The citizen. (Frederick City, Md.) 1895-1923, 1908-08-28
BISHOPS LAW REVOLT
ALL OVER JERSEY
No City Pretends to obey the
Statute.
GOV. FORTS EFFORTS FUTILE
Officials and Prosecutors Everywhere
Dodge Enforcement - Enemies
of the Law acknowledgements
United to Obtain Beer Sunday.


Trenton, y. J. - Atlantic City
open defiance Of the Bishops Law Is
Only syupIonatic Of the almost gen
eral notification Of the law By every
community in this State The tesii-
Dony taken within the last six weeks
By Governor Forts Excise Inquiry
Commission, OF which Mayo. Charles
J. Fisk. Of Piailfeld. is chairman.
6iscloses the whole State in & revolt
against this one Of its vital enact
nents.
Not only has II been shown that
tie people ignore the law where they
Go not refuse pointblznk 70 obey it,
the hearings have been crowded with
local elective cf5cssiS-shsEiEs, may
ors, police chiefs, whose confessions
betray z bTazea indifference 10 the
act and z general u-willi1gnesS 20
force compliance with il; and, what
Is even more significant, the Cover
nor's Own retinue OF officials. judges
and county prosecutors, though
named for their Offices only after
they had been foresSoTa 10 see that
this act OF al On the statute books Is
lived up 10, stand colfssse6iy nsu-
trai where they are Tot coltessedly
paralyzed b! the uncolcs5led popular
contempt for IL
The Bishops law comes BIZ lis
name because il vas framed and
pushed through the Legislature two
years ago By coalition OF iltsrde-
noninational clergyDsn, with Bisl-
ops McFaul and O'Conuo-, Of the two
Catholic dioceses in Ne- jersey, and
Bishop Lines, Of the Newark Episco-
pat Diocese, az their head. It's chief
aim IL 10 compel a strict observance
OF the Sunday laws By the saloon and
hotel men OF the State There had
ALWAYS been q Sunday observance Law
In New Jersey. But up 10 the time
when the system OF exposure and
punishment mapped out in the Bish-
ops Law became operative no one
needed Il.
When, as the result Of this agita-
ton. the Bishops excise law vas
passed, the saloon men set up cTy
against its rigors. The closing Of the
saloons would not make the people
more sober they argued; the only
effect would be TO throw into the bars
of New York from one end OF the
State and into the bars OF Phiiadel-
phia from the other end great SUMS
of money that ought TO be kept in
New Jersey. Then came the Germans
OF Jersey City, Hoboken. Newark
Paterson, Elizabeth. Trenton and
Camden to protest against being de-
prived of their sip Of beer at their
wonted Sunday afternoon family and
social gatherings.
The protest became so general all
along the line. and particularly in the
mo:e crowded and cosmopolitan To-
calities, that the local officials began
to look about them for pretexts for
laxness in the enforcement OF the act.
Governor Fort is trying TO find
some expedient that will enable him
to keep his pledge 10 sse that the
Law is strictly enforced. The avowed
opponents Of the act are iubilant over
the disclosures, and are even talking
about naming candidates for the Sem
ate and Assembly pledged to vote for
its repeal.
The situation in the State is much
like that described in a recen. maya
zine artiie by writer from Maine.
who says that all Maine wants prohi-
bitioE. but all Maine wants grog, too.