Com. v. Quinn

• Decision Date: 18 June 1895
• Parties: COMMONWEALTH v. QUINN.
• Court: United States State Supreme Judicial Court of Massachusetts Supreme Court

164 Mass. 11

40 N.E. 1043

COMMONWEALTH v. QUINN.

Supreme Judicial Court of Massachusetts, Suffolk.

June 18, 1895

COUNSEL

F.E Hurd, Asst. Dist. Atty., for the Commonwealth.

Nason & Proctor and J.J. Corbett, for defendant.

OPINION

HOLMES J.

The only question argued in this case is whether a dance hall to which the public is admitted upon payment of a small fee is a "public amusement," within the meaning of Pub.St. c. 102, §§ 115, 116,--a question left open by Com. v. Gee, 6 Cush. 174. The words quoted might be used so as to include dance halls, or they might be limited to entertainments where the entertainers offer the amusement and the public is passive.

Rev.St c. 58, §§ 1, 2, required a license for "theatrical exhibitions, public shows and exhibitions of any description." Then St.1849, c. 231, § 1, inserted the words "public amusements" between "shows" and "exhibitions." This section was copied in Gen.St. c. 88, § 74, and Pub.St. c. 102, § 115. The second section of the act of 1849 punished offering to view maintaining, or promoting, etc., any such exhibition, show or amusement without license, by a fine not exceeding $500; and then the third section went on to impose a like fine on getting up or aiding in promoting any masked ball, or other public assembly at which the company wear masks or other disguises, and to which admission was obtained upon payment of money, etc. This is now Pub.St. c. 102,§ 118. The argument for the defendant seems at first sight to gain a good deal of force from the other words which accompany "public amusements;" and it may be said that, by expressly dealing with the case of masked assemblies, the statute excluded like gatherings not masked from its prohibitions. It may be added, as is suggested by the defendant's counsel, that later acts have dealt with music-hall exhibitions at which lager beer is sold (St.1858, c. 152; Gen.St. c. 88, § 76; Pub.St. c. 102, § 117), and have punished with the same fine, not exceeding $500, maintaining without license a skating rink "to be used for the amusement of roller skating" for reward (St.1885, c. 196), and have punished with a fine, not exceeding $100, maintaining without license a grove to be used for picnics "or other lawful gatherings and amusements" for reward (St.1885, c. 309). On the other hand, it is to be observed that section 3 of the act of 1849 absolutely prohibits the masked balls, etc., with which it deals,...