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EXTRA NEWBERRY, S. C., TUESDAY, JANUARY 10, 1905. GOVERNOR HEYWA I WORK ! He Stands for Orde ment - THE ANNUAL-MESSIGE TO Recommends 'Compulsory Educal Charter to South Carolina Co Departmento of Immigrat Dispensary Law-T-w Circuits To the Honorable, the Gentlemen of the General Assembly. The annual meeting of your honor able body brings a season of respon sible duties, of arduous labors. In ac cordance with the requirements of the constitution, I herewith transmit to you my annual message, with the assur ance that I am ready to cooperate with you In advancing the weal and the dig nity of oi/ -nmonwealth. As a mat ter of po importance, I shall first direct yo ention to the condition of rtate's fitiances. Ftnanetal C,ndition of the State. .For a number .f years past the State has been under the 'necessity of bor rowing money to meet its current ex penses. The amount borrowed has been annually increasing, until last year the State treasurer was compelled to bor row the sum of $500,000. The reason for this increase lies in the fact that since the year 1900 the expenditures of tbe State have annually exceeded .the revenue. In 1900 the expenditure exceeded the tevenue by .310,045,42; , in 1901 the ex pe*diture exceeded the revenue by $13,924.29; in 1902 - the expenditure ex ceeded' the .re v_enue by:$208,795.23. In 1903 there:*as an apparent excess of revenue over expenditures amount ing to $56,304.29, but in reality the ex penditures exceeded. the revenue by $32,833.57, for the reason that the sum of $89,137.86 was then received in. set tlement -of claims against the United States governmeht, and was placed in expenditures exceeded the revenue by at least $100,000, making a total excess of expenditure over revenue of $365, 598.51 for the past five years. In 1903 the general assembly, realiz ing that this condition of affairs should (7no longer exist, an~pointed a committee to .consider "how best to put the State -upon a cash basis, what adgiitional sources of revenue for the State are available, and what changes should be made in existIng laws for the -assess ment and collection of taxes." This committee reported at your last session, makingeseveral recommenda tions, the only one adopted, however, being a license tax upon all corpora tions. This law becomes operative this year, and it is estimated that it will add $80,000 to the State's revenue. The estimated revenue from the' five-mill levy for the present fiscal year-will be * $1,050,000. The insurance license fees and the fees fi om the office of the sec retary of state may be estimated at $50,000. To 'this we may add $80.000 from li&ense fees, making a totaa rev *enue 'for 1905 of $1,180,000. It will thus be seen that, if the ex penditures are the same as last year, there will again be a deficiency, with no provision, made to place the State upon a cash\ basis. tn this connection I beg to call your attention to an article of the constitu tion: "The general assembly shall pro vide for .an annual tax sufficient to defray the estimated expenses of the State for ea ch year, and whenever it shall happen that -the ordinary ex penses of the State for any year shall exceed the income of the State for such year, the general assembly shall pro vide for levying a tax for the ensuing year sufficient, with othier sources of$ income, to pay the deficiency of the preceding year, together with the es timated expenses of the ensuing year." (Article 10, Section 2.) Had this provision of the constitu tion been observed in the past. as it should have been, the State would not now be in its present financial condi tion, and I deem it needless to impress upon you the mandatory terms of this provision.. The constitution requiring that you shall make provision to meet ihe deficiency of the past ye, an a such having been ignored here ore, it is but fair to assume that thP - port o.f the constitution imposes l /you the duty of making a like pro s5 ion for previous years. * I have laid before you as briefly as possible the very unsatisfact.ory' con dition of the Stat'e's finances. This -seridus status of affairs calls for prompt and efficient action. It is your paramount duyto meet this. 5a.estly seeking to rem Ya - tio which has ret.ched a p6n wh re action -annot longer be evaded or -dis regardea. You are the sworn~ repr e sentatives of the people, and upon you alone devolves the duty and reisponsi-: bility of squarely meeting this un Shealthy condition in the most impor tant department of our govermnent. In my last message, dealing with this subject. _I said: "This is the most important function Sof the State. so far as its business ai aieare concerned, and it is not only an unwise, but a suicidal, policy .o ~tinu1e expending more money than ~ evenues of the State a,mount to. Th Q tion resolves itself into this. that es. nditures must be curtailed, ormoe venue raised. The former. I fea, s kprctiabe,and the latter can only pe done mn one of three ways: Sby requiring the county author SREVIEWS V F THE PAST YEAR. S a r ai1d the ERIfoCes a a laws.t y n g THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY t S C. t: ion-Favors Granting University b ilege-Commends Work of the c a ion-Suggests Changes in e b o Additional Judicial Favored. 