The Bridgeport evening farmer., 1912-04-02
LIQUOR MEN ARE FINED FOR USING
 OTHERS BOTTLES
Cases Brought By RuppeTt Against Five Local Men
 Tried Today
Three of Accused Take Appeals From Judgment of Court First Convictions Under
 New Law


 would like to see the bottle law en- forced against. every liquor dealer ex- cept himself," commented Judge Carl Foster shrewdly in the City Court this morning, after listening to an dmpas- stoned plea by Attorney Henry Green stein for the release of James Mulli- gan and Col. T. J. Murphy, liquor deal CTS arrested for having in their pos- session bottles belonging to the Jacob Ruppert brewery.
 This law was passed at the request of the bottlers themselves,'' continued Judge Foster, land it Is of no use un- less it Is enforced" The judge, how ever, stated that as this is the first operation of the law in this city, he would make the penalties light. The law provides for a maximum fine of case for the first infraction. Judge Foster decided that in all the local cases except that of Barnet Bufford. a junkman. he would make 1t 10 cents a bottle and 10 cents a case.
 Bufford's offense, the judge decided, was more aggravated than the oth- CTS, as the junkman had much less his possession than the other bottlers, who came across them dn their regu- lar course of business.
 Under the Judges rulings of 10 cents a bottle and 10 cents a case, the sen- tences imposed in court today were as follows:
 Stephen vargo. Hancock avenue. $15.1O and costs.
 William Broch, Fairfield avenue, $15.40 and costs.
 Timothy J. Murphy, Main street, $2.60 and costs.
 James Mulligan, East Washington avenue, $7.1O and costs.
 costs.
 Appeals were taken in behalf of Mulligan. Murphy and Bunord by At torney Greenstetn, who represented them, and appeal bonds Of $50 fixed in each case. The others were not rep- resented by counsel.
 The arrests were made. week ago as the result of a visit to this city of a detective sent here by the ns sin office of the Jacob Ruppert brewing concern. Accompanied by Sheriff Rising and armed with search war rants, visits were made to the above named saloons and a number of bot ties and cases belonging to the Rup- pert company seized in each in- stance
 Among the witnesses called for the defense was Walter Anderson, as an expert on beer bottling. Anderson told of the inpossibility of avoiding the collection of other brewers bottles in the ordinary round of business. He sketched the history of the Bridge port Bottlers' Association, now de- funct, and the Connecticut Bottlers' Association. The local organization formerly employed a collector to go from one dealer to another and straighten out the misplaced bottles
 ho ,i1 nrrt nf existence, said Anderson, the collec- ton of the bottles has been left to the dealers themselves, and has been performed in more or less haphazard and unbusinesslike manner.
 Col Murphy, speaking in his own behalf, told' of his custom of waiting until he had collected a quantity of bottles belonging to another bottler, and then calling up that concern and telling them to send around for the bottles. He said that immediately after his own arrest, fellow bottler called him up and sent around be- tween 800 and 600 of the Coloners bot ties.
 ''Well, then these raids had a good effect from your viewpoint, didn't they?" asked Prosecutor Delaney. But 25 Ruppert bottles and one case were found in Col Murphy's place.
 All the accused liquor dealers spoke d WOTO or two III IuciI OWh UCHdAI, and in each instance they stated that the using of any bottles but their own was prohibited amongst their employees and that they made it a practice of returning bottles of other brewers, collected inadvertently.
 Attorney Greenstein then plead for the release of his clients on the ground that there was no criminal intent and that the violation of the law was more apparent than real. Prosecutor Delaney called attention to the fact that in some instances the Ruppert bottles had been slowed away in the cellars of other concerns since last autumn, and that this practice if con- tinued to a sufficient extent, would put any bottler out of business and was unfair competition.
 Judge Foster than decided that small fine would fit the case and found Judgment as stated