The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1894-12-04

be enforced, and that 70 throws open the
door to the most fruitful source Of police
oppression and blsckmail. h number
of excise arrests in a year mounts to
about 5000, and the number OF excise con
v~ictions in the same period to about fifty.
Under these circumstances Il is plain that
the Excise law is brought to ridicule, that the
isolated prosecutions are oppressive, and that
the liquor element, - called, is forced neces-
sariiy into politics FOR its W protection,
which no commercial interest ought to be.
How are these evils conceded to I've rene
died That Is the weak point in the po-
sition of Sunday selling reformers. They
Seem to believe that II the hour wherein
liquor selling Is lawful were to I've heightened,
as they propose, a reform, to which they say
Mr.. STRONG, the Mayor elect, is committed,
would I've wrought magically.
Who is to bring about the change 1t is
not seriously supposed by any one that n
Republican Legislature, recruited very
largely from the interior counties of the
state, will acquiesce in the proposed amend
nient to the Excise law permitting Sunday
selling. The eminent Of all the interior
counties and the past record OF the Repuh-
lican party in the state Is lead against any
thing Of the sort. Ever since HoRATIo SEY-
MoUR, az Governor, vetoed the radical eN.
cise regulations adopted Ivy a Republican
Legislature. such petitions have been sub
mitted every year without visible result. Ii
is not to I've supposed. and 1t is in fact not sup
posed, that the new Republican Legislature
will hearken to the demands of the reformers.
So they have proposed hat Mr.. STRONG,
when he becomes Mayor, shall take upon
himself the responsibility Of suspending the
enforcement of the Excise law in New York
city by tacitly permitting the opening for
business Of all the aloons during the hours
named by the reformers.
1t would I've a serious responsibility. and
while the motive debating it might be praise
worthy, IL would none the less be n plain
violation of the Mayors oath Of Office. for
which he would I've liable to prosecution. The
duty Of the Mayor is not to make laws, but
to enforce them. He has no legal right
whatever to suspend their operation. He
cannot authorize or permit any violation OF
without violating the law himself. and
not many days would elapSe. no doubt. he
fore the Good Government Club reformers,
the Legal Enforcement Society. and the
various temperance organizations in the city.
would combine to inquire why the Mayor
Of New York should thus set himself up AS
the abettor OF law breakers. To this aues-
ton there could be no satisfactory answer.
The proposed evasion OF law by the Mayor
would be no solution of the liquor question.
1t would be merely an extension OF the ex-
isting evil, making a law breaker OF the
and OF such Commissioners appointed
by him as should assent to his plan.
In this controversy one idea appears to lie
predominant to the notice OF every one but
he reformers, They speak of the rights
Df the liquor dealers and they talk of the
= liquor vote Mayor SCHIEREN of Brook
yn is quoted as saying that only two per
'ent. Of the liquor dealers support the Re
ticket, and the inference appears
be that they are chiefly to I've considered
n the matter. But excise laws are not de
'ised for liquor dealers. There are 900
liquor dealers in New York city. There are,
probably, 100000 beer or liquor thinkers in
New York city. Any scheme ignoring the
OF the latter for the pecuniary
,enefit OF the former must of necessity he a
and the proposed extension of the
hours of selling is, in the judgment of
hose best qualified to decide. impracticable,
md would aggravate the existing evils with
mt remedying the abuses that are appar-
ntly inseparable from the business.