The Ohio Democrat. (Logan, O. [Ohio]) 1886-1906, 1902-02-06
TOPUSH LOCAL OPTION
Friends Of the Measure Confident Of Its
Ultimate Success.
WILL TRY TO ABOLISH STATE CANALS
But Little Change TO Be Made In
Congressional Districts--State Tax
alton Commission Proposed.
Guerin Springs Surprise.

Congressional Districts--State Tax
alton Commission Proposed.
Guerin Springs Surprise.
Columbus, o., Feb. 5.-[Special.1-
The really pressing question of the
week in legislative matters will un-
doubtedly be that of temperament
local option phase of temperance.
Friends of the Beal measure presented
week or so ago and which provides
for local option in wards and munich
pallties are confident not only of its
passage, but of its passage this week
by a comfortable majority. The ex
pectation now is to have the bill re-
ported back from the committee on
temperance not later than Wednesday
afternoon and put on the calendar of
Thursday for it's third reading. This
will bring the issue directly before the
house for a deciding vote. If passed
it can be sent directly to the senate
and action taken there Friday morning
under suspension of rules, providing
it does not come up under the regular
order of business. BY adjournment at
the end of the week, If there be no
hitch or halt in the plans, the bill will
have become a law. Outside of the
bitter and determined opposition to
the bill which will come from the local
and state liquor dealers, Mr.. Cain, the
member in the house from the Nor
gan-Noble district, may block progress
through the presentation of an entirely
new bill aimed towards local option,
but by an entirely different route. In
staed of requiring an election in a
ward or municipality, Mr., Cain would
simply require a petition signed by
81 or more per cent of the property
owners asking for the abolishing of
the saloon within the ward or town,
and upon the strength of that the
mayor or council would be compelled
to order the withdrawal of the saloons
within 80 days. Once removed, the sa-
looms could not come back within
three years, and then only by petit
ton containing the names of more
than one-half of the voters. The
strength of such plan, Mr.. Cain MAIN
tains, would be in that it would do
away with the necessity of frequent
and expensive elections and yet bring
about the same result, since an express
sion from majority of voters would
be necessary before action could be
taken. He Is endeavoring to have the
Beal bill so amended as to contain this
provision and il successful in that will
present no measure of his own, but
should the anti-saloon league refuse
to consent to such plan he will place
his bill in on Wednesday and work for
its passage. A number of members
favor his plan as more free from COM
pAcaions and would be disposed to
support it dn preference to the Beal
measure. Therefore, Mr. Cain may be
able to block proceedings and prevent
the adoption Of any bill until at least
later in the session. The anti-saloon
league was wise in one thing this ses-
sion. Instead of securing a radical and
biased partisan of temperance to in
| troduoe their measure whose person
ality would lose it friends, they Sc
lected Professor Beal of the Carroll
Harrison district, one of the most pro-
nounced in advocacy of temperance in
the state. The professor, while strong
in his views and fearless in their pre-
sentation, is not warped in his judg-
| Dnn nd lnn1y OF ttot. Ill
sides. He will, therefore, strengthen
rather than weaken the cause.
The long-felt and ill-concealed belief
that the canal system of the state is q
source of useless expense from which
no real good is derived will find more
radical expression in this Legislature
than ever before, and may even go to
the extreme of abolishing the canals
entirely together with the board o.
public works, the chief engineer of the
canals and the canal commissioners
A resolution was introduced in the
house a short time ago urging the
gradual abandonment of these water
highways, but it did not look beyond
that at this time. Mr. Painter of WOOD
has under advisement, however, bill
doing away with everything that il
canal tinged. from the water-soakeC
1Sats that line the canal banks to tn,
highest man in authority. He defends
his action on the ground that tn,
canals are annually costing the stat,
something over 100000 year and ar,
useful chiefly as breeders of malari;
and typhoid fever, two things whicl
the state can well dispense with. Hi
plan is to draw off the water as rapid,
as possible and sell the lands to tn
highest bidder. This would bring in
considerable amount of money for th
state treasury which could be used il
the reduction of the public debt. TIL
only canal which Mr.. Painter woult
consider in the way of granting an ex
tension of life would be the Miami ant
Drie, and he would not allow that t,
live beyond year or more at the out