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THE GOVERN! Tlie Dispensary tl Ta TUE GENTLEMEN OF THE G?NERAI ID this first annual message I regret tis at I cannot congratulate you and the people of the State upon the con dition of affairs that faces you to-day. Bat while we have not had the pre dicted return of prosperity, we should recall with thankfulness the good health, peace and happiness we have been permitted to enjoy. Without farther preliminary I proceed to dis charge one of the most important du- ' ties imposed upen the Chief Executive .iy the Constitution. The Seances of the State are in a wry unsatisfactory condition. Dur ing the session of the General Assem bly, for 1896, a levy of four and a half mills was laid to meet the current ex penses of the fiscal year, beginning January 2, 1897, and ending December ?i?> 1897. The sum raised by this levy proved insufficient to meet the expenses, and we have, therefore, a deficit of $100,000 to be provided for. JS& using every dollar from every Available source and by overdrawing mna-H amounts upon banks in which large sams of the State's funds have lifeen deposited, we have met pronely all eurren t obligations without borrow ing a dollar. The books were opened i?or the collection of taxes Oetober 15, and since that time we have used money fchns collected to pay ourrent expenses. This money now being .solleeted, however, belongs legitimate ly to the current appropriation? for 1898. By refusing to borrow $100, 000, as is often done, though I have sot saved the State any groat amount in the way of interest charges, I have ?yefesed to sanction what appears to me to bc a bad policy-the policy of borro wi ng money, at interest. The levy for State purposes will be high, but yon must remember that we have a deficit of $100,000-not of your *oak?Dg*-to be provided for, and that the Stace will no longer receive any revenue for current expenses from dispensary profits, for ander the pro visions of thc Constitution all profits from the dispensary must hereafter go j to the school fund. During the past year the general fund has been aug mented by $92,000 received from the dispensary j the year previous this augmentation amounted to $100,000. I have endeavored to seeure a state ment of fche finances of the State from the Treasurer. But as his books we re not balanced up tov the time of com pletion of my Message, I beg to refer jfbn to the Treasurer's report: TUE DISPENSARY. The most difficult problem that con fronts yon is the regulation of the MqEor traffic-and it ?is your duty, as the trusted representatives of the people, to use your best efforts in sat isfactorily solving this question. In my inaugural address I asked thai no material change be made in the dispensary law until it could be given a fair trial. This it had never had. Upon my recommendation the law remained as it was, with the ex ception of a few unimportant amend ments. On assuming the duties of ..Governor I undertook the enforce ment of the law, endeavoring to do so with as little friction as possible. At &nt my efforts were encouragingly successful, but this succ?s? was hin dered by disagreements among the .members of the State board of con trol. The management in the State dispensary and the bickerings and dissensions in the State board dis gusted some of the warmest supporters of the law, and caused a great many to lose faith in the system. But by reorganization of the foree this mis management was corrected and the board has since worked in harmony. Be it said to their credit, the dispen sary is now conducted in a more busi ness-like Way than ever before. Had it not been for the intervention of the Federal Courts I do not hesitate to say that the dispensary would to-day have very little opposition, and would have already proved, both financially and morally, a great success. The Federal Courts have greatly crippled the law and rendered futile all my efforts for its enforcement, by holding in the case of Donald vs. Scott that citizens of the State have a right to import whiskey for personal use. A great many who were engaged 'in the . illicit traffic in whiskey took advantage of this decision to import whiskey for sale ; it thus became very difficult for the State constables to tell when it was imported for personal use only. The State constables, un der my instructions, seized quantities of whiskey where there were suspici ons sircumstances connected with its importation ; but upon application te Judge Simonton nearly all tho whis key seized was released. Beginning with this decision, the State has been involved in