1 b ascertaining and placing upon the tax books all property, to exercise a rigid I supervision of tax returns, and forcing them to require a proper listing of property heretofore escaping taxation. Second,,by a license tax, as suggested a a by your committee; or, third, by in creasing the tax levy, which is undesir- d able, as it will only place additional u burdens hpon the honest taxpayer, n while the tax dodger still escapes." a In reference to the curtailment of r expenditures, I am still of the opinion s, that they cannot be materially reduced, for the reason that the exigencies aris- a I ing from the material growth and the t] political conditions of our State are c: such as will not justify any appreci- N able decrease. It is therefore clearly s, manifest that our revenue must be in- 1E creased; and, as I have. said, this can a: be done in one of three ways. One of a these -propositions-a license tax-has ti already been adopted, but, as has been n shown, this does not meet the require- p ments of the situation. The other two si alternatives remain: to increase the .property assessment, or to raise the tj tax levy. s1 In reference to increasing the assess- 9 ment, and as to the machinery for ac- 3 .corplishng this,' I beg to refer you to it ort of the cornptroller general. As will 'be seen' by this report, the comptroller general believes that our present assessment laws are sufficient, if properly enforced, and suggests in I what. way they can be enforced. He t calls attention to an accepted fact that t proper is now generally assessed be low its real value, which is contrary to the requirements of the constitution, 1 ind adds :that much personal property t] is now entirely escaping taxation. This a is a complex and difficult -subject, and s I commend the painstaking presenta tion made by the comptroller general. e in his comprehensive report, to- your o careful and earnest consideration. You . areaware of the fact that an assess- d ment. of all property will be made in a 196; therefore, if the assessment is to be. ncreased, steps should now be t] taken looking to that end. Should s nothing be ac.complished at this ses- n sion to increase the property assess- g menit, it only- remains for you to in- ir crease the t..x levy, which shonld and must be done, in order that the dignity , and integrity of the State shall be properly maintained. ri The .income tax law is practically c disrea-ded throughout the State, the only exception of importance being Richiand county for the past year-.s The entire receipts from the tax go into the State treatsury for State pur- I poses, and better provision should be g made for-'the enforcement of this lawc alike in all counties. c Our present law, fixing a nominal penalty for nonpayment of taxes with in the time required by law, should be c< amended, a.nd a penalty of 10 per r< cent, should immediately attach upon p; all taxes remaining unpaid on Janu- et ary 1. I recommend that the time al- ti lowed for the payment of delinquent s] taxes, with penalty, be fixed at 60 days. a The law as it stands at present is cum- lh ersome and difficult to enforce, and 6: is of no practical benefit. p | The law authorizes the governor, by Il I and with the advice and consent of the n senate, to appoint county auditors and s< treasrers. The governor now makes ta the appointment of these officers as the s result of a party primary, which prac- ci tically means their selection by the ti people. The auditor, in my opinion. n~ should be entirely free from the im fluences of politics, and I recommend tl that appropriate legislation be enacted fl prohibiting any party from placing this office in a primary. ti Sinking F4unas. t The assets of these several funds on December 31, 1904 are as follows:n Cumulative sinking- fund (for reduc- r' tion and payment of South Carolina Brown 4 1-2 per cent. bonds). $527,- i 248.59. Ordinary sinking fund, $64.