Perth Amboy evening news., 1906-09-11
UNDER
BISHOPS BAN
Jersey City Men Can't Even Sell
Soft Drinks on Sunday Were
Promptly Arrested.

oeVeral members of the Hudson
County Liquor Dealers Association
who decided at last weeks meeting
OF the organization to open their sa'
looms in Jersey City on Sunday anC
sell soft drinks over the bar, tried
the experiment last Sunday anc
dumped hard against Chief of Police
Benjamin Murphy.
The chief has been sitting on the
lid since the bishops excise act went
into effect in July and Jersey CitJ
has been the dryest spot in the state
on Sundays. He says he believes the
police should make a genuine effort
to earn their salaries by enforcing
the laws as they find them and the
city has gone dry regularly once a
week.
The saloon keepers have been hop
ing against hope that the chief would
let up "A little in his police activities,
and when he showed no disposition
to forget to issue his weekly Sunday
closing order some of the captains of
| the liquor industry concluded to defy
his authority and open up anyhow
for the sale of soft drinks.
Druggists and confectioners sell
soda water and such stuff on Sun
days" they said, ''and why shouldn't
WEI"
If you do said Murphy, you'll
be summarily arrested"
Some of the captains declared that
the chief was just bluffing and made
preparations for a brisk but melan-
choly soft drink day by draping their
back bars with black muslin to cover
up the glasses and bottles of hard
liquor.
About the morning church hour
last Sunday Bernard Foley, one of
the best known members of the as
sociation, started to do business in
his saloon, at Second and Grove
streets. Among his earliest custo-
mers was Policeman Harry Fox. The
cop drank something soft with a wry
face and then told Foley he was a
prisoner.
Foley was taken to the Seventh
street police station charged with do
ing business on Sunday. He was re-
leased in $500 bail and returned to
his saloon determined to sell soft
drinks on Sunday. Fox paid for an
other drink and gave Foley a second
walk to the station.
In the meantime Chief Murphy
had been doing a lot of thinking, and
Foley was somewhat Jared by the
announcement of the desk sergeant
that he was charged by his second
arrest with keeping a disorderly
house under a section of the new ex-
else law which a y that a saloon
keeper who ''shall suffer the law to
be violated in his saloon shall be
guilty Of keeping a disorderly house"
Foley was admitted to bail in the
sum of $1,000 for appearance in the
First Criminal court this morning.
He declared that he had all he want
ed for one Sabbath and shut up shop
for the rest OF the day.
u Hugh Meehan, another member of
the association, was arrested during
the morning for traficking in soft
..driHfls in his''muslin draped barroom
Fat Washington and Sussex streets.
He also was charged with keeping a
disorderly house and was released on
bail.
Meehan has been arrested four
times for violations of the excise law
Since August 26. He was arrested
that day for selling on Sunday, on
August 81 for failing to expose the
interior of his saloon to view on Sun
day and on August 81 for having a
back room in his saloon.
AS soon as the other saloon keep
ers who expected to start selling soda
and sass learned what had happen
ed to Foley and Meehan they aband-
oned their plans for the day.