continuous litigation. In the case of ex parte Loeb Judge Simonton held that agents of liquor dealers outside thc State might come itito thc State, take orders for liquors and ship them to citizens of the State. Encouraged by thc above decisions, thc liquor men ap plied to the 1'nited States Circuit )R'S MESSAGE .ie Leading Topic. ?j ASSEMBLY: Court for greater privileges and in the Vanderoook decision were granted all they desired. In this case the same Judge held that citizens of another State might import, store away, and sell liquors in original unbroken pack ages of all sizes not less than one-half pint. This led to the opening, in the State, of hundreds of private liquor houses and flooded the whole of South Carolina with whiskey. Blind tigers, furnished by "original package" dealers, began the sale of whiskey in quiet, peaoeful communi ties where liquor had never been sold. In my efforts to enforce thc dispensary law as modified by the Judge's decis ions I met with great difficulties. At one time Judge Simonton seemed to assume the combined prerogatives of the Chief Executive and the Legisla ture of South Carolina, and undertook the amendment of the dispensary law by injunction. The Governor, the constables, and all persons connected with the enforcement of the law, were enjoined from interfering in any way with the "original package" Scalers, and a lar c-rrted by the representa tives of a sovereign State was practi cally repealed by a Federal Judge. When it was reported to me that Varn, Byrd & Co., "originalpackage", dealers at Bamberg, were selling whis key to -drunkards, I immediately or dered the constable* to seize their liquors and arrest them for maintain ing a nuisance. This was done, but they applied to Judge Simonton to have the stock of liquors returned at once, and asked that the constables and all persons acting under them, or by virtue of authority from them, be restrained from further intermeddling with the said property. This request was granted, notwithstanding wit nesses swore that they had seen the men who bought liquor at or about the time of the sale, and that he was drunk. The Judge held that, to be guilty of the offense of selling to a drunkard, the party selling must either know or must have substantial reason to believe that the party buy ing was drunk at the time. Again, in the case of E. J. O'Con nor vs. George S, McCravy et al, George S. McCravy, sheriff of Laur ens County, notified me that four two horse wagons had been sent' to Au gusta for whiskey and that on their way back to Laurens he received in formation that the drivers were drunk and boisterous and were selling whis key from the wagons. I ordered the wagons and liquors seized as soon as they arrived at Laurens. Thereupon E. J. O'Connor filed a bill of com plaint in the United States Circuit Court praying for a perpetual injunc tion restraining the defendants from seizing liquors of the complainant. Upon this bill being filed Judge Si mon ton granted a rule against the de fendants, requiring them to show cause why a temporary writ of injunc tion should not be granted ; and at the same time he made a restraining order tb the following effect, to wit : Enjoining the defendants from seiz ing or attempting to seize, in transit, or after arrival, or otherwise carrying away or confiscating or detaining any of the liquors, wines or beer imported or sent into the State by the com plainant ; and furthermore command ing said defendants to forthwith de liver the horses, wagons, wines and liquors to the possession and control of the complainant. In the above instances you can see some of the difficulties that have con fronted me in the enforcement of the dispensary law. "Orignal package" dealers have been allowed to sell to drunkards, and from wagons on public highways. Whenever a seiiure was naa^e the complainant would hasten to Judge Simonton, who seemed at all times ready and willing to lend a help ing hand to such applicants. Judge Sieionton's decisions and his unfriend ly attitude towards those who were charged with the enforcement of the dispensary law so completely demoral ized thc State constables that they were of little use, and became almost a dead expense to the State. The cost cf maintaining the constables was about $4,000 a month. They were afraid to seize liquor for fear the Fed eral Judge would jail them for con tempt. When they did make a seiz ure it was, with few exceptions, re leased and the constables enjoined. Inasmuch, therefore, as Judge Simon ton had practically paralyzed the con stabulary, I dismissed the force, leav ing thc responsibility