such records must be open to the inspection of the public at any time during office hours. Sec. 10. That any person who shall desire to purchase pure alcoholPure alcohol for scientific, etc., use.Applications for. for scientific, artistic, or mechanical purposes shall apply to the district court aforesaid for a permit for that purpose. To procure such permit he shall make and file with the clerk of the district court a statement in writing, under oath, stating that he desires to purchase pure alcohol for scientific, artistic, or mechanical purposes as provided by this Act, and giving his name and residence and the place at which such pure alcohol is to be used.
Sec. 11. That if the judge of said district court is satisfied of theIssue of permit by judge. good faith of the applicant, he shall issue to said applicant a permit to purchase a reasonable amount of pure alcohol for scientific, artistic, or mechanical purposes. The original of said permit shall have attachedDuplicate. thereto a duplicate copy, and each shall be numbered with the sameForm. number and be in substantially the following form: “District Court, ________ Division, Territory of Alaska, ss.
“________ ________, residing at ________, is hereby permitted to purchase pure alcohol in the amount of ________ (here insert quantity), to be used for scientific, artistic, or mechanical purposes. This permit can only be used for one purchase, and the copy thereof attached hereto shall be conspicuously pasted upon the package containing said alcohol, and this permit to purchase shall be void after ninety days from the date hereof. “By order of the district court aforesaid. “Dated this _____ day of _________, nineteen hundred and ________.
“_________ _________, “Judge of the District Court.” 906 Sec. 12. Sale to pharmacist. That the permit mentioned in section eleven shall authorrize the applicant to purchase and any pharmacist to sell and deliver Cancellation, etc., of permit.to him the quantity named in the said permit. The permit shall be canceled, kept, and retained on file for at least one year by the pharmacist so selling said pure alcohol, and the copy of said permit shall be, by the pharmacist, conspicuously pasted upon the receptacle containing said alcohol, and shall so remain upon said receptacle so long as the same shall contain alcohol.
Said permit and copy shall only Sale, etc., without permit unlawful.authorize one purchase and sale. It shall be unlawful tor any pharmacist to sell pure alcohol without the permit herein specified, or for any person to keep or have in his possession any pure alcohol unless the receptacle containing the same shall be distinctly labeled with the copy of the permit authorizing the purchase of the same. Sec. 13. Unauthorized use of buildings, etc., for liquors, unlawful. That it shall be unlawful for any person owning, leasing, or occupying or in possession or control of any premises, building, vehicle, car, or boat to knowingly permit thereon or therein the manufacture, transportation, disposal, or the keeping of intoxicating liquor with intent to manufacture, transport, or dispose of the same in violation of the provisions of this Act.
Sec. 14. Unauthorized possession, etc., unlawful. That it shall be unlawful for any person to import, ship, sell, transport, deliver, receive, or have in his possession any intoxicating liquors, except as in this Act provided. Sec. 15. Public drinking, intoxication, etc., a misdemeanor. That any person who shall in or upon any passenger coach, street car, boat, or in or upon any other vehicle commonly used for the transportation of passengers, or in or about any depot, platform, or waiting room drink any intoxicating liquor of any kind, or any person who shall be drunk or intoxicated in any public or private road or street, or in any passenger coach, street car, or any public place or building, or at any public gathering, or any person who shall be drunk or intoxicated and shall disturb the peace of any person, shall be guilty of a misdemeanor.
Sec. 16. Clubhouses, etc., for dispensing liquors, unlawful. That every person who shall directly or indirectly keep or maintain by himself or by associating with others, or who shall in any manner aid, assist, or abet in keeping or maintaining any clubhouse, or other place in which alcoholic liquor is received or kept for the purpose of use, gift, barter, or sale, or for distribution or division among the members of any club or association by any means whatsoever, or who shall maintain what is commonly known as the “locker system” or other device for evading the provisions of this Act, and every person who shall use, barter, sell, give away, or assist or abet in bartering, selling, or giving away any liquors so received or kept, shall be deemed guilty of a misdemeanor and upon conviction thereof be subject to the penalties prescribed in Testimony of witnesses.section one of this Act; and in all cases the members, shareholders, associates, or employees in any club or association mentioned in this section shall be competent witnesses to prove any violations of the provisions of this section of this Act, or of any fact tending thereto;
Compulsory testimony.and no person shall be excused from testifying as to any offense committed by another against any of the provisions of this Act Personal immunity.by reason of his testimony tending to criminate himself, but the testimony given by such person shall in no case be used against him. Evasions unlawful.The keeping or giving away of alcoholic liquors, or any schemes or devices whatever, to evade the provisions of this Act shall be deemed unlawful within the provisions of this Act.
