Jasper County Democrat, Volume 11, Number 61, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 2 January 1909 — THREE COUNTIES VOTE DRY. [ARTICLE]

THREE COUNTIES VOTE DRY.

Lawrence, Pike and Wabash Held County Option Elections This Week.

The first elections under the Hanly county option law were held Tuesday, in Lawrence and Wabash counties, and resulted in both counties voting dry by decisive majorities, the former returning a majority of 1,505, and the latter 889. The result in Lawrence was no surprise, but in Wabash the wets hoped to win out by a good round majority. Only one township voted wet in Wabash county, that in which* the city of Wabash is located. Nineteen saloons will go out of business in Wabash—all the rest oi the county was dry—and 21 saloons in Lawrence must close at the expiration of the present licenses. Every township in Lawrence voted dry. Bedford is the largest town in Lawrepce county, and 29 of the 34 precincts in the county voted dry. Ptke county, Petersburg the county seat, voted Thursday, and it, too, went dry by 892 majority, the wets 4 carrying Petersburg by only 14. Every township was carried by the drys. There is but on saloon in Pike county now, and it will have to close July 1. Only about 60 per cent of the vote of the county was polled. Hamilton county will vote on county option Jan. 26, and a number of other counties are preparing to file petitions at the meeting of the county commissioners in' their respective counties Monday, so that the elections may be held during the latter part of January or the beginning of February.