New-York tribune., 1921-04-18
City a Desert
Sunday, So Far
As Police Saw
Only 2 Persons Accused of
Violating Liquor Acts,
but "a Arrested Satur-
day Face Magistrates
Fool Laws Sadden Judge
its Terrible, Says Corrigan;
Anderson Issues Warning
Courts Will Be Watched


Although the police we're as diligen'
as ever yesterday in their search fol
violators of the prohibition law, only
two arrests had been reported at mid
night.
The prisoners are Fred Holsberger
proprietor of saloon at AGA Crescent
Street, Brooklyn, and Rudolph Helm
sohn, his bartender. Heinsohn is &C.
cused of selling a flask of whisky to q
patrolman in plain clothes for $225
Holsberger is. charged with manufac-
turing and possessing liquor of more
than one-half of / per cent alcoholic
content. 1t is alleged that he had Q
still above the saloon and that forty
gallons of grain alcohol was found
there.
were arraigned in the various police
courts during the day.
Magistrate Joseph E. Corrigan
from his bench in jefferson Market
Court, was responsible for a short
speech laden with gloom concerning
the future. He had just finished
listening to thirty individuals plead
not guilty to various charges under
the new liquor laws, and had held
them in $500 bail each for further ex-
animation when he expressed himself
as of the belief that there would soon
be an antibreathing law.
II could never bring myself to be.
lieve that people would elect legisla-
but" and he shook his head sadly
since these laws are on the statute
books l believe in enforcing them.
A Terrible Situation
"It is terrible situation" said the
magistrate, terrible. They will soon
be arresting people for breathing
present legal percentage of alcohol"
The other speaker was no less than
William H. Anderson, state superin-
tendent of the Anti-Saloon League. He
spoke from the pulpit of the Rev. John
Roach Straton's church in West Fifty
seventh Street and seemed alarmed at
the tranquility of the day.
He said thai the fight for prohibition
was not over; that it had just begun.
Then he expressed fear that the ma
tional and state prohibition laws would
be repealed or changed if the people
went to sleep.
He promised, however, that he and
his cohorts would not sleep and that
close watch would be kept on judges
before whom applications were made
for injunctions against places where
liquor was alleged to be sold.
"If thew neglect their dutyr he said
prompt measures will be taken to &C
quaint the public with the fact"
But without knowing that Mr.. Ander-
son was on their trail the magistrates
in the various police courts continued
to do their duty. The law took its
course, even in the case of Henry
Playles, an English turfman and globe
trotter, who WAS brought before Magis-
trate Simms because at some point in
his globe trotting he is alleged to have
stopped long enough to acquire bottle
of liquor.
Mr.. Playles, who is staying at 80;
West Seventy-seventh Street, was ar
rested Saturday afternoon by Patrolmar
Boetig, of the West Forty-seventh Stree
station. He was in q restaurant OF
West Fifty-hfth Street and was seatet
at table with two ladies and a gentle
man when Boetig approached him.
Offers Policeman a Drink
1t was an attractive scene. There wa
Mr.. Playles with a bottle in his han
and a patrolman at his elbow. MI
Playles said he thought the officer wa
looking for drink, so he offered hir
one.
He disclaims ownership of the bottl
however He said that gentleman 8
the next table-"a foxy chap who ur
derstands the jolly old law better tina
I"-handed him the bottle as soon q
he saw the policeman.
Nevertheless, Mr.. Playles was held !
$500 for the action of the grand jury.
1t became known yesterday that thre
men were overcome Saturday night b
the fumes of whisky and were foun
unconscious in room in Hacket
Street, Jamaica. They were taken t
st. Mary's Hospital, in Jamaica an
held for having liquor in their DOS
session and for making it,,
The men are described as Samuf
y Goldberg. 244 Cherry Street; Isado
Slonkey, III Monroe Street, and Jaco
Rothenstein, in whose apartment the
were found, along with what the polio
claim to be paraphernalia for the man
ufacture of liquor.