- ti 109.88, of which $2,936.73 belong to escheats and $61,173.15 to the ordinary 9r sinking fund proper. Sinking fund for I0 insurance of public buildings, $16,471.62. Statements- will be found in the re ports of the commissioners of the.sink- ~ ingdund for the year 1904, showing ini dedta'll how these three funds are in-a iseid, and loaned; and how they have sepicreased during the past year. b '. Revenue Bond Scrip. C ,December 19, 1904, the supreme s< the -United.States affirmed the decision of tlie~ UiitedEtatec t Ttd court; in the case of Lee against Rob- i inson, and declared the revenue bond scrip of the State to be void. Under the act of March 2, 1872-, $1,800,000 of Ib4 this scrip was issued, and since the of year of its issue, its validity has con- g stanty-.been before the courts. By i this decision the State is forever re- inl lieved of the liability to redeemt the $1.800.000 of scrip outstanding, and a : menace to her finances has been re- sI moed Had the decision been the c< other way, the State would have been ul ompelled to pay this $l.800.000. ' a Since December, 1901, the interests 11 c the State have been represenlted by S Zr. William Elliott. Jr., of the Colum- s bia bar, who appeared at the request 1: of thy attorney general's office. 31r. jp Elliott has rendered valuable service I U to the~ State. Which servie- certainly T deerves compensation, anid I recomn- I ol 1ni that he b Pais. u_ , . -amt h: 1iay ~ wappnt ti you just and iquit- vn Etiuat inetinal I ntitutions. du I am deeply gratified to report tc, of jur honoi-able, hody that during he lif ist vear Li,:- s-reat cause of -duca on has continued to advance in our to tate. No great.er nor more all-import- of at cause can deFmand our thought. r-e ir care and our best energies. II all m nes, mater!it and industrial. as a St tate. we have prospered, and to know e mt our common schools and our high- ( r institutions of learning reflect this in rogrss and prosperity iii the highest, or est and most important interests of cc commonwealth, should be. as it is. ]a source of pride and of pleasure to us of 11. Time, labor and money spent for fo 1p purpose of educating our ch,ildren fu jeld a return than which there is fo one greater. Ignorance is an evil sl -hich we cannot afford to permit-it ni ; a crime against the future, and to ai et rid of the deplorable condition ar -ould be money well spent at almost- a< ny cost. The spirit manifested by ut 'e masses of our people all over the za tate is a. safe guarantee of the hope fo iat the future wili continue to re- w eal progress and even greater suc- at ss in this all-important cause. p( The reports of the higher institu- la ons of learning which are supported a< y the State will be submitted to you y the State superintendent of edu- of ation. These papers will command ti our interest and every one will show si satisfactory condition of affairs gen- st rally in these institutions. - I do not a elieve it is necessary for me to go Im ito details, especially as the reports, re All and complete. will be before you. At the South Carolina college the a( nrollment of students is larger, I be- 00 eve, than ever before in its history. a 'he new normal scholarships have th een eagerly sought, they have been th warded to most worthy and. deserv- ci Ig applicants, and it is clear that they h< ave been strong factors in infusing al ew life and activity in this 4nstitu- w on. of At the South Carolina Military cademy an increased attendance is down. The efficiency of the gradu- sc tes from this historic institution has di ,on signal recognition from the war st epartment. and this is indeed a trib- t te to the worth and excellence of its cc ianagement. This is one of our oldest tb nd most honored institutions of learn- re ig, with a career of valued and useful cq arvice to the State. ti( Clemson college continues to grow th nd flourish. Its capacity is taxed to ar te fuilest extent. to accommodate the im idets, and life' and growth are every- to here in evidence. The agricultural to holarships established at this col- qt g'e at the last session of the general er 5sembly will attract many young men to long the- lines for which this institu- to on was primarily established. The ca ew agricultural hall, recently com- ce leted, is a valuable addition to its th ;lendid equipment. ar Winthrop college, the only institu- in on of learning which South. Carolina 6 .pports exclusively for the education SC women, has a career which fully aC istifies the distinction it enjoys. Since TI s establishment it has grown year by Pr ar in the hearts of our people, and sa as proven a potent and Influential sa Lctor in developing education in our al tate. From its doors annually go ti, rth young women who have received' le most careful technical training as co achers, and the effect of the work of nc iese trained and cultivated educators lo: | in evidence in every county in South a arolina. fa The South Carolina Institution for w: ie Education of the Deaf and Blind. h, t Cedar Spring, submits