The Richmond palladium and sun-telegram. [volume] (Richmond, Ind.) 1907-1939, 1909-04-07
BLACKBOARD JOINS WAYNE.

BLACKBOARD JOINS WAYNE.
Gives Small Majority In Favor Of
Saloons.
Hartford City, Ind. April Little
Blackford joined Quaker Wayne yes
terday and voted wet" by majority
OF 181. While not as large a majority
as the wet" managers had counted
on, the storm that ragged practically all
day cut down the vote considerably.
The total vote in the county was 1914
as compared with 4,099 in the presi-
dental election.
Licking Township, in which Hart
Montpelier is located. went wet" by
269 and Harrison Township, in which
Montpelier is located, went wet" by
a. The two country townships, in
which there are no towns of any size.
went dry" Washington by 86 and
Jackson by SO.
The dry" managers claimed the
county by 200 until o'clock tonight,
but by $50 o'clock admitted their de-
feat.
The campaign was the hardest
fought one ever known in the county.
The storm that accompanied the To-
cal option elections yesterday held
Blackford County in it's grasp until
noon and threatened to descend at
any moment after that. In spite OF
the unfavorable weather conditions
the vote was fully 80 per cent of the
presidential vote last fall and In
number of precincts the full polled
vote was out.
In spite of the heat of the campaign
there was no trouble and but one ar
rest. William Roach, a barber, was
arrested for voting illegally, but
Roach, whose family is in Tennessee.
asserts he still holds his residence
here and he has never voted any 9TH
err place.
The w. C. r. U. had committee all
day in front of the wet" headquarters
and the name Of every man that went
in was taken. A photographer was al
SO stationed in front of the entrance
to the office Of the chairman OF the
"wets." A. NJ. Waltz, and for two hours
In the morning took pictures OF the
throng that went in and out.
About 10 o'clock yesterday morning
Mrs. Clarence Stewart, the wife OF a
dry" leader, made her way into the
wet headquarters and sat down,
watching the operation of sending out
after voters and the other incidents OF
the campaign. Mr.. Waltz asked her
business and when she told him to
watch him he told her that was no
place for a woman and asked her to
leave, She did so. The w. G.. L. U.
lunch counters were poorly patronized
and the rain kept the women from do
ing much of the work they had count
ed on.
While both sides worked hard and
every available rig in the city and sew
eraI automobiles from Muncie were
pressed into service, there were no
evidences Of fraud and not drunken
man was seen all day.
Spectacular Fight in Montpelier.
In Montpelier the day was spec
tacular one. When the "drys" rang
the church bells at the hour the "wets"
fired a cannon as long as the bells
rang and two bands played on the
streets. Factory whistles added their
din and the closing day Of the hottest
campaign ever wage6 in Blackford
county was more of q free circus in
Harrison Township than anything
else.
When the w. c. T. U. people Of
fered a voter sandwich and a cup
OF coffee the "wets" would proffer
him a meal ticket and tell him to go
to hotel or good restaurant and get
a square meal.
There was nothing Of the spectacu-
lar in Hartford City, but both sides
got down to hard work and exerted
every effort to get out the vote. In
the two country townships of jackson
and Washington the reports were that
nearly as large per cent of the vote
was brought out as in Hartford City
and Montpelier.
A surprise the "wets" sprung on the
"drys" here was bringing back to vote
large number of men who are work
non, O.. and other places where win
dow glass factories are operated.
In the early morning the "drys'
challenged every voter brought to the
polls by wet" worker and soon aft
er o'clock the blank affidavits for
swearing in voters were exhausted
and new supply had to be printed
With scarcely an exception these
votes were sworn in.
The general opinion is that there
was never cleaner election In Black
ford county nor campaign in which
such rancor had been worked I'D as