The Bridgeport evening farmer., 1911-03-16
Prohibition Forces Seeking to Have Bill Passed to Stop Manufacture and Sale of Liquor in Connec- ticut.
Little Chance of the Bill Els caping Summary Inter- ment in Committee as There Is No Sentiment Favorable to Such Enact ment.

Hartford, March 16-What Attorney Jacob B. Klein of the firm of DeFor- est & Klein of Bridgeport terms a fool bill'', Is pending before the Ex- else committee, and members of the Legislature are agreed that the apt characterization of the measure by the Bridgeport lawyer is not wide of the mark.
 This bill is in some respects similar to the one that was rejected by the Legislature two years ago, and seeks to impose Statewide prohibition of the liquor business
 Attorney Klein's analysis of the bill for the benefit of the committee yes- terday was decidedly Illuminating. One of its provisions is that if Bridge port, for instance, should vote next year for no license, never again could 1t vote to change its opinion without the special consent of the Legislature through the medium of some remed- ial legislation.
 The law today is that Bridgeport or any other city or any town or any borough or hamlet or village. or what not in Connecticut that contains peo- pie can through the exercise of local option annually call for a vote on the question of whether or not liquor may be sold.
 Under the proposed bill a town that voted no license this year could be compelled to register it's vote on the same question year in and year out as long as it voted negatively. But if perchance 1t voted against license one year then 1t never again would be permitted to exercise its right of vot- {,c S>1 permission from the General Assembly
 The bill further provides that H. quor may be sold for certain pur- poses' other than for pleasure sake but 1t especially restricts the handling of it even under such circumstances to certain favored classes. For in- stance. no man can handle it for sale be licensed to sell, but a groceryman cannot. Even an undertaken can se- cure permission to establish a grog annex to his morgue
 Emil G. Hohenthal, the late Repub- lican candidate for Governor in this State. assisted by Rev. Duane Griffin and Rev. MT. Mcintyre, appeared for They used all of the familiar argu- ments in favor of prohibiting the man. ufacture and sale of liquor, and were full of statistics tending to prove that prohibition settlements were more conducive to the personal comfort peace and happiness of the inhabit- ants than districts where the sale of liquor was not forbidden.
 They were met by an array of facts and figures on the part of Frederick ". Orr of New Haven, and Attorney Klein of Bridgeport, that demonstrat- ed that as far as figures were con- cerned pencils were cheap, and 1t is just as easy to build up an unanswer- able argument against prohibition as 1t is to figure out that such state is most desirable.
 Mr. Orr's attack on the measure was certainly most effective. He pointed out that the passage of such a bill would not only result in the conf1sca- tton of millions of dollars worth of property throughout the State, but 1t would throw onto the labor market thousands Of men now engaged in lawful pursuits.
 would be entailed upon those engaged in the liquor business, he referred to the tobacco industry of Connecticut. one of it's foremost and best establish ed with millions of dollars invested in it. He said it was well authenticated that 50 per cent. of the cigar and to- bacco trade in Connecticut was mar keted through the bars of hotels. cafes and restaurants, and that if the sale of liquor was stopped practically all of this trade would be lost. as these places would be closed, that is all save the hotels, and the only hotels that could last would be a few of the larger ones in the larger cities.
 MT. Orr asked why it was if prohi- bition caused such bliss in towns where it was in force, that every mo- license town in CODneciic11 shows A falling off In population when the ten dency. everywhere is toward increase. He asked why 1t was that the three wealthiest and most prosperous and influential counties in the State. Hart ford, Fairfield and New Haven, were strong license counties
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