Rensselaer Semi-Weekly Republican, Volume 41, Number 96, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 20 August 1909 — Benton County No Longer Dry. [ARTICLE]

Benton County No Longer Dry.

Fowler Leader. •. Y. > Benton county is no longer dry. Johq W. Seibert, proprietor of a salopn, has reopened his saloon and will attempt« to make the county as wet as possible until his license expires the first Monday in November.

The county local option law, sl* though passed in September, was not published and distributed until the middle of November. Several lower courts have held that saloon licenses granted before November are affected ~ * —7 —■* fr — * '" the same as other saloon licenses by the county local option law which says that all saloons must close their doors ninety days after they are voted out. Others have held that licenses issued before November are not affected. Judgp West, of Crawfordsville, judge of the Montgomery county court, ruled that licenses issued before November are not affected by the option law. And it is no doubt upon this ruling that Seibert reopened. A test case is now before the supreme court of Indiana, and will be decided in a few days. If the supreme court should overrule Judge West’s decision, all saloon keepers who have kept open after the ninety day limit will be liable for every drink they sell. 2 Mr. Seibert closed his saloon about June 22nd after having consulted lawyers at Fowler and Indianapolis. The lawyefs told him that to be safe he had better close.

The Benton county people are anxiously awaiting the decision of the supreme court. It is not thought advisable to bring an action against Seibert until the matter has finally been decided. And also Seibert would be allowed to run open while the case was pending.

The reopening of the saloon saves the county from rebating Seibert on his license. The rebating was rather a complicated proceeding. The liquor fund of the county had been distributed into the school fund. The law states that the county must refund to the saloon keeper the unused part of his license, the payment to be made out of the liquor fund. The liquor fund of Benton county has been distributed. Upon the advise of State’s Attorney Bingham the county commissioners appropriated money from the county fund to repay Mr. Seibert on his license. Auditor Shipman could not see why the county should raise money for another fund, especially since that money had been used by the state. .■