East Oregonian : E.O. (Pendleton, OR) 1888-current, 1906-04-10
NEW BILL WOULD
|. KILL LOCAL OPTION
LIQUOR DEALERS WOULD
ANNUL PEOPLES LAW
Bill Now Before the People is Creation
of the Wholesale Men and Destroys
All the Meaning of the Local Option
Law Now i'm Force-New Bill is
Full of Tricks In Favor of the
Liquor Interests.

\ bill has now been prepared by the
Brewers and Wholesale Liquor Deal
ers' association, through the Royal
Arch, which is to be submitted to the
voters in the June election. In the
preamble of the new bill ii is provid-
ed that this act shall not apply to
the manufacture or sale of liquors at
wholesale by brewers, distillers, vint-
ners or wholesale liquor dealers" I"
This takes it out of the hands of the
sovereign people to decide whether
they will have liquor sold by wholesale
in their community.
Then the new bill provides only for
elections in single precincts and
against voting by counties cities,
towns or any communities where
there is more than one voting pre-
cinct. No grouping of precincts is
allowed. So that if this bill should
pass nine-tenths of a town might want
to close the saloon, but one precinct,
made up of the lowest riff-raff in
town, could continue to run a section
of Sodom IN spite of all the other vot-
ers. With the brewers and wholesal-
ers unrestricted and no possibility of
a township vote, the present law
would be nullified.
The proposed liquor bill would re-
quire 80 per cent of all voters on pc
tition in each precinct before local
option could be voted on. The pres
ent law requires but 10 per cent. To
vote on a constitutional amendment
under the initiative only requires
per cent, the number used by tie
liquor men to submit their amend
ment to vote in June.
Five per cent can order an election
under the referendum in all matters
but local option. But they would in
crease the required number in this
from 10 per cent of the legal voters
to 80 per cent-almost four times the
required number under the initiative
and six time the number required
for a referendum vote. BY what rule
of fairness is such a burden put on the
temperance people? There are many
men who want to clean up their town
and will vote mo saloons" who, fol
business reasons, do not like to sigr
petitions for local option elections
When the ratio is increased. the sa'
, loOnists will use their tactics of boy.
cotting the signers. in order to pre-
vent the holding of the election.
Under this bill when the election
has been held, if it goes against the
| saloon, any voter can contest the elec
| ton, throw the matter into the cour
| for months. thus enabling one t,
Withstand the will of all. THE coun
| ty judge shall have full and fina
! jurisdiction to hear and determine tn
/ merits of such proceedings" No righ
of appeal
Then when the judge decides tina
the election was lawful and that it in
contestably carried prohibition, tn
saloon keepers shall be given 80 days
or three months, before it become
unlawful. Finally. if they continue t
sell and are apprehended and convict
ed, the penalties are cut down b
their bill to a minimum, shall b
fined anywhere from nothing to nc
more than $3.50 for the first offens'
and shall for any subsequent offens
be fined not more than $500"
There is no prison penalty attache
to the violation of this law, no mai
ter how many times repeated.
small fine, periodically exacted, woul
be only about as expensive as a licens
fee. In short the bill is framed I
add to the difficulties of calling a
election, of securing a majority {
= having the new ordinance established
. of convicting lawbreakers under
t and finally the penalties are ridicl
lously small; all in the interest of II
: law breakers.
The serious part of the new, bill
this: Nothing contained in any of II
9 sections of this act shall in any mal
ner affect the right of any bona fiC
, wholesale dealer, brewer, distfller {
vinener in said precinct to sell or
deliver intoxicating liquor at who'll
sale"
\ This takes away from the peop
the right to prohibit the liquor bus
8 ness, except one feature of it. Aga
4 the bill contains a trick to count q
e blank votes in favor of the saloon.
I provides that the question shall on
n be submitted at the biennial electio
1t is known that at this election, wi
[ a full ticket in the field, large nun
= ber of voters only vote for two
e three officers, and leave the rest
: the ballot blank.