The Richmond palladium and sun-telegram. [volume] (Richmond, Ind.) 1907-1939, 1909-03-27
UNDER PROTEST ANTI
SALOON LEAGUE AIDS
Easy String of Victories for
Drys Now About at End and
War Now Will Be a Fierce
Conflict.
(Soecial Correspondent

ton has at last run up against what
looks like a certain fizzle. II has
tackled Marion county with divided
force, when the enemy is in fine trim
and this does not augur well for the
attacking party.
Yesterday the prohibitionists of this
county, the largest county in the state
in point of population, and the last
one that was to have been attacked
! by the local option forces. started out
| to get signers to petition for local
option election in this county. AL
though the prohibitionists have always
opposed the plans of the Anti-Saloon
| league and although they worked
against the enactment of the county
local option bill into law, and although
they denounced as a compromise with
the liquor traffic. which they do not
approve of, the prOhibitionists have at
| last come to point where they Will
seek to make use of the law in an eff
fort to drive saloons out of Marion
county.
Arc Holding Meetings.
The prohibitionists have been hold
ing a series of temperance meetings
in this county. Michael J. Tanning,
of Pennsylvania. noted temperance
lecturer and orator, has been in this
county for more than a week, holding
meetings in various parts of the city.
Along with him is Sumner w. Haynes,
OF Portland, who was the prohibition
list candidate for governor last fall.
ho wv of q k
ing so much progress with their cam
paign, that ON Thursday night when
they spoke in Haughville, suburb
they aroused the enthusiasm of their
audience to such a pitch that it was
decided to start at once movement
for an election that would decide
| whether or not saloons shall stay or
go.
The result was that yesterday petit
tions were prepared and workers start
ed out to get signatures. The prohi
bitionists say they will push the CAM
paign with great vigor and that they
expect to have the necessary $4,000
names to the petition within sixty
days. That is the number that it will
take to make the county commission
ers call the election.
ignore the League.
The Anti-Saloon league was not con-
suited by the prohibitionists on the
subject of circulating the petitions. 1t
is purely a prohibitionist movement.
If it succeeds the prohibitionists will
get all Of the credit II it fails they
must take the blame. But, since the
petitions have been started the Anti
Saloon forces say they will lend their
aid to it and make the effort success
if possible. They believe the time is
not ripe for such an election in this
county, and they have said SO all
along. Their position is that Marion
is one of the last counties that they
ought to tackle. but the enthusiasm
of the prohibitionists has taken the
Anti-Saloon league off it's feet and it
will now make the best of it. L. NJ.
Barney. district superintendent of the
league, says he will not even sign one
of the petitions for an election. but
that he will do all he can to make it
win since the prohibitionists have
started the thing.
Marion Not Ready.
Marion county is believed to be not
ready for such an election. If the local
option movement goes ahead the
brewers will make their greatest fight
in this county. for it means life or
death to TAO saloons and possibly to
two or three breweries in which hun
dreds of thousands of dollars are in
vested. 1t will mean a bitter cam
paign in every sense of the word. and
it is feared by the Anti-Saloon league
and others that the prohibitionists will
not be able to carry the campaign to
a successful end. That is why failure
Is predicted.
Anti-Saloon league to worry over the
situation Is the fact that II the prohi-
bitionists are able to bring on the elec-
ton and the county should vote itself
wet no other local option election
could be held In Marion county for a
period of two years. This would mean
another two years of saloons. The Of
ficers Of the league feel that il the
election In this county could be delay
ed for another year it would stand a
better chance of being carried by the
drys than ii it is held within the next
few months.
Will Have Fight Now.
But the fact is that the local option
forces are about to the end of their
easy" string of counties, and from
now on they will have to fight for the
counties that they carry. A map OF
the wet and dry counties in the state
shows that there are still thirty-one
wet counties in the state. but it also
shows that most of them are counties
in which the result Of an election is
doubtful matter For instance. We
find in the list Lake. Laporte. st. Jos
eph- Allen. Cass, Tippecanoe, vigo,
Narien. Delaware. Madison. Knox,