In re Ladd

• Decision Date: 07 May 1896
• Citation: 74 F. 31
• Parties: In re LADD.
• Court: U.S. District Court — District of Nebraska

74 F. 31

In re LADD.

United States Circuit Court, D. Nebraska.

May 7, 1896

A. J Sawyer, U.S. Dist. Atty., and E. H. Crowder, Major and Judge Advocate U.S. Army, for petitioner.

Arthur M. Bartlett, pro se.

SHIRAS District Judge.

The facts of this case, as gathered from the record submitted to the court, appear to be as follows:

The petitioner, Eugene F. Ladd, is an officer of the United States army, holding the position of first lieutenant in the ninth cavalry now stationed at Ft. Robinson, which is situated in Dawes county, state of Nebraska. By a special order issued under date of January 4, 1896, by Col. Biddle, then in command at said fort, Lieut. Ladd was detailed on special duty as officer in charge of the post exchange established at the named fort, which since November 14, 1876, has been a military post of the United States. That post exchanges are established and maintained in pursuance of special regulations issued by the war department. That since the 25th of July, 1895, the following, among other, regulations have been, and continue to be, in force, and to be applicable to the post exchange at Ft. Robinson as well as to other posts throughout the country:

'(1) Purpose. The post exchange will combine the features of reading and recreation rooms, a co-operative store, and a restaurant. Its primary purpose is to supply the troops, at reasonable price, with the articles of ordinary use, wear and consumption not supplied by the government, and to afford them means of rational recreation and amusement. Its secondary purpose is, through exchange profits, to provide, the means for improving the messes.

'(2) Building. At every post, where practicable, the post commander will institute a post exchange. For this purpose he will set apart any suitable public building or rooms that are available, or will authorize the renting of any private building, or part thereof, on the reservation (the rental to be paid from the funds of the exchange), or, when sufficient exchange funds are available, may cause a suitable building to be erected for the purpose; and if a temporary building, or if constructed wholly or in part by the labor of troops, use of the necessary teams, and such tools, window sash, doors, and other material as can be spared by the quartermaster's department, is authorized. But no permanent structure will be erected on a reservation without first obtaining the authority of the secretary of war. Expenses of repairs or alterations of public buildings for the use of the exchange will be borne by the exchange, when they cannot be provided for by the quartermaster's department.

'(3) Management of Business. The management of the affairs of the exchange will be conducted by an officer designated 'Officer in Charge,' selected and detailed by the commanding officer. This officer should be fully in sympathy with the purposes of the exchange, and possess the business qualifications necessary to its success. He will be assisted by a steward, and such other attendants as the business may warrant. In establishing a new exchange, and at posts where the business is small, the steward and attendants may be enlisted men; but, when practicable, civilians will be employed, instead, in all exchanges whose financial condition will justify the expense, and, in selecting them, preference will be given to retired enlisted men and honorably discharged soldiers.

'(5) The Exchange Council. The superintendence of the affairs of the exchange will be vested in a council, to consist of three officers, one of whom shall be the officer in charge; the others, the two company commanders longest off this duty at the post.

'(9) Exchange Features. An exchange doing its full work should embrace the following sections: (a) A well-stocked general store, in which such goods are kept as are usually required at military posts, and as extensive in number and variety as conditions will justify. (b) A well-kept counter, supplied with as great a variety of viands as circumstances permit, such as tea, coffee, cocoa, nonalcoholic drinks, soups, fish, cooked and canned meats, sandwiches, pasties, etc. (c) A canteen, at which, under the conditions hereinafter set forth, beer and light wines, by the drink, and tobaccos, may be sold. (d) Reading and recreation rooms, supplied with books, periodicals, and other reading matter; billiard and pool tables, bowling alleys, and facilities for other proper indoor games, as well as apparatus for outdoor sports and exercises, such as cricket, football, baseball, tennis, etc.; a well-equipped gymnasium, possessing also the requisite paraphernalia for outdoor athletics. At small posts it may be impracticable to maintain all of these sections, but at every exchange there should be no less than two departments,-- the refreshment, embracing store, lunch counter, and canteen; and the recreation, which includes all the other branches.

