Morning journal and courier., 1886-09-22
CONGREGATIONAL CLUB.
Prohibition and the License Law Discussed Yesterday From Different StandpOfntg.

Discussed Yesterday From Different
 Standpofnts.
 A meeting of the Connecticut Congrega. tional club was held in the Park church chapel, Hartford, yesterday morning. The meeting was called to order at 10:30 o'clock by Rev. Burdett Hart, of New Haven, who occupied the chair. The following were elected members of the club: Rev. Aaron c. Adams of Wethersfeld, Edwin H. Butler of Kensington, Allison N. Clark of Plainville, E. A. Farnham of South Windsor, Mrs Anne A. Hart of Kensington, John 0. Par sons of Hartford, Rev. Silas W. Robbins of Manchester and Edward c. Root of Thomas ton. The first of the papers on temperance legislation was read by Rev. Dr. Leonard W.
 Bacon, of Norwich. Among other things he
 said: This prohibition law is mischievous one, advocated under false claims and mis- representations. One of the first steps in dealing with it is to expose the manner of
 the clap trap policy. Here the speaker ex- plained in strong manner the various laws
 pertaining to the sale of liquors. Speaking further, he said that the law which makes a
 man sell liquor is the prohibition law ,and the law which takes 6 man and says, at 8 certain time, you must not sell liquor, is the license law. What sober citizens wish to know about this prohibition law is, what is it in the long run? In no State but Maine can it be seen how it does run. As general thing after the opening success it stops, and in numer- ous instances the same people who passed the law have repealed it.
 OPERATION OF THE MAINE LAW.
 In speaking about the Maine law, Dr. Ba- con said that about four years ago he spent an hour at the liquor agency in the city of Portland. He saw the people file in with their bottles to have them filled with their favorite fluid. All varieties of people came and in only one instance did he see anyone refused. An elderly gentleman, who looked as thoug h he might be @ member of the board of foreign missions then in session there Qaughter), and complaining of cramps, asked for brandy. He had no bottle or glass, and when he asked for one he was refused. This was the prohibition law, for they could not give him any in glass. Dr. Bacon asked one of the men behind the bar how the young men spent their evenings and was answered that they went to oyster saloons where they could get beer and cider. On expressing his sur prise that such things were sold, he was in- formed that places were not raided unless they sold hard stuff. In the opinion of one less drinking but more drunkenness under the prohibition law. Another observer had told Dr. Bacon that never in his life had he seen so much drunkenness ss in some of the cities of Maine, under the prohibition law.
 In the opinion of the speaker about the best method of obtaining the temperance law is to make it a crime for a man to tempt another to sell liquor by offering him money for it. Instead of dealing with vice by pun ishing the accessory ,and telling the principal go free, begin with the principal. the drunk ard and punish him, increasing the punish ment as he increases his crime.
 TEMPERANCE IN CONNECTICUT.
 Rev. E. B. Hilliard, of Holyoke, was then called. He said that with the numerous theoretical cranks on the subject of prohibi- tion it was almost useless to agree on it and tion in Connecticut and what to do with it." He exhibited chart, showing by years since the time in 1854, when the prohibition law was passed, until the year 1879, when the license law was passed, and from that time to the present under the license law, the re- lative commitments for drunkenness to those for other crimes. Under the prohibition law the number of commitments was small both for drunkenness and other crimes until the last year or SO of the time, and this increase was due to the fact that the law was enforced by private oatizens, who, when they saw what peril they had placed themselves in by fighting the liquor ;raffic became tired of it. From 1870 to 1885 the commitmentsJ for drunkenness in- creased one hundred and eighty per cent. The legislature repealed the prohibitory law md passed the license law, and since that ;ime the commitments for drunkenness and other crimes have rapidly increased. They ,ave increased 150 per cent. since the license aw has been in force. and yet some say that community is better under the license law. The commitments increased six times as ast as the population. Of the arrests made in this city during he past year, according to he report of the chief of police, 3, ,121 were for drunkenness. Last April there were 8, 3,0O6 retail saloon keepers and 143 places in the State from whom evenue was collected. The whole secret of he license law is that it Is impraoticabls, ]