The Richmond palladium and sun-telegram. [volume] (Richmond, Ind.) 1907-1939, 1911-02-04
american News Service)


Indianapolis. Feb. 4-Senator Bob"
Proctor. the youngest member Of the
senate won his fight for high license
fees in the senate Friday afternoon
over the coalition of the seasoned vet
Grams under the leadership OF Senator
Fleming, in battle replete with ora
tory, log rolling, cajolery, threats and
"a maze OF parliamentary tangles that
bid fair upon one occasion to relegate
the entire liquor bill to limbo.
Fortune smiled upon the young sem
ator from Elkhart in the afternoon.
III it had frowned upon him In the
| morning session and the rulings OF
Lieutenant Governor Hall were as
pronouncedly in Proctor's favor as
they had been against him earlier in
the fight
The total result of the afternoons
battling was the fixing of the license
fee for saloons at 500 in cities and
$500 in towns. Fleming bitterly
| fought this and threatened to throw
| the whole bill overheard and take up
| the cudgel in a state wide liquor war
rather than submit to this advance
in license fees which he claimed
would mean an increase of s2,973. 900
in the amount of money saloon keep
ers would have to pay. His threats
We're unavailing for the senate by
| vote of ~ to 20 adopted the $500 and
$500 fees, after it had by vote of
| q to q rejected final compromise
offered by Fleming to have 1t made
| 5000 for the cities and $3.50 for the
towns.
/ Took II Gracefully.
| 1t must be admitted that Fleming
took his medicine with bad grace for
SO experienced politician for he lost
his temper and referred In sarcastic
terms later to the unfairness OF the
senate in fixing the fee so high. He
also privately threatened to introduce
an amendment to kill the bill by strik-
ing out the enacting clause and his
fides achates in the fight (excepting
on roll calls) Senator Stotsenberg.
tried to get the bill recommitted to
the committee upon public morals.
No sooner was this motion made
than Proctor openly charged it was
a cheap trick of the low license fel-
nittee and amend the high license
out of the bill and again report 1t to
the senate. Senator CRUDE. whose
referendum bill Stotsenberg and
Fleming had neatly shelved in the
morning took his pound of flesh by
raising vehement protest against
sany such procedure, and TO his and
Proctor's protests there rallied such a
storm of opposition and charges OF
unfairness and trickery that Stotscn-
berg was forced to withdraw his mo-
tion.
II is generally reported that Fiem-
ing and his friends will try to elimin-
ate the high license feature in the
house, and falling in that will eventu-
Ially kill the measure. but that is spec
ulation Fleming did serve notice on
the senate. however. that the passage
iof the high license fee pats the sal
looms into politics and will keep them
There until lower license fee is OBJ
Etained.
Split II Probable.
Senator Proctor made himself very
! unpopular with the senate machine
and out OF this fight will probably de-
velop permanent split in the DEM
: Iocratic majority of the senate that
viii be evidenced in all the work from
Inow on. The machine has declared
open war upon Proctor's "watered
stock bill, Jet in committee, and It
has ALREADY shown its desire TO recon-
slider the passage Of hts bill regulating
foreign corporations, known as bill
No. 105.
Proctor has announced his intention
lof doing -little smoking out upon
his own hook ard there begins to
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