for the enforce ment of the law, in the incorporated towns and cities, in the hands of the city ?nd town authorities. I retained a few detectives to suppress "blind tigers" in the country, where thc peo ple have little or no protection. The Dispensary Act makes it the duty of the State board of control to withhold their share of profits of thc dispensary from an}' town or city in which the authorities do not enforce thc law. So far the profits have been withheld from the town of Sumter, ano ! have appointed a constable, to bc |>:iid out of the town's share of the profits, I sec that thc law is enforced there. We have, then, to face the follov ing condition of affairs : Under tl protection of a Circuit Judge of tl Uniced States Court liquor is heir sold throughout the State, in tl country as well as in the municipal ties, and in defiance of the laws of tl State. The rights of a sovereig State to police and regulate the liqu< traffic in its own way is nullified an trampled under foot. The Act < Congress of July 8, 1890, has been, i far as South Carolina is concerne* repealed, and we are told that the ei actment of prohibition alone gives State the right to exclude ''origin; package" dealers, unless the prof feature of the dispensary is destroye< The language of Judge Simonton i the Vandercook case is as follows ''If all alcoholic liquors, by whoms< ever held, are declared contraban they ceased to belong to commerce and are within the jurisdiction of tb police power. But so long as the manufacture, purchase or sale, c their use as a beverage in any form c by any person, are recognized, the belong to commerce, and are withoi the domain of the police power." Th power to license the sale of liquor, t the exclusion of these Inter-Stat commerce dealers in ''original packt gea," has been therefore destroyed b thitj decision, unless it should be rc verned by. the Supreme Court. Th Attorney General of the State has ar pealed, but the appeal will not b heard until March 7, too late for yo to know what the decision will be, i time to legislate in accordance there with, It cannot be doubted' that a larg majority of our people favor the dis pensary law, if it can be secure against the interference of the Fed era). Courts. Three successive Gen eral Assemblies have declared in favo of the dispensary as the best methoi of dealing with the liquor question Our Representatives in Congress ar at work seeking to secure additiona legislation for the protection of th State against the interference of th United States judiciary. The Unitei States Senate has already passed a bil by unanimous vote giving the complet control of intoxicants to the (tate and it is hoped that the House alsi will pass it. But we must have im mediate relief from the present intol ?rable conditions. Free liquor, witl its accompanying inorease of drank cncess and the consequent increase o: crime must, at all hazards, be got ri< of. As I have said, a license law wil not secure immunity from this evil Judge Simonton has destroyed, alon? with the dispensary, the license sys tem when run fer profit. What, then is left to do ? We must either enac prohibition or continue the dispensary system without the profit feature Many-a majority, I believe-do no think prohibition ia practicable ; ant many have opposed the dispensar] system because of the profit feature We can certainly get rid of the '"orig inal package" dealers and their de moralizing traffic by continuing thc dispensary, shorn of all profits anc administered only af a police regula tion. to eontrol and reduce the liquoi evil. The Federal Judge will have neither occasion nor excuse for his ever-ready injunction, if that system shall bc inaugurated, unless he shall again reverse his own previous decis ion. This, then, appears to me thc best and almost the only thing left us to do. We might try this policy for a year, and next winter, after Congress shall have acted, or failed to act, and after the Supreme Court at Washing ton shall have decided what is to be come of the State's power to control liquor under the Wilson bill of 1890, we shall be in a position to take final action. It is useless for me to make an ex tended argument to show that our sys tem of liquor control is a proper exer cise of the police power, and that Judge Simonton is wrong in his decis ion denying this power to the State, But as facts speak louder than words, I will give thc testimony of ministers of the Gospel in the State as to the effect of the dispensary law on the morals of the people and on the re duction of drunkenness among them. Out of four hundred