Waterbury Democrat., 1900-12-31
MANY BILLS BEING PREPARED
But Chief Among Them May Be the
 Temperance Question:

IeSlSldluIS VIII pS Chief among them will be the bills af- fecting the question of temperance. A Hartford Globe reporter, in dis cussing this matter with some of the leaders in the temperance movement in Hartford, and with others who are in close touch with the dOingS of the general assembly. learned that the tGm- perance advocates mean to make strong fight this session for the pas sage of some bills which have been de ftated ill the past and for others which advance new propositions in that direction.
 \ factor in the work will be the re- gently organized Church Federation of Hartford and that organization has be- fore it's committee on legislation 9 number of plans for hill; regulating the liquor business. The Rev II. II. Kelsey of the Fourth church. who is an active member of the Federation, said that just what form these meas ureS would take could only be told after the committee had reported on them to the Federation and this it was not yet ready to do. Furthermore he thought it would be the committees policy to keep it's intentions to itself until it was ready to act He thought that more radical legislation would be enacted concerning liquor selling at this session than at previous ones. This won be due. he said, because Of, E the more general realization of the fact that the business needed greater re- strictionS now than ever before.
 On the other hand several leading liquor dealers who were seen eX pressed the opinion that the business had had about all the 4e giSlAtion that it needed or could stand. They point h q HIT Ely-1 ,I,a by rules and regulations until it was almost impossible to transact business without stepping over the boundaries somewhere.
 But whatever may be the merits of the contention of either side the fact remains apparent that there are to be great number of temperance bills and large amount of energy brought to bear upon their passage. The chief move will be for higher license in Hartford anyway. One of it's strong est advocates will he the Rev Walter I. Shanley. rector of St JOSeDl'S ca thedral and president of the Connecti- cut Total Abstinence union. He is in favor of q high license law ill this state similar to the one in Massa chu- setts. which has driven saloons from residential sections and restricted the sale of liquor. He appeared before the legislature of 1898 with other clcl'- gymen of Hartford to urge the pas sage of such legislation. The bili which he favored placed the price at S1,50O and Judge ROraback of the su- preme court, who was a member of the general assembly at q previous session, had before it bill making the fec S1.000. It is probable that bills setting each of these fees will be Introduced this session.
 Father Shanley also advocates fricter measures regulating the sale )f liquors at drug stores. He holds fhat the intent of the law concerning the sale of liquor at drug stores is for medicinal purposes only, but he has found in the past that the good he ac- complished in closing some of the sa- looms in his parish had been nullified hy the sale of beer and liquor by drug stores. It is believed by the adVO cates of high license that if the pen alty for a conviction under it meant the loss of the license or a fine propOr tionately high there would he few vio lationS of the law. This does not seen to apply to Hartford just now. fOl Prosecuting Agent Andrew Gates tOl( a Globe reporter that there were at the present time fewer liquor law viola tionS than usual. The county commits Sioners. too. have followed a polio! of keeping the number of saloons with in q certain limit. never allowing then to exceed a designated number, Whicl has given general satisfaction.
 One radical liquor law which is pro posed for this session is one which vii provide for the forfeiture of q licens held by any person who may he con victed of any crime. no matter how trivial It is understood that the Hart fard representatives have been inter viewed in regard to this and their sup port requested.
 Another which is drafted and whicl is also being exhibited for suppor provides for the restriction of license per capita, only one license to be is sued to each thousand population o town. An amendment. too. provide for but one saloon to each T50 pOpul1 ; tion. If either of these should pass would put q large number of saloon q in Hartford out of business. Som .l other states have passed such laws a but at present there is no statute of til sort on Connecticut'S books.
 It is expected in some quarters tha
 the fight against the Law and Orde league and the attempt to annul ii
 charter which failed at the last SC!
 sion win be taken up again and wage with even greater determination, br
 WnpUnpF IIlS WILL ttNt1DlI oI hoI " s mains to be seen. At the time of tn
 raid on the picture machines in liar
 ford there was q great deal of talk
 that effect and it also came up ft
 considerable discussion at the time ( # th~-,poo1 raids at Charter Oak par
 wi ss->its naterialize. Since the
 thela ss-4nuch heard apo'
 it. Whether the old free lunch bill wi come up again or not is also questio E and it is exceedingly doubtful that will This made it's appearance at u (3s last session and provided a fine of Ss x for any liquor dealer who. should giN
 his customers anything to eat. TT s bill was finally laughed into inocuot Y desuetude, from which it had n emerged up to the latest report fro that vicinity.
 VI It is also said to be possible tn;
 Eame attempt will be madesto chans
 Hartfo-d charter in relation 10 anus
 ment licenses. but since the amusemel g committee retired to the same pla' a1.1