Jasper County Democrat, Volume 13, Number 101, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 1 April 1911 — WHEATFIELD WANTS TO VOTE [ARTICLE]

WHEATFIELD WANTS TO VOTE

But Has Not Required Population and Must Remain Dry ONLY 178 VOTES LAST FALL Which Would Give Them But 890 Population, When Limit Has Been Fixed By County Commissioners at 1,000 —Prayer of Petition Must Be Denied.

A petition containing 92 names from Wheatfield tp., has been filed with the auditor, for action by the county, commissioners, asking that an election be called in that township to vote on the local option question. W. O. Nelson, H. R. and H. L. Langdon, Oliver and John Clark, of the same township, who some time in the past had given a power of attorney to sign their names to remonstrances, have filed revocations of such power of attorney. (Now, as the commssioners—fixed the limit of saloons at one to each 1,000 population in the various units of the county, Wheatfield can not get a saloon even though it should vote “wet,” and the commissioners will of course deny the request for an election. But 178 votes were cast in that township at the last election, which multiplied by s—the ratio fixed by the Proctor law to determine population —gives the town and township only 890 population, or 110 less than the required number to secure a saloon license under any circumstances.

It has-been believed by many that Wheatfield would vote “wet” because of the proximity of joints across the river in other counties, but as the limit fixed is beyond their reach there is nothing, it would seem, for the county commissioners to do but deny the prayer of this petition. Had the county commissioners left the limit as fixed by the Proctor law at one license to 500 population, then Wheatfield would have been “in it.” But it was optional with the commissioners to fix it at any limit above 500 and not exceeding 1,000, and they did what the commissioners of most other counties have done —made the unit 1,000, and it can never be changed except the law is changed. If Wheatfield casts 200 votes at the next general election in 1912,- then she can hold an option election and get a saloon providing a majority of the voters there say by their ballots that they want one, but not otherwise.