HOTELS RAIDED

Grey River Argus, 20 August 1937, Page 5

HOTELS RAIDED

SYDNEY POLICE ACTION. SYDNEY, August 5. Only two out of 22 women allegedn ly found drinking at three of Syd- - ney’s most fashionable hotels after y hours- on July 23 appeared at the - Metropolitan Licensing Court yester- - day, when 73 persons were prose--6 cuted before the Licensing Magis--3 trate, Mr Cohen, on liquor charges. A fine of 5s with 8s court costs was / imposed in each case. About 50 of • the defendants were present in court, 1 the others being dealt with ex parte. i> Twelve others whose names were - taken by the police will be prose- - cuted next- month. I The licensees of the hotels, Charles 5 Fawsitt Tyler (Australia), Joseph Stewart Young (Carlton), and Har1 vey Welman (Usher’s), who were ' proceeded against on charges of per- ’ mitting the sale of liquor after hours, ’ were each bound over on a bond of ’ £2O to be of good behaviour for 12 months. Each was ordered to pay 8s court costs. The raids, which were made individually by three squads of police, all took place at about the same hour -—11.30 p.m. Sergeant Fleming said that the majority of the persons present in the lounge of the Carlton Hotel at 11.30 p.m. on July 23 were either drinking liquor or had glasses in front of them. When interviewed, he said, most of them admitted that they had come to the hotel to get liquor. A few gave excuses for being on the premises, which were accepted as being valid. Some established that they were travellers and others that they had come to the hotel at the invitations of lodgers and not for the purposes of getting liquor. When interviewed at 1 a.m., the licensee, Stewart Young, said to him: “You have shown us a good deal of tolerance, Sergeant, and we appreciate it. You know as I know what is going on, and that’s all there is to it.” At the Australia, according to Inspector Keefe’s evidence, about 60 persons were present. Some weie taking coffee and refreshments. The defendants had liquor glasses in front of them, and when spoken to admitted that they had been served • with liquor and that that was the purpose of their visit to the hotel. Inspector Keefe said that when .he saw the licensee, Tyler, the following. ■ day and told him that he had taken . the names of 23 persons who ha.i • been served with liquor in the win-ter-garden lounge the previous night, . Tyler remarked:. “I suppose you 1 found over a hundred present.” . Witness told him there were abou.. , 60 present, to which Tyler. replied: . “Well, it was a very quiet night. ’ j Sergeant Courtney said that in the j lounge of Usher’s Hotel, he had seen ] a large number of persons, including ) some of the defendants, seated ( around tables with glasses which contained or had contained liquor, in ( front of them. After interviewing £ the defendants he saw the licensee, ( Welman, who told him that he had been in bed for the past hour When , asked if he could say what the per- 1 sons were doing' on the premises, Welman answered in the negative, Sergeant Courtney said. £