The Lake County times. [volume] (Hammond, Ind.) 1906-1933, 1908-09-25

indianapolis, Sept 25.-The real fight
on the option question will come to-
ow--presumably the concluding
day of the special session. The fight
yesterday was a good preliminary
sklrmish but It was not the real thing
Neither side expected it to be the fnal
showdown. Five out of every six men
who had followed events closely knew
that the measure was not going ia
be killed. Some democrats had homes
and some republicans had fears that
1t would, but the leaders of each knew
that the battle royal had been post
poned.
II the democrats had been able to
force indefinite postponement when
the minority report of the morals com
mittee was up for adoption, it would
have been all off for option for the
present at least. But the minority
leaders were not ready to force the
fighting. Some of the insurgeut re-
publicans had insisted upon giving the
Dill a chance for its life and had re-
fused to kill on the first vote
Reserves Right to Vote Against.
The democrats knew that they would
lose at least one vote by DELAY. but
they had hopes of winning more than
this. Hotel. democratic member of
the morals committee, who joined with
Green, another democrat on the com
mittee, in signing the minority report
for postponed, reserved the right ~
vote against the bill lif IT should live
10 third reading and announced af-
ter the test vote had been taken that
ne would vote for the bill when il
came up for passage, and Green his
colleague, intimated that he might vote
for the bill on passage, but the demo-
Gratis knew that these two could not
save the measure and they adopted de-
lay In the hope that in losing the two
democrats they might win several
doubtful republicans. namely, Billings
ley, Bowlus and Keller of Indianopils
and Meeker of Monticello.
A recapitulation today showed that
of the fifty-one votes that the repub-
licans had lined up yesterday against
postponement they were liable to lose
Billingsley. Bowlus and Meeker and
due to win only Hotel and perbans
Green. OF the forty-nine votes lined
up by the emocrats, the minority was
likely to lose Hotel and liable to lose
Green, while they stood to win Bill
Kingsley. Bowlus and Meeker If this
break should come each party would
have fifty votes and the measure would
be tied up deadlock
John Bowlus. the recalitrant renub-
ican of Marion county, had a pet the
Try which he was exhibiting around
he hotel corridors and hotel Iobbies
de wished to amend the bill in such
way that counties containing on /
'ities Of ten thousand population
hould be governed by the county unit
while in counties with cities of 10000
r more the county unit should govern T.
outside of the cities and the cities I
themselves constitute the unit for their
wn elections.
In other words, all Of Marion county
utside of indianapolis would vote
Tith the county as the unit while In
annapolis would hold an election of
er own.
1t was also bruited about the legis-
alive halls this morning that the
rewers had won enough votes TO de-
eat the measure and that the enact
lg clause would be stricken out when
ne bill came up on second reading for
mendments In this connection there
ere rumors Of much Doodle.