Raines law Raines law The Raines law, authored by John Raines, was passed on March 23, 1896, by the New York State Legislature. It was nominally a liquor tax, but its intention was to curb the consumption of alcohol by imposing regulations. Among other provisions, it prohibited the sale of alcoholic beverages on Sunday except in hotels. Most men worked a six-day week, and Sunday was the only full day for drinking at saloons. Under the law, however, hotels were allowed to serve liquor on Sunday, to guests only, if it was served during a meal or in the bedrooms of the
1896 United States presidential election in New York average. Bryan, running on a platform of free silver, appealed strongly to Western miners and farmers in the 1896 election, but held little appeal in the Northeastern United States. Consequently, he performed especially weakly for a Democrat in New York, losing every county in the state except for Schoharie County upstate. This included New York City, where McKinley outpolled Bryan by about sixty thousand votes. McKinley would lose New York City to Bryan in their 1900 rematch four years later, and New York City would not vote Republican again until 1920. 1896 United States presidential election in New York The