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THE DISPENSARY ISSUE. SENATOR TILLMAN REPLIES TO DR. CROMER. Denies that He Has or Intends to Ap? peal to Factionalism-Declares Old Lines Can Not Be Drawn. Following is the reply of Senator B. R. Tillman to the "open letter" of Dr. George B. Cromer, former pres ? ident of Newberry college and now mayor of Newberry: ' Hon. Geo. B. Cromer. \My Dear Sir: As your "open let? ter" appeared in the Sunday News and Courier and in today's Columbia State, I presume you expect an an ??wer through the same medium. I desire in the beginning to express my appreciation of your kindly and complimentary allusions to myself. I value them more highly because in the past you have not been my political friend. I have read your letter carefully and have endeavored to judge your arguments and weigh the points you present as "sanely" as may be. It is not always possible for men. to agree even though both are actuated by the highest and purest motives, f^and it is therefore natural that you should misjudge me iii some things -*ud disagree with me in others. Now about the appeal to factional? ism: I deny absolutely that I have made such an appeal or intend to ?. make such an appeal, and in justifi ??pation of the truthfulness of this t statement let me remind* you of what I said at Edgefield. To quote: "Ido not wish to revive factionalism and 1 am sorry to be compelled to have the appearance of doing so. I am aware that many of the strongest support -ers .of the dispensary now are men * who were and are yet probably Con? servatives while some of its most bit? ter antagonists are former Reform? ers. It therefore cannot be charged that I am endeavoring to draw the old lines which rent the State in P twain." Again: "1 want this matter settled entirely apart from my per? sonal and political fortunes. It is a .mach greater question for tho people of South Carolina as to how they shall wisely and best govern the sale of liquor than as to whether I or some one else represents them in the senate. I know there are many men who will vote for me regardless of their former political affiliations and of their present attitude on this qaestion, and it is possible that there will be many who will be aggrieved j at my activity in dealing with the question." .. . .. - When a public man is vicioiusly attacked with slander and abuse and tiere is- every indication of a pur ?>se to press that attack in the next J emocratic primary with a view to ^his overthrow, it seems to me it is perfectly legitimate for him to give notice to his frieinds and his enemies alike to what is going on and let all hands understand that he is prepared to fight. This is all I have done and so far from expecting to make a plea to the Reformers, as you charge to 1>e my purpose "by implication," I have expressly said that the old lines could not be drawn and I want the issue settled entirely apart from my personal and poetical fortunes. . When I wrote my letter to Mr Higgins I merely alluded to the "true inwardness of this movement/ which I then realized was being en? gineered by my inveterate political enemies. Tou seem to be aggrieved because I have shifted position from the "sane and judicial attitude of the Higgins letter" and now take the ground that the movement is political and a covert attack upon me. Your asser? tion is too sweeping, my dear doctor. The "movement" against the dispen? sary among the people arises from the dissatisfaction with the manage? ment and strong belief in corruption which exists; but while the people are fighting the dispensary either to purify or destroy it the leaders are fighting me. You may not be. In I fact I know you are not and probably * there are many others who have no such feeling or purpose, but look at the numerous evidences of the polit? ical purpose and significance of the movement in the minds of the lead? ers. One of these who attended the ^ prohibition conference in Columbia declared it to be the intention to "tilt the State up on edge and spiiil out not only the dispensary but the -encire existing political status." The Darlington News declared that the "'dispensary was so intimately inter? woven with Senator Tillman's politi? cal fortunes that the destruction of the one meant the destruction of the -other." The mass meeting held at York vilile on the 7th of this month under the leadership of the author of the Brice bill discussed and abused me a great deal more than they discussed the dispensary or prohibition and each and every speaker who opened his mouth in it paid his respects to me in the harshest and most insult? ing manner. Since it will not be . denied that the anti-dispensary forces are an incongruous and in many spects antagonistic aggregation, m isters of the gospel, doctors of div ity, advocates of high license, the i barroom