Norwich bulletin., 1921-06-15
ARGUE FOR srMIcrEE :
 SUPERVISION OF oARNryAJa

lE A lx5
 Stricter supervision of the kind of car nlVals that may be allowed to show in this city, having regard to the moral effect upon those who may Ec to see them was urged at the hearing held Tuesday morning at 10 o'clock in the unay,r,s room at the-city hall by the anusement committee of the common council. com sisting of Alderman William G. Murray. Councilmen N. Eugene Smith and Mar tin Rozkcki. The frequency of carnivals coming was another point touched upon. About one month was a time limit surrest- ed.
 About 25 citizens attended the hearing. Judge T. J. Kelly was present apparently as counsel for those opposed to the car nivals btitN declined to say in whose in- terests he appeared. He called uuen some of the different ones who spoke and questioned them to bring out further points.
 Judge Kelly made the point at the be- | ginning of the hearing that it was inclrn- bent upon the carnivais to show cause l why they should be allowed to appear as l they were only operated under license. Secretary John J. O'Rourke of the Chamber of Commerce spoke first, saving that the directors opposed the promiscu- l ous granting of licenses and that this 1 opposition was not brought by the thea i tre interests but by the business inter-
 ests. It was felt that it was unfair to 1 allow too much opposition to the local theatres. It was the idea not to shut ou, i carnivals entirely but to bar the so-call. 1 ed "syp" carnivals. We want clean 1 shows and the rambling must be stopped
 If you s.aD the gambling, you spoil their | whole carnival business.
 | EE, there was much opposition among the
 working people to this Chamber of Com
 merce opposition to carnivals, but il | must be remembered they were bad fol | the younger generation. The busin ess
 men are opposed to too many licenses
 but they are not intending to give the
 theatre men monopoly of public amusc ments.
 I Miss Hattie c. Cross. president of tn,
 local W. c. T. U., spoke against the
 carnivalS on the point of their moral
 influence and handed the committee Sonl literature from the national organization
 to look over. She hoped that whatevel
 carnivals are allowed to come will pas
 inspection on moral grounds.
 Frederick H. Want spoke briefly II
 opposition and H. R. Woodward sait
 that if you take the games of chance
 away from the carnivals they are dead Joseph A. George spoke in favor O
 allowing carnivals to come and chal
 lenged MT. O'Rourke's statement tha
 they had been shut out all over Massa
 chusetts. MT. George mentioned som
 Massachusetts towns where he had at
 tended carnivals. He claimed that tn
 carnivals pay rent here for the lot the, occupy, pay from $2o0 to $500 to tht city electric department and benefit th
 local restaurants, lodging houses an
 stores by their trade. He said noood,
 needed to gamble unless of his own ire will, and he thought good clean outdoo amusements ought to be allowed. Nj
 George said he had heard it stated tha carnivals took $25, ,0o0 in 8 week out 0
 the city, but he knew they never teol
 over $5,006.
 Mir oRourke replied to MT. Georg
 that if carnivals were allowed in Massa
 chusetts cities, it was only when the.
 were sponsored by responsible fraterna societies. New London, he said, ha ' shut them out by charging a license fe of $1,0o0 a day Mir. o'Rourke rea' l from theatrical publication of the ar rests of carnival people for variou
 crimes.
 Prosecuting Attorney Lee Roy Rob bins of the city court spoke of the troVbl that the police have through people con | , never come to public notice. There ar
 undesirable women with them sometime
 and have been in Norwich instance: Once two Norwich girls were lured ava to Wfllirnantic. There is general i'm 5 moral tendency about the carnivalS. h ! said.
 5 Joseph Pick, who said he Is part ner in a business on the East Side wit
 Councilman. Rozycki. said he did not bt n lieve any merchant would object to tn } carnivals His business, he said. gc t about $10O to $260 a week out of tn 5 carnivals, but the figures that had bee = read at this meeting showed the thes ; tres paid a license of about 10 cents
 day.
 , Alonzo Letender of the Columbia : house and the Lennox house said he fs 2 vored carnivais and that their busi . ness brought in about $175 week. . The hearing adjourned about Il 0 1 clock and the committee took the ma
 ter under advisement.