a report which be '1ows that this ,institution is keeping ca .ce with our other 'educational inter-cl ts. ;I availed myself of the privilege at 1 visiting the school last year, and th -as pleased and gratified to see evi- n nces of the remarkable work which is so acomplished. There can be no sub- Iw, itute for the training, the system and pc te helpful influences which are here th ) skilfully combined; there can be : o just and adequate estimate of the fu ood which is revealed in the mold- a ig of useful lives. m The trustees of these institutions, co ith one exception, together with those in the Colored Normal, Industrial. Ag- fu cultural and Mechanical college.. at ca rangeburg-which, I am glad to say, well managed, and is doing good Pt ork-all ask from you practically the at tine appropriations as were given last ag ear. I earnestly recommend that fo ese appropriations be made, and the di. tod work done, wi'"1 the results ac- th implished, make me regret that wes m.not do even more. w Common Schools, a In reference to the condition of the re mmon schools of the State, I would TI ~spectfully refer you to the full and ea instaking details which are present- w< i in the report of our State superin- fit ~ndent of education. This report to tows an increased attendance, and pr so shows that 20 districts at your us st session secured the passage th special acts to issue bonds for the be rpose of building new schoolhouses. ca i this report is included the state- P0 ent that a very large number of D4 hool districts have levied special res. It is gratify'ing to note that the hool terms are gradually being in- th eased, with larger salaries paid to si< achers, which, in my opinion, is most pc cessary and important. cu Superintendent Mai-tin recommends TI tat a certain per cent, of the school tic mnds be set aside for the erection of pa hool buildings by the county boards es education, and in this recommnenda- sta n I heartily concur. A recommtenda- of on looking to an increase in the St imber of rural school libraries, and cu gulating their establishment, which m< commendation also has my indorse- si: ent. pa In my last message I called atten-re on to the necessity for establishing, 3 our larger cities and towtns, schools th manual training, in which boys IT ight be taught honorable pursuits. I fu so urged the need for night schools, do ipecially in mill communities. There St much need for these schools, and I so lain request you to give your care- cii I attention to this subject. In this connection I believe it would m an. excellent plan to establish at th emson, from the funds of the college, in holarships in the textile school for ae b,enefitL onne t.from the cot-. ~in111T*who seek technical ti-aining' this dipartment. re SQnth Cnrolina College. I take 1t for granted that the mem ~rs of they general assembly are aware the fact that for some tinme an or- qu mized mov'ement has been steadily 1) progresa looking toward a change sh the orgeinization of this institution. a In cons%luence of this roement. be >plicatiot will be rmd'e to you at this ei ssion to grant to the South Caro!ina t a diege the title and charter' of a State s aiversity. The trustees, the faculty'. al4 td the alum'ni of the college believe ha a t ime htas comie for' enlariging th~ 1 here of 'usefulness of this vetnernhle 1 a at of learning. I1 heartily favor the ot! oposed blan and think the time most gr oitious5 for this State to reestablish W lis college upon a university basis. mi] he co0llege has just celebrated its tir le htndh-dth anniver'sary' and we a i-e a right to hclievc that the ael- jTI need :ind progres :Iv& spirit of edu- c tion now so apparent in our State is t e. in a large ineasurt, to the century I hoiiored years which has marked the t E and worth of this institution. X I shall not attnipt to do more than briefly direct your attt.ntion to some I the weighty reasons governing my i commendation in this matter. Al ost every State in the union has a I ate university, and this is true of 1 'ery southern State except South I trolina. We must provide such an stitution sooner or later, or allow r educational system to remain in mnplete. It is a fact that for the cvk of such an institution a number young men now go to other States r the instruction which should be rnished them at home. The demand r university facilities is further own by the statement that a large imber of the students of the college e now outside of the regular courses, id thus the faculty is forced by the tual demands of th. students to do fiversity work. A university organi tion would offer far greater facilities r expansion and growth, to. keep pace ith the rapid advance of education, id with the growing demands of the ,ople. Such a change would give rger power for service, with but small Iditional cost. It is also the purpose of the board trustees, in changing the organiza mn of the college to that of a univer Ly, to increase the facilities for in ruction in the law department; to Ld a commercial department, and to ake such other additions as may be quired. To effect the necessary changes an Iditional appropriation of only $10. 