The Richmond palladium and sun-telegram. [volume] (Richmond, Ind.) 1907-1939, 1909-02-10
THINKS ALLEN COUNTY
WILL ALWAYS BE WET
Passage of the TomIinson Bill
Would Put Out of Business
Many Country Saloons in
That County.
Palladium Bureau,
Indianapolis, Feb. 10.

When the house adjourned yester-
day evening it was being freely charg-
ed around the state house hat Senator
Steve Fleming. of Fort Wayne, held
the whip hand in the local option
fight, and that no repeal bill would
be passed without his consent. And
the fact is that he Tomlinson bill did
not come to a showdown in the house
yesterday afternoon. as had been an
nounced. 1t was generally under
stood that the amended Tomlinson
bill would be up for reading and for
the adoption of either the majority re-
port Of the committee favoring the
passage of the bill or the minority re-
port to kill the bill. This was an
nounced at the forenoon session. when
the reports were handed in, that the
reports ~-culd be voted on at the af-
ternool SSion.
But they did not come to a vote
and good many persons were won
dering why. 1t is said now that it
was because of the attitude of the AL
len county senator.
A Strong Opposition.
On Monday when it was proposed
to amend the Tomlinson bill SO as to
eliminate saloons from the country
and confine them to cities and incor-
porated towns Representative Shirley
of Allen county. announced that he
was against this change, because it
would put out of business the saloons
in his home town of WOODBURY., which
is not incorporated. Several other
representatives from county districts
took the same view of the matter and
it was learned that there were twelve
representatives who would vote
against the Tomlinson bill for the
same reason. Take these twelve and
add them to the twelve to sixteen tenn
perance democrats who will vote
against any bill to amend or change
the county local option bill and it
makes a force that would prevent the
Tomlinson bill from going through.
Fleming 10 Fortunate.
Senator Fleming is considered by
everybody here to be in the most for
tunate position of any one connected
with the fight. He has a brewery, in
FIT. Wayne and many of the saloons
in Fl. Wayne and Allen county sell
the product of that brewery. In fact,
it is said that the larger part of the
beer produced by this brewery is sold
in Allen county and in other places
that are not any more likely to be
voted dry under a local option law
than is Allen county.
1t is the general belief here that
Allen county would vote to remain
wet and that the saloons could not be
put out in hundred years. There
fore the lucky part of it for Fleming
is that he owns a brewery in a wet
couny and a county that will remain
wet instead of in a county that might
possibly go dry.
He is Indifferent.
So it is pointed out here that it
would make but little difference to
Fleming whether the county local op-
ton las was repealed or not. His
business would go on just the same.
There are many saloons in Allen
county outside of FIT. Wayne and the
incorporated towns. just how many
no one here seems to know. The
Tomlinson bill would put them out of
business, for it proposes to confine
them to the cities and Incorporated
towns. And this is what Fleming
does. not wish to have happen, for 1t
would reduce the sale of the product
of his brewery to just that extent
Therefore, 1t is argued here. why
should he not oppose the passage of
form? 1t is said here that the atti-
tude of Representative Shirley and
the other Repre- sentatives from Allen
county is due to the fact that Elem
ing is opposed to the bill, though this
could not be learned definitely last
night.
Feared to Push It.
So far as Fleming is concerned he
would be almost as well off under
the present local option law as under
no such law. for it does not affect any
of the saloons in Allen county. where
he does most of his business. but he
would be damaged by the enactment
of the Tomlinson bill into law 1t is
said now that it was the full inten-
ton Of the democrats in the house to
push the Tomlinson bill to a vote on
the reports of the committee yester-
day afternoon but when they looked
the situation over they found that it
would not be safe to put the commit
tee reports to a vote for fear that the
bill would be killed. So they put It
off and the word was passed around
that they would hold caucus last
night on the proposition.
He Can Dictate.
st looks to mo like Fleming is IN q
position to just about tell the rest OF