Former Provisions of the Constitution of the State of Ohio, 1851 Former Art. XV, § 9

License to traffic in intoxicating liquors shall be granted in this state, and license laws operative throughout the state shall be passed with such restrictions and regulations as may be provided by law, and municipal corporations shall be authorized by general laws to provide for the limitation of the number of saloons.  Laws shall not be passed authorizing more than one saloon in each township or municipality of less than five hundred population, or more than one saloon for each five hundred population in other townships and municipalities.  Where the traffic is or may be prohibited under laws applying to counties, municipalities, townships, residence districts, or other districts now prescribed by law, the traffic shall not be licensed in any such local sub-division while any prohibitory law is operative therein, and nothing herein contained shall be so construed as to repeal, modify or suspend any such prohibitory laws, or any regulatory laws now in force or hereafter enacted, or to prevent the future enactment, modification or repeal of any prohibitory or regulatory laws.  License to traffic in intoxicating liquors shall not be granted to any person who at the time of making application therefor is not a citizen of the United States and of good moral character.  License shall not be granted to any applicant who is in any way interested in the business conducted at any other place where intoxicating liquors are sold or kept for sale as a beverage nor shall such license be granted unless the applicant or applicants are the only persons in any way pecuniarily interested in the business for which the license is sought and no other person shall be in any way interested therein during the continuance of the license;  if such interest of such person shall appear, the license shall be deemed revoked.  If any licensee is more than once convicted for a violation of the laws in force to regulate the traffic in intoxicating liquors, his license shall be deemed revoked, and no license shall thereafter be granted to him.  License to traffic in intoxicating liquors shall not be granted unless the place of traffic under such license shall be located in the county in which the person or persons reside whose duty it is to grant such license, or in a county adjoining thereto.  The word “saloon” as used in this section is defined to be a place where intoxicating liquors are sold, or kept for sale, as a beverage in quantities less than one gallon.

At said election a ballot shall be in the following form:

The voter shall indicate his choice by placing a cross-mark within the blank space opposite the words “For License,” if he desires to vote in favor of the article above mentioned and opposite the words “Against License,” within the blank space if he desires to vote against said article.  If a cross-mark is placed opposite both phrases or neither phrase, then the vote upon the subject shall not be counted.

If the votes for license shall exceed the votes against license, then the article above mentioned shall become section 9 of article XV of the constitution, and the present section 9 of said article, also known as section 18 of the schedule shall be repealed.