The daily morning journal and courier. [volume] (New Haven, Conn.) 1894-1907, 1895-03-27
TEMPERANCE DAY AGAIN.
DOINGS OF THE LEGISLATURE YES
TERDAY.

Large Audience Present-Bills AcUed
Upon-Bills de Town Management OF
Public schOo,s-Opposed by Judge HOtch-
kiss-other Matters of Interest
Hartford, March 26.-The committee
on temperance gave another hearing ir
the hall Of the house this afternoon
The attendance was considerably
smaller than at the hearing several
days ago, but the house was more than
half filed.
The first speaker was Judge Joseph
L. Barbour of Hartford. He spoke in
part as follows: For upwards of TWEEN
ty years the general features of the
license law have remained unchanged
This law recognizes the idea of local
option and makes void any license
granted in town which is not in ac-
cord with the license vote. 1t holds
all mixed liquors, of which part
are spirituous-ale, wine and beer-and
all fermented cider drank on the prem
ises-to be intoxicating liquors. On a
second conviction an Imprisonment is
required and it gives no option to the
court, 1t prohibits the sale of liquor to
minor and an habitual drunkard
and provides for closing saloons on
election day; it prevents a sale to
husband when the wife has forbidden
it; it provides a bond for the liquor
dealer; provides that all applications
for licenses shall be in writing and
the petitions must be signed by five per-
sons; also provides a hearing when OBJ
lection is made and an appeal from
the commissioners to the superior court.
This, in part is the present law.
After trying it fifteen years, the people
of the state were SO well pleased with
1t that when a constitutional amend
ment was proposed preventing the sale
of liquors, majority of 10000 voted
against it. The law has been well en-
forced and it is more easy to convict
a dealer to-day than ten years ago
and rs per cent. of the convictions are
upon the testimony of spoilers, testi-
mony formerly very unpopular. The
wise course in case you have officials
who do not execute the law, is to
change the officials and not change the
law.
ALL mere ulluGl d IGldlIlGI as COllIl-
sci for the Connecticut Liquor Dealers
association. I cannot appear here for
nothing. I am here as an attorney
representing men engaged in a lawful
business,-aJ business made legal by the
general assembly-men who pay large
sums of money into the state treas
ury.
Senate bill 1870 provides that four
endorsers, on an application for a license
must be of the majority of the persons
owning every piece of property adjoin
ing the site where the license is to be
given. Any person owning property
touching the property by a foot could
prevent the granting of a license, or
he could levy blackmail for the use of
his name.
Another bill provides that no license
shall be granted to a person convicted
of any crime within five years. If that
bill becomes a law, woe be to the liquor
seller who fails to cut off his crop of
Canada thistles. Oaughter). For un-
der that law, if convicted, he could not
be granted a license.
Now concerning the bill concerning
the secret ballot law We object to
the provision that If two ballots are
placed in an envelope both shall be
rejected. This is not according to the
general election law. The bill provides
also against an indorser who is not
a taxpayer. This was formerly the law,
but was repealed as Objectionable.
Another provision is that no saloon
shall be licensed within 400 feet of a
library, or of a church, or school, and
1t is Objectionable; 200 feet is sufficient
Many dealers have expended large sums
In fitting up saloons and leased them
for long terms of years Those ques-
tons Should be placed within the juris-
diction of the commissioners. There
would be danger Of injustice from
rigid rule.
THE peculiar bill-the ward and dis
Lrict bill-is practically a new license |
aw, It is complicated, cumbersome, il |
logical, and often absurd. 1T provides |
FOR licensing by degrees, and on a pc |
-ftion Of twenty-five citizens, vote |
could be taken not only for town con-
.rol, but on ward or district license. |
The whole system of voting is comp1i- |
lated and mixed up, requiring particu-
ar marks on the ballot.
I'm many wards the boundary lines
between the wards runs in the middle
If the street. No very practical benefit
% temperance would be gained by pro-
7iding for legal licenses on one side of
he street and Illegal on the opposite
side of the street. 1t would also pro-
ride that a residence district could vote
against licenses in a ward, a portion of |
which was thickly business quarter
This would cut off in this city a portion
If Asylum street, and including the
Hotel Heublein and Allyn house. The
afe thing in this matter is to leave it
within the discretion of the commits
ion, feeling safe in the assurance that
n the commission and the superior
curt no licenses would be given in
he residential portion.
1.-THE most absurd thing, about this bill
5 that the voters of a town may vote in
avor of license and yet such issuing
nay be prohibited in any district or
yard voting no. Such a provision is
bsurd and impracticable. A vote by
he town is preferred to such a mon
frosty as proposed.
"The bill takes away the rulings of
and gives II to the courts
rovides for town commissioners; pro-
ides four kinds of licenses, and pre- 6
crbes that licenses shall be taken out |