1153 PERSONS ASK FOR BEER

Petitions requested beer legislation signed by 1153 residents of Sandpoint and Priest River were mailed to Governor C. Ben Ross today by Virgil C. Goodwin, representative from Bonner county in the last legislature.

There were 280 signers from Priest River, Mr. Goodwin said, and the balance were from Sandpoint. More than 200 women signed the petitions, he said.

The petitions were not generally circulated in the two cities, but placed in various business establishments where persons could sign them if they wished.

“Most signers asked about the petitions,” Goodwin said, “as no effort was made to circulate them generally through the residential districts of the two towns. Those who signed usually did so at their own request.”

Petitions have been mailed in from many other Idaho towns the first from the north going in from Wallace and Kellogg. Some 600 signers were listed on the first group of petitions sent in from Wallace.

No action is expected on the beer question in Idaho until after the supreme court rules on the matter on May 11. If the supreme court reverses the orginal ruling the governor may then call a special session of the legislature to provide proper legislation to handle the marketing of the beverage in Idaho.

One of the bases of demands for beer legislation in Idaho is the fact that the state is virtually surrounded by so-called “wet” territory. Thousands of dollars of Idaho money has been spent since the legislation of beer a month ago in Spokane and other neighboring Washington cities. Newport particularly is an oasis where many Sandpoint and Priest River citizens get their new 3.2 per cent beer.