HomeMy WebLinkAboutORD 36-BIB HE .MAYOR JOHN F. KIRWIN, CITY SECRETARY
/"ffI-EO1FMAYOR
VEAUMONT. TEXAS
16 September 1919
Honorable Mayor and City Council,
City.
Gentlemen: -
9.1
We hand you herewith Ordinance we wish
to submit for the consideration of the Council, attending to
loitering orA remaining on streets and sidewalks of the City of
Beaumont.
Respectfully submitted,I/,'
c Ordinance Committee
Beaumont, Texas, October 6, 1919.
Gentlemen of the City Council:
I am
returning herewith
disapproved Ian ordinance offered
by Aldermen
T. V. Smelker, John
McKinney and.
B. Deutser7 and
adopted by your body'at the -regular session on Tuesday, September
16, 1919.
First, the text of this ordinance? embodies matters not
speciaically referred to in its caption, and purports to be for
the purpose of regul ati2ig,9•L'_,'e use oJ? siaewalhs of the cit"
when as a matter of fact )it is designed for the especial purposeyof
preventing what is li-iown as "picketing," to ivnich no feferencelis
made in its title.
I reUard the passage of such an ordinance, as superfluous,
fox the reason that under existing ordinancesyevery power sought to
be conferredlby this enactment 7is already given�to the city. You
are referrecl to Articles 574, 575, 576, 5177 and 578, page 220,
Book of Ordiances, - , vherein will be
founaIaelegation of all control, over the use of sidewalks which
it seems is proposedlto be c onferred1by this; ordinance.
Furthermore, this ordinance apparently is d.esigned9or in-
tendedlto make the city, through its government, a party to an
existing controversyybetween the organization of retail merchantsq
and that of the retail clerks, which matter is already in the
district courts for adjudication- It is my viewlthat in such
contrdiversies.9 it is not the province of the cityto assume judi-
cial cognizance beyond Its dutyin the enforcement and mainte-
nance of law and order, and that the city should not officially
becomea partisan in any such dispute, the legal aspects7of
which in any event-, must be determined anal fixed 7by the state -or -
federal courts. Since the situation 7 intended to be remediedby
this orainance7is now in a state court for determinationppon its:
merits, and since that court has -superior jurtsdiction➢to the cor-
poration court, I see no needy for additional municipal legisla-
tion, which when appealed from in the corporation court1would.
.involve the city as a party to the actiosin the higher courts.
t
If "picketing" is unlawful, that fact must be 9 and -will b ep
clearly" established. by the state courtpin this case, and would have
t
to be so establishedlin any other similar case which might arise.
Some state and federal courts7have held that picketing is unlaw-
ful', and some have held to the contrary,, as for instance the fed-
eral court?in the case of the Goldfield Consolidated Mines Co. vs.
Union No. 220, 159th Federal Reporter, page 500, wis6ale declared
that piolXeting,"by peaceful persuasionjand. to gain information,
is"permissible."^--This-�itfve ll be-seentha-t"-�in--no event,woulci -- —
a decision h of thecoltporation court under the ordinance adopted
be final, and such litigation9�Ioulcl merely tend to cumber.,the
court's docket Sand in addition force the city�to become a joint
litigant.
When in
the
exerc is el of its
power s , of
law
enforcement and
the maintenance
of
order' already
delegated,
the
city has per-
formed its functions in such controversies, it has in my Judgment,
clone all that it may do properly, and shoul& leave the question
peacegul
of the legality or illegality,of the acts of one or the otheri)of
to the dispute�to the courts of the state
the partiesl for deter-
mination.
For these reasons'I am impelled to veto the ordinance hereto
attached.
Respectfully submitted,
Mayor.
All ORDINANCE TO REGULATE 7!ALKING BACK AND FORTH,
LOITERING OR REMINING ON THE -STREETS
AND SIDEWALKS IN TTNE CITY OF
BEAUMONT, TEXAS, atr ��`-�
!'Be it Ordained by the City Council of the City of
Beaumont, Texas.
"Secti-on 1. It shall -be unlatful--for any -person- or persons
to walk back and forth, loiter or -remain, or cause any person to
walk back and forth, loiter or remain upon the streets or side-
walks in the City of Beaumont, Texas, in front of any business house
for the purpose of persuading any person or persons by word of mouth
from entering said place or plades of business for the purpose of
transacting business therein.
"Section 2. It shall be unlawful for any person or persons
to walk back and forth, loitdr or remain, or cause any person to
walk back and f orth,.loiter or remain upon the streets or sidewalks
in the City of Beaumont,. Texas, in front of any business house for.,
the purpose of persuading any person or persons by signs carried
from entering said place or places of business for the purpose of
transacting business therein.
"Section 3. Provided, that neither of the foregoing sections
shall be held to render it unlawful for any member or members of any
trade union, orgatization or association, or any other person to
induce, or attempt to induce by peaceable and lawful means, any
--person -to accept -any- part icular� empl.oyment_, or quit or relinquish any.-
particular_ employment- in_wh.iol�- such_pers-on, _may, then be engaged, or to
enter any pursuit or refuse to erlte.r .any pursuit, or quit' or relin-
quish any pursuit .irr which such' person may tnen be engaged: Provided,
that su%i member or members shall not have the right to invade or tres-
pass upon the premises of another without the consent of the owner
thereof.
"Section 4. Any person or persons violating the foregoing
ordinance shall be deemed guilty of a misdemeanor, and upon convict -
tion thereof shall be fined in any sum not in excess of two hundred
($200.00) dollars.
"Section 5.( Whereas, the fact that there is at present no
sufficient ordinance regulating the standing, loitering or remaining upon
the streets -and sidewalks in the City of Beaumont, Texas .ered-tes a public
emergency justifying t suspension of the charter rule requiring that all
ordinances be read atq:,6:ze ;1ar meetings of the City Council, and -the
same is hereby suspended__ ,-and this ordinance shall take -effect-- and. be
i�force from and after its -passage, approval and publication."
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