The Bridgeport evening farmer., 1912-09-30
POLISH CLUB PAYS PENALTY Held to be a Law ViolatOr in
 the City Court TWO LOCAL JUDGES
 DODGE THE ISSUE AnsOnia JuriSt Imported For Purpose of Administering JuStice-HiS View of
 Situation

The legal formaIitieS constituting a. club privileged to dispense spirituous liquors under the Connecticut statutes were clearly set forth by Judge Rob ert O. Munger, of Ansoria, in the city court today when in test case brought by Liquor Prosecutor A. J. Merritt against the Polish-American Citizens Association. raided on Sep tember 15, fines of s25 each were i'm posed upon Frank Ko1rniago, 55 Colo rado avenue, and Willis Slenseke, 17s Spruce street.
 According to Sergeant Blansfleld who with Officers Wagner and Brown raid ed the premises at ITS Spruce street. Sunday before last, sale of liquor was being conducted under the pre- tense of club membership by the two defendants. Checks sold at the door were hOnOred in a back room bar. A pool table and a few chairs was all the equipment in evidence at the time of the arrests None of the assem- b1ed members had cards or other identifying passes.
 It was brought out during the trial that any member in good standing in a national Polish death benefit society was eligible for membership in the local club. but no record of dues, meetings, election of officers or cost of maintenance was kept. No mag azine was subscribed to in the name of the club. and beyond the sale of
 
 appear. 4 club charter issued for a similar organization closed by the po- lice some months ago, located at 693 Barnum avenue, as well 9, liquor license which had expired in July, were produced in court. It was shown that alleged dues of 25 cents per month from each member recorded produced a revenue of but $111, as against an annual rental for the rooms amounting to $216-
 In a request for conviction P1,osecu- z-if at f<A no jf1- crea sing number of clubs running a mere subterfuge to circumvent the excise laws, while Attorney E. O. Hull for the defense drew attention to the apparent discrimination of the police in favor of wealthier organizations maintaining rooms and likewise dis --ommentis1g. upon. the phases pre- scented by this case Judge Munger said in part: 'I think under. the Connecti- cut statutes a club may dispense li- ouor to it's members providing it is a benefit club and that such disposition is purely incidental to the beneficent objects of the club. In such a case the regular license is not required. It is unfortunate that what appears as discrimination in favor of weaHhler organizations is not founded on fact, as the collection of larger dues, the maintenance of larger and more Spac- ious apartments, and many other ad- juncts such as bed rooms, etc, demon. strates clearly that the dispensation of liquor in such cases is purely incl dental and by those facts good faith in the organization is established. I wish it were possible for all clubs to be put upon the same footing so that the poorer classes would not feel they were being discriminated against. In this case. where the dues are less than the rental of the roomsl> and no check system is in force showing the dues are applied to a general fund and no evidence has been adduced showing any attempt to instruct the members in the elements of good cit izenship, I think it my duty to hold that this is not such club as the law allows to dispense liquor without regular license As this is merely test case, will not deal harshly with the accused but to create a pre- cedent based upon the facts present. ed, shall fine each $25 with recommen- dation that if again brought before the court on similar charges more severe sentence be imposed