Protesting IMS "Saloon"

The articles in the attachments below discuss a debate about including a saloon on the grounds of the Indianapolis Motor Speedway. The article in attachment IMSNews080609i was originally published in the August 6, 1909, Indianapolis News, and the other (IMSbar080809) appeared in the August 8, 1909, Indianapolis Star.
 
One of the sidebar controversies to the construction of the Indianapolis Motor Speedway was the proposal to open a "saloon" to sell alcoholic beverages at the track. Park Taliaferro Andrews, the New York engineer who designed the Speedway, had filed an application for a liquor license with the county commissioners. The Speedway community is described by the article as "temperance people," and the citizens mounted a protest.
 
Laws at the time required all bars or saloons be located on the public highway so the suggestion of such an establishment at the track faced a double challenge. The local residents feared the mixture of auto enthusiasts and alcohol. The final decision was to deny Andrews' proposal. The decision to have Andrews file the petition instead of Speedway leadership may have been a way to insulate management from controversy, but that is speculation.
 
The August 6 article is actually a letter to the editor written by E.S. Shumaker, identified as the State Superintendent of the Anti-Saloon League. Shumaker states the case that saloons were excluded from the State Fairgrounds and baseball parks. He asserts that alcohol consumption compromises and athlete's ability to perform, and "fosters rowdyism" among spectators. 
 
Shumaker closes with a plea for state commissioners to refuse any applications for liquor sales in or around the track. Interestingly, he notes that the track attracted crowds producing "crowded thoroughfares such as was witnessed at the balloon race."