The Bridgeport evening farmer., 1916-06-07
LAWYER TO TELL
 CLIENTS TO CLOSE
 STORES ON SUNDAY
Waterbury Attorney Be- 1ieves Complaints Justi-
 fled In Many Gases

Waterbury, June 7-Attorney Ma thanie1 R. Bronson, counsel for sev- eraI of the grocerynen and butchers of Waterbury who will be affected by the order issued by Prosecuting At torney Peas1ey that all grocery stores, meat markets, clothing stores, and barber shops must close on Sunday hereafter, says that all his clients contemplated obeying the orders of the Prosecuting Attorney. Litigation is costly and if there is going to be any of it in connection wit this new order, let the other fellows do it, he said. MT. Bronson also said that if certain lines of business were men tioned in the order and others were overlooked, that did not necessarily mean that these others would not be forced to close too. tHOW do you know that moving picture shows and baseball games on Sunday will not be stopped" asked the lawyer when a reporter asked him today if he didn't consider that discrimipation had been made. eff I own a butcher shop and am required to close on Sunday, can not enter a, complaint against a per son in another line of business which comes under the same law? MT Bronson made no statements, how ever, confining himself to asking
 
 that public sentiment might tolerate Sunday amusements and that it was the privilege of the Prosecuting At torney to wink at violations which public convenience or a strong public sentiment might. defend.
 "You gathered news yesterday and violated the Sunday law continued MT. Bronson. ''I drove to church in
 my car, but I violated the law when I went to the Post Office for my mail.
 There was a time when such acts would be prosecuted, but times have
 changed and no one would think, now,
 of prosecuting either of us for break ing the law. I can readily see the justice of the complaints made by those merchants who confine them selves to a. working week of six days
 and who have had to put up with competition from those who keep l open shop every day in the week. I
 stores next Sunday and avoid litiga- ton, for the law is the statute 1 book and must. be enforced"
 ''I see by the papers, MT. Bron-
 son continued" that one of the ner-
 chants is going to make a test case
 out of it. That is 3, foolish move and | is nothing that I would recommend l The merchant referred to is Harry l Raffe1, who owns a grocery store in
 the North End. He threatens to keep
 his shop open next Sunday and fight 1 the case in City Court. He claims
 there is discrimination in the order issued by the Prosec cuting Attorney. eff | the factories and theaters were com | pel1ed to close, would have no com | p1aint to make" he said, tbut the
 discrimination is so evident, that l | think it would make a good test case
 for the courts to decide"
 | Prosecuting Attorney Peas1ey said 1 today that MT. Raffe1 was evidently a, Hebrew and therefore would not be | obliged to close his store on Sunday
 if he closed it on Saturday, which is l the Jewish Sabbath. He will have | to notify me in writing, though, and
 so will all others affected by the same | conditions.'
 l MT. Peas1ey has granted a stay for 1 the execution of the new order until
 next Sunday. It was the original in | tent to put the order into force yes 1 terday, but because some of the rner-
 chants had perishab1e goods on their
 hands which they had ordered for 1 Sundays trade he postponed the exc | cution of the order until next Sun 1 day. Attorney Bronson referred to this action on MT. Peasley's part today by
 saying the Prosecuting Attorney had | allowed the merchants to violate a | law yesterday which he was going to | enforce next Sunday.