The New York herald. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1840-1920, 1876-05-22

The roaring excise farce, which was en-
acted in this city yesterday, with its opening
scene of a tricky policeman asking for drink
at the bar Of German lager beer saloon or
American groggery, its second scene with q
portly and indignant German OF swearing
Bowery bartender in police station, and its
closing scene in police court where the
culprit was gloriously discharged by JUS
tice Duffy" has its sad and suggestive sides.
The New York public has been dimly aware
for some months past, through random ar
rests of liquor men and saloon keepers, that
there was law somewhere against selling
intoxicating drink on Sunday. Up to. yes
terday the citizen desiring beer with his
dinner, morning cocktail or an afternoon
'sbourbon straight" found no difficulty or
danger in procuring his beverage A law,
however, explicitly declaring that he should
not get it is on the statute book, and yesterday
our Rip Van Wrinkles of the Police Depart
ment awoke to that fact from their sleep of six
years. There was something so galvanic, so
laundering and SO futile in the way they set
about remedying their own offence of omis-
sion that it makes citizen ashamed of his
rulers to think of it. We have above de-
scribed the manner in which the police Sc.
their spies to work, and which recalls
the final ''genteel' occupation of Noah
Claypole in 'Oliver Twist" who used
to faint on Sunday outside the doors
of charitable publicans, and on get
ting threepenny worth of brandy to bring
him to would lay an information next day
and pocket half the penalty. To cultivate a
breed Of sneaks and leave open q wide door
for corruption no better mode could be de-
vised than sending the police about such
mean business. This, however, would be
but small consideration if it led to an
enforcement Of what is the law. But it
does not The arrested bartenders and
saloon keepers have been let go as
soon as brought before police justice,
the majority without any bond and few
on nominal bail. We cannot believe for an
instant that with any attempt at an under
standing between the police and the Bench
as to what really constituted an offence
against the Excise law this wholesale farce
upon justice could have taken place,
making the police, and, what is worse, the
law, the laughing stock of those anxious to
defy both. Neither does it seem possible
that, if the police had properly notified the
saloon keepers that the criminal neglect Of
the department was at an end in
this respect, and that henceforth the law
would be rigidly enforced, even the police
men who tempted saloon keepers to break
the law would have found more than stray
victim. 1t must be admitted. however, that
the Excise law has been the football of local
politicians so long that even the worst
offender could scarcely believe that a threat
of enforcement wes intended to be carried
out.
| As the matter now stands we have the fol-
lowing deplorable state of affairs-About
five hundred mon have been arrested and let
go again, though charged with peniten-
tiary offence; the law and the police are
brought into contempt; deliberate offenders
are encouraged. When it is remembered
how easily the law, however obnoxious,
could have been enforced without this scan
dial, we must blame the police authorities as
the perpetrators of great blunder. We
have carefully avoided discussing the right
and the wrong Of the Sunday law, for much
is to be said on both sides, but about the
laundering display of spasmodsc police zeal
there can only be one opinion-that it is dis
graceful.