Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1874-09-29
Civil Rights In Restaurants.
LAEesIoN AND PrEvIs W. HARVEY AN

vey and Thomas Holden, partners under the
firm name OF Harvey < Holden, who were
ehsisec WIN refusing, on the "a cay OF sep
tember, 'tO accommodate In their restaurant
certain Well-behaTed sTd respectable persons.
namely. Charles b. PUTvis anQ John NJ. Lang
stCn, although requested then snd there By
said Persons 10 accommodate them With
lunch
MessTs. LaDeston aud PurTls are well-known
CO!Ored citizens, aud the action is brought
against Harvey & Holden under tue legislative
act approved June 10th, 1872 section OF which
Teads:-''1hst sDy restaurant keeper Or ProPri-
stCr, any hotel keeper or proprietor, prOprietOrs
or keepers of ice cream saloons or places where
soda water IS kept for sale, or keepers OF barber
sL1Fs and bathing houses, refusing To seA or
wait upon any respectable, well behaved
person, wit1Out regard 70 race, color,
or previous condition OF EeTyitGde, OF any
restaurant, hotel, ice-Cream saloon or soda
fountain, barber shop or bathing house keep
eIs. or proprietor, who refuses on any pTeteyttC
serve any Weii-behaved respectable person il
the same room, and at the same prices as ether
wel!-hehaved snd respectable persons sra
served, shall be deemed guilty OF misC6 mean
or, and upon conviction IL q court aving lHFis-
dICtiCu, shall be fined one hundred dollars au-
shall forfeit bis OF her license as keeper rowGs-
TT Of such place Of business. sad il shall net be
lawful for the register 70 issue license 70 any
person or their agents who shalt have forfeited
then license under tho provisions Of th,s act
after aid forfeiture"
Dir. Holden was present to-day with his coan-
eel, ME. Meruck. cJmplalUants were also
present.
THE TESTIMONY.
~. l-Fsr3s ties, fed mat he visited the rsstsu-
rant 81 Harvey X Holden IN company with Mr.
Iargstop. on Wednesday last. aud took hf- ss 4r
and ordered lunch. Presently a man ca. .l.f By
ara said those seats we're taken. 1jr. iauEstgL
asked, What DO you mean by thi-.' The man
salc simply chat you cannot be served here, and
hope this IL plain enough" Witness was very
indignant, and went and saw Me. Harvey am
tod him what had occurred. AIr, Harve o. seemed
surprised st first, thinking the conversation Bad
a. Y. 10 rnf
out thai u was with his partner, SIX. Harvey
sad, "Ihst Is our custom; If we serve one We
must serve others"
Cross eXamined:-Mr Holden SAID when
asked by Mr.. LaDgstOn what no meant IL will
not serve you; now hope this Is plain enough"
When Mr.. Harvey found out who had told them
this be said it was the r1ies OF his house; that
ne twitness) was a gentleman, no doubt, but il
he served him he must serve others, and II
wouid lnJuTe his business. witness considered
mat he had right to be served anywhere he
sat down, he had been served there many
times betOre-the last time while Congress was
sitting here, and since last January he had
been served there both by himself ana with
otheIs-One man he remembered was Mr.. Stick
ney.
Ir. Langston testified that he went there with
DIR. PurEis; went into the back part of the sa-
loon; found Nr. Murtsgh there; took seats at
the table by themselves; when the doctor gave
his order gentleman stepped up and said
these seats are engaged" witness said "Sir,
don't know what you mean" he said looking Al
us al mean that 1 won't serve vOu;'' wftiIess
said doctor, " hat shall We do about this;' the
doctor said 81 will 90 and see Mr.. Harvey" Re
went to Mr.. Harvey's private Office, snt this
same gentleman followed him; presently DR.
Puryis returned, and they lett the saloon;
everything was very quietly done; no words
were used on either side; witness had bean
served formerly at that same table
Cross eHamined:-Wben the doctor asked him
10 90 70 HaTyey's, witness remarked TO him, ais
II all right theTe?" the doctor replied that he
there.