0 is asked for, and this is, I believe, moderate amount when measured by e results it will accomplish. I urge is appropriation, and under the cir imstances it should reasonably be >ped that the united appeal of the umni, the faculty and the trustees ill receive the favorable consideration your body. Compulsory Eduention. The people of this State have, for me years past, shown an increasing sposition to tax themselves for the Ipport of their educational institu mns. Especially is this true where our mmon schools are concerned. By is willingness Is shown a growing alization of the fact that a State n do nothing better for the protec )n of its highest and truest interests an by educating its children. Ignor ice has ever been, not only a serious cubus to any people, but a manace its very civilization. This is truer day than it has ever been, and the testion forces itself upon our consid ation. whether or not we can afford allow any number of our chi!dren grow up in ignorance. As near as n be estimated from United States nsus figures and from the reports of e superintendent ok' education, there e today about 25,000 white children South Carolina between the ages of and 12 years who do not attend hool, though schools are easily cessible to most of these children. ie question then, and a vital one it is. esents itself to us: can we, for the ke not only of the State, but for the ke of the children themselves, longer low this deplorable condition to con iue? More than 30 States have adopted mpulsory education, and we should w seriously consider whether we can iger afford to postpone taking such step. Have our common school cilities reached such a point as will irrant' this action? I believe they ,ve. provided that the- proposed law not too burdensome in its practi I operation. By this I mean that .ildren should not be compelled to tend schools so far from their homes at attendance would be a hardship, r should the age limit for compul ry education be too drastic. This uld cause the law to become un 'pular and thus fail to accomplish I e purpose for wvhich it was intended. have given this matter much care I thought, and I am convinced that conservative beginning should be ade at once. Later on, as our school nditions advance and the law grows1 popularity and its necessity is more lly realized, needed improvements n be adopted.1 [recommend that you adopt a com lsory education law, making it oblig-1 ory for all children between the es of 8 and 12 years to attend school1 r a certain number of months ring each year. The distance from e school house to which this law ould apply is a matter for your se consideration. But, gentlemen, school house should be within the ich of every child in South Carolina. le passage of such a law as I, most rnestly urge upon your -attention >uld, I feel sure, be of material bene from every standpoint. The duty train and educate our children, to epare them for lives of infitzence and efulness, should be as binding upon ' e State as it is upon parents, and is, yond all question, an obligation we n no longer afford to evade or post ne. ~partment of Agriculture, Commerce and Immuigration. [t is with a great deal of pleasure at I commend to your careful con leration the full and admirable re rt of the commissioner of agri lture, commerce and immigration. uis report shows, beyond any ques 4n, the urgent need for such a de rtment. Among many most inter ting statistics, the all-important ttement that. *of the 19,308,800 acres land included within the area of our ate, only 5,775,741 acres are under I Itivation-this one pregnant state mt should awaken your zeal and1 mulate you in supporting this de-I rtment, which already shows a t :ord of wvork and results. n advocating the establishment of I is department in my last annual ~ssage, I did so after the most care I consideration, being prompted to so because of the belief that our ate, with its great undeveloped re arces, was sorely in need of an offi tl move in this direction. south Carolina, by thae establish- ~ mnt of this department, has become ~ a pioneer southern State in develop-j i its agricultural and c' mnercial re arces by means of immiazation fr :ognition. ough this - epariment' .s only established at your last ses n, and our efficient commissioner alified .iust nine months ago, the re-, rt of Commissioner Watson wilif >wv