The sun., 1908-01-15
PARKHURST WHISKEYO SHOW
BUT NOT AFTER SKIPPER CAL
LAGHER SIGHTED 1T.

The Crime PreVentlOnlsts. E seems. Made
q Public Museum Out Of Excise Viola
tiOO samples From HArlem-Church
street Police Captain WAdes Into IL.
Capt. Edward Gallagher. skipper Of the
Church street police station. had just signed
the blotter with flourish yesterday after
noon when the telephone bell rang loudly
and a mysterious voice over the wire in
formed him than an exhibit in a window on
Vesey street near Broadway had attracted
a crowd which was blocking Broadway.
The voice did not say what the exhibit was
and Capt. Gallagher. remembering that
Anthony Comstock was right near by in the
Federal Building, lit a cigar and hurried to
the scene.
Sure enough there was a crowd. but when
the skipper mana ged to work his way close
enough to the window TO get look he nearly
tainted with surprise. Then his naturally
florid face took on deeper hue and his hair
bristled. The exhibit consisted of ap-
proximately al bottles full Of whiskey
bought on Sundays by the Parkhurst so-
ciety. Beneath WAS a label saying that the
police could close the theatres on Sunday.
but they couldn't close the saloons.
Capt. Gallagher was very much exer-
cised indeed when he had read the notice
beneath the bottles. II was some time
before he could talk coherently. First he
thought he'd get the reserves. Then he
decided the whiskey bottles must be got
out Of the window and told the proprietor
so. The proprietor didn't see why and
he and Gallagher had a row about il. The
skipper was getting madder and madder
every minute when some one telephoned
Frank Moss. counsel for the Parkhurst
society.
When Mr.. Moss arrived he found the irate
skipper. assisted by a sergeant. a plain
clothes man and three patrolmen. busy haul
ing bottles by the handful out OF the window
Sixty fingers were getting in their fine
work. The captain wore an apoplectic
hue and his favorite scent was wen nigh
lost in the pungent odor of sulphur. Every
now and then he would bawl an order.
Mr.. Moss had brief talk with the ener-
getic captain and the latter cooled down
somewhat. Finally he declared that he'd
have TO prevent crowd from collecting
anyway and contented himself with dis-
persing the folks outside. This was a job
in itself.
Frank Moss said last night
-On the first Sunday when the theatres
and other shows were closed tight the
Society for the Prevention Of Crime sent
out IJb agents through SeCtlOn OF nartem
to see how the police we're enforcing the
excise law Our men went to a number Of
saloons--not to Raines law hotels, but to
plain out and out saloons-and at each
place purchased a bottle Of whskey. The
same thing was done the following Sunday,
when the shows we're again closed tight.
Then DR.. Parkhurst sent a letter 70 Com
missioner Bingham congratulating him on
his good work in closing the theatres and
enclosing list Of the Harlem saloons where
the society's agents had purchased whiskey
on the two Sundays. The letter concluded
by asking Gen Bingham II he couldn't
enforce the excise law as well as he had
enforced the theatre law. A similar letter
was sent to Mayor Mcclellan.
The society received no answers to
its letters. On succeeding Sundays our
men purchased more bottles Of whiskey
at the same places, and other letters were
despatched to the Police Commissioner
and to the Mayor. These didn't elicit any
answer either. So we put the bottles in a
window at Broadway and Fortieth street
and yesterday moved them down TO Vesey
street. The exhibit attracted crowds at
both places. think Capt. Gallagher's action
shows We have touched somebody's sensi-
bilities at last
No doubt the skipper OF Church street
will be relieved to hear the whiskey wasn't
purchased in his precinct. He was reported
last night to be recovering from shock.