The evening star and Newark advertiser. [volume] (Newark, N.J.) 1907-1908, 1907-12-20
UP GOES LICENSE
BIG VICTORY FOR CHURCH
FOLKS IN BLOOMFIELD.
Ordinance Raising Fee from $500 to
$500 Passed, A to wholesalers
May Now Be Attacked.

In compliance with the demand OF the
church people of Bloomfield, the Council
of that town last night raised the retail
license fee for the sale of liquor from $500
to $500. II will go into effect next June,
when the present licenses expire.
The vote was to 2. Those who voted
in the affirmative were Counciimen Far
rand, Murray, Fredericks and Davis, the
latter having introduced the amendment,
and those who voted in the negative were
Councilmen Chabot and Unangst. both of
whom live in the Third Ward. There
are nineteen saloons In the town, and
eleven of them are located In the Third
Ward. where mechanics and manufactur-
ing interests predominant. Councilmen
Chabot and Unangst had been asked by a
large number of their constituents to vote
against the amendment raising the fee,
and they did SO.
The enange in front of Councilmen Far
rand and E'redericks was a big surprise,
and has caused much comment, as both
men were known to be against the raising
of the fee until Just before the meeting
last night. Had Mr.. Farrand voted in the
negative, Mr., FrederickS said he would
have followed suit.
1t is now said that an effort will be
made to raise the wholesale fee from $500
to $500.
w expect that Bloomfield will be n
saloonless town within a few years" said
a temperance enthusiast today, land the
only way to put them out of business Is
to keep on advancing the license fee. We
are not through yet by a long shot. This
is only a starter"
Those who urged the passage of the
amendment were Frank b. Stone, the Rev.
DR.. Jesse l.. Hurlbnt. of the Park M. b.
Church; DR.. Franklin c. Wells, James A..
Starweather and DR.. William r. Brough-
ton.
Samuel ]. Macdonald, a lawyer of this
city. alone spoke against it, representing a
of ~saloonkeepers.
There was a big crowd present. com
posed mostly of church people. Some OF
the speakers, particularly DIR. Wells, re-
ferred TO Mr.. Macdonald in Il sarcastic
way and chopped he was a citizen and tax
payer of the town." He is neither.
Mayor Sutphen asked the speaker not TO
indulge IN personalities and to be as brief
The Rev. DR.. Hurlbut, on behalf OF the
Evangelical Union, requested that the IL
cense fee be made not less than S5O0.
DIR. Broughton said that the number of
saloons In the town should be reduced,
and that the way to do 1t was to increase
the license fec.
increase should be looked at also as
a cold -blooded business proposition. "A
franchise Of any kind" he said. "s w3rtE
more now than 1t was ten YEAR. ego anu
now there are less saloons than there were
at that time. The feeling tina the llcen"e
fee should be raised is prevalent ali over
the country, and even the saloon men n
some sections are heartily in accord with
tut 4 IL &iAG
woman interested in charity work had told
him that she had visited nearly 100 families
in the town the head of each of which was
u drunkard, Frank B. Stone spoke In be-
half of the First Baptist Church.
Samuel ]. Macdonald. a lawyer, OF this
civ, was the only speaker who opposed the
adoption of the amendment. He Slid ne
representei the people Of the town. He
said,
an oath of office, and before such q meas
ure Is passed sufficient reason should be
given for so doing. The fee at present IS
e1Itfciently high for a town of the char
acter and population. The town Is a man
ufacturing one, and much different from
Montelair. where the fee is $500, and even
AT that, Bloomfield receives more license
money than Montclair. II town receives
enough money from license fees each year
10 maintain the Police pepartment' II
tbe ordinance is passed It would take from
The pocket OF each person who holds a
license 1900. which he could rot uhuer the
present existing conditions afford. II any
OF the saloons are ob~1ecf1onaole anu heeI
wedding ont, MS stated in the Circular sent
ont hy the church people, the complain,
ans should go before the AUTHORITIES ana
nrafer charecs against the PROJECTORS
Macdonald added that the police, RECORDS
showed thai the saloons were all OF q Jaw
abiding character and that none or them
did business on Sunday, and he asked why
the license fee should be raised from DOW
to $500. when In o out or seven 9u-
Joining municipalities the fee is only Sl5o
J. a. Storkweather said he pleaded Tor
the families In the town, the wives, moth
ers and Iittle ones. and also the futufe OF
the town.
why said he, "the police inform me
that there are a half-dozen speakeasieS III
BLOOMFIELD doing a large business, and that
they are unable to get evidence against
them
He told of a Bloomfield grocer who, IN Z
circular. offered n bottle Of liquor with
each pound Of tea purchased. as a christ
mas gift. THAT grocer IL making Iut1re
Councilman Davis argued for the pas
sage of his amendment. He said; ~ Is
simply a business proposition, Tor l am
not a religious fanatic nor a Temperance
h result was greeted with Applause
nv the church people, and they congrai-
uIated those who voted Tor the aniehu