New-York tribune., 1901-12-13
HR. PHTLBIN'S PLAN.


District Attorney Philbns views the per-
picking Sunday opening question are worthy OF
careful consideration. They are significant not
only because of Mr.. Philbin's official position
and personal experience as leader in charl-
table work, but also because he is prominent
lavman in the Roman Catholic Church, close
friend of Archbishop Corrigan. and may not
unreasonably be thought to reflect the tendency
of opinion in that body, which of recent years
has been increasingly attentive to the evils Of
intemperance If now its clergy believe that gen
eral legal Sunday opening would tend to foster
drunkenness more than the anomalous and
Illogical compromises between law and liberty
which have prevailed under existing statutes,
and feel that social and climatic conditions
here make dangerous the drinking customs they
approve in the countries of Europe, that fact is
a feature of the situation not TO be ignored.
How far Mr. Philbin is right in his opinion
that there is no great demand on the part of
workingmen for liquor Sunday it is difficult
to tell 1t is probably not as great as some be-
lieve and doubtless not nearly as great as the
outcry of those who do want Sunday liquor
would seem to indicate in case the law were
rigidlv enforced. Nevertheless. there is a con-
siderable number of good citizens who want
their beer on Sunday, and larger number who
believe that they have right TO have 1t; and
vast majority of persons who consider the sub
iect at all apparently feel-whether they want
Sunday opening or not-that, with public opin-
ion what it is. absolute closure is likely to do
more harm than good They may be right or
wrong about it. but they certainly feel that
way; hence the present agitation for change in
the excise law. There is some truth in Mr.
Philhin's declaration:
The temptation to go into a saloon under the
present system where the law is violated by
means of the side door is far less than if the
community by an amen dment to the law prac-
tically declared that such places might be
visited freely and without hesitation upon the
Sabbath Many young man VINO had been
faithfully and soberly attending to his duties
during the week and had his time constantly
occupied, would be strongly tempted Sunday,
when there nothing to seriously engage his
attention, TO have recourse to the saloon, where
as under the present circumstances he has that
amount of self-respect which makes him re-
luctant to be seen coming out Of the side door
on Sunday
On the other hand the tolerated side door is
an insidious education in lawlessness. 4 proper
police administration may prevent it from be-
| ing an instrument of official corruption and ex-
tortiou, but nothing make it other than
| an example to those who would ignore laws
they do not like. 1t may be necessary to tolerate
the evil as an alternative to greater evils, but
! 1t is an evil nevertheless. Therefore Mr.. Phil
| bins suggestion Of n legal way of meeting
| whatever real need of liquor on Sunday there
may be, without issuing a general official invi-
! tation TO Sunday drinking, is especially inter-
esting He thinks that a board, consisting of
| the Mayor and his cabinet" might issue per-
mits for Sunday selling in their discretion 10
places for which there was a neighborhood de-
mand provided those places maintained a re-
| spectacle standard, which he would measure by
the test that they would be places where a
man could take his wife or his daughters with
perfect proprety."
Such a plan. Of course, would repose on the
Mayor and his advisers a great responsibility.
| They could doubtless be trusted TO exercise wise
discretion and grant permits only to the places
which would quietly and decently meet the
legitimate demand for liquors and not invite
carousing. 1t is generally agreed that theRaines
| law hotel which was meant 10 meet this de-