and sixty-three answers received from the ministers of the State to questions submitted to them in a circular letter, dated Oeto ! ber 1, 1897, three hundred and twenty four reported a decrease on drinking of 4fi 1-3 per cent., and a correspond ing decrease in drunkenness since the : dispensary law went into effect. Six ty-nine reported an increase in drink ing of 54*5 4 percent. Yet. in the face of such testimony as to the good results of the system, Judge Simonton declares it is not a police measure. What then is thc police power ? Here is a definition of the Gnited States Supreme Court itself : "Thc police power includes all measures for the protection of life, thc health, the property, and thc wel fare of the inhabitants, and for the promotion of good order and the pub lic morals, lt covers thc suppression of nuisances, whether .injurious to public health. like unwholesome trades, or to thc public morals, like gambling houses and lottery tickets. Tlc police power extends to things not only intrinsically dangerous the public health, such as infect rags or diseased meat, but to thin which, when used in a lawful manm are subjects of property and of co merce, and yet may be used so as be injurious or dangerous to the li: the health or the morals of thc peop Gunpowder, for instance, is a subj( of commerce and of lawful use, y because of its explosive and ds gerous qualities, all admit that t State may regulate its keeping ? sale. And there is no article, t right of the State to control or to pi hibit the sale or manufacture of whi within its limits is better establish than intoxicating liquors." ! There is profit to a State in a form of licenses, yet license has be held to be a police regulation ev I when protecting license holders ii monopoly of sale, until Judge Simo ton's recent decision, above quote I allowed liquors in "original package Ito entera State "so long1' as tlx manufacture, purchase or sale, their use as a beverage in any form by any personare recognized." I I ter-State commerce has, according Judge Sim?nton, destroyed the poli j power unless a State declares the u ef liquor as a beverage to be contrai to good morals and against the heal J of the people. No license syste does this. "We cannot, therefore, g protection from "free liquor" by sm enactment. We can, however, get r lief by doing away with the pro feature, as the following quotati< from the Vandercook decision showi "The decision of the Supreme Cou j of the United States must control s I Circuit Courts. By this decision is clear that so long as nbc State he self engages in the business of impor ing and selling alcoholic liquors f I the purpose of profit ; so long as si ! recognizes that the use of alcohol liquors as a beverage is lawful at can be encouraged ; so long as si j seeks a monopoly in supplying the: I liquors for that use, and in this wa looks to an increase ef her revenu I she cannot, under her Constitution I obligations to the other States of th I Union, control, hinder and b?rde commerce in such articles betwec their citizens and her own." Herc i the law and we must, obey it unt Judge Simonton is overruled by th Supreme Court or by Congress. Ul J der a license'system, inasmuch as th State would receive money, thee "original packages" would continu to come in, and Judge Simonton woul continue to "enjoin" the State officei from interfering with them. Let ui therefore, do what is left us, an wait for action at Washington. Th money used in conducting th I dispensaries and in enforcing the la1 could not be regarded as profit, but a j expended as purely and solely fo I maintaining the morals and health o the people. Judge Simonton migh declare this not to be an exercise o the police power ; but we will have t I risk it, and depend for our securit; on what he himself has written i varieus decisions. j THE STATE'S EDUCATION SV8TEM. j The Constitutional three-mills ta: for school purposes yields on the pres ent assessed value of property some thing over $500,000. This is a larg, sum to collect from a tax-burdenei people, and this money should be si expended as to secure the best possi ble results. With this increased ex penditure of money on thc publii schools the people have the right ti expect better results than have hereto fore been secured. In the cities ant in a majority of the towns the school; j are well sustained and meet the de j mauds upon them ; but in thc country I the results are geuerally very unsatis factory. With better school housei I and better equipment and bcttei I teachers, boys and girls could be pre pared for college at the common schools