Norwich bulletin., 1911-07-21
NO CONTINENTAL SUNDAY
FOR THE NUTMEG STATE.
Bill for Sacred Sportsp OverwheIm
ingIy Defeated in House.
Especial to The Bulletin.)

ingly Defeated in House.
Especial to The Bulletin.)
Hartford, July 2O.-Hope of a re-
Taxation from the degree of stringency
| of the present Sunday laws was crush
ed Thursday by the action of the house
| in defeating by an overwhelming ma
jority the bill providing with its prof
fered amendments, for the legalizing
of the sale on Sunday of ice cream,
soda, cigars. confectionery, etc, and
for privilege of engaging in strictly
amateur sports legal on other days of
the week.
1t was evident soon after the debate
| opened that the sentiment in the
house was strongly against any lessen
ing of the safeguards that have long
done Sabbath protection duty in Con-
| necticut.
The opposition to the bill was posi-
| tive and widespread. The defense of
| 1t by its proponents was, to say the
| least, weak and confined to a few
i~members of the democratic side. The
| vote showed that it never had a
| chance of passage.
! Representative Murphy of Danbury,
| who introduced the amentl,aent pro-
| viding for local option as to taking
| advantage of the provisions of the bill,
was heard at length in it's favor
| dwelling at considerable length on
1 ABUSES VI llle present law III HIS nome
| city. He characterized the admins
| tration of che present law as an abso
| lutte farce.
Mr.. Reynolds of East Haddam, for
| the committee on the judiciary, ex
| planned the bill, saying that the COM
mittee expressed no pride in it or pref
| erence for it. preferring to leave it to
| the house to decide what should be
| done with it.
| That the present law may be unsat-
! isfactory and abused may be true, but
| that it is at least regulative was the
opinion expressed by Mr. Hall of New
| Milford, and he expressed the hope
| that a Connecticut legislature would
| never vote to legalize sports and row.
| dyism on Sunday.
came from Mr.. Peck of Stratford.
| THE American habit of hunting dol
4 lars is behind the whole proposition"
he said. 1T is a case of abolish the
| Sabbath that someone may make mon
\ ey; the real intent is to commercialize
our Sunday. Here in Connecticut, lit
tie by little, we have given away our
| liberty until now we are bound fast by
| corporal ton chains. Now they want
| us to abolish our religion and with it
| the ten commandments Following out
this so-called progressive movement to
! its end there will be nothing left to the
| state but a shell of its policies and ira
| ditions."
In REPAY TO L01S, MT. MeIZ6r OF
| Bridgeport said that while a member
! of the Hebrew race he had every re
| spect for Sunday; but when We all
! agree to disobey, as in the case of the
Sunday laws. we might as well all
agree to disobey the ten command
mentS and still expect to have them
respected.
Rev Mr. Range of Guilford made
I enthusiastically foreeful speech
against the bill. It have lived in sew
eral towns in Connecticut he said,
| and l do not know Of a place in this
| state where the people are cramped for
| Sunday recreation because of the OPP
| Grafton of the present laws. | want to
| put myself on record as being oppos-
ed to a plan of making legal on Sun
| day practices now illegally INDUCED in
! To pass such law would be to cripple
| the means that has made Connecticut
i what it is. The thing to do, rather
| than cnange the law is to create a
| sentiment against those who violate it..
| This was received with applause.
:, MIR. Belden of Newington, in refer
ence to what Mr.. Meltzer had said
Stated that this was the first time that
| he had come to know that there was
| any requirement of referendum of
| the ten commandments to the Jewish
people for approval.
| Mr.. Fem of Wethersfield spoke brief
ly against the bill believing its pass
age would mean the disturbance of the
peace on Sunday.
DIR. Knight of Salisbury was also
against it.
Messrs. Bent of Bridgeport and
Game of Naugatuck were heard in fav-
or.
Mr. Hall of Wilmington opposed the
! bill. saying that he regarded it as pro-
viding for the the invasion of the old
| Puritanical Sunday, and said that he
did not believe it necessary to legalize
sports in order that the people might
have sufficient recreation.
Il am against any measure that pro-
poses the letting down of the bars of
religion or morality declared Mr..
Chandler of Rocky Hill. 1.-The propo-
nents of this measure make their plea
on behalf of the working man. but
| back CT all this is the commercial in
| terest. The wage earners of this state
are not clamoriEg for the passage of
Il this bill. This invocation of the wage
earners will not hold in practice. I
am IN favor of sports and want every
body to have a good time but / want
to call attention to the fact that for 800
years we have been building up a
New England civilization that in its
doctrines is opposed to this PROPOSE
ton This is the entering wedge for a
continental Sunday
Mr. Phillips of Stamford arose to ask
MIR. Chandler some questions as to his
position on local option and other feat
ures of the BILL and an interesting
| croSsfire ensued.
Il Retaining the floor, Mr. Phillips said
that those who were opposed to the
bill should have lived in the 18th cen
fury. This is the goth century and
| we need 10th century legislation. Ev-
cry man who has spoken against this
bill is a man of some wealth, and as
they happen to be in a small privileged
class are willing to deny to the great
mass of the people much that they en-
joy because of their wealth. Mr.. Peck
of Stratford belongs back in the civil
| war period. He is out of place in the
goth century. He is of the small priv
| LEGGED class. Mr.. Peck listened and
| smiled.
ri Mr.. Johnson of--Montville cut short
the long drawn out debate by movinc
the previous question. Mr.. Game OF
/ Naugatuck asked that he Withdraw it
but Mr.. Johnson insisted.
On viva vnce vote the amendment
was shown beaten beyond doubt, and
a few minutes later the bill itself was
a decisively killed.