Wheeling register. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1878-1935, 1901-02-02

fate in the State Senate yesterday aft
ernoon, as will be found fully detail
ed in our special kilograms this morn
ing from Charleston.
The measure is dead beyond hope
of resurrection; yet the margin was so
small, and so many Senators, whose
views were at least open to question,
were absent or not voting, that the
anti-bill element people have every
reason to congratulate themselves, and
the liquor men directly interested
cause to commune seriously with
themselves and to highly resolve that
in the future there shah he some refor-
nation along lines which will make
another like project either improbable
or impossible in the future.
Many people not in sympathy with
the saloon men were opposed to the
Laughlin bill, for several reasons-all
of them good. One of this class is
General Alfred Caldwell, and his ex-
p%ressions, printed in the Register yes
terday morning, were heartily endors-
ed during the day by many influential
I'm IlObSLIAoi u oll1O1AS IlCL1
such men as Col. Thomas O'Brien, Sr.,
Hon. Robert Simpson, General T. S.
Riley, eX-Postmaster M. j.. O'Kane, and
others. These gentlemen commended,
sometimes at considerable length, the
expressions uttered by Genera Cald-
well, and had no hesitancy in allow-
ing the use of their N They did
not Oppose the bill because of sympa-
thy with the liquor interests, but for
other and very different reasons, as,
for instance, because it was an amend
ment of the city charter without the
consent of the people; a limitation and
curtailment of the powers of Council
without its consent, the Introduction
into our local affairs of powers and in
tiuences originating and largely con-
trOlled by the voters of other counties,
and the very grave danger, amounting
almost to a certainty, that the new
duties and powers imposed upon the
Circuit Judges would result in drag
ging those high and hitherto clean
officials into the mire Of saloon poll
tics, the very worst form of a neces-
sary evil. That danger is now happily
removed, and there will be found a
very general feeling that the granting
of licenses may not only be safely left
to the City Council, as heretofore, but
that both that body and the liquor in
tereSts directly concerned will realize
that there must be a wholesome refOr-
nation and a change from past meth
DDS.
The news of the action of the Sen
ate was very promptly received by the
Register and was bulletined at this Of
flee, attracting a large amount of at
tention. Soon telephone bells were
buzzing and it is safe to say that with
in five minutes the information that
the bill was lead was known in every
section of the city. The saloon men
were naturally jubilant. They had
feared the worst, and the best was,
therefore, received with corresponding
rejoicing. There were almost innum-
cradle enquiries for details of the vote
and for the exact situation, and this
information was supplied as fast as
possible.
Members of the Committee of One
Hundred and of the Ministerial Fed
Grafton were naturally as greatly as
tonished as any other class, and were
cOrrespOndingly disappointed. A num-
Der of members of the Committee were
seen by Register reporters, and some
interesting expressions of opinion fol-
low:
The Rev. R. R. Bigger, one of the
committee of Wheeling ministers VINO
have been working in behalf of the
measure during the past few days, was
interviewed by a Register reporter
1nr+ nyyOoina OF %In e 49,
Third Presbyterian church and ex-
pressed his opinion as follows: The
defeat of the Laughlin bill was one of
the dirtiest pieces of work ever en-
acted in the State of West Virginia,
particularly because of the fact that
we were not given a chance to be
heard upon the question. 1t was I'M
derstood that the bill after coming
before the Senate would be referred to
a judicial committee, so that they
might hear the arguments pro and
con. Instead of that they assassinated
the bill in the Senate before hearing
why it should not be passed. 1t is ap-
parent thai they took advantage of
the fact that Senator Whitaker was
not present at the time and SO West
Virginia was not heard from.
l am sorry that the bill was downed
and do not wish to conceal the fact
because have the interests of the
people Of Ohio county closely at
heart. l regret that Wheeling cannot
measure up to Pittsburg in reform.
| have no doubt that there will be
great rejoicing in Wheeling's fake no.
tells and low down dens over the de-
feat of the Laughlin bill, and they
are enemies of the city. They are not
in the least interested in the welfare
of the community like the good peo-
pie of Wheeling are.
The only thing remaining for US
TO do is TO look TO our reform move
ment in Wheeling for good govern
ment. The whisky people have no oc-
casion to rejoice, because it is not a
decent victory on their part. They gave
those favoring the bill no chance to
present their side of the question
The Rev. Samuel Schwarm said that
he was sorry to learn of the Senate's
action in the matter and when asked
if he attributed the bills defeat to more
lobbying on the other side he replied
that he supposed that it was justly
defeated, but really did not care to
expressed his opinion.
Henry NJ. Russell, a member OF the
Committee Of One Hundred. said that