in thc country without need I iog to take a course in fitting schools preparatory to catering college. The j State's educational system, including all schools, high and low, primary, j secondary and collegiate, looks to one end and aim-to correct illiteracy, to dispel ignorance, to train intelligent and patriotic citizens. It is sustain ed by public appropriations, gathered by taxation from every class of citi zens. It exists for the benefit of all thc people of the Commonwealth, and all arc iatercsted in' its economical and efficient administration. The system is a body composed of various capacities and functions, to be exercised, not independently, but each in conjunction with the others ; with constant reference to a common purpose, and upon a common plan. Harmonious co-operation is necessary and this implies organization, embrac ing in well balanced order, every part of the S3'stcm and supervised by in telligent and efficient officers. At present such organization and super vision arc wanting: and the whole system is split into departments, working each towards the supposed common end. but with no clear under standing or appreciation of each others needs, methods and aims. There is. therefore, an unintentional but inevitable lack ol' sympathy and understanding, which makes a separ ate system id' each branch ol' thc Stale's educational plant, and stands in the way of that unity and co-opera- ? tion which are thc prerequisites economy and efficiency. There is t headship, no leadership, no intel! gent policy, no common purpos Necessarily, the result is a duplic tion of work, a lack of connection, ? uneconomical, because unsystemati expenditure of funds, an inexcusab waste of energy, and, above all, ? unsatisfactory effort to forward tl cause of popular education. An ide plan would be thc combination of s higher State institutions into a sing co-educational university, but at pre cnt this is not practicable, and tl next best measure is the organizath of these now diverse elements into 01 system, properly directed by comp tent officials, who should be, as far ; possible, separated from political e tanglements and whose duties ar responsibilities should be careful defined by statute. The comme oountry schools, the more flo?rishii town schools and the various Sta colleges should be so related that i gap should occur in the succession i grades through which the pupil pas es, from rudimentary to post-gradua studies. "Every step should imp! the preceding step," every advance i classes should be a natural sequence < antecedent preparation ; so that tl pupil who enters the lowest grade, j the lowest rural school, might mo\ forward, and without a break, to 8 A. M. degree in thc highest colley in the State. Especially should tl higher institutions supported by tl State be brought into co-operative r lations with each other. Thei should be no duplication of plants an courses and chairs and appliances th; could possibly be avoided. If there are to be various State Co leges they should fill as various fiele of education work, and in answer I rational demand for such variety < advantages; moreover, each should t be kept strictly, to its own line of ii striction. Furthermore, there mm be no sentimental hesitation in redm ing the State's higher education! system to the basis indicated by tl people's aetual needs, present an prospective. Lower education shoul press ahead of popular demand an seek to draw the people on to a fu realization of their necessities in thi line of education and culture. Bu the higher education may, for th present at least, be content to mee effectively the immediate demanc From what has been said above yo may easily infer that the prime neces sity for the higher education in Sout Carolina is that all the State college be brought under the control of a sic gie board of trustees, who sliall se that each is supported and expande according as thc needs of the peopl shall indicate. No one of thes should be allowed to trenoh upon th province of the others, or to take fror the necessary financial support of th others. At present each State colleg has its own independent board who eon sider themselves responsible only fo its support and for its success; ane who are naturally not concerned, sav in a sentimental way, with the pros perity or interests of the other Statt institutions. The control of th* State's educational institutions i now in the charge of separate board: of trustees for each college, divide* as; follows: South Carolina College 17; Clemson College, 18; South Caro lina Military Academy, ll; Winthro] College, 14: South Carolina Stati Colored Normal and Industrial Col lege, 7. Thc work of thc several board; could be better done and at considera bly less expense to the State by .