Rensselaer Semi-Weekly Republican, Volume 39, Number 79, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 7 June 1907 — SALOON FIGHT IN PULASKI. [ARTICLE]

SALOON FIGHT IN PULASKI.

The Medaryville saloon remonstrance was the cause of a hard fought contest, and is victorious after the greatest amount of skirmishing on the part of the temperance people to locate the county auditor and his deputy of Pulaski county after the remonstratbrs bad arrived in Winamac with a majority of 36 after the withdrawals had been counted off. . - -

The contest has demonstrated that County Auditor Ellis S. Rees is on the side of the saloons and that he is willing to take long chances with his bond in the effort to re establish saloons in the parts of that county where they have been knocked out. The law provides that the saloon applicant can secure withdrawals from a remon strance by getting persons who have signed the remonstrance to sign withdrawal cards and that these withdrawals must be on file with the county auditor on the Thursday before the meeting of the county commissioners that is to pass on the license applied for. The temperance forces are always awaiting the filing of these withdrawals, so that they can secure the re-tdg nature of the person so withdrawing, they usually being of the class that are easily pursuaded to do anything others want them to do. The temperance people waited at the auditors office all day but no withdrawals were filed when the court house closing time arrived aud they supposed that the saloon iste had realized the futility of the fight and had given it up, but after 8 o’clock at night representatives of the saloons started on the long drive from Medaryville to Winamac and the next morning 20 withdrawal cards were on file bearing the dale of the day before. Five of these were found to be from people who had not signed the remonstrance and the temperance people secured the re-signature of three of tiic remaining fifteen, giving them a final majority of 36. Having victory assured the jubilant remonstrators drove to Win a mac and shortly after 3 o’clock went to the auditor’s office in the court house to file their papers. To their astonishment the office was locked. They began a search and called Sheriff Charles Oglesby into service to locate the missing auditor and his deputy. Failing to find them the papeis were shoved under the door at 4 o’clock, but the search was not given up. Sheriff Oglesby drove to various places where it was thought the missing men might be found and used all the telephones in the county in an effort to locate them. It was all to no avail, they could not have disappeared more completely if the earth had opened and swal lowed them up. The search continued until after 1 o’clock at night, when the auditor and his deputy drove into town, and stated that they had merely been “out for a little drive.” Surrounded by a vast crowd of the best citizens of the town and county, irrespective of politics, the auditor and his deputy were forced to go to the court house and accept the

papers. Altho affidavit was made ihat the paper was shoved nnder the door on the date of Friday, May 31st, at 4 o’clock in the afternoon, the auditor refused to give it that date and stamped it with his official seal June Ist. The commissioners listened to the statements of the saloon people and of the remonstrators Monday and Tuesday and the commissioners court room was crowded with citizens from all over the oounty. The commissioners finally decided to nphold the remonstrators, and denied the licenses, holding that the failure of the offioer to be in his offioe on the day the remonstrance was to be filed, was not sufficient to defeat the people, in as mnoh as the petitioners were on hand ready to file the paper at the time established by law. It is not improoable that steps will be taken to deprive Auditor Rees of his offioe, charging malfeasance.