Licking Valley courier. [volume] (West Liberty, Ky.) 19??-current, 1911-12-07
COUNTIES VOTE WET
scioTo AND LAWRENCE couN.
TIES IN OHIO REPuDIATE PRO.
tiBiTioN AFTER THREE
YEARS TRIAL.
BOTH GIVE BIG MAJoRITIEs
Of Five Ohio Counties Voting on
mains Wet; Three Go Wet
and One Stays Dry.

Columbus, O.-Three counties In
Ohio which have voted on county op.
ton under the Rose county option law
have determined that for the next
three years the "bootlegger" and
blind tiger" keeper shall not wax fat
from the profits of his Illicit business
within their county's borders
Scioto county on October 25th repu-
dated prohibition by a majority 81
1874 votes. Three years ago the sd.
looms were voted out OF Scioto county
by 231 majority. The total vote In the
recent election was over 1900 and
was the largest ever polled in the
county. Portsmouth, the county seat,
gave wet majority of 1,431 as
against as its former wet majority of
141.
Not only did the drys lose heavily
in the city, but expected gains in the
county failed to materialize. Out OF
25 precincts outside the city but Ave
gave the drys small gains. New Bos-
ton, which is the second largest cor.
poration in the county. Increased its
former wet majority from 40 to 1ST
votes. The vets lost but 6 Of the 20
city precincts, and these by small ma.
jorities.
The drys adopted the usual election
tactics. Church bells were tolled all
day land women held hourly prayer
meetings. The precinct of Judge
Blair, noted dry advocate, election
purifier and anti-saloon league speak
err went wet. Former Probate Judge
Skies, who handled the wet campaign.
although himself teetotaler, reduced
the former dry majority in his pre-
cinct an even so votes. The wet cam.
paigh was backed by a business men.
organization consisting of over zoe
members. They claimed that prob.
bition has been failure In Scioto
county.
The drys find their greatest surprise
in the failure OF Evangelist Billy Sun.
day to stem the tide after having been
brought to Portsmouth for his cele.
brated booze sermon" last Monday
night Seven thousand voters, at this
meeting, pledged their ballots to keep
Scioto county in the dry column. At
the election the drys cast barely 5000
votes in the entire county.
After one Of the most strongly con.
tested campaigns in the history OF
Lawrence county, the business mems
association won over the local option
league in wet and dry fight by over
400 majority. Ironton, the county
seat, gave the vets majority OF 1856.
The county three years ago voted dry
by over 1900 and the city dry by 6S.
Besides local speakers, the drys I'm.
ported speakers from other cities and
towns to bolster W th~ir sanpxiua.
Among the sEeakers were Wayne b.
Wheeir-e'S - .l.siza.. - 81 -
6 -sohf ielgue; Seaborn Wright, OF
Georgia, and Mrs. Lulu Shepard. The
Women's Christian Temperance Union
took great Interest in the fight and pa.
raded the principal streets OF the city
on the morning OF election day leading
many school children and headed by
two brass bands.
Shelby county, which recently voted
wet under the Rose county option law,
retains saloons and completes the trio
of Ohio counties which this year have
voted on the liquor question. The re.
turn of Scioto and Lawrence counties
to the wet column is taken as an evi.
dence OF the reversal Of opinion in
Ohio counties from county option to
local option.
Athens county went wet Oct. 2Sth
by one thousand majority and over six
hundred dry majority in Meigs county
was wiped out