* board of seven competent members Thc trustees of the various institu tions are, at present, placed in an atti tudc of partisanship to their own in terests and of indifference amounting almost to hostility to the other State colleges. Thus, eaeh struggling tc take care of itself alone, is by that ef fort brought into competition with the others instead of working with them and dividing with them. This breeds selfishness, distrust and antag onism among institutions that can flourish only by working in harmony. Mr belief in the necessity of State higher education is my warrant for candidly pointing out what seems to rae the only rational and economical arrangement of its efficient adminis tration. STATE CULI,KUES. The attendance at thc State colleges ; is fully up to thc average. They all , appear te be doing satisfactory and I careful work. Puring the past year 1 Dr. Frank C. "Woodward was elected president of the South Carolina Col lege and Prof. Henry S, llartzog, president of Clemson College. They i were elected to fill vacancies occa sioned by the resignations of Dr. James Woodrow, president of the South Carolina College, and Prof. K. H. Craightad, president of Clemson College, l?esults arc proving thc wis dom of the trustees in making these excellent selections. The most careful attention is solici ted to the detailed reports of thc olli ecrs of thc various State colleges. I'KXA I. A Xl? i'll AHITA lt I.K IXSTITTTlnXS. Thc (?nanees nf thc Penitentiary arc in a very healthful condition. For the first time in the history ?d' this (VnXTlX'.'EI? "N Ttl I UH l'A(!K.) I am now a regular Licensed Plumber, and anything in the Plumbing line done promptly and neatly. If your Pipes burst during the cold weather ring up If o* 43, Telephone number, and I will give your work special attention. . Bespectfully. JOHN T. BURRISS. ROBERT BUIST'S Reliai Garden Seeds. We have a large and well-selected stock. EVANS PHARMACY, Corner Hotel Chiguola, Anderson? ?. NOW IS THE TIME! Shoes Cheaper than you ever bought them before. . . OUR Stock of Fall and Winter Shoes is entirely too large, and we dsn7* propose to carry them over until next Fall, consequently we ha?? MARKED THEM DOWN To prices that will move them. We don't advertise selling out at cost, but our goods and prices speak for themselves. So cali when in need of Shoes,, and be convinced of what we say. m%%- Remember, we will not be undersold toy any Firm in Town. Yours for Shoes, The Yates Shoe Co. Under Masonic Temple, Anderson, 8. C. THIS IS NO FAKE ! That Jewelry Palace -Ol' - WILL. R. HUBBARD'S, NEXT TO F. and M. BANK, Has the Largest, Prettiest and Finest lot of . . . XMAS AND WEDDING PRESENTS IN THE CITY. Competition don't ?nt any ice with me when it comes te prices. I den't buy goods to keep. I want the people to have them. Gold and Stkgr Watches, Sterling and Plated Silverware, Jewelry, Clocks, Lamps, ?aina, Spectacles, Novelties of all kinds. Rogers' Tripple Plate Table Knives $1.50 per Set. A world beater. WILL B. HUBBARD. BIG BARGAINS FOR JANUARY,t898. CLOTHING. A Big ?nd Complete li?t. Something to please ail. Seat pert, Pri?e? te auto te times. List rn : Men's Sait? from %\. 75 up. Boys' Sait? from fi?, up. ?-ottos? AW Wool Jeans Paute 98e. DRESS GOODS. I hart a big line ef New and Stylish Goods ef all kind?. ?? whian I> kara knoeked tn? bottom oat of prioM. CLOAKS AND CAPES. A liue that will tickle jon, especially price?. UNDERWEAR. Ladles' Underheat* from ?c. up. Men's Undervwte from life, ap. SHOES, HATS AND CAFS? Just come and tee for youruelf. tirent ?ig Xe. 7 Stove *5 ?JO. GROCERIES. A lance fresh lot boeght low down-oil) sell jon the ?am? way. Rem. m ber, I am io th? Cotton and Cotton Seed market to etey. Taro red hot ?tove? if your are sold. Tours for Barga??a, _ Ra A, LEWIS, Betti, S. C. CHRISTMAS GOODS FOR EVERYBODY. WE HAVE RECEIVE!) OUR XMAS (IROCERIM! FRUITS, CONFECTIONERIES, ETC WK have tke nicest assortment of Fine Candies that we have ever had. Be SSTU to see it. Big lot L. L. Raisins, Seeded Raisins, Cleaned Currants, Giazed Citron, Candied Lemon Peel, Dates, FigH, ?balled Almonds, English Walnut*", Brazil Nuts, Pecans and Almonds. All cheap. FIREWORKS. Fire Crackers, Cannon Cracker-, Roman Candles, Ked Lights, Whistling Po rube, Sam! Crackers, tVe. ?'.">n*t fail to come and see our Goods when you are in Town. Dnn'j, matter whether you buv or not. No trouble to show you our Goods. Yours for Trade. OSBORNE & BOLT.