Ar. MFRS, special officer employed at the
house testified that these two gentlemen came
INTO The house about the time of the regular
dinner hour, when their regular customers
game 10 to dinner; thev took seats. a1ri vi~rs,-
told them that the seats were engaged. one of
them asked him what that meant. he rsuIied
that lie could not serve them at that table, A.
the seats were engaged at that hour. one OF
them remarked that IL they could not be served
there they would not be served at all. Witness
frequently lad occasion 70 ask gentlemen 20
take different seats from the ones they some
TINES take on account of their regular custom
els. v hen they appealed TO Dir. Harvey ne
told the N tnat the ICON as under control OF
Mr.. Holden and witness, and whatever they
told him was right. They have many custom.
srs who hold Communication tickets, aud these
seats are generally occupied by them at dinner
hours. Witness told them the seats were en-
gagged for their regular customers.
george BiGss testified that be was present AMI
beard the CONVEX atlou which took place. Dr..
Purvls vent 10 Mr.. Harvey and SAID be and Lls
fTIend had come down 20 get lunch, and it al
peaIed they could not be seTvcI Mr. HgrTev
replied that Mir. Holden and MT. Myers had
charge OF that room, and what they did was
right. My. Myers sa't they c1uId be served.
but lot at that table. Dr. PEFYl5 remarked
that If they could not be served at that fable
they would not be served Al 81.
Mr. J. Il. G0}eia testified to seeing DR.. Pa1yis
IN The saloon; witness vas doing some bGe.4pss
with Mr.. Harvey. DR.. Puryis came up aud
lunch, and could not 10 served. Nj. Hare.
SAID What Mr.. Myers and Mr. Holden Gif wa
oil right. BE. PUTvis turning 10 Ajr. Nvs~..
q marked, Then am 70 CE1eTstaH. thar we
cannot be SFrVeuY' Mr.. Myers TFUlieJ. .sl-g.
can lie served. bUt lot IT hat table" Or. Par-
Wis replied, "JheH We won't he served at gt.. "
Cross EaUured;-VE Dr.. PUrYfs com
piaIreC 70 HT. Harvey, be remarked that what
ever hr. Holden and Mr.. Myers told him was
81 rIEEt; Mr.. Harvey dIG lot say that K would
mi ure his business b. serving them.
-EF. Golden, TeCallsd.--Mr. Harvey q q not saS
that It's business would be injured b, serving
them, but only that the room was under con-
troll Of Nj. Holden and Mr. Myers, AMI what
ever they did was right.
REMARKS BY NR. MERaICE FOE TIE DEFENCE.
The testimony closed here, and Mr.. Merrick
said he had never given tie law his eXamira.
ton. He read the warrant and iufOTmslioH
end said he did not propose to raise any point as
10 the obligatory nature of the law, but he sub
United that IT had not been shown in the tg.
tlmCny that these gentlemen had refused to
accommodate compliments. All OF the Wit
neSses fCT the defence had agreed that during
the cOnversat en- between DIR. PUrYis, Mr.. HaT-
Fty anu MI myers, no rel u-hl A6A Deeu made
20 serve them. None who had given testimony
except Or. PUTyis had testified that there was
any refusal 10 serve them, and even he had 20
acknOWls ledge that there was an ofier made by
Mr.. Myers to serve them in other seats and ID
some other part of the house, but that they re-
fused TO be served unless at that particular
table. Now, had Puryis accepted this offer the
duty would have devOived upon Myers to have
pointed out which table be could he served a.
but instead OF this PUry.s said mo, II cant
be served at that table III not be served all"
u was perfectly apparent that this man Plry.s
was not seeking lunch so much aS q case OF
litigation and 10 create animOsity.
Mr.. BfRNET FOE TBR pE1sECUTION
here read the act under which the case was
brought against defendants, and cOntended that
the evidence fully supported the information
ana warrant. An absolute refusal had been
made and the pretenCe that the thirty or forty
seats were ergs ged was trGnped Up 10 meet the
case. There was only one seat OCCnpied-taat
occupied by Murtagh; certainly ii any one had
a night To be served there DR.. PaTvis had, As he
lad been regular customer at this establish
neHL 80 good reason had been offered WHY
theE could not be served a. tEIs table, only the
one stated by DR.. Purvls as that given by Mr..
Harvey that Il would iIjGre his business. AIr.
Myers seemed to want a PTeteXttO move these
gentlemen from their seats.
FINR or SlC0 AID An APPEAL.
i he court said he had been called upon 70
act upon this Law before. When requested TO