The San Juan islander. [volume] (Friday Harbor, Wash.) 1898-1914, 1909-10-29
PROHIBITION
SPREADS
"DRYS" WINNING VICTORIES u"
ELECTIONS THROUGHOUT
THE STATE.
But Three Towns Have Voted WEI
in Fifteen Elections That Have oeen
Held Under the New State Id"
More Local Option Elections to Fo'-
low.

Olympia Oct. %. - Taking advan-
tage of the new local option law pro-
hibitionists are rapidly extending lne
limits of the arid districts OF WASH
ington.
This State has for many years pos
sessed an actual local option law. Inc
law itself was all right, but the Gill
Guilty has been in the administrator
of the law.
That is to say, the laws of the state
had placed the issuance of liquor IL
censes in the power of city councils
and boards of county commissioners.
The Supreme Court of the State has
held that in the absence of fraud the
courts cannot interfere with the eXer-
else of these discretionary powers.
Could Be Dry.
So without the new local option law
Washington could have been absolute
ly dry had the county commissioners
and city aldermen so desired. Ana
as a matter of fact many communities
were dry, the city authorities or coun-
ty commissioners having adopted
policy of refusing to issue licenses
within these specified localities. These
localities may be whole city or just
a country village and it's surrounding
territory.
Because of this old law with its arid
patches here and there in the State, it
is difficult to determine exactly the
results of the workings so far of the
new local option law.
AS explained, the old law placed alb
determining whether a section should
be wet or dry, as well as the degree of
dampness. When an application was
made for a saloon license or saloon
licenses to the county commissioners
and protests were made by some of the
citizens, the commissioners had the
power to refuse any license or to
grant them all, or grant one and deny
the other, and this action could be TAX
en- irrespective of the desires of the
majority of the voters if the commits
sioners desired.
With the Voters
The new local option law takes this
option from the officials and places it
with the voters. The law has been in
operation but few months. AS a re-
suit of petitions local option elections
have been held at a number of points
with the result that IL towns have
voted dry and three have voted wet.
The names of the towns wherein the
elections were held, result and dates
of election follow:
Cashmere, Chelan county, dry; Aug.
a.
Rockford, Spokane county, dry; Aug.
a.
Puyallup, Pierce county, dry; Aug.
II.
Wenatchee, Chelan county, dry;
Aug. "a.
Bothell, King county, wet; Aug. e.
Spangle, Spokane county, dry; Aug
81.
Toledo, Lewis county, wet; Sept. Z
Deerpark, Spokane county, dry;
Sept
Hartline, Douglas county, dry; Sept
L.
Washtucna, Adams. county, dry;
Sept.
Chewelah, Stevens county, dry;
Sept.
Newport, Stevens county, dry; Sept
Il.
Colville, Stevens county, dry; Sept
Kettle Falls, Stevens county, dry;
Sept
Prosser, Benton country, dry; Oct
II.
Petitions are out for local option
elections in quite number of the 9th
er counties, including towns in Spo-
kane, Walla Walla, Whitman and
Clarke counties. Probably within a
year considerably more than half the
area of the State will be dry, and it is
confidently expected that outside of
the larger towns it will only be short
time before most of the State will have
determined to prohibit saloons.