'(10) Sale of Liquor Prohibited. The sale or use of ardent spirits in any branch of the exchange is strictly prohibited, but on the recommendation of the exchange council the commanding officer may permit beer and light wines to be sold at the canteen, by the drink, whenever he is satisfied that giving to the troops the opportunity of obtaining such beverages within the post limits will prevent them from resorting for strong intoxicants to places without such limits, and tend to promote temperance and discipline among them. Should the commanding officer not approve the recommendation of the exchange council, it will be submitted for formal decision to the department commander. The canteen must be in a room used for no other purpose, and, when practicable, in a building apart from that in which the recreation and reading rooms are located. The sale of beer must be limited to week days, and the beer be consumed upon the premises.'

It further appears that for some years past there has been maintained at Ft. Robinson, in one of the buildings on the military reservation, a post exchange, conducted under the regulations issued by direction of the war department; that, under the recommendation of the exchange council, the commanding officer at Ft. Robinson has authorized the keeping and sale of beer and light wines at the post exchange, and the same have been so kept and sold under the supervision of the several officers in charge of said post exchange, including the petitioner in this case. It further appears that, under the provisions of the statutes of Nebraska, no person within the jurisdiction of the state is permitted to sell or give away any intoxicating liquors, including wine or beer, unless duly licensed so to do by the county commissioners, or by the proper city or town authorities; and parties so selling without a proper license are liable to punishment, and may be brought before a justice of the peace for the purpose of preliminary examination, and, if cause exists, may be held to answer at the next term of the district court. It further appears that on the 31st of March, 1896, an information was filed before Henry Tisch, a justice of the peace residing in Dawes county, Neb., charging that the petitioner, with one Alfred Bratton, 'did on or about the 22d day of March, 1896, on the Ft. Robinson military reservation, in said Dawes county, unlawfully sell and deliver to Lemiel Cogvill one glass of malt liquor, to wit, beer, and did on or about the 22d of March, 1896, on the Ft. Robinson military reservation, in said Dawes county, unlawfully sell and deliver to Albert Bettis one glass of malt liquor, to wit, beer, and did on or about the 22d day of March, 1896, on the Ft. Robinson military reservation, in said Dawes county, unlawfully sell and deliver to William Washington one glass of malt liquor, to wit, beer. ' And thereupon the said justice issued a warrant of arrest, under which the sheriff of Dawes county, Arthur M. Bartlett, arrested Lieut. Ladd, and took him before the justice, by whom the hearing was fixed for the 9th day of May. On the same day, to wit, March 31, 1896, an information was laid before the same justice of the peace, charging that there was kept on the Ft. Robinson military reservation, for purposes of sale, certain beer, wine, and whisky; that the same were in and about the building known as the 'Post Exchange,' and were in the possession of Eugene F. Ladd and Alfred Bratton, who were selling the same without having paid for and obtained the license required by the statutes of Nebraska. Upon this information a warrant was issued to the sheriff of Dawes county, upon which Lieut. Ladd was arrested, taken before the justice, and the hearing fixed for the 9th day of May. The return of the sheriff shows that under this warrant he seized certain beer and wine, but nothing else. For the purpose of freeing himself from the arrests made on the warrants above described, Lieut. Ladd made application to this court for the issuance of a writ of habeas corpus, claiming that the laws of the state of Nebraska regulating the sale of liquors, spirituous and malt, have no application to the military reservation known as 'Ft. Robinson'; that the justice of the peace who issued the warrants of arrest for acts done on the reservation was wholly without jurisdiction; and that the arrest and consequent detention of petitioner by the sheriff of Dawes county were without authority of law. The application having been granted, the writ issued to Arthur M. Bartlett, who has made due return thereto, setting forth the warrants issued to him by the justice of the peace, the information upon which they were issued, and copies of his returns, showing the arrest of petitioner thereon.

From this statement of the facts, it appears that the right of the sheriff of Dawes county to hold the...