Perth Amboy evening news., 1907-03-05
SUNDAY LIQUOR
BILL REPORTED
Democrats Would Have Saloons
Opened Alter | O'clock Sunday
If People Vote That Way.

TRENTON, Mar 5:-That the liq-
uor question is still a live issue in
| New Jersey was demonstrated yester-
day afternoon, when a public hearing
| was given by the House judiciary
| Committee on the various pending
measures bearing upon that subject,
I The assembly chamber was packed
| to the doors with clergymen, priests,
church members and brewers, saloon
keepers and representatives of the
German-American organizations which
are fighting for the repeal of the
| bishops law.
Immediately after the hearing the
committee reported favorably to the
house the Blohm bill, which permits
the sale of liquor after / p. m. on
Sunday by vote of community. This
was the measure which, next to the
repeater of the bishops law, was
most vigorously attacked by the
clergymen.
The hearing was opened by argu-
ments for and against local option
measure which it was proposed to
substitute for the bishops law. This
had many advocates among temper
ance people in the southern part of
the state, but was not satisfactory to
those in the northern counties and
particularly in the larger cities,
where practically there would be no
chance of prohibition ever becoming
effective by popular vote.
]. Frank Burke, secretary of the
anti-saloon league, headed the local
optionists and was seconded by the
Rev. John l.. Scudder, of Jersey City,
who to Offset the saloon influence has
introduced boxing and pool playing
in his church. Other clergymen who
either favored local option or opposed
the BlOhm bill were the Rev. Hervey
Wood, of East Orange, the Rev. Ed
win c. Dinwiddie, representing the
National Anti-saloo9 League; the
Rev. George II. Neat, of Camden, the
Rev. Robert D. English. of Newark,
Mgr. John d. Fox, of Trenton, and
the Rev. Henry Collin Hinton, of
Trenton. q
The opponents of the present liq-
uor regulations contended that they
wanted local option carried to its log
ical conclusion. This, they said, was
proposed by the Blohm bill, whicn
would give to the citizens of a COM
munity the right to say whether or
not liquor should be sold on Sunday.
In reply to this argument DR.. Minton
said that the church people were not
willing to submit the will of God or
the desecration of Sunday to a ma
jority vote.
Among those who spoke against
the present law were Prosecutor
William H. Speer, of Hudson county,
Major Carl Lentz, of Newark, Col
e. c. Stahl, of Trenton, Samuel ].
Macdonald, of Newark, Mayor Jacob
Haussling, of Newark, ex-Mayor
Fielder, of Newark Thomas F. Hay
es, president of the New Jersey Liq-
uor Dealers Association, and Col. G.
w. Fuller, a former member of the
legislature Major Lentz declared
that the republicans defeat in the leg
islature was due to the bishops act.
The Rev. Mr.. English denied this and
with his eye fixed on Major Lentz
declared that the loss of Essex county
was the result of an effort to unload
an unpopular republican boss.
Walter Bender, German saloon
keeper of Bergen county, asserted
that the bishops law was responsible
for turning an almost solidly repub-
lican house into one with democrat
ic majority. He said the democrats
had been elected to repeal the act
and they should do it, even if a re-
publican senate and a republican gov
ernor might not ratify their action
His earnestness created an uproar In
the house.