The Bridgeport evening farmer., 1911-05-22

More than half a hundred clubs or
 Eanized within the year for the pur pose of dispensing liquor to it's mem bers-thus hoping to evade prosecution for violation of the Sunday liquor law must go out of business.
 Prosecution is threatened for sew eral of the oldest and most represen' itative organizations of local club life unless the sale of liquor as at present practiced is not immediately discon- | tinued.
 Persons arrested in raids upon places [ without liquor licenses but where H. | Quors are sold are liable to penalty Club members seeking to evade' re- responsibility for frequenting liquor tplaces under the shelter of their mem Ebership card will find that protection of no avail.
 These are the results of the activity of Superintendent Birmingham yester- day in raiding five and attempting tc raid several other clubs with warrants 1 issued by Liquor Prosecutor Henry lGreenstein.
 Tn the city court today Judge Eos. ! ter, passing upon the cases of the | stewards of the five clubs and the A frequepters, made decisions that prom lise to wipe out the mushroom organi- zations that have recently sprung up He fined five stewards $100 and costs apiece. and each of the AS frequenters S1 and costs. The costs in each of the being taxed against each offender for ! the fee of the prosecuting liquor agent, Henry Greenstein.
 Judge Foster would not pay the $5S0 i to Greenstein for his two hours work, however, until Greenstein showed him 14 c. 0reensteins will argue his right to the fee before judge Foster in open court tomorrow.
 The raids upon the Sunday clubs . yesterday was not expected. There are about three score such organiza- lions in Bridgeport. many of them in such close proximity Q saloons that they are in reality part and parcel of the regular saloon business. But still more are distinct organizations. doing Ebusiness with merely a charter from ' the Secretary of States office and an Internal revenue certificate allowing them to handle liquors. The cost of the former is nominal. that of the cer- Etfffcate is $25.
 Months ago Greenstein declared he would issue no warrants for Sunday clubs, because he didn't believe under the law he could secure a conviction. He believed the law was wrong, said he, in interviews given out at that time, and he wasn't willing to take the cases to court until the laws were amended
 But there has been such a storm of public disapproval of his course and sthe club organizers have become so &C., tive that he was forced yesterday to place ten warrants in the hands of the police. He explained after the con- tvictions were obtained today that he -A @h, k1-ok twas being heaped upon him, and he had determined to present a clear cut issue to the court by which his future Conduct with regard to the Sunday tclubs might be guided.
 Supt Birmingham dispatched Ser geant Blansfield, Liquor Agent Wag- tner. and. Policemen Daley. Gerrity, the raids. The first was made in the early morning in West avenue. Word spread through the city quickly and by noon most of the places had either closed their doors for the day or had posted a guard so vigilant that the police were unable to get the goods on more than half the number they | set out to capture.
 The last raid, made at 10 o'clock last night upon the Savoy club. an or ganization of several years standing once raided as a gambling resort, found Steward Edward Flannery and ] 14 members in the cosy quarters in the Studio building
 The clubs raided were:
 Consolidated Social Club. Gold street and Housatonic avenue, over a saloon, Thomas Neville proprietor, 15 fre- quenters.
 Connecticut Athletic and Social Club, 103 State street, Thomas Collopuy pro- prietor no frequenters.
 Park Athletic Club. West avenue, near Railroad avenue, John English proprietor. nine frequenters.
 Savoy Club. Studio building, 176 Fairfield avenue. Edward Flannery proprietor. fl frequenters.
 Pequot Social Club. 116 Wall street, Paul Nickerson proprietor, 10 fre- quenters.
 Attorneys John Cullinan, George Kane, Henry Shannon. and F. A. Bartlett appeared for the clubmen.
 The first case was that of the Pc quot Social club, an organization of long standing at 116 Wall street with an expensively furnished suite of rooms and with no apparent saloon connections. It was selected as the most thoroughly established club of all. that there might be no question as to the bearing of the decision of the court upon the other clubs. There was a half barrel of beer on tap and plen- ty of bottled beer and liquor in evil dence.
 Al Counsel for both the State and de- fence took but a minute or two to submit the facts to the court. There was no dispute that the members of the club were buying intoxicants there Sunday Judge Foster asked several pertinent questions as to the claims of the State and defence, and found that both were agreed in all particu- lars. It was up to the court merely to decide whether under the cover of its club life an organization has the right to sanction the sale of liquor to it's members. Judge Foster wasted few words in coming to his decision.
 '1t Is not necessary for me to say that being a resident of Bridgeport