The American issue. [volume] (Westerville, Ohio) 1912-19??, 1918-04-12
Eighteen townships Vote to Become Dry and Only Two
Vote to Discontinue as Anti-Saloon Territory
FOUR ENTIRELY DRY COUNTIES ADDED BY ELECTION
Mone Dixon Canton Sycamore and Fifteen Other townships Voting
Remain in Dry Column
PRIMARIES MUST CLINCH LOCAL VICTORIES

The dry forces of Illinois won an
other sweeping victory in the town.
ship elections on Tuesday, April 2
A number of large cities formerly con-
sidered invincibly fortified against dry
attacks were swept into the Prohibi-
ton column. Attempts by the vets
TO recapture profitable trade in dry
cities resulted in greatly increased ma
jorities against the saloon The liquor
forces succeeded in recapturing only
two townships neither of which con-
tains municipalities of any consider
able size. The last remaining wet
spots were voted out of four coun-
ties, and two more Legislative districts
become entirely dry.
Rock Island Heeds u. S. Hint
At Rock Island and Bloomington
the drys won their greatest victories.
Rock Island had always before re-
NAMED in the wet column By huge
najorities. The voters, however, re-
Sponded to the appeals OF the govern
ment and by their own votes raised
the city to government standards. The
letter sent by Secretary of War
Baker TO Governor Lowden, asking
that conditions surrounding the Rock
Island Arsenal be improved, is cred
tied with considerable influence upon
the result. Forty-one saloons will
close their doors when the local op-
ton law goes into effect. Fifty-one
had previously been closed by govern
ment action.
Model Saloons Failure
Bloomington, which voted dry four
years ago and wet two years ago. each
time by small majorities, went back
into the dry column by majority of
2,l58. Bloomington vets, anticipating
the recent elections, submitted to
strict regulations during the past two
years. Actual experience at Bloom
ington again demonstrated, however,
that regulation cannot remedy the
evils of the liquor trade. Accordingly,
the voters ended the experiment by
voting to close Bloomington's thirty
five model" grog shops.
Wet Cities Captured
Pana, the scene of several hotly con-
tested local option elections in the
past, voted dry by slim majority of
thirteen votes. The capture of Full
ton in Whiteside County was glori-
GUS victory for the drys. Fulton had
become the dumping ground of the
disreputable drinking element from
Clinton, Iowa, across the river.
Mt. Pulaski and Lincoln are two
more former wet strongholds from
which the alcohol autocrats were
routed.
Dry Line Holds Fast
Moline, Dixon, Canton, Sycamore,
and Christopher all chose to remain
dry in spite of the desperate efforts
of the liquor interests to re-establish
barrooms in these places. The tre-
mendously increased dry majorities in
these dry cities will discourage all fu-
ture attempts to bring up the saloon
question.
The increase in former dry majori-
ties is good indication of which way
the dry wave is moving. 1t is also
convincing proof that the people, after
trying both ways, are thoroughly con-
vinced that Prohibition is preferable.
Moline, which went dry by bare
300, rolled up majority ten times as
big, reafirnning its previous dry de-
cision by $500.
Dixon, the one place in Northern
Illinois in which the vets considered
their chances good, increased its dry
majority from 260 to 1908.
Wet Majorities Reduced
The places in which the drys failed
to win also showed considerable prog
ress toward the right side.