State v. Maryland Club

Burke J., delivered the opinion of the Court. The Maryland Club, a bona fide social organization, incorporated under the laws of Maryland, was indicted in the Criminal Court of Baltimore on the 12th day of December, 1906, for the offense of selling and furnishing intoxicating liquors on Sunday, November 25th, 1906, in the City of Baltimore, to a certain person whose name was unknown to the Grand Jurors. The indictment contained four counts. The first count charged that the Maryland Club, a body corporate, duly incorporated, late of said city on the 25th day of November, in the year one thousand nine hundred and six, at the city aforesaid, the said day in the said year being the Lord’s day, commonly called ‘ Sunday, and being then and there a body corporate, duly incorporated, in said State of Maryland, and being then and there a Club, and being then and there a licensee of the said State under the name of the Maryland ⁵⁸⁷ Club, then and there licensed as aforesaid, to sell, offer for sale, and keep for sale intoxicating liquors by retail by the drink in said city, and not being then and there a hotel keeper, unlawfully did then and there sell and furnish intoxicating liquors to a certain person to the Jurors aforesaid unknown, contrary to the form of the Act of Assembly in such case made and provided, and against the peace, government and dignity of the State.

The second count alleges that the Maryland Club was incorporated by an Act of the General Assembly of Maryland passed in the year 1858, and sets out in full the act of incorporation; it then sets out an Act of the General Assembly of Maryland, known as chapter 22 of the Acts of 1892, by which the original charter of the Maryland Club was amended; it then alleges that the said Maryland Club during all of the time aforesaid was, and still is such corporation and body corporate as aforesaid; and that on the 25th day of November, in the year nineteen hundred and six, at the city of Baltimore, in the State of Maryland, said Maryland Club was, and still is such corporation and body corporate duly incorporated as aforesaid, and was on the said last mentioned day, and still is, at the city aforesaid, a club and licensee of said State licensed to sell, offer for sale, and keep for sale intoxicating liquors by retail by the drink in said city of Baltimore, and not being then and there on said 25th day of November in said year, nineteen hundred and six, at the city aforesaid, a hotel keeper, unlawfully at the city aforesaid, did on the said last mentioned date, to wit: November 25th, nineteen hundred and six, the last-mentioned day being the Lord’s day, commonly called Sunday, sell and furnish at the city aforesaid, intoxicating liquors to a certain person whose name is to the jurors aforesaid unknown, contrary to the form of the Act of Assembly in such case made and provided, and against the peace, government and dignity of the State. The third count alleges that the said Maryland Club, a body corporate, duly incorporated, on the said 25 th day of November, in the year of our Lord, nineteen hundred and six, at the ⁵⁸⁸ city aforesaid, the said day in the said year, being the Lord’s day and Sabbath day, commonly called Sunday, and being then and there a body corporate, duly incorporated, and being then and there a club, society and - association, and a licensee of the said State, under the name of the Maryland Club, then and there licensed to sell, offer for sale and keep for sale intoxicating liquors by retail by the drink in said city, and not being then and there a hotel keeper, unlawfully did sell and furnish on the said last mentioned day in the said year, at the city aforesaid, intoxicating liquors to a certain person whose name is to the jurors aforesaid unknown, contrary to the form of the Act of Assembly in such case made and provided, and against the peace, government and dignity of the State. The fourth count charges that said Maryland Club, a body corporate duly incorporated,on the said 25th day of November, in the year nineteen hundred and six, at the city aforesaid, the said last-mentioned day in the said year being the Lord’s day, commonly called.Sunday and being the Sabbath day, and the said Maryland Club being then and there a corporation, duly incorporated; and being then and there a club, society and association, and then and there a licensee of the said State, under the name Maryland Club, then and there licensed to sell, offer for sale and keep for sale intoxicating liquors by retail by the drink in said city, and not being then and there a hotel keeper, unlawfully did then and there sell, furnish and dispose of certain spirituous and fermented liquors,, cordials, lager beer, wine, cider and intoxicating liquors to a certain person whose name is to the jurors aforesaid unknown, contrary to the form of the Act of Assembly in such case made and provided, and against the peace, government and dignity of the State. To this indictment the defendant filed two special pleas, to each of'which the State demurred.

The demurrer of the State to each of said special pleas was overruled by the Court, and, the State declining to traverse the pleas, judgment was entered that the traverser, the' Maryland Club, be dismissed and discharged from said indictment. From this judgment the appeal now before us was taken. ⁵⁸⁹ The special pleas filed by the Maryland Club are quite lengthy, and only the substance of the first plea need be stated, as the identical defense presented by the first plea is relied on under the second. It sets out the Act of 1858, ch. 95, by which it was incorporated, and by which it appears that “an association of citizens has been formed in the city of Baltimore, under the title of the Maryland Club, having for its object the promotion of regulated social intercourse among its members, and the extension of hospitable courtesies to strangers;” that upon the passage of said Act of incorporation the corporation thereby created, and as thereby authorized, organized itself as a social club for the accomplishment of the objects set forth in its said charter, committing the administration of said club to a board of twenty-five governors, and began to exercise the rights and privileges granted to it thereby, and continued in the exercise of the same up to and including the year 1892, in which year its charter was amended by an Act of the General Assembly of Maryland, being ch. 22 of the Acts of the General Assembly of Maryland of 1892; 'the amended charter is then set forth, and it is then alleged that “after the passage of said last mentioned Act of. Assembly the said corporation, the Maryland Club continued in the exercise of the rights and privileges granted to it by its original charter and the aforesaid amendment thereof, and was in the exercise thereof at the times mentioned in the several counts of the indictment; and after the passage of the said Act of Assembly of Maryland in 1892, ch. 22, the said Maryland Club for the better accomplishment of the purposes of a social club, for the accomplishment of which it has been created and organized,'did, at great cost and expense, erect and provide for the use of its members a large building situated at the southeast corner of Charles and Eager streets in the city of Baltimore, containing parlors, sitting rooms, sleeping rooms, reading rooms, library, billiard rooms, dining rooms, a cafe and restaurant, a large and commodious kitchen, store rooms for articles of food, wines, liquors, beers, and cigars, and other rooms adapted to the proper use of a first class social club; ⁵⁹⁰ and furnished and equipped said house and rooms with articles suitable and adapted to the use of its members as a place where they may meet from day to day and have the conveniences and advantages of a first class social club.