Sec. 17. Issue of warrants for violation.Information to district attorney. That if one or more persons who are competent witnesses shall charge, on oath or affirmation, before the district attorney or any of his deputies duly authorized to act for him, presenting that any person, company, copartnership, association, club, or corporation has or have violated or is violating the provisions of this Act by manufacturing, storing, or depositing, offering for sale, keeping for sale or use, trafficking in, bartering, exchanging for goods, giving 907away, or otherwise furnishing alcoholic liquor, shall request said district attorney or any of his assistants duly authorized to act for him to cause to be issued a warrant, said attorney or any of hisService of warrant. assistants shall cause to be issued such warrant, in which warrant the room, house, building, or other place in which the violation is alleged to have occurred or is occurring shall be specifically described; and said warrant shall be placed in the hands of the marshal, his deputy, or any town marshal or policeman in any town in which the room, house, building, or other place above referred to is located, commanding him to at once thoroughly search said described room, house, building, or other place, and the appurtenances thereof; and if anySeizure of liquors, etc. such be found, to take into his possession and safely keep, to be produced as evidence when required, all alcoholic liquors and all the means of dispensing the same, also all the paraphernalia or part of the paraphernalia of a barroom or other alcoholic liquor establishment, and any United States internal-revenue tax receipt or certificate for the manufacture or sale of alcoholic liquor, effective for the period of time covering the alleged offense, and forthwith report all the facts to the district attorney or his deputy, and such alcoholicUse as evidence. liquor or the means for dispensing same, or the paraphernalia of a barroom or other alcoholic liquor establishment, or any United States internal-revenue tax receipt or certificate for the sale of alcoholic liquor, effective as aforesaid, shall be prima facie evidence of the violation of the provisions of this Act.
Sec. 18. That it shall not be necessary, in order to convict any person,Possession of liquors evidence of violations. company, house, association, copartnership, club, or corporation, his, its, or their agents, officers, clerks, or servants of manufacturing, importing, or selling alcoholic liquors, to prove the actual manufacture, importing, sale, delivery of, or payment for any alcoholic liquors, but the evidence of having or keeping them in hand, stored or deposited, taking orders for, or offering to sell or barter, or exchanging them for goods or merchandise, or giving them away, shallGeneral description sufficient. be sufficient to convict; nor shall it be necessary in a warrant, information, or indictment to specify the particular kind of alcoholic liquor which is made the subject of a charge of violation of this Act.
Sec. 19. That all houses, boats, boathouses, buildings, clubrooms,Houses, etc., used for liquors declared to be nuisances. and places of every description, including drug stores, where alcoholic liquors are manufactured, stored, sold, or vended, given away, or furnished contrary to law, including those in which clubs, orders, or associations sell, barter, give away, distribute, or dispense intoxicating liquors to their members by any means or device whatever, as provided in this Act, shall be held, taken, and deemed common and public nuisances.
And any person who shall maintain, or shall aidMaintenance, etc., a misdemeanor. or abet, or knowingly be associated with others, in maintaining such common and public nuisance, shall be guilty of a misdemeanor and upon conviction thereof shall be subject to the penalties prescribedPunishment. in section one of this Act, and judgment shall be given that such house, boat, building, or other place, or any room therein, be abated or closed up as a place for the sale or keeping of such liquor contrary to law, as the court may determine.
Sec. 20. That any United States district attorney for the TerritoryInjunctions to abate. of Alaska may maintain an action in equity in the name of the United States to abate and perpetually enjoin such a nuisance as defined in the preceding section. No bond shall be required. AnyPunishment for violating. person violating the terms of any injunction granted in such proceedings shall be punished for contempt by a fine of not more than $500 or by imprisonment in the Federal jail for not more than six months, or both such fine and imprisonment, in the discretion of the court.
