Possibility of Serving Liquor Depends Upon Attitude of University and City

Whether any alcoholic beverages can legally be sold in the dining halls of the houses is dependent not only on the attitude of the University but also on the attitude of the city of Cambridge. Section 14 of chapter 376 of the laws of 1933 which was recently passed at the special session of the legislature and which became effective December 5, provides as follows:

"In a city or town wherein the granting of licenses to sell all alcoholic beverages or wines and malt beverages only is authorized under this chapter, special licenses for the sale of malt beverages only may be issued by the local licensing authorities, to the responsible manager of any indoor or outdoor activity or enterprise. Special licenses for the disposing of malt beverages in dining halls maintained by incorporate educational institutions authorized to grant degrees may be granted by the local licensing authorities in such a city or town to such institutions; provided, that such beverages shall be served only at tables reserved for persons over twenty-one years of age. The fees for licenses granted under this section shall be fixed from time to time by the local licensing authorities and need not be uniform."

It is obvious that the special license which might be issued to the University is limited by the foregoing section to one permitting the dispensing of malt beverages only, which are defined in Section 1 of the act, to include "all alcoholic beverages manufactured or produced by the process of brewing or fermentation of malt. . .and containing not more than twelve percent of alcohol by weight". It is further obvious that such a special license may be issued only if Cambridge votes to permit all forms of liquor or if it votes to issue licenses for the sale of malt beverages and wines. It is probable that Cambridge will go overwhelmingly wet, even to the extent of allowing the tavern, since only a few of the voters living here for a long time, can remember the old saloons which were banned in this town in 1887. The result will be known on December 19 when Cambridge will hold a referendum on the subject.

It must be understood that even if Cambridge shall authorize the granting of licenses, the question of whether one will be applied for, depends entirely on the attitude of the college authorities. In this connection, it should be noted that the requirement that malt beverages be served only at tables reserved for persons over 21 will exclude a large number of the undergraduates from the privileges of the license. Such a situation may influence the college authorities against making au application for a license.