The Richmond palladium and sun-telegram. [volume] (Richmond, Ind.) 1907-1939, 1909-10-11
In Smaller Counties Strong
Law Enforcement Forces
Will Be Established, Is An
nouncement Made.
WILL NOT BUTT INTO
THE CITY CAMPAIGNS
A Defeat From Such Sources
Would Be a Hard Blow to
The Anti-saIoon 0rganiza-
ton in Indiana.
palladium Specially

Indianapolis, Oct. 11.-According to
Anti-Saloon League officers, no at
tempt is to be made to organize the
law enforcement forces in the coun-
ties containing the large cities, such as
Indianapolis, Fort Wayne, South Bend.
Evansville and Terre Haute, but eff
forts will be made to effect strong Or
CARNATIONS in the smaller counties of
the state without delay. 1t was
thought for a while that the fact that
city elections are to be held this fall
might delay the work of organizing the
law enforcement people throughout the
entire state, but the league officers
safely go ahead in all of the counties
except the few in which the large cit
les are situated.
To Leave Them Alone.
The league does not wish to inject
its fight into the city campaigns in
Indianapolis, Fort Wayne, South Bend
and other large cities this fall, because
these cities are now wet and If the
anti-saloon people should go into the
fight and lose it would mean a hard
blow to their hope of ever making
those counties dry. So they have de-
cided to wait In those counties until
after the city election to begin their
fight for law enforcement.
In the smaller counties, however, the
league proposes to go right ahead and
make organizations as large and a.
close as possible, the purpose being to
give encouragement to the officials of
the counties in the direction of COM
polling saloons and illegal liquor sell
ers to obey the laws.
To Support Officials.
II have no doubt there are many
public officials in the state who would
make an honest effort to enforce the
laws ii they could feel that there was
behind them an organization that
would give them the proper support
said one anti-saloon league man, in
discussing the plan Of organization.
1--WE propose to organize and bring
about conditions that will make the
officer feel that he has behind him the
support of an organization that can
and will do things. Then If an Off
Ger fails to do his duty in this direction
we will know why"
The work of organization for law
enforcement is to be carried on more
vigorously in the dry counties than In
the wet counties, because the league
believes the people in the dry counties
should be shown that when they voted
dry. it meant dry. In other words,
the league wants the people to feel that
when they voted out the licensed sa-
loon they did not vote in the blind IT,
ger and other illegal liquor selling
places.
Evils Are Recognized.
The league realizes the fact that IL
legal liquor selling has sprung up in
many counties which voted dry at 10
cal option elections, and that it is the
duty of the local authorities to sup
press this business. It is the belief Of
the league that If it can organize the
law enforcement leagues in such coun-
ties and have it cooperate with the Of
ficials in showing up the law viola
lions it will make the liquor business
SD uupOpuIoA lAeAt II SoA ACSSA NC ~
established In the dry counties. The
league believes that the liquor business
will hang itself in such territory il
given the proper amount of rope ard
it proposes to supply the rope.
On the other hand, the brewers are
of the opinion that if the people see
that blind tigers creep into counties
that have voted out the saloons. they
will conclude that they would rather
have saloons than blind tigers. and
that. since the illegal liquor traffic
has come in, they will put it out ant,
vote to return the licensed saloon.