New-York tribune., 1891-03-06
FIGHTING AN EXCISE BILL.
ENEMIES OF THE LIoUOR-DEALERS' MEAS
IRE BEFORE AN ASSEMBLY, COMMITTEE.

| URE BEFORE AN ASSEMBLY, COMMITTEE"
| A SORRY DEMOCRATIC TRICK, BY WHICH AR6u-
MENTs ON BEHALF OF THE BILL WERE De
FERRED-vIGoRoUs SPEECHES BY THE
REV. DIR. ATTERBURY, FATHER
| wALwoRTH AND OTHERS.
,sY TELEGRAPH TO THE TkIBUSE.1
A,banv March 5-The liquor-dealers played an eA
tremev sharp and decidedly small trick, at lo heaiH
given on the this afternoon py inc SseHo'?
Excise Committee on the opponents Oh uie EAoiso o'
which was recently introduced in the AssehoN oS
Adam Schaaf, of Brooklyn. III was d sih"ii t''s =.
do but only goes TO show that the H4uorue'crs "i0
hound to get this vicious and sweeping Dill 'ious "
had heen announced by this paper the committee sa'c
notice last week that hearing on the Dill "ouu Dc i
| TODAY. and it was expected by the commitVee u''t
there would be presented testimony on po'" S'' Vi
| the onestlOn 1t not given out haV 'lo wan
,c,ttee woud hear only those who are oppoSeu u 'o
I'M -. that the friends Of the could at future
time answer the arguments advanced UooaS "' ie'S'
IN the satisfaction of the members Oh lhe coi''ec'
,.tout allowing their opponents an opportunity LOT
reply. a., .oou,u. nm tho rxciso
TN .odav the Assembly chamber was prct'y "en
crouded with men. Among those VINO were preSci'
n onnose this bill were John J. Chapman secretary ol
| ,ho Fxciss Reform Association OF New-forK' hooer'
(.raha
uia"o , T,nrerance Society," also Of NewYork; the
| nov mr. lanes Mcleod pastor OF the First Cohgre
rotiona Church of NcwYork; Father WalwOrh' oi o.
| Narvs Roman Catholic Church, Aloah! d. -'O
| HAYES and W. Harris Roome, OF the New olA nei "
CIuh and the Rev. DR.. Andrew H. Smith, OF 'he Onui|
T.mnerance Society OF New-iork. Those VINO were Il,
t~or Of the bill were Senator McCarren oil BrooASh
, ".o voCrtcbeon secretary OF the State Liquor
Doo,ors, Association: George Campbell OF SYRACUSE
| ,n,s,dont NJ the same association: Thomas r. oiue
| bottom Editor Of "The Innkeepers' journal "'N
| district Attorney Rdgway, OF BrooRyh' 1hoot' IT,
berg the Recorder OF Albany, represented Assembly, A
schaaf the ntroduccr Of the bill, on the esai q'0'
tons involved NJ, ., rosort nj
| All tbe members Of the committee were present Ut
.Ao horr named. but it was some time before the
| Domocrats coud agree on the amount OF ume 'ho!
wouId allow for the discussion OF the BILL "hen '''
learned that the opposition was rep'eseh''u ~ q.
mon they seemed shocked and began ihncu"''i! -
talk of other and important duties 10 pc'ioi"
,ba, listening 10 arguments against the Dill Al'e'
on Aiscusso, II was decided to allow the opponents
of the bill only one hour in which 10 put Ill dn '
| arguments. -. d., M
The first speaker against the bill was the heV' ~
.tierhury lie said that II he thought that there "eic
any serious prospects of passing the bill lhee "ou
be 1000 people here against 1t lnstcad ol hNic' !"
discussed mainly the section prOvldlhg that s"ioo'
may he kent open on Sundays. This, he salu' was Il
/ dpoOiuV~'
81 the STATE as that policy had been established ioi
ooT wears. Away back In the time Of the old Dutch
colonies measures had been taken against the sae VI
! intoxicating liquors Sunday. That pohcy e4i''ou
mn TO the time when Tweed was In power l"cc'
had bill introduced In the senate alO"ine 'c sd'o
| of beer on sunday. The measure passed 'ha' MUS
and went to the Assembly, where also 1t was passed
| hut in an amended FORM Before the bill could be
gotten through the Senate the second time the pcopi'
| of he State arose In ana 0eleatcu IT,
In answer to the arguments which are made In sup
port of the sunday opening" clause OF the bui at
the Sunday liquor law could not be enforced In New
York City, DR.. Atterbury referred to the three years
from 1867 to 1870 when the Metropolitan EXCISE la"
was in force he read from the report OF the Ponce
| Commissioners of that time. showing that The ia"
| was kept and strictly too. II was a financial ana
moral benefit TO the city OF New York: and the per
centage of arrests for drunkenness and disorder fell
| off some 25 per cent. Il represent tile rNgous
element added the speaker. and thousands of min
sters and thousands of churches are today appeal
| ing against the passage of this BILL
DR.. Atterbury followed by Mr.. RooJne. OF thc
| New-Yora City Reform Club, who took up the opposi
ton to the bill on legal grounds. The BILL he said was
| composed Of some old law and many new pro
| Visions and was dangerous and n vicious one. In
! furious to the community. The object Of these new
| provisions was not to put added restrictions around
tie sale Of liquor, but to break down. as largely a.
| AONh
up the ninth section of the bill. and showed clearly
that 1t was intended TO prevent any meetings of the
Excise Commissioners Of towns except for onc pur-
pose that Of granting applications for licenses. IT
was an absolute prevention of a meeting for other
purpose. Here is the provision of the bill. and ii
readily will be from it that Mr. Roome wa
right:
commissioners OF Excise in a town shall suci
town on the first Monday May in each year for th'
purpose receiving considering and in proper cases
granting applications licenses. They shall meet a
no other time Board oil Excise except for acting upoI
| applications for license made in good faith.
| 1t will, OF course, be plain T. all who read th
| section that after a man had obtained license unde
this bill as law, the Board Of Excise could not NEE
| TO take the license away from him, matter wha
he might have done.
In the thirteenth section the speaker found another
serious objection to the bill This section makes pro
| visions for granting license Of new kind, whicl
| Mr. Roome called eating house license Undc
the bill he added, saloon with few cooking utcnsil
in IL could obtain OF these licenses. lie picke'
| another bad flaw In the bill, In the provision allowing
| hotels to sell liquor on Election Day. Mr.. ROOm
| turned his attention next to Section es. The cntir
force of this section Is to relieve the excise boards
the responsibility Of granting licenses 70 of to-
bad regulations. Under it, the speaker explained, al
the board would have TO do would bc to refuse, arb
trarily to grant license 10 an applicant, who cOul
then 90 into a Of record and after establishing
the fact Of arbitrary REFUSAL compel the court
, | give him license
Then the speaker touched the limitation of tn
arc OF those to whom liquor can be sold under thi
| hill II a parent or employer should send child
no matter how young, into saloon for liquor, unde
this hill the proprietor could sell the stuff to tina
child
, senator McCarren broke in. Strangel.
enough, he the only one Of thos
VIM arc in favor of the bill who would show his hand
He made a long speech in which he favored the open
ing Of saloons sunday and said he thought that t
THE BEST