Putnam patriot., 1915-03-05

tute-Liable to Be Arrested for
 Buying Bag Of Peanuts.
 Hartford-The old supreme court chamber in the capitol was uneom. fortabIy crowded at the hearing on several bills which have been intro- duced Into the legislature 10 modify she present Sunday observance law. prominent among which vas that drafted by Representative Charles J. Martin. of Orange providing tof local option on this matter. There were many clergymen present from all over the state and they were the only ones who opposed any Of the bills. Repre- sentative Martin, Of Orange, led the battle for a liberal Sunday and started the discussion by an attack on the present law. which, he said, vas SO ambiguous that prosecutors all over the state are in doubt as to just what ii permits and just what it prohibits. In ils present form the law is ineffee- tive and cannot be enforced he de- cIared. He said that he had introduc- ed his law and fathered the proposed change Of policy which 1t would entail only after very careful consideration. The existing law. if interpreted liter ally, is really a blue-law, although passed at the last session. It's main features are the same as those which were on the Connecticut statute books in the colonial days. Because if is not a reasonable law and because f cannot be enforced. f is bringing all law Into disrespect. It should be 70 raanged and modified that 1t can be enforced Under the present law. said Mir Martin, fl enforced literally man would make himself liable to arrest by buying a bag of peanuts or having bis shoes shlned on Sunday.
 He called attention in passing to the comment made by Judge William E Case Of the superior court In charg. ing the jury in case prosecuted un. der this law some time ago. in this charge, Judge Case severely criticized the wording of the present law and charged tho jury that a person could not be considered as violating the ob seryanee law unless 1t was shown that he interfered with other peoples observance Of the day.
 The local option feature Of his bill Mir Martin said would permit the diff ferent localities Of the state to make their own decisions. Representative CIytus King of Bridgeport, member q the committee, wanted 10 know If the Martin iaw, which would give the wardens Of boroughs. the selectmen of towns and the mayors Of cities the power to license Sunday entertain ments and amusements. wouldn't make every election a sort Of theological con test, as the candidates would be run niug on d platform of an open or closed Sunday Mr Martin said he didn't think f would work out this way and pointed to the excellent re- suits which have been obtained in Massachusetts where a similar law has been In use for number of years.
 Senator George klett of New Brit ain. another member of the committee. wanted 10 know if t would not be bet ter to hold a special election on the Sunday matter. to lot the people of each town vote directly either for an open or closed Sunday. instead Of granting a licensing power to the off eiais. MT Martin answered that he understood that this method had been declared unconstitutional and that 1t had not been adopted in Massachu. xetts for that reason, He said he had not had time to go into this phase of the matter as thoroughly as he wished and if the committee found that it would be possible to hold sps cisl elections on the Sunday matter he would be glad to see that done. Al the request of the committee. he and Charles F. Roberts, also of Or ange. who appeared with him. agreed 10 file brief covering this point Mir. Martin pointed to the difficulties he has had with the Sunday law in his work as prosecuting attorney Of the town of Orange
 lie empha;ically denied that he had been influenced in any way in pre- pairing the bill His denial was in answer to an attack which was made upon him recently from the pulpit be. cause of his activity on this matter by Hartford clergy man, the Rev. Mir. Johnstone. who spoke later at the hearing. Charles F. Roberts of Orange who followed Mir Martin, took up the matter from legal standpoint. He rehearsed some of the difficulties which he and Mir Martin, as assistant prosecutor and prosecutor resps etively of the Orange court had had to con. tend with in the present law, Con neotlcnt," he said. lis one of only three states which ellnss to this old colonial form of law,