The Petition That Put Stevens County's Saloons on the Ballot

A meeting of the local option workers of Newport was held at the Methodist church last Sunday evening, and a call has been issued for a mass meeting to prepare plans for conducting the campaign, which will be held at the Congregational church next Sunday evening.

The workers in the precincts outside the incorporated towns were successful in securing the required number of signers and the petition was filed with the county auditor. The following article from the Statesman-Index shows the progress of the movement throughout the county:

The local option forces have been successful in obtaining the signatures of more than 30 per cent of the vote cast at the last general election in what is known as the county unit. As a word of explanation, the local option law provided for separate units. For example, Colville is a unit by itself and must determine for itself whether or not the sale of intoxicating liquors shall be permitted within the corporate limits of the city. So must every other incorporated town in the county. These towns are Newport, Springdale, Kettle Falls, Northport and Colville. Outside of these towns the entire country district constitutes a unit by itself known as the county unit. In this unit there are 60 precincts, extending from Metaline to Fruitland and from Orient clear down to Deer Park. The total vote cast at the last general election in this county unit was approximately 3,921. In order to obtain an election, therefore, it was necessary to obtain the signatures of 1,177 voters. We have obtained more than the required number, the petition containing 1,398 signatures.

The incorporated cities which obtained the necessary 30 per cent or more are Newport, Chewelah, Kettle Falls and Colville, Springdale and Northport standing out alone opposed to local option.

The county league was organized at Colville on Sunday, June 13, the day following the going into effect of the local option law. The officers of the league are A. E. Veatch, president; Oscar Kildow, vice-president; W. J. Shelton, secretary, and A. D. Foster, treasurer. Three thousand petitions were printed and sent broadcast over the entire county, with the request that all the signatures possible be obtained and the petition returned on July 7. Speakers and organizers were also sent out to different sections of the county, with the wonderful result that in three weeks' time the great county of Stevens has been canvassed, and nearly 50 per cent of the voters in the county unit have signed a gigantic petition calling for a special election to be held Sept. 7, to determine whether or not liquor shall be sold in the country districts and in the unincorporated towns of Stevens county.

Judging from the returns obtained in the way of petitions, we are safe in predicting that the county unit will go dry by a vote of three to one. This will affect more than thirty saloons.

The petition in Colville contains 130 signers out of a total of 224 votes cast at the last city election. There are approximately 285 voters in the city at the present time, and it is safe to say every man will vote on Sept. 7. Of this number the local option forces claim at a low estimate 175, and the vote may be 200 for the dry side.

Kettle Falls and Chewelah will more than likely follow Colville, but as to Newport, we are not familiar with conditions there. However, we are informed that they had no difficulty in obtaining the necessary 30 per cent on the petition.—Statesman-Index.