The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1909-03-11
SENATE PASSES
COMP OMISE
LIQUOR BILL
Provision for StricteSt Sort of
Regulation and County 0p-
ton on Prohibition.
OPTION FOR CITIES OF
OVER 10000 POPULATION
SALT LAKE AND OGDEN MAY
VOTE AS SEPARATE UNITS
SURPRISING SUPPORT.

The senate yesterdayfby a unanimous
vote passed senate bill 14S. This bill pro-
vides for the strictest sort of regulation
ana county option, except that cities of
more than 1900 inhabitants are made the
unit for local option elections. As passed
the bill provides that each county in the
state save Salt Lake and Weber. may
vote on the prohibition question, and that
TIE vote OF the count, as q whole shall
make the county wet or dry" in &C
cordance with the result of the election.
salt Lake and Ogden are permitted to
vote as separate units on the prohibition
question, and they Will in no way be af-
fected by the vote of the county outside
the corporate limits of the city. This is
conceded 10 mean that the saloons will
remain in existence in Salt Lake and
Weber, although there may be none in
any other part of the state.
The passage of the bill in its present
form is remarkable personal victory for
Senator Rudolph kuchier. BY the pas
sage of the measure with his amend
ments included he has secured exactly
what he has fought for almost single
handed ever since the commencement of
the session
kuchIer's Hard Work.
Senator Kuchler led the fight for those
opposed TO prohibition, and through his
efforts the Cannon bill for state wide pro-
libition was defeated. AS a substitute
Tor the Cannon bill the leaders o. the
Republican ranks secured the introduce
ton OF DILL putting the saloon business
under the control of a state licensing
board. Senator Kuchier opposed this bill
and it. too, was defeated by an adverse
committee report. Caucus after caucus
was held and county local option was
practically agreed upon Senator kuCh-
Ter also opposed this. insisting that Salt
Lake and Ogden be made units in the
proposed local option elections.
Finally the senate substitute was intro
manufactures and commerce, Senator
kuchleT, the chairman, dissenting The
bill was referred back to the committee
and finally reported out with an addi-
tiolal amendment providing for a special
state election to be held in 1910. on which
the subject of statewide prohibition was
TO be voted, and according to the result
OF that election the state was to be either
high license OF prohibition.
After some considerable delay, caused
by skillful maneuVeTing on the part of
the apparently outnumbered kuChler
forces, the bill came up for final passage
on Monday. 1t was announced that the
governor had q special communication to
send to the senate on the subject and
the subject was postponed until Tuesday
morning. Then a communication was
read from the governor, on which the
passage of a bill providing for local op-
ton and regulation, without radicalism,
was urged.
All day Tuesday the senate uuarreIed
The opposition to the measure finally Sc
cured the adoption of an amendment by
which the election of 1910 for statewide
local option was eliminated. Almost
every other amendment to the bill pro-
posed by the opposition was lost. The
afternoon was devoted largely to a
speech by Senator Badger. i'm which he
denounced ChuTchmen and the DeSeret
News for attempting to interfere in the
passage of the proposed prohibition leg
islation.
Change Over Night.
When the senate convened yesterday
morning it was evident that overnight
great change had taken place. Senators
Badger. Wilson and others who supported
the substitute measure. and had spuTnsd
every effort of the opposition to intro
dUce any amendments, were among the
first to seek a compromise. 1t was asked
that the bill go over to come up as
special order at 2.l5 in the afternoon
The request was granted.
At noon a caucus was called which was
attended by seventeen members of the
senate. Senator Badger, speaking for the
members friendly to the masure, asked
on what compromise the opposition would
gree. There was a great deal of discus
sion and after an hour and a half the sup
porters of the bill reluctantly agreed to
accept every amendment proposed by Sen
ator Kuchler, although on the floor of
the senate most of these amendments had
previously been rejected.
When the bill came up for discussion
Senator Badger moved one of the Kuch-
Ter amendments proposed in caucus This
was making the county option election in
September OF each year instead of June,
making it effective ss to saloons on Jan.
of the following year instead of October,
with reference to saloons and on April l
instead of Jan. / with reference to brew
cries.
Senator Kuchler then introduced an
amendment, making cities of more than
Continued on Pane q