The Waterbury Democrat., 1939-08-09


 William J. Roach within the next few days for a permit, despite the chiefs statement yesterday that he will issue no licenses until Sept. 15.
 The point at issue is an interpre- tation of the bingo legalization act passed by the recent General As- sembly. Supt. Roach says it forbade the issuance of permits till Sept. IS. Others say that this applies only to years after 1889, and that permits can be issued now, to be effective until Sept. IS, 1940.
 The board of aldermen Monday night, after receiving petition signed by more than the required 5 per cent of local voters, voted to al- low the playing of bingo locally.
 The act provides that the game shall be under the supervision of police authorities in each city or town of the state where the govern ing body votes to allow 1t to be played.
 Following is the full text of the bingo legalization act:
 Chapter 226
 AN ACT 0ULATING THE PLAYING OF THE GAME OF BINGO.
 Be 1t enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in Gen. eral Assembly convened:
 Section l. The term "bingo" Is de. fined as the name of a game irl which each player receives 8 card containing several rows of numbers and, as numbers are drawn or oth- erwise obtained by chance and pulp licly announced, the player first having a specified number of an- nounced numbers appearing on his card in @ continuous straight line is declared the winner.
 Sec. 2 (a) Upon a written petition of five per cent or more of the electors of any town, city or bor- ough, prior to September l, 1889, requesting the selectmen, common council or other governing body of such municipality to vote upon the question of permitting the playing of bingo within such municipality, such governing body shall vote upon such question and, if the votes be in the affirmative, it shall be per- mitted, subject to the restrictions herein set forth, until September fifteenth of the following year and, if the vote be in the negative, bingo shall not be permitted to be played in such municipality prior to such date. Upon a like petition prior to September first in any year, a vote shall be taken upon the question of permitting the playing Of bingo from September fifteenth of such year until September fifteenth of the following year. Such question shall be voted upon only once in each year. The governing board of each municipality shall have the power to make such reasonable rules and regulations concerning the conduct of the game as 1t may deem necessary.
 (b) No bingo game or series of bingo games shall be promoted, op- erated or played unless the same shall be sponsored and conducted exclusively by a charitable, civic, educational, fraternal, veterans or religious organization, volunteer fire department or grange. Any such organization or group must have been organized for not less than two years prior to its application for a bingo permit under the terms of this act. The promotion and opera ton of said game or games shall be confined solely to the duly qualified members of the sponsoring organi- zation. Where the words "peron' or applicant" are used in this act they shall mean the officer or rep- resentative of the sponsoring or ganization, or the organization it. self.
 Sec. 2. Any person desiring to op-