Mississippi leader. (Jackson, Miss.) 1892-1895, 1895-02-19

Salu TO your COZ
WIN. L. STRONG. respondent, "It
was great stretch Of my conscience to
vote for the Prohibition candidate, for
I considered the election Of Strong
great possibility and blow at the
liquor interests.
But the leading liquor men voted and
worked for Strong, and they claim that
without the liquor vote he never could
have been elected.
Well, committee of liquor sellers
called on the mayor. He at once came
down from his throne and slapped
them familiarly on the back and said,
''Boys, decide what you want, and I will
try to get it for you" But I will quote
him from the papers, both Republican
and Democrat; then my old party read
ers will believe it:
From the New York world.]
| Mayor Strong favors the opening of saloons
on Sunday afternoons under certain restric-
tions. This is, in effect, what he told the COM
mittee of the Liquor Dealers Central associa-
ton yesterday:
~ would suggest" said the mayor, "that
your association agree on plan to test this
matter of Sunday opening. Suppose you agree
to law allowing you to open at or 2 p. m.
on Sunday and keep open until ii p. m, and
every one of you agree to do no business what
ever outside of those hours. That will test
public opinion. We must try the matter some
way. only suggest this to you, boys. but you
can help me out by trying this PLAN"
1--WE are as anxious as you are to get good
| excise board" said Mr.. Tekulsky, "but all we
ask is the appointment of honest and just
men,"
The mayor then looked up suddenly and
asked, "By the way, boys, do you keep open
Sundays?"
The members of the committee looked at
Mr.. Tekulsky replied, "There may be one or
two of us, Mr.. Mayor, who can honestly say
that we have not ordered our places kept
closed on Sunday"
"Never mind, gentlemen, that may be del.
icate point to touch on said Colonel Strong.
"The fact is you are representing business
that is just as legitimate as any other, and you
should be protected in your rights, which are
well defined by law. You have it in your own
hands to help me in an effort to secure a fair
and just regulation of your business. The
point, then, which aiming at is the
proper regulation of the business in which you
are engaged. Where laws exist they should be
enforced IL they are not proper laws, they
should be annulled. will say for myself that
am in favor of the Dow law, which is in force
in Ohio
"That law has been greatly overrated," said
Mr.. Tekulsky. "Any law will work well that
will deal justly with the trade. If all the
members of our association should close their
places on Sunday, other dealers outside the as
ISOLATION would benefit by securing the bust
ness. We tried the experiment in Mayor Hew-
tits time, and the result bore out what say"
clraI tba xxyIo1 Ia G1n.
day arrests could not be stopped.
"Until the police began to make arrests for
Sunday selling not a dollar was paid in black
mail by liquor dealer" said Mr.. Tekulsky.
"When Murray was made superintendent of
police, the number Of excise arrests jumped
from 1900 to 1000 q year, and Murray was
presented by the Crosby society with set Of
engrossed resolutions praising the good work
he was doing"
"Didn't the arrests do any good?" asked the
mayor.
"On the contrary, they corrupted the police
force"
Mr.. Hirsch again brought up the question of
stopping Sunday arrests, but the mayor ig-
nored the point. "You must understand
boys" he said, "that we've got to have lot
OF help from you in getting freer excise regu-
lations. ! realize that it will be pretty hard
to pass a law that will say you may sell beer
but you mustn't sell whisky. The fewer IS
better it will be for you. expect to appoint
strong. able men as excise commissioners-men
who are capable of formulating an excise bill,
high toned men, broad minded and intellectual.
three such men as you will have no difficulty
in dealing with
PERSONALLY should like to see the saloons
closed on Sunday" went on the mayor, 'sbut
realize that / alone am not to be considered
that others have rights. You would better get
together and agree upon some policy, some
g.. ~
Sundays-for instance sales between 2 p. m.
and II p. m"
A Tammany mayor never made such
concessions to the liquor dealers Mayor
Strong would do away with the Sunday
closing law in order to stop making
criminals of the saloon keepers
Why would this not work equally
well with the thieves? There are a lot
OF this class in the city, and their con-
slant stealing makes them criminals in
the sight of the law. Now, Mayor
Strong's plan of doing away with the
law would stop making criminals. Why
didn't some Tammany boss think Of
that before now?
III reply TO committee OF ministers
and other reformers who called on the
mayor he said:
The excise law as it stands now is the cause
of all the criminality in New York The law
Is dead letter and has created more crini.
nails and melted more crime than anything
else. propose to get the liquor people on q
footing which will be pleasant for us all
Now, doubt If you are more devout on Sun-
day than lam. Twill try to have the law TAX
en- off the statute books, which win arrange all
this satisfactorily. ! win do the best car to
stop the creating of criminals
wonder if there is any connection
between that statement and this one,
made by Chauncey NJ. Depew in am in
terview with the Commercial Adyer.
tiser ON Nov. 10 last:
The excise law should be so amended AZ 70
remove the liquor question from politics. n
this is done. we shall win back the German
vote and return New York permanently to the
Rx.x.x.l f.ssf,s