Ottumwa tri-weekly courier. [volume] (Ottumwa, Iowa) 1903-1916, 1913-11-25
SALOON MEN To
COMBAT RULING
Liquor Dealers of Capital
Not to Quit Business
Without Struggle
DES MONIES is DRY
FOR THE PRESENT
Drink Emporiums Closed as
y Result of Order From
Supreme Court

Des Moines, Nov. 24.-With every
saloon in town closed tight as the re-
suit OF the supreme court decision
unanimously handed down Saturday,
there was little prospect early today
that any effort to reopen the saloons
would be made before tomorrow.
Judge A. G. Parker representing the
liquor interests, said that the applica-
ton for re-hearing, upon which might
be expected stay of execution permit
ting the saloons to operate for thirty
or sixty days, would hardly be filed to-
day.
The prohibitionists were busy with
plans for fighting the application for
rehearing and it was announced thai
even should the saloons be permitted
to temporarily reopen. the demand for
closing made Saturday under another
decision would be renewed and appli-
cations for injunctions filed.
The other decision referred to was
that in the case of the Ft. Dodge sa-
looms where the court held that a sa-
loon consent petition must be based
on a city election. The Des Moines
petition which was knocked out Sat-
urday was based on national elec-
ton and the Fort Dodge question was
not brought up 1t is therefore, an en-
tirely different issue.
The failure of Miss Bessie Cohen, a
stenOgrapher to ascertain definitely
whether her notarial commission had
been renewed, was the direct cause Of
the saloons of Des Moines being closed
under "a supreme court decision.sac-
cording to developments today
The court declared that Miss Cohen,
who took the affidavits Of nearly two
thousand signers of the saloon consent
petition in 1910 was without authority
to act as notary. It appeared that Miss
Cohen had applied for renewal Of her
commission but had neglected to file
the Endorsement of a public official as
required by law. About the time she
was taking affidavits her application
was returned by the governors office,
but thinking it was her commission
she did not take the trouble to open
the envelope
The nearly two thousand names thus
eliminated from the consent petition
which the court decided must be based
on the last city election instead Of the
general election, caused it to be in
sufficient and the saloons were closed.
The police and the fire departments
will bear the brunt of the loss of rev.
enue by the city government if the sa-
looms remain closed. Retrenchment
necessary in these departments will re-
quire the laying off of thirty fremen
and twenty policemen, or general
cut Of about Is per cent in the salaries
of the men in the two departments.
according to an estimate made yester-
day by Councilman Van Liew.
The street cleaning department will
be hard hit. also the engineering de-
partment Of the city and all divisions
depending on the general fund. The
city will be deprived Of S5O,000 which
was anticipated from the saloon tax
1914, and the city council will have to
make provision to carry on the work
of the fiscal year 1914-15 with 100000
less than 1t had this year.
Want Lid at Cedar Rapids.
Cedar Rapids. Nov. 24.-The decis-
ion of the state supreme court in the
Des Moines case will have no effect
on the local situation. The business
mems temperance association appear
ed before the city council this morn
ing demanding that the saloons be
closed, but the city attorney held their
plea ill-advised. The Cedar Rapids
petition was passed upon by the board
of supervisors, district court and SUI
preme court, and declared sufficient by
all three bodies.