The Bridgeport evening farmer., 1911-03-25
KLEIN RAKES EXCISE BILL
 FORE AND AFT
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 Gentlemen of the committee, l am very glad to appear before you to-day on these important bills. On the one hand, are our old friends the pro hibitionists, and on the other hand are the large class of men In this com munity. and women, who oppose these bills. The former come here, gentle men of the committee, under a dis guise this time. The mask or WaS: which they have worn, has fallen oil and melted under the thread-hare ar gunent of prohibition. They have en- listed the ministry again, as they al- ways do, to aid them in prohibition. They come here under false pretences and perhaps they have q warrant Tor that. because these gentlemen are con- versant with the old as we'll as the new testament and it is well illuStrat- sd in the old testament that when Isaac was nigh unto death and cid not know the day that he was to de- part from this earth, le called ESau, his oldest son, and asked hin, to gel some venison for him, that he mlght bless him before he died, and you wlH recall that Rebekah, the mother of Ja- cob, overheard what was said and she sent out Jacob to get the yenison and Jacob came and approached his father Isaac and said ''I am here Father, to get thy blessing" You will recall also that Esau was a strong; large man and, as the book says. hairy and that Jacob was smooth, that even his neck was smooth and so the mother of Ja- cob took the skin from the goat and covered his hand with it and the smooth of the neck, and when he ap- preached him and said, 'I am here, Father, to get thy blessing. Isaac reached forward and felt of his hand and neck and said, '"The Voice is the voice of Jacob but the hands are the hands of Esau'' and so here, the voice is the voice of the lirnita tionists but the hand, and the argument are the hands and the arguments of the pro- hibitionistS.
 tbe committee, whom do I represent The statement was made here that ] am the paid attorney of the Brewers Association of the State. It is true. Ii is absolutely true and they have employed me to come before this Com mittee and state to the committee what their views are upon this question, and to state to the Committee what Information I could gather in the course of my studies, so as to permit this Committee to arrive at a just, fair conclusion on these bills. And more than that, with their allied in- terests are the large interests of the
 
 Connecticut and back of them are their wives. their children and their homes and back of them are the al- lied industries engaged in this traffic and hack of all that are the large mass of the people of the State of Connecticut, who dor not desire this Legislation, because if they desire this legislation they could have it at any
 What are the bills that are before this committee2 The bills are these, in short, that on and after the first day of November. 1912, licenses shall only be granted in the State of Gonnecti- cut. one to each one thousand of the population Who asks for it? The day,-did they give any reason for its passage? Have they suggested amy thing in place thereof? Something tangible? Something that the people want? Let us review the case fairly Let us do it in an orderly manner as is done in courts of justice. The burden is upon them; they have the affirmative, but let us be fairer than that; let us give them the benefit of any reasonable doubt. Tn discuss ing case before the Court, the Court wants to know what the evidence is. First we have Rev. Doctor Phillips. He started by saying that the opponents
 
 dealers; that he didn't care what some politicians wanted, but he knew what the people wanted. - 7@s s.t &t
 Since when has he become the Moses of Connecticut. to tell us, speaking from the narrow view he takes of this question, what the people of the State of Connecticut want? Paid attorneys My brother Spooner. is under salary and doesn't deny it. and he is doing his work well; my friends in the pull pit are under salary and this is a part of their work, as much to preach prohibition, as to preach good will to- ward men, and they preach one. and forget to preach the other, because ir this bill, and in this law they desire tD take away from the people, whose business is to be affected. their prop erty. without compensation of any kind. Did Doctor Phillips of New Ha- ven tell you what manufacturing cor poration wanted this bill? What bus mess house wanted this bill? What la boring interest wanted this bill? What taxpayers of New Haven wanted itl Did he tell you what Bridgeport want ed, with its great manufacturing in dustries? Did he tell you what Hart ford. or Waterbury, Or New Britain or New London wanted? Not a word But we 'sThe people of Connecticut ? as Mir. Splain so eloquently said yes terday. the Three Tailors of Tooley Street petitfoning, We the people ot England" We want this. He says It is thes common boasts Of lawyers and the common boast of the, Ceanty Commissioners that this is not a linn itation law.
 That statement isn't true.
 It is an absolute limitation law II was passed as a limitation law; it was drawn as a limitation law and it was not bfunderingiy drawn, as it was said yesterday. It was drawn to carry out what those gentlemen had in mind and we. representing the interests or the other side. made no opposition tC f. We practically agreed on certain amendments and we supposed, that when that law was passed, that il would end for a long time in the State of this question Remember. it went into effect October 1909. practically one license year. They say the law hasn't 4rorked we'll. Why hasn't it worked 'rell? The retail license-(this ioesn't affect wholesale licenses) have been reduced in the State through the working of the limitation law some forty or fifty or sixty. Doctor Phillips vent on to say that a license is not property and he inveigled against the -ourts, because the Supreme Court of the state had said it was property. He said nowhere except in the State of Connecticut. is that safeguard thrown around a license as property, as it is in a liquor license. And why not? Be- cause 1t has been the policy of this State. ever since it's existence not tC confiscate property and when this lin1- station law was passed. in 1909 it was distinctly stated in the law that il was fair and honest. right and equit-