Waterbury Democrat., 1901-03-27
CoLoRED PEOPLES RIGHTS.
Interesting Hearing on Bill Now Be
 fore the Legislature

Interesting Hearing on Bill Now Be
 fore the Legislature.
 Hartford. March 27.-There was large attendance of colored people of both sexes in the supreme court cham Der at the Capitol yesterday afternoon at the hearing of the so-called civii rights bill. The bill provides q fine of Sl00 to $500 for any discrimination made against colored people ill res taurants, hotels, eating houses, bath houses. saloons, barber shops, theaters, music halls. pool and billiard rooms, public conveyances, both on land and water, and all other places of public amusement. The fine is to go to the person aggrieved under the process or civil action, and there shall also be q conviction for misdemeaflor with fine of $50 to $500 or Imprisonment for thirty to sixty days, or both fine and Imprisonment. ,
 J. B. Peaker of New Haven intro duced the subject and said that the present law provides for a criminal prosecution. There had been some prosecutions under the law which had failed and the colored people now asked that the bill be passed which au- thorizes civil prosecution as we'll as a criminal suit. There have been cases in Waterbury. recently. and in Hart Loid. Nuele CoAoleu peISOuS were ue- prived of hotel and restaurant priv ileges. Prosecuting officers had said that the present law was not broad enough. He thought the bill neces- sary to make the present law effec- tive. to place it on the same level with the laws of the United States and other New England states. He thought that violations of the law in Connecticut induced violations of the law in other states.
 Walter Scott Miller. q colored law yer of New Haven, said that the pres sent statute which applied to the case had never been enforced. It has been called ineffective. He regretted thar the hue of his skin and the character of h;s hair made it appear that he was personally interested in the mat ter He appealed for all persons, ir- respective of color or nationality.
 In New Haven there are three sec ond class hotels that refuse to receive people of color. The Fiske Jubilee Singers had been refused accommoda- tiOns at one of those hotels and they could not afford to pay the rates at the New Haven house, where they were not refused. In New Haven q son of Frederick Douglass had been refused admission to the Tontine hotel. In Hartford a colored man had been re- fused admission to pool room. There is no redress under the present law; any fine imposed goes into the treasury of the state. Mir Miller made an earn est plea for equal rights for colored people and said that if such were granted it would have a good effect in other states.
 In reply to the committee, Mir Miller said that the proposed law was very similar to the one in New York state, although he wasn't sure about the pen alty. AS to the specific amount of damages, he thought the general as sembly might regulate the amount, but wasn't particular as to that.
 Chairman kenealy Suggested the case of suit in Illinois where a cor- ored man had been refused drink of soda water. It was held that the busi- ness was q private one, not a public one where franchise had been grant eu by the state and therefore the drug man could refuse soda water to any body.
 J. W. Stewart of New Haven apolo-