The Corvallis times. (Corvallis, Or.) 1888-1909, 1905-01-21
LOCAL OPTION Law ATTACK
ED IN LEGISLATURE
AT SALEM.
Many Amendments Proposed
Some Of Them of Vital Import
ance- Bill Was Introdue-
ed in the Houss by d
Wasco Member.

Salem, Or, Jan. Is. S.Almost
every important provision of the To-
cal option law adopted by the peo-
pie of Oregon last June will be eith-
er wholly eliminated or so modified
as to be meaningless, If the bill in-
troduced in the house yesterday by
Jayne ofWasce becomes a law.
The bill was framed by the liquor
interests, and it is expected to
arouse one Of the hottest fights Of
the session. By its terms county
prohibition is abolished and each
precinct must decide for itself wheth-
er the sale Of liquor within it's
boundaries is to be permitted. Nor
can all precincts in the state avail
themselves of the local option law,
for the new bill makes the law ap.
plicable, in incorporated cities and
towns, only to residence precincts" :"
and in none others can the question
of prohibition be, raised.
The difficulty of calling an cleo
tion to decide: whether prohibition
shall be adopted is greatly increas-
ed, for the Jayne bill requires the
signatures Of 40 per cent Of the reg
istered voters to the petition before
the election can be held.
The sale Of liquor by wholesale
lis expressly removed from the ap-
plication of the law. Many minor
changes are also made.
IF the Jayne bill is adopted and
receives the governors approval the
local option law will no longer be
recognizable.
The Jayne bill amends sections
Il 81 S,sS 8, 6, +, s, &c 12 Is, 1eF II
and Is Of the local option law, re-
peals section IA, and adds three
new sections.
Section of the original law
provides for an election by any
county, subdivision of county or
precinct, whenever petition there
for, Is signed by 10 per cent. Of the
registered voters, and In no event
shall more than 500 signatures be
necessary.
As amended by the Jayne bill
such an election can only be held
by individual precincts, upon peti.
tion Of not less than 40 per cent ol
the registered voters of the precinct
and it is further provided that only
precincts lying either wholly with
| in or without the boundaries of an
incorporated town or city may hold
such election. The effect of this
provision is to make 1t impossible
for precincts lying partly within
and partly without city or town
to adopt prohibition.
| Section 2 of the locsl option law
provides that liquor may be sold in
cases of illness upon the prescr;p'
tion of a regular physician, 'pro'
vided that physician who does NOT
follow the practice of medicine as a
principal and usual calling shall
not be authorized to give the pre-.
scription called for in this section
The proviso quote is omitted en-
tirely in the Jayne bill, thus open.
ing the way for druggists or Other
persons not regularly practicine
medicine as principal calling to
lgive prescriptions for alcoholic
drinks.
Section three of the local option
Iiaw provides shat prohibition elec
Itions may be held in June of any
! year. The Jayne bill provides tina
| they shall be held only in the al
ternate years intervening bstweet
the general elections. In othe
words the, questions of prohibition
can be submitted to the. voters of {
precinct only once in two years, in
stead of every year, as under th'
original law.
/ The proposed chan es in section
seven and 8 are unimportant ant
incidental to the plan of precinc
local option as distinguished fron
! local option of counties or group
of precincts.
Section ten of the local optiol
law declares that when an electio
roenltc in favor of r,rohihitiou th