That a large number of the members o.f the club from time to time, as well on week days as on Sundays, get their meals in the said club building, including breakfast, lunch, and dinner; that the membership of said club is divided into two classes designated as resident members and non-resident members, the resident members being those who reside in the city of Baltimore, and the non-resident members being those who reside elsewhere; that at the times mentioned in said indictment the number of its resident members was approximately four hundred and eighty-two (482), and its non-resident members one hundred and seventy-six (176); that the initiation fee of each resident member is one hundred and fifty-(150) dollars, and of each non-resident member (50) dollars, and the annual dues paid by each of the resident members is seventy-five ($75) dollars, and by each of the non-resident members thirty-six ($36) dollars; that from the said fees and dues the said Maryland Club derives an annual revenue each year of more than forty thousand ($40,000) dollars. That in the conduct of its affairs, and for the purpose of carrying out the objects for which it was incorporated, the said Maryland Club serves and furnishes articles of food, meals, wines,liquors, beers, and cigars, which liquors, wines and beers are known as intoxicating liqtiors, wines and beers, to those of its members who from time to time ask to be served and furnished therewith, at times furnishing said intoxicating liquors to members with meals and at times without meals, as well on Sundays as 071 week days; that to enable it to furnish the same to its said members it purchases and keeps on hand the said articles, and furnishes the same to its members at prices fixed by a committee of its .board of governors, and paid by the member or members ordering said articles; that the prices so fixed for said meals, articles of food, cigars, wines, liquors and beers, and the prices fixed for each of them, are not fixed with the view of making by the said club any ⁵⁹¹ profit in the furnishing of the same, but the prices are fixed with the view of furnishing the said articles at a minimum cost to its members, and such an amount only is charged as will compensate for the cost of the said articles, and a reasonable portion of the expenses of serving the same, taking into consideration the cost of the service, including the wear and tear of the articles used in connection therewith, the lighting, heating, use of the premises in which the said articles are furnished; that the revenues derived from the furnishing of the said articles are not equal to the cost of furnishing the same, the difference between said cost and said revenues differing from year to year, and large in amount in each and every year, and most years running into thousands of dollars, up to and including the year 1906; that said deficit is paid out of the revenues received as aforesaid by the club from the fees and dues of its members. That no person other than resident and non-resident members are admitted to the privileges of said club except a limited number of persons not residing in the State of Maryland, but who are visitors to the city of Baltimore, and upon invitation of members, with the sanction of the executive committee of the board of governors, are admitted to the privileges of the club for a limited number of days, and that said persons while so enjoying said privileges are members of said club.” It then alleges that for the purpose of complying with the laws of the State of Maryland and in order to be able to furnish its members with liquors, wines and beers in the manner hereinbefore set forth in the plea, the Maryland Club did on the 6th day of April, 1906, file through its secretary, George May, with the Board of Liquor License Commissioners of Baltimore City a petition for the grant of a Liquor License. This petition is then set forth, and states that it is made by George May, of Baltimore City, as president, or secretary of the club, society, or Association thereinafter named, for and on behalf of the said club, society, or association in accordance with the provision of section 81 A and section 81 B of article 56 Code of Public General Laws of ⁵⁹² Maryland: The petition states that the name of said club, society, or association, is the Maryland Club; that R. C. Hoffman is the president, and that said club, society, or association desires to sell, barter, furnish, or dispense liquors, wines, and beers to its members-, that the name of the owner of said premises for which the license is applied for is the Maryland Club; that the petitioner “on behalf, and in\the name and by the authority of the said organization hereby agrees to furnish to the Board of Liquor License Commissioners, whenever requested to do so, such facts and information as may be necessary or proper to satisfy the Board that the club, society or -association hereby making application for license is in fact such legitimate and bona fide organization as it purports to be, and that such organization would not be a nuisance to the neighborhood where it is located or proposes to locate;” that the organization has not been indicted for any alleged violation of the law; and the petition states that the said organization is legitimate and bona fide organization for the purposes named in its certificate or incorporation or charter; that it is composed of reputable and law abiding citizens, and that this license is not intended to be and will not be used for any purpose or in any manner contrary to law or subversive of peace and good order.

To this petition was annexed a sworn list of boná fide members of said organization, as required by section' 81 A. of Article 56 of the Code of Public General Laws. This petition was verified by the oath of Mr. May, as secretary of the Maryland Club. It is then averred that the said “Board of Liquor License Commissioners decided to- grant the license prayed for, and notified in writing the defendant that such decision had been made, and thereupon on the first day of May in said year, the defendant produced to the clerk of the Court of Common Pleas the said notification in writing and paid to the said clerk sum of Two hundred and fifty dollars, and the said clerk thereupon issued to the defendant the license granted to the defendant by the said board, which said license was of the tenor, purport and effect following, to wit: ⁵⁹³ $250 for 12'months. License for the sale of liquor by retail at a club, society or association.

Baltimore City, to wit: This is to certify that a license has this day been granted to the Maryland Club, No. 1 E. Eager street, to sell by retail, distilled liquors or any mixture of distilled liquors containing more than fifteen per cent alcohol, or fermented liquors