The Bridgeport evening farmer., 1915-03-10
''DRYS'' HAVE DAY
 ATSTATECAP|'ITOL
Appear in Big Numbers To Advocate Bill To Limit
 Saloons
Liquor Men To Have Their Innings Before Commit
 tee Today

OOO A ONACDV
 Hartford March 1O-Temperance ad- vocates from all over the state de- scended upon the capitol yesterday af- ternoon. to take part in the hearing bS- fore the legislative committee on ex- else on a bill to reduce the number of saloons from the present rate of one to each 500 people to one to each 1000 people, and to raise the license fee from $500 to $1,0Oo. The temperance arguments were directed by H. H. Spooner, the temperance, organization legislative representative, and he called upon Q number of clergymen and lay men.
 i. The temperance advocates claimed that the reduction of the number of saloons and the raising of the license fee would weed out bad places and would reduce the temptation of young men to start drinking.
 E The temperance speakers were given two hours, from 3 to 4 o'clock, and the opponents Of the bill were given half an hour at the end in rebutta1. The opponents will be heard fully this af- ternoon, and the advocates of the bill will be given half an hour at the end to close the argument.
 Bill To Act At Once. ' E MT. Spooner opened the hearing him selw with a brief statement of. the ob-g jeets of the bill He claimed that one of the bad features of the present law Is that dtr doesg not apply to any sa- looms licensed previous to the passage Of the law as regards the onert rto-500 clause. There are more saloons in many cities and towns than this law provides for, but they cannot be re- duced 9because they were in existence before the law passed. The present bill, however, would demand an irnme- diate reduction of the number of sa- looms to comply with the requirements of the law. It would mean that the licenses would be taken away from more than half the saloons
 Would Reduce Temptation | Rev. pr. Watson L. Phillips of New Haven was another speaker on the temperance side. Dr. Phillips spoke as the representative of the Protestant churches of the. state. More than 50 per cent. of the police work in New Haven, he said, is due, directly or in directly to the iquor traffic, accord 1 ing to Chief Philip T. Smith. Rffl- cienoy is the watchword in all lines of work at the present day and the man who drinks liquor cannot be efficient. The bill would reduce the temptations for drinking. he said. The advocates of this bill do not urge it on ethical grounds, but believe it should be passed on the theory that i.s will tend to cultivate efficient manhood.
 Represents Bishop Milan. Father M. A. Sullivan of Hartford appeared to favor the bill as repre- sentative of Bishop John J. Milan, head of this diocese. He said Bishop Milan was strongly in favor of reducing the number of saloons, particularly be- cause it would reduce the temptation to young men.
 J. H. Mansfield, of New Haven, ap- peared as the representative of the Christian Endeavor union of that city He said the Saloons were a great temptation to young men. and said that there are two blocks in New I Haven in which there are ten saloons They are a continual temptation, he I said, not only for the young men, but for the fold rounders.'' 2 I Professor William North Rice Of I Wesleyan, was another speaker in l favor of the bill. Miss Mcdonald, of New Haven, secretary of the Connec- ticut Society for Mental Hygiene, was i the only woman who spoke. She ia lvored the bill
 I e. B. Richter, of Darien. said he was drunkard's son and knew of the danger of saloons from personal ex= perience. #
 splaan Opposes Bin.
 John J. sp1aIn, of New Haven, was the only speaker for the opposition at to-day's hearing. He attacked the T Cle11n I11aO0 Dy the temperance speak CTS that limitation and high license I fees would reduce the amount of ! drunk kenness. He showed figures set I ting forth that, in communities where I there are few saloons and high license fees, there is a larger amount of ar I dent spirits or distilled nduors drunk las compared with the fermented bev- I erages, such as light wine and beer. I The distilled liquors are the more in I toxtcating ones. he declared, and in l all such communities the amount of drunkenness is much larger than in the ones in which there are many saloons.
 Calls Limitation Failure.
 Everywhere the limitation of sa- looms and the raising of license fees
 has been carried out, he said, it has tended to the increasing rather than the decreasing of drunkenness and |l the increase in the use of distilled i- quors as against what he termed the comparatively harmless fermented H-
 quors.
 MT. sp1ain, in his talk, brought out the fact that by the one-to-1. .0eO rule
 there would be Al towns in the state
 which would be automatically made a population in the whole town. MT. T Spooner agreed to have the bill So amended as to allow at least one sa-
 loon for each town
 Rev. E. c. Carpenter, representing
 the Bridgeport Pastors association
 told the committee he thought the bill was a step forward for temper -i ance which would be appreciated by E the people of the state. He thought ! that without outside help prohibition , would not be possible, but he thought l the state ought to keep pace with de cent public sentimen MT. Car 5 penter said he wanted the committee to stiffen up and take a step for ward. Senator Hewitt asked MT | Carpenter if he thought the electors -zl of Bridgeport would vote for such 9 : bill if they had a chance. MT. Car penter said he could not answer fol the whole city. A large delegation