Waterbury evening Democrat., 1888-02-01
WATERBURY A MODEL CITY.
LICENSE LAWS BETTER OBSERVED
 HERE THAN ELSEWHERE.

LICENSE LAWS BETTER OBSERVED
 HERE THAN ELSEWHERE. And This in the Face of 30 Less Violations
 This Year Than in I886-Her Police Force
 ANo I-chief Egan's interesting Report.
 The Board of Police Commissioners heard an interesting report in Chief of Police George NJ. Egan's annual statement of the affairs of the police department. It is con else and that portion relating to the license laws is especially worthy of perusal. Be- low is given summary:
 In referring to the addition of six men to the force in February, 1887, the Chief says that in the selections no mistake was made. He says they have proved to be faithful and efficient officers, among the very best on the force After reference to other changes and after calling attention to one vacancy on the regular force, and three on the supernumary force, he passes on to the condition of the department. He says the force in efficiency and discipline is com mendab1e, and to this he attributes the citys immunity from crime. The number of burglaries committed during the year was 26, and the amount stolen only about $150, and the perpetrators, with but three or four exceptions, have been arrest ed and punished The Chief defends the force against the public complaint that they are never around when they are want ed, and says that the amount of crime pre- vented by the police can never be known, nor is it possible to estimate it. The report calls attention to the necessity of better accommodations for prisoners and lodgers. It says that many times two prisoners have l to be placed in one cell and that the tramps 1 leave vermin and filth behind them. "A demand for new station house is impera- l tive" says the Chief, "and I trust you will impress upon the minds of the honorable l Court of Common Council the necessity for 1 immediate action in this matter, so that | when another winter comes around we will 1 be provided with separate quarters for | prisoners and tramps. The present ar rangement is disgrace to the city"
 1 During the year there were ], ,60S arrests, 21 more than in 1886. There were 122 vii
 olations of the license law 130 less than last year. Two hundred and sixty-four minors
 were arrested, 57 for intoxication, 34 for theft and 22 for burglary. Two hundred
 and ninety-fve offenders were taken to 1 jail, 16 in excess of the number last
 year. There were ,647 lodgers cared for.
 325 more than in 1886. The most impor-
 reference to the violations of the liquor
 law, and because it is of such importance
 it is given in full below:
 VIOLATIONS OF THE LICENSE LAWS.
 The most noticeable difference from last
 years report appears in the number of
 prosecutions brought for the violation of the license laws, the number for the pres
 ent year being less than one-half of those
 brought last year. To the casual observer this would seem to indicate that the license
 laws were not being violated to the same
 degree as last year, or that the police were
 negligent of their duty. It is true that the
 law has not been violated to the same ex-
 tent during the past year. About year
 ago many of the prominent liquor dealers
 organized for the purpose of suppressing
 the Sunday traffic ill liquor. Although the
 movement did not prove an entire success,
 nevertheless it accomplished much good
 Many of the men engaged in that move
 ment, who had previously been doing
 a Sunday business have not since
 then opened their saloons on Sunday for
 business. The County Commissioners
 have revoked the licenses of nine saloon
 keepers during the year for keeping their
 places open on Sunday. This had a salu-
 tory effect in expressing the Sunday busi,
 ness. The police have not been neglectfu]
 of their duty in the matter.
 On the contrary they have been
 unusually vigilant, the most efficient
 members on the force thereby gaining for themselves the approbrious epithet of sneak and spy. The saloon keepers who
 keep their places open on Sunday have
 taken every precaution to prevent their de- lection, many of them having men or boys l on the lookout to give the signal on the approach of policeman, thus making il r very difficult for the officer to procure suf- ficient evidence to warrant bringing the case into court. In nearly every instance Sunday business is carried on where sa l looms are located in dwelling houses and , access is had to them through a kitchen ol l other room of the dwelling, notwithstand- ing the fact that the law provides that "no license shall be granted for the sale of in , toxicating liquors in any building except 8 hotel, when said building is also used as g l tion of said building used as a dwelling to l the portion appropriated to the sale of in t toxicating liquors is effectually closed" The l law also provides that Eff any way ot 3 access from the other portions of said building to the portion used for the sale of such liquors shall be opened after said license is granted, such license shall
 thereupoA be revoked by the County Com
 missioners.s' understand that number
 of saloons have been complained of recently
 for the violation of this law, but l have
 
 has been revoked. Another significant fact in this connection is that the doors ) leading into this part sof such buildings occupied as dwellings are almost constantly r kept locked on Sunday, although on other s days they are never locked. Some saloon 9 keepers say they have to keep the doors 3 locked because there are so many who ge l to their houses for liquor on Sunday. By l that suppose, they wish us to believe } that before admitting the many people who t call on them on Sunday, they inquire oi l them their business and deny admittance 3 to all of those who are after liquor Ii this theory is true, of one thing we may be l certain. that no one calls on them fol a liquor on Sunday except those who happen l to call when policeman is close by, cer 8 tainly at no other time is admittance de- nied any one. t The total number of prosecutions Q22 ! for violation of the license law for the past l year, although so few in comparison witE l the number for the previous year, probably r exceeds those brought for the same offenses X in any city in the state. The number ot : these complaints (252) brought in this city in 1886 exceeded these According to the re