Local History by Dede Terns-Thorpe - TANNERSVILLE LAW UNCONSTITUTIONAL

TANNERSVILLE - August 5, 1918, Kingston Daily Freeman

This story is about one of the older families in Tannersville, specifically the Warm brothers. Sam Warm operated Warm’s  Hotel on South Main Street while Julius and Nathan ran Warm’s Restaurant, 6033 Main Street.  (Warms was a community place, with a busy counter in the front. Warms supplied work for many local kids, with Julius and Nathan knowing the families and which kid needed a job.)

Although they were busy businessmen, they still found time to be active volunteers, with the emergency phone number for the Tannersville Rescue Squad and Fire Department in the restaurant.

(Steve and Holly Yager later operated Warm’s for many years before it became the property of the Hunter Foundation.)

New Yorker Who Questions Validity of High License For Other Then Local Autos, is Fined For Speeding.

A summary of the story:

On the 3rd of May, 1918, the Village of Tannersville passed an ordinance regulating license fees for automobiles, etc. The fee was set at $2.00 yearly (about $35.00) for town & village taxpayers. “Outsiders” paid $35.00 (approximately $600.00 today).

Nathan Warm came up from the city and paid the $35 for his car. He later wanted to use a larger car for carrying passengers (Taxi style), and he was charged another $35.00.

He consulted attorney William D. Brinner, who viewed the ordinance and found it to be unconstitutional and discriminating.

Nathan was later ticketed for speeding and charged with violating the speed ordinance, the penalty not to exceed $100 (about $1600.00 today). A jury trial was held and found him guilty of exceeding the speed limit and fined him $20.00. (About $325.00 today).

Mr. Warm made plans to take legal action to recover the $35.00 that he paid on the illegal ordinance he had originally paid. (No results of the trial were  found.)