system in its essence, bli tigers who want free liquor for 1 money they can make out of it. a yet with this army in motley led men with all manner of opinions, a marshaling its forces for my destn tion, you, my dear doctor, tell ] that I must remain quiet, contin the same "calm, judicial, sane at tude assumed in the Higgins lette and not let the people know what going on. I stated in .that letter if the legis! ture did not apply the remedy i the existing evils in the dispensa management that I would help k the dispensary. More matu thought and a better understands of the purpose of the anti-dispensa leaders led me to give notice that that legislature did not apply ? remedy I would appeal to the peop to elect a legislature that would. Is there anythinig wrong in tha Anything immoral or unstatesma like? If I had remained steadfast that position would not all the infl enees that are possible be broug to bear to keep the legislature fro doing anything, especially doii things I suggest. If the legislatu: now in office could be thus infli enced, cajoled, coerced to resist r formation under the specious ph tfiat ic was my dictation, that I hs quietly fallen in ranks to help ki the dispensary without first appea ing from the legislature to the pe< pie, do you not see that I would haA tied my own hands and surrendere at discretion to my worst enemies? I had to deal with one "driftwoo legislature" once and I appealed 1 the people to reform it, which the did most effectually by retiring mo: of those who had proven false t their professions and pledges to pr vate life. The present legislator was not elected on the dispensar issue and is a very conservative bod of men and with so much politics electricity in the atmosphere and s much thundering against the dispen sary it may well pause ere it take any action. The disclosures at Spar tanburg will undoubtedly cause it t< do somethinig, but whether it will d< anything effectual or not remans ti be seen. I wish to say here and now, a though in parenthesis, the result o this fight as far as I am personall: concerned gives me no uneasines; whatever. The office of senator doe: not belong to me, but it belongs t< the people and they will have th? right next year to choose my sue cessor and I will bow to their will whatever it may be, without a mur? mur. I do not believe that the fal of the dispensary .necessarily means my fall. I do not see what associa? tion there is or could possibly be be? tween the dispensary question anc the position which I have taken upor it and my fitness for the high of? fice wheih I hold. If my health con? tinues good I shall ask the people tc continue me in the pl?ce, not be? cause I am the father of the dispen? sary, but because of my service in Washington. I am not uneasy in the least. So much for that branch ol your letter. Xow let us come to the dispensary question and your treatment of it. You quote with great unction from the decision of our supreme court: "That liquor in its nature is danger? ous to the morals, good order, health, and safety of the people, and is not to be placed on the same footing with the ordinary commodities of life such as corn, wheat cotton, tobacco, potatoes, etc." I wish I had that decision before me so that I could give its essence in brief form rather than take an isolated sentence. You are too good a lawyer not to know that the State could have nothing to do with the liquor traffic were it not for the exercise of the police power which rests upon the right of the State government to control or for? bid any and everything which con? cerns the morals and health of the people; and right here is where we part company in dealing with this question. The prohibitionists in gen? eral and you, by dear doctor, as one of the leaders, are thoroughly im? bued with the belief that liquor drinking is dangerous to the morals, good order, health and safety of the people, and you would therefore for? bid its sale in any way as a bever? age and would limit its use to medic? inal, pharmaceutical and mechanical purposes. South Carolina declares in the dispensary law itself. "The manufacture, sale, barter or exchange, receipt or acceptance for unlawful use, delivery, storing and keeping in possession within this State of any spirituous, malt, vinous, fermented, brewed (whether lager or rice beer) or other liquors, any compound or mixture thereof, by whatever name called or known, which contains alcohol and is used as a beverage, except as is hereafter provided, is hereby prohibited under a penalty of not less than three nor more than VI months at hard labor in the State penitentiary, or pay a fine of not less than $100 nor mo than $500 or both fine and impriso: ment, in the discretion of the cou for each offense. All alcoholic liquo in this State, whether manufacture within this State or elsewhere, n