New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1915-03-08
FORCED DROUGHT
IN TWO BOROUGHS
LASTS - HOURS
Manhattan and Brooklyn
Fairly "Dry" from Mid
night to | P. M.
BREWERS TESTING
A PROPOSED LAW
Retailers Warned to Help in
New Sabbath Experiment or
Forfeit Support.

From midnight Saturday until l
n. m. yesterday the boroughs Of Man
haitian ana brooklyn were mighty
"dry." from the point Of view OF the
average Saturday -nighter.
On the East Side. in saloons that
have never been known to close for
Sunday observance, the lights bllnked
out at midnight, and in the Williams
burg section of Brooklyn the bar
tenders went home before | a. m.
Behind the "dry" spell. which hap
pened 10 come with wet snowstorm,
were the brewers, who, as explained IN
The Tribune a week ago. are trying to
test out in New York City new open
Sunday" amendment to the excise law.
The brewers are swinging the saloon
keepers into line for an amendment to
be presented at Albany, which, while
it would permit saloons to be open
after .. m. on Sundays, would also
do away with complaints that liquor
dealers were openly violating the law.
legislators close to Governor Whit
man, who were approached by the liquor
interests and their agents at Albany,
agreed, it is said, TO a suggestion that
a test be made on saloons In New
York City for few weeks.
Saturday every brewer wrote to the
retailers handling his beer, asking
them to close at midnight and remain
closed until | p. m. on Sunday. The
saloonkeepers were told that they
might open on Sunday but that they
must admit only persons whom they
knew. keep your chain on the back
door" was an injunction in capital
letters in the brewers appeal. Usually
the letter was signed by the vice-presi-
dent of the company, occasionally by
the president.
On the bottom Of all letters, In red
linked capitals, was this warning: This
is no joke. Failure to comply with our
request means that the support OF this
brewery will be withdrawn. You will
then have to go it alone"
In cases where brewers held mort
cages on saloons, or where they had
paid the license fee of 81 200 with an
understanding that they were - be
reimbursed in weekly payments, the
warning sentence was changed to read:
Failure to comply with our request
means the foreclosure OF our mort
gage"
AS a result Of this general appeal
from the brewers most of the saloon
keepers closed right on the dot Saturday
at midnight. They knew that the week
before. when the test first began. Excise
Department inspectors, the police in
spectors, and clerks. collectors and
drivers employed by the brewers, were
out looking for saloons which did not
comply with the request. No arrests
were made. but the names Of .he in
surgents were sent to Albany.
Hoboken q Sahara.
Hoboken, which has become suburb
Of Bremen, was as dry as a desert yes
terday. 1t was the driest Sunday in
the history of one of Americas beer
cer res. The police, assisted by special
officers from the Office of the Prescott
ing Attorney, were active, and as re-
suit the usually hospitable back doors
Of saloons in Emporium Row" along
the river front were as good as her
metically sealed.
Patrols of German reservists on
scout duty" gave up tn tast OF find
ing an opportui ity to attack the closely
guarded stocks of wet goods" after
hours of weary wandering, and went
back to their ships, which, although
well stocked with German beer in times
Of peace, are new in the gloom of a
chronic drouth.
Even members of the numerous pri-
vate clubs were deprived of the bar
privileges yesterday, in accordance with
special order which Chief Hayes of
the Hoboken police had issued, order
ing his men TO enforce their closing.
Throughout the Borough of Queens
yesterday men from the Brooklyn Po-
lice Headquarters having charge of
the section made Investigations to see
how the excise law was being enforced
Their presence in the borough became
known and up to late hour last night
no arrests we're reported.
Detectives OH the staff of Robert 8.
Hudspeth, Prosecutor of Hudson Coun-
ty, n. j., yesterday afternoon broke
into three saloons in Jersey City and
made nineteen arrests. sixteen were of
men drinking in the places.
In the saloons of Matthew Lawless.
226 Newark Avenue; Frederick Collins,
Jersey and Newark Avenues, and Max
Kroft. 81 Henderson Street, liquor
was seized as evidence.
Collins was not in his saloon at the
time, but his bartender, Peter Kelly,
was arrested. The other proprietors
were arrested. All furnished bail.
The arrests were made on bench war
rants. sworn out by the chief Of a
Newark detective agency whose man