valuable and far-reaching results -eady accomplished. It is difficult to !!in a wvork of this nature; to otti- i .lIy organize a State immigration de rtment is an arduous task, especiallyt when the State is beyond the lines If ng which the immigration movement s been progressi::g. t was not until the 1st of August 1; :t that AIr. WVatson was enabjled to a ic'ially reac h desirable foreign immi- la ants and to direct their thoughts to- v rd South Carolina. Only a few~ v mths have elapsed, but since this t Ine more than 2'0 are now numberedr tong the inhabitants of this State. * i f Commissioner Watson, as is shown ,y the fact Ihat. more immigrants have utnded here during the past few months han for many years previous. These vill be valuabl( additions to our citi :enship, they have been carefully se eeted, and many made bank deposits i minediately upon arrival here. II his work the commissioner has ept strictly within the requirements of he act in reference to nationality, and I las also been mindful in this respect P )f the expressed wishes of the immi ;ration convention, held in 1903. r A number of colonies, composed of P nost desirable material, have already I >een projected, and a number of oth rs are now beifig negotLted. In this !onnection it certainly should be inter ,sting to know that 79,000 acres have >een officially contracted for at once, md options have actually been given Lnd are now held upon more than t :wice this amount, to be disposed of >y purchase. This colonization feat ire is a most important phase of the ivork, and if It did no more than to materially increase our white popula ion, it would be, to us, of untold ben afit. The agricultural and commercial in :erests of the State have by no means )een neglected, but the commissioner ,as kept in close touch with Clemson :ollege and is indebted to the college ', Cor valuable assistance. In addition to ,he colonization and sale of lands, the )utlook is most encouraging for, bring- n ng varied industries into the State, i :hese being attracted by the advertise- N rnent, through this department, of the -reat natural advantages of Southm.C :!arolina. I earnestly recommend .that g1 ou give this department all needed t mncouragement and assistance. It rests x mtirely with your body to bring immi-p gration from other countries into our,-e State, for by the laws of the Unitedpi tates this must be done only through w )fficial State channels, all Individuals i ind agencies being strictly prohibited., rrom engaging in this work. As only i 3. small appropriation was made for ,his department last year, and no in-T :rease is asked, I desire to bring one matter to your attention. The commis ,ioner is necessarily required to do nuch traveling, and, in view of the act that he is entirely removed from ill legislation, I recommend that he be xempted from the provisions of the b ict prohibiting State officials from i ising free passes from railroad and r ;vamboat --ompanies. State Militia. b Your attention is invited to the re ports of Adjutant General Frost and I Mieut. Col. Ezra B. Fuller, of the I rnited States arrry, which contalni valuable facts rt'r your consideration ii eference to the State militia. Upo t ny request, Col. Fuller was detailed. )y the war department to report for lu.y, to act in cooperation with the ad-"' utant general in promoting the effi iency of our State troops. The ser ices of this officer have been most c aluable, and the military branch of1 )ur government has been materially c tided by his work. From these reports is sho*n th ieeds of the militia, both in referenc . . appropriations an&L the necessity o L revision of the military code, to make" ts provisions conform to the require- di nents of the act of congress. approved-b4 Fanuary 21, 1903, known as the "Dick e )ill." This act, which has already done ;o much to advance the interests and 1l fficiency of the troops of this and other |. 3tates. requires that "the.organization, -M rmament, and discipline of the organ-, & zed militia shall be' the same as that:sl vhich is now, or may hereafter' be,ja >rescribed for the regular and volun-! o1 :eer armies of the United States." Thefp: ct further provides that the militia~ ti ihall. be sufficiently armed, uniformed,t tnd equipped for active duty in -thea eld, before they can participate In the~ ti tnnual appropriations made by the~ p ~eneral government for the support of~ d be militia,' which annual allotmentib mounts to nearly $18,000 for the Statef ce >f South Carolina. This amount was? 0: ecured this year, although the assist-let tnt secretary of war reports thm , hadt, he law been strictly applied, on ac- '4 ount of deficiencies and failures, wei vould have been deprived of our po yortion. It is also shown