having been tested by the chemi of the South Carolina college ar found to be pure and free fro poisonous, hurtful and deleterioi matters are hereby declared to be < a detrimental character, and the use and consumption are against tl ! morals and good health and safei of the State," etc. In the judgment of the legislatui which enacted the law as a con ! promise, the dispensary system woul bring about the best results. Yo I and your friends make of this que; tion a religious issue while the sui porters of the dispensary law cor sider it a political issue and the pee pie of the State have six times h overwhelming majorities sustaine our view. Y^u and your friends hav time and time again presented you ideas**and pressed them with vigo and ability, but the voters have nc seen it as you did. I would be the last man to lowe the ideals of our schools. I woul be the last man to throw temptatlo: in the way of anyone young or ole I would be the last man to teach an; child that liquor is not dangerous but it 'is the duty of a stateman ti hobble the devil when he can't b chained, so to speak, or it is his dut; to simply say he wants to see hin hobbled or chained and then let hin ! loose ? The dispensary law proper ly administered does reduce druken ness. It does conduce to temperanc and good morals, and teaches mei the uses of liquor rather than th< abuses of it. That the State boarc of control is under suspicion of cor? ruption with many things pointng tc the belief that the suspicion is wei grounded, that local dispensers have been debauched, because of the laa administration or mal-administration proves nothing. Pope long snce epit? omized the whole subject in thal well known couplet: "About forms of law, let fools con? test, "That law which is best administered best." Ana our not agreeing on the dis? pensary question and the liquor ques? tion comes from the fundamental dif? ference of opinion as to how it is best to police the liquor traffic. The pro? hibitionists declare it sinful to drink In moderation wine or whiskey, while a large majority of us cannot see any foundation in morals or religion for any such contention. Everybody rec? ognizes the evils of drunkenness, and how to minimize this or to prevent it, is the whole question. You say pro? hibit the sale. I say sell by bonded officers under stringent regulations in the day time only and have the law enforced. * The profit, which is an incident, and not a purpose in this sale, to go where it is most needed that is, into the school fund of the State. It would make no difference if it went into the general fund of the treasury and the school fund in? creased from other sources, but that is a subterfuge. No one drinks any more or patronizes the dispensary be? cause the profits go to the school fu- d. I can not see any harm or sin in obtaining revenue from a traffic that is irrepressible. The United States supreme <S>urt protects each citizen in the rght to import for his own use, and no law of the State can prevent it. The poorer and more ignorant classes who can not thus obtain liquor have been and always will be suppliied through some local agency no matter what the law against sellinig liquor may be. You quote Gov. Hoch, of Kansas, but you do not discuss or explain the official statistics in regard to drink? ing and the payment of the United States internal revenue license by re? tail dealers in that State. There aie no saloons in South Carolina for the young to see any more than there are in Kansas. God forbid they should ever return, Some of your colabor ers in this fight against the dispensary system, your allies and counsellors, are the editors of papers which have always fought the dispensary and are now scheming to get high license after prohibition has failed, as it will fail. There is not a civilized govern? ment in Christendom as far as I know that does not derive a revenue from the sale of liquor and prohibition was an unknown thing 60 years ago. The United States government received last year from this soa.'ce upwards of $170,000,000. I think there are only three States at this time that cling to prohibition. Iowa and Vermont had it some years ago, but they have abandoned it for local option with the right to vote in saloons if wanted and that is what is hoped for here by your chief sponsors of the press. One word more and I am through: Let us see about your historical parallel of the great leader who was commanded to go down against the Amalekites. Tho Hebrews of old. true to the instincts of thrift, slew the abominable tribe but saved the best of tin- sheep and oxen, as some claimed for "sacrifice" and you go : on to state as an historical fact th "the government of a State was coi manded by the moral sense of t people expressed at the ballot box go down and destroy the liquor tra fie. And when called to account