Jasper County Democrat, Volume 11, Number 3, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 18 April 1908 — WHAT DOES IT MEAN? [ARTICLE]

WHAT DOES IT MEAN?

It will take the people of Indiana a long time to find out just what the temperance plank In the Republican platform means. It starts out by telling of the passage of the Nicholson law, and the subsequent adoption of the Moore amendment to it, and the sustaining of both by the supreme court. After reciting these well-known historical matters, the Republican temperance plank gets down to its local option provision, which, is that, as supplementary to the existing law “we favor the enactment of a county local option law extending to the people of the respective counties of the state, the right to exclude the saloon therefrom by vote at a special election.” Just note the language—“the right to exclude the saloon.” Nothing is said about the right to vote by counties or otherwise on the question as to whether the sale of liquor shall be licensed, or whether other places of sale shall be permitted. Only the “saloon” apparently is to be excluded or retained by vote. What does it mean? What is the purpose of making the declaration so evasive and indefinite? There were five men on the resolutions committee, it is said, who were opposed to any locaal option plank at all. As there was no minority report it looks as if these men were satisfied with the wording of the plank as adopted by the convention.