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*§ ^ Las Vegas, leva&a, v March 15, 1926. F ile W-43-7 My. C.S.Gamwell, Las Vegas, Nevada. Dear S ir : * * b In re p ly to your s e ve ra l o ra l requests, I o f f e r the fo llo w in g explanation and statement regarding the liq u o r clause embodied in contracts and deeds issued by th is Company: When i t undertook the founding o f C lark’ s Las Vegas Townsite the Company f e l t . t h a t i t should also assume, to some measure, the r e s p o n s ib ility o f guarding public morals in the pion eer community. Employees who brought t h e ir fa m ilie s here demanded assurance that t h e ir children would be reared in a fa vora b le environment, and the liq u o r clause in question was adopted fo r th eir^ p ro te c tio n . However, Las Vegas so r e a d ily adopted the customs and p ra c tis e s o f o ld e r towns by esta b lish in g a p o lic e system, courts, e tc ., and n a tion al p ro h ib itio n la t e r brought sueL fu rth er re s tra in ts , that the Company has never f e l t i t s e l f c a lle d upon to e x ercise the p r iv ile g e . I t is my opinion t h a t 'i t is v e ry doubtful i t ever w i l l do so in view o f the changed conditions la t e r years have brought about. I am charged with the duties o f a c t iv e ly prosecuting the business o f the Company, and have no a u th o rity to waive or suspend the liq u o r clause. I f th is were done i t would by by a ctio n o f the Board o f D irecto rs on the advice o f the Law Depart­ment, I t is a lso l i k e l y that approval o f the Executive Committee in lew York would be necessary. I t would requ ire weeks, p o ssib ly months, to conclude such fo r m a lit ie s . In as much as I f e e l certa in the request would be refused I h e s ita te to recommend i t . Yours tr ^ ly . W alter R. Bracken