makes the pitiful plea that while has not des* oyed the traffic it h managed it so as to get money f the taxpayers." Your parallel is n a parallel at all. The people of South Carolina ha never instructed its government prohibit the sale of liquor. In tl separate box provider! by the Dem ocratic executive committee in tl Democratic primary of '92, the vo stood, as I recollect, 35,000 for pr hibition, 25.000 against, while 32,0( did not vote on it at all (I quote fro: memory). That election was a sic show and you have no right to maj nify its significance. This is a go1 ernment of majorities and no majo; ty of the people has ever given ar such order, while when the questic has been passed on since directly po; itively a half dozen times the peop: said that the dispensary law was better and more sane solution. Isn it about time to stop alluding t that election? The dispensary sy< tem does not rest for its suppoi upon the money that it brings in. 3 rests on the claim of its defender backed by experience of our peopl and statistics, as affording more prc tection against the vice of drunker ness than any other system, prohib? tion or license either. If it has done this in spite of mal administration and mismanagemen what would it not do if such men a Dr. Cromer and his friends woul give to the enforcement of the la-* their great moral support? We d not ask endorsement but in a gov ernment where a majority rules w have had a right to expect co-opera tion and assistance and we have no had it. Yet "render unto Caesar th? things that are . Caesar's" was jth command of the Master himsell When the statute has been practical ly annulled by the board of directors when the restrictive features hav? been allowed to drop into disuse have the prohibitionists lent their as distance by standing up boldly ie* th? lav ! Had they done so, we wou't r.ot be now where we are. You have been kind enough, m> dea - sir, to remind me of Jefferson : erdiaph. You declare "the people \< no? need advice, owl they need ar opportunity to vote." Allow me tc remind you that one of Jefferson's r?;axims which was the very embodi r.!< nt of civil liberty and true Demo? cracy was "Teach the people and trust the people." You want the people to vote now while they are angered and bewil? dered. I want them to vote "sane? ly" after they have heard the facts and arguments and I want all of them to vote who have an interest in this matter, and under the Brice act this is not allowed. You men? tioned Winthrop and Clemson as among the things which I would be remembered. You left off some others that I presume to add, not from a sense of egotism but simply to keep the record straight: (1) The emancipation in 1890 of the people from dry rot, caused by only one party and the demonstra? tion that we could have the most free and open discussion of political ques? tions without danger, followed by the inauguration of the State Democratic primary system, (2) The constitutional convention and its work, largely the result of my untiring and earnest efforts, and my work in that convention in behalf of common schools and the disfranchise? ment for the time being of the negro majority legally. (3) Last, the inauguration of the sale of liquor by bonded officers un? der the dispensary system. I will not say that your vision is clouded by fanaticism, but if it be true that "he who makes two blades of grass to grow where only onei grew before is a public benefactor," then is it not equally true that he who conceived a scheme by which drunkenness was reduced, temperance encouraged and decency and good order increased and withal made the demon whiskey contribute to the education of the ignorant masses, need he be ashamed of his work? B. R. Tillman. Trenton, S. C., Aug. 14th, 1905. - mm ? - ?*>? ? - mm Soothing and Cooling. .The salve that heals without a scar is Dewitt's Witch Hazel. Xo remedy effects such speedy relief. It draws out inflammation, sooths, cools and heals all cuts, burns and bruises. A sure cure for Piles and skin dis? eases. Dewitt's is the only genuine Witch Hazel Salve. Beware of coun? terfeits, they are dangerous. Sold by all druggists. Peculiar Disappearance. J. D. Runyan, of Rukerville, O., aid the peculiar disappearance of his ainful symptoms of indigestion and biliousness to Dr. King's Xew Life Pills. He says: "They are a perfect remedy for dizziness, sour stomach, j eadache, constipation, etc." Guaran- . teed at all druggists', price 25c. i Should I M Auld ll M Acquaintance m I Forgot I M wc say W i again- 1 I Forget it I I Uneeda 1 I Biscuit I I NATIONAL BISCUIT COMPANY B (jw) / Graham Crackers \ mt# JM. j Botter Thin Biscuit I /^ft ii Isodal Tea BiscoItJ j HS CAMDEN SHUT OUT. Sumter Wins in Easy Style Taking the Game in a Whirlwind by a Score of 3 to 0-Dwyer a Puzzle. From the Daily Item, Aug. 18. The great Billy