The evening times. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1895-1902, 1900-01-29
OPEN SALOONS ON SUNDAY.
The SnIe OF Beer and soft Drinks
Favored ny DIR. ParkhUrst.

. i
Favored ny DIR. PRrkhurzt.
NEW YORK. Jan. 2s.-Rev. DR.. Charles
II. Parkhurst advocates the opening Of tho
saloons for the purposes OF selling beer ami
soft drinks" during certain hours on Sur
day. He thinks this would improve the
morals OF the public, inculcste respect FOR
the law. take from the police a source Ct
revenue and a fount Of their iniquity. ana
ally powerful voting clements against Tam
many Hall.
These are three reasons why I feel like
advocating the opening OF the saloons on
Sunday" says DR.. Parkhurst 1t is proper
10 remark that this IS no sudden conviction
that ! have arrived at, but comes from
very careful looking over the ground and
from some experiences Of the difficulties
and perple1itiss involved in the situation.
There are three purposes that W. I'D, in
my Judgment, be subserved by allowing the
saloons to keep open certain hours on sun
day. do not care 20 specify az this time
what part OF the sunday should be used Cor
this puTpOse-fOr the sale Of beer and soft
drinks.
In the first place. a LITTLE law. an i'm
.
an ideal law that 81 utterly ignored The
excise law is a case in point as every 0u5
understands
I'm tie second place, il would take out
% the market OF crime one OF those COM
mOditieg in which The police are At pres
ent dealing and frr-l which Tammany
Hall is deriving mucL Of IT'S revenue
In the third place IL would be dealing
in what ] consider would be a perfectly
square and honorable way with our
German fellow-citiZsns. who. by his
means. ] think, could be drawn into q solid
alliance with native-bOrn Americans and
Hebrews as against Tammany Hall.
of course. / am assuming here that
( such a statute IL enacted. would =, be
strictly enforced while l must admit that
I have very little confidence that any
statute OF that kind, o. Of almost any kind.
would be faithfully enforced by the exist
ing regime.
Il have the Germans more in mind than
others IN this suggestion. l do not think
that there is a moral principle involved. II
/ thought So l should, OF course. have
nothing 10 do with t. I feel that every
statute that stands upon our books OF law
and Is absolutely disTegarded. as are the
excise statutes is working among men OF
all classes a disregard and contempt FOR
law. Ii IS far finer and better thing TO
have respect for little law that is being
eltOTCeQ-al.u Nne enforcement Of law -
the only way TO procure respect for it
than il is 10 have a great deal Of law that
no one cares anything at all about, and
that the existing authorities do not enforce.
Now, there is a crusade going on up in
Harlem The attempts that Harlem is
making 20 purify Harlem interest me. Do
the Harlemites imagine they can clarity
Harlem without the Qualification CT the
city In toto? You cannot enforce respect
los Fnra Of he aFF vrrha
is not regarded in other portions. You
cannot have. for example malaria in one
precinct and escape from it merely by
stepping across the boundary line into
another precinct.
i should have little more respect for
the good people up there-and they are
good people-if ] saw them labOring for
the enforc ement of law up there. while at
the same zine bending their best efforts
toward ;hs displacement OF the present
administration by one that would enforce
law throughout the entire city.
Chat brings me back TO the bottom Of
the Whole business-hOw are we going 10
get rid Of Tammany Hall? When ! was
approached recently with regard to the
villa maniacal movements made by the
police on the East Side, | say that the
police and the administration itself we're
in sympathy with crime, and that as long
as there exists the scheme for getting
revenue out of vice there is no use in
making efforts 70 suppress vice.
zone great thought that l have had in
mind in making this suggestion about let
| ting the saloons keep open part Of Sunday
has been that it might ally with ourselves
the German element, which holds the bal
| ance Of power.
You can depend upon it, however. that
| Tammany Hall. and the representatives Of
Tammany in Albany. viii never encourage
the legal opening of the saloons on Sun
day In the first place, il would cut of
some Of their revenue. and, in the second
| place. it would destroy the likelihood of
! any alliance between Tammany and the
| Germans. On the same principle, Tam
many Hall would not advocate, but stTenu-
ously oppose. the licensing of disorderly
| houses, because it would cut into its rev
| enue. Tammany is in power simply for
| what there is in IL.
There has been a very great enlarge
ment of opinion on the saloon question
among all thinkers, except among the pro-
hibitionists in the last few years. ! am
| speaking. of course with reference to heer
! and soft drinks; and many who used TO