Show I IN NEW NEWYORK YORK I By PAUL HARRISON HARBISON NEW YORK YORK YORK-If If any native son of Gotham gets to bragging about the modernity and liberality of his city you can squelch him with a little talk about New York laws A good way to begin is to ask hint him whether he knows that millions of New Yorkers technically are criminals crim mats because they borrow books from the public libraries Then Than you can cango cango cango go on to explain that section 1427 of the penal code provides a maximum maximum maximum maxi maxi- mum punishment of three years three years years' imprisonment im Sm f for r any persons who removes removes removes re re- re- re moves or assist in removing any book manuscript or coin from any reference reference reference refer refer- ence library except for the purpose of repairing it or transferring it to another library That law was made before libraries began to lend books and nobody has got around round to changing it You dont don't hear much about New NewYork NewYork NewYork York blue laws because they're not enforced But they're there all aU right just waiting for lor some lous authority to come along and jail jaila a f few w thousand Sunday golfers skaters ers era bride players bride players and nd such The law h has s been amended to permit Sunday fishing and Sunday baseball but those are the only changes It is against the law to hold a horse race rac within a mile of or any courthouse aLSoto also aiso alsoto to run a horse on any public highway Play Flay One of the the- most popular plays Broadway ever saw The saw The Green Pastures was Pastures was a lawbreaker because it is expressly forbidden that there shall be any representation of the Divine Person in a public place And this play which has a a negro in the therole therole therole role of oZ De Be vf Lawf is is' h hailed by religious religious re re- re- re f folk lk everywhere as s' s sa a deeply reverent production Since the big bad bears of Wall Walt Wallstreet Wallstreet street went on Ion the ra rampage a good many marty citizens have hat had occasion t to look up the bankruptcy law and the items of ot personal property it exempts from s seizure This has proved very enlightening Say for example that thata a judgment has been slapped lapped on the assets and effects of ot a bankrupt broker brok brok- er living in a three-room three apartment on the twenty seventh floor of a building on Park avenue These are arc the Lares and P which the law says he can take away with him All stoves kept for use in a dwelling i house one sewing machine the i family Bible and school books ten n sheep with their fleeces and cloth clothes made thereof one cow two swine one team of horses and horse feed for 60 days fuel and arid oil for use of the family for 60 days day one milking pot one one t teapot one oce shovel 1 and one lamp Regulating Religion Ministers and especially revivalists are almost constantly breaking the New York law which makes it a crime to a attempt to Induce a person to adopt or practice a religious beliet be be- lief liet Since this law obviously does not apply to attempts attempts' to induce duce persons per per- sons sans to abandon their religious be it has not been invoked against Mr Charles Smith president of the Society for th the Advancement of ot Athe Athe- ism But it was possible to arrest him under an old ordinance which forbids clergymen from speaking in public without special police permit You can Imagine ima-gme how it annoyed Smith the Smith the only man in town whose sole profession is is atheism to lo be cla classed cd as a a clergyman Police though stoutly maintained that religIous re re- re- re talk either pro or con w was s preaching Smith was convicted b but t carried his case to the state court of ol appeals where the decision was re- re versed It was vas was wasa a hollow victory though because the board ot of aldermen aldermen alder alder- men then changed the ordinance to Include atheists athes Smith is heading for Seattle now there to begin an nn antireligious sp speaking akin tour along the Pacific coast cout |