The weekly Republican. (Plymouth, Ind.) 1911-1922, 1911-01-26
WISE BILL IS DOOMED
Local Man Has Become the Watch
dog of the Treasury and
Will Defeat the Brewers
Bill.

Nothing can stop the Indiana leglS-
lature from amending the present
local option law, and the forces that
are fighting the change are doomed
TO defeat and disappointment. 1t is
a cretainty that the Democratic ma
jority in the legislature will wipe out
the county unit and make a law
that will give local option to cities
and townships, just as the Demo-
cratic platform recommended. This
will be done withinsthe next few
DAYS.
But the row will come when the
time arrives for the enactment of a
law to regulate the saloon business,
and this promises TO be a daisy of a
row at that. The Anti-Saloon league
which has been making a stiff fight
against any change in the present
iiquor laws, is up against the real
thing IN the present local option
fight, and it is bound to get whipped
This was shown yesterday wien a
number Of petitions were read In both
houses of the legislature signed by
hundreds of voters from various
counties, asking the legislature to
make no changes in the liquor laws.
When these were read there was a
litter of laughter all over both houses
Tt seemed to be good joke to the
majority members to hear the petit
tions read. They showed by their
attitude on these petitions that they
are determined to change the option
law regardless of everything.
There are as many different ideas.
apparently, on the kind of saloon
reeulative bill that should be passed
as there are members of the legis-
latures Each man seems to have a
different idea, and it is the general
belief that before any bill of this
kind is passed it will have to be
amended and threshed out TO a
fragile.
The Democrats lack much of being
united on the subject. Some of them
are in favor of passing the Fleming
bill, which is the brewery bill 9th
ers say the Fleming bill will not do
at all, and they are In favor of the
Wise bill, which is much more drastic
In its provisions. Then there are
others who feel that neither bill will
do and they are figuring out bills of
their own.
Size of License Fee.
One Of the main questions ovS
which they have split is that of the
amount of license fee to be charged.
Tt has developed that the saloon
keepers of the higher CLASSIFY that
is meant the keepers of the finer
saloons In the eities-are in favor Of
making the license fee as high as
a thousand dollars. They take this
position, it is being charged because
q high license would drive the little
saloons out of business and leave
the field open for the richer ones.
This has caused Indignation Oh the
part Of members from the smalle,
counties and communities which have
a number Of little saloons. One Dem
ocratic member of the house, in dis
dussing this matter, said:
1'They have got to frame up bet
ter bill than has yet been introduced
TO regulate the liquor business as it
should be regu ,ated. I am opposed to
the scale Of license fees proposed in
. the brewers bill. The idea Of charg-
ing such high license fee in small
place is absurd. The saloons could
not pay it. There are many little
neighborhood saloons all over tn,
state which do small business
some Of them being run in connection
with groceries, and they could never
pay such license fee. They would
be driven out and the big, rich sa-
loon would then get all of the bust.
ness.
This Democrat said that unless the
brewers bill was charged in many
ways it would not be satisfactory to
lot of Democrats, and that it could
NOT he r,ascad