Levai came all the way to Sumter to gets his bumps and he got them good and hard. He came here for the express purpose of off? setting the work of Dwyer, for the Camden people realized his ability, and sent the best pitcher obtainable to oppose him. The little southpaw, who has had such a wonderfully suc? cessful career, was all smiles during the first few innings of the game, for he could not be found ; but, alas, like bubbles his smiles were of short dura? tion, and disappeared in the offing accompanied by the hits that were made off bis delivery. On the other hand, Dwyer uncorked some of the most perlexing benders that were ever shot over a plate, and he mixed them up so efficiently that only two players of the Camden team ever made connection with the sphere. The fans had an opportunity to see James work behind the bat for the first time yesterday, and he surely made good with the crowd. He caught an errorless game, made the few Camden men who reached first hold the sack, and showed his ability to nse the willow. He is evidently the man that Sumter has been looking for. Cantey did spectacular work at third; he took every chance, threw accurately to the bases and is credited with two hits, both of which were dean and well placed. The star play of the came was a doubl? st?al, which was nicely con? ducted by the heady little Stafford. He bad reached first on an error, there was a man on third and two down. Seeing au excellent opportu? nity for making an extra run, Stafford played for enough off first to entice Levai to throw to Gunter, and while he was playing between the two bases, the runner scored, and Stafford landed safely on the second bag when the ball was thrown home. That way what Billy Earle would say, "Playing the game." Gunter was making errors yesterday as if his life depended upon having "e 3" all over the score book, and his poor work was largely responsible for two of the runs made by the locals. The brag sticker of the Camden aggre gation, whose name heads the batting order, came out of the game with his batting average standing at 0. Weatherly is a good player at times, and yesterday happened not to be one of those occasions . He took balls that did not belong tc him, endeavor? ing to play to the grandstand by tak? ing difficulty chances, a ti cl appeared entirely indifferent to the errors that naturally followed from this style of i playing. Flowers played an exceib nt field, and took in several hard ones thar t looked like good h x> fran the stand, j He covered his territory in league ? style. Toe game was ene of the best, and decidedly the fastest of the season,. I being played in an hoar and thirty [ five minutes. # Camden Sumter Mabry c James Gunter 1st b Holland Moseley 2nd b Enos Weatherley 3rd b Caotey Dorant, E. ss Martin Ammons rf Lawrence Flowers ' cf Durant, R. Clyburn If Stafford Levai p Dwyer Score : Camden-0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0-0 Sumter-0 0 0 0 2 0 1 0*-3 Summary: Earned runs, 0. First on balls, off Dwyer 1, off Levai, I. Left on baces, Camden 2, Scmter IL Hits, Camden 3, Sumter 6. Errors*. Camden 9; Sumter 0. Struck ont, by Levai 4 ; by Dwyer 10. Time of game, 1.35. "Umpire, Mr. Mcagen. Scorer, Mr H. P. Meses. Fiendish Suffering Is often caused by sores, ulcers and cancers, that eat away your skin. Wm. Bedell, of Flat Rock, Mich^. says; "I have used Bucklen's Arnica: Salve, for ulcers, sores and cancers. It is the best healing dressing I ever found." Soothes and heals cuts, burns and scalds. 25c. at all drug* gists; guaranteed. CAN'T 8E SEPARATED. Some Sumter People Have Learned How to Get Rid of Both. Backache and kidney ache are twin brothers. Yon can't separate them. And you can't get rid of the backache until jon cure the kidney ache. If the kidneys are well and strong, th? rest of thd system is pretty sure to be in vigorous health. Doan's Kidney Filia make strong, healthy kidneys. E. McCloud, farmer, residing on the out? skirts of Sumter says: "Both my wife and I used Dean's Kidney Pills procured at Dr. A. J. China's drug store, and obtained a lot of benefit from them. I thought it must Ix- the climate which did not agree with us or the water, for we never had the backache until we moved here some four years aero from Pennsylvania, but we certainly bave bad it since. Tlie secretions from tue kidneys were irregular and much too frequent in action, especially ai night when our rest was much disturbed, >:ii'-<- we used Doan's Kidney Pills neither of us lia- had the backache and the action <'f :!><. kidneys became natural and normal :n:<? our rest is not disturbed at night. Doan's Kidney Pills are the best rem? edy T tint ever came into my house." ?. tor sale by all dealers. Prico 50 cents. Filter-Milburn Co.. Buffalo. N. W. sole agents tor the I'mted St;n?->. Remember The name-Doan's-ami take no othei 3?