By 1915, Madera had divided itself into two camps. A minority led by the saloon owners wanted a wide-open town as far as booze and prostitution were concerned. The majority, however, opposed demon rum and all for which it stood. In the election of 1914, the anti-liquor crowd got Jasper F. Lewis elected sheriff, and he quickly showed his prohibitionist supporters that he was their man.
When Lewis took the oath of office, merry-making was the order of the day — or rather the night — on both sides of Yosemite Avenue. While patrons of the saloons relished these good times, the town’s tee-totalers went running to the new sheriff for relief, especially from the goings on in the Fountain Saloon.
Now, Sheriff Lewis was as straight-laced as a lawman could be, and when the complaints concerning the Fountain Saloon continued, it was no surprise to anyone that he stepped in to put a stop to the offensive behavior.