Sec. 21. That if a tenant of a building or tenement is convicted ofLeases void on conviction of tenant. using such premises or any part thereof or maintaining a common nuisance, as hereinbefore defined, or of knowingly permitting such 908use by another, the conviction of such use shall render void the lease under which he holds and shall cause the right of possession to revert to the owner or lessor, who may, without process of law, make immediate entry upon the premises, or may avail himself of the remedy provided for the forcible detention thereof.
Sec. 22. Neglecting to eject offending tenant deemed assisting. That anyone who knowingly permits any building owned or leased by him or under his control, or any part thereof, to be used in maintaining a common nuisance hereinbefore described in section nineteen of this Act, neglects to take all reasonable measures to eject therefrom the person so using the same, shall be deemed guilty of t assisting in maintaining such nuisance. Sec. 23. No property right in illegal liquors.
That no property right of any kind shall exist in alcoholic liquors or beverages illegally manufactured, received, possessed, or stored under this Act, and in all such cases the liquors are forfeited to the United States and may be searched for and seized and ordered to be destroyed by the court after a conviction, when such liquors have been seized for use as evidence, or upon satisfactory evidence to the court presented by the district attorney that such liquors are contraband.
Sec. 24. Punishment for not specified violations. That any person convicted of a violation of any of the provisions of this Act where the punishment therefor is not herein *Ante*, p. 903.specifically provided shall be punished as provided by section one of this Act. Sec. 25. Pharmacists convicted may have license revoked. That in case a pharmacist is convicted under the provisions of this Act the judge of the district court, in addition to the penalty provided in this Act, may, in his discretion, revoke his license to practice pharmacy, and thereafter he shall not receive a license , for one year.
Sec. 26. Internal revenue special tax stamp evidence of sale. That the issuance by the United States of any internal revenue special tax stamp or receipt to any person as a dealer in intoxicating liquors shall be prima facie evidence of the sale of intoxicating liquors by such person during the time the stamp or receipt is . in force and effect. Copy of stamp admissible.A copy of such stamp or receipt or of the record of the issuance thereof, certified to by a United States internal-revenue officer having charge of such record, is admissible as evidence in like case and with like effect as the original stamp or receipt.
Sec. 27. Officers authorized to enforce provisions of Act. That it shall be the duty of the governor of Alaska, the United States marshals and their deputies, mayors, and members of town councils, town marshals, and police officers of all incorporated towns in Alaska, all Federal game wardens, agents of the Bureau of Fisheries and Forestry Service, customs collectors and their deputies, employees of the Bureau of Education, prosecuting attorneys and their deputies, and all other Federal and Territorial executive officers to enforce the provisions of this Act.
Sec. 28. Prosecutions. That prosecutions for violations of the provisions of this Act shall be on information filed by any such officer before any justice of the peace or district judge, or upon indictment by any grand jury of the Territory of Alaska, and said United States district attorney or his deputy shall file such information upon the presentation to him or his assistants of sworn information that the law has been violated; and in such prosecutions anyone making a false oath to any material fact shall be deemed guilty of perjury.
Sec. 29. Permitting, etc., importing on water craft unlawful. That any person, company, or corporation who shall import or carry liquors into or upon the Territorial waters of Alaska in or upon any steamship, steamboat, vessel, boat, or other water craft, or shall permit the same to be so imported or carried into or upon said waters, except under the provisions of this Act, shall be guilty Punishment.*Ante*, p. 903.of a misdemeanor, and upon conviction shall be punished as provided in section one of this Act. 909 Sec. 30.
That in addition to the power now exercised the judges ofLicenses to end of calendar year allowed. the district courts of Alaska may grant liquor licenses for any period of time less than one year upon a pro rata of the license fee for one year, but not to extend beyond the first day of January, nineteen hundred and eighteen, under the provisions of law now in force there so far as the same are applicable. Sec. 31. That the Legislature of the Territory of Alaska may passAdditional Territorial legislation allowed. additional legislation in aid of the enforcement of this Act not inconsistent with its provisions.
Sec. 32. That in the interpretation of this Act words of the singularInterpretation of words. number shall be deemed to include their plurals, and words of the masculine gender shall be deemed to include the feminine, as the case may be. Sec. 33. That this Act shall be in full force and effect on and afterIn effect January 1, 1918. the first day of January, nineteen hundred and eighteen, and all laws and parts of laws inconsistent herewith be, and they are hereby,Inconsistent laws repealed. repealed as of that date.
Approved, February 14, 1917.