by these reports, hat, ii. j.aroportion to population, South' larolina has a larger force of militia han any State in the Union, andta he appropriation from the State for'. he support of the militia per capita I s very low. The requirements of the 'Dick law" are such that we are con ronted with the necessity of either re lucing the number of companies or of* ncreasing the appropriation so as to t neet its demands. This is a matter of erious import to the State militia, and feel sure that In considering it you ~ vill act solely with a view to the bs nterests of the State and of those who' ave volunteered in its service. -'During ~ he past year encampments were held~ n Columbia. These encampments are~ >f great benefit, and steady improve-i nents each year attest their value. In~ iew of the storage and supplies ne-i d essitated by these annual encamp-i nents,, a State armory is, in my judg-~ c nent, a necessity. The report of the adjutant general is tdetailed and intelligent statement of ,A he condition and needs of the State t nilitia, and I am sure that his recomn nendations for the betterment of the,t ervice will have your careful consid ration. t' Dispensary. Last year I purposely refrained from' naking any recommendations in refer- G nce to the dispensary. My reason forj his was that I had not then had suffi-~ ient time to familiarize myself wit1 he practical workings of the system.' 1ave since had greater opportum'ty o std some of the more imnpo. ,nr ~etails regarding the managen his institution, and for this reas eg to submit, for your consideratit: hanges which I am constrained to hink will be improvements. To properly regulate and .con: rol the: ale of liquor has always be ma ques ion most difficult of solutio'::. Theo ies upon this subject, whenev'er and: e rherever tested, always become .i ult problems when their practical en-:' L'eement as~ laws, or regulation s, are.IP tt ,te No gre law hais ever peainuhs-v tire satisfaction. outh Carolina is t he first anmd only It tate that has attempted to solV&thiJ E roblem under such State cont rol 'i . included in our present dispensaryi di w. In spite of the fact that this ltw t as many strong points which comn- u: iend it, most notably among them be-i ri ig, in my opinion, the fact that it has1 a ecreased drunkenness, it is also true '" hant, like other laws, it has its imper- . ations. 1 am convinced that -if tis ti ystem can be properly regulated, it ;al ill he one of the best solutions of the tC quor question. If not properly man ged and controlled, its usefulnless will, e at an end. The r.ecomnmendations d: hie'h I shall make will be submitted -ith a view solely to improve the : m. and to place all available lega ri estraints around the sale and use of ' (uors. The purpoen of the disenary shoulti '-' not to increase, but to curtail and 1 1trol the sale of liquor, and this pur- I se should always be kept in view a business institution. it should be i ced as far as possible above cri*,i- ( ,m and its restrictive regulations c ould be rigidly enforced. The man ement of the dispensary has always en the subject of more or less criti- a .m. During the past few months 1 is criticism has been made frequent and with the greatest freedom. It necessary that the system should be I ade as business-like as possible, and I this important end I shall principal direct my recommendations. County Boardm. [ respectfully recommend that the ,rious county boards of control should - appointed by the State board of di ctors-two members of this board be appointed upon the recommenda )m of the legislative delegations, the her member upon the nomination of e mayor of the county seat. It ould be the duty of these county ards' to indorse orders filed with the ate commissioner by county dis nsers for such supplies as may be eded for their respective dispensa ?s, naming brands and amounts re tired. This board should elect the rious county dispensers, but these spensers should be subject to removal the State board of directors for use. State Com nistdoner. The State commissioner should, in y judgment, be the officer whose ity it should be 'to purchase all sup les for the - dispensary. He should required to make contracts, not r any specified amount of liquor, Lt for such supplies as may be ac ally required, such requirements to determined by the commissioner. Lsed, as far as possible, upon orders I ceived by him from dispensers, ap oved by the county boards, and filed"' ith him 30 days before the adver ;ement for bids by that officer. Each contract made by the commis )ner should require the firm con acted with to guarantee the sale of ! ,ch goods as may be ordered, and ' ipped to the State dispensary, said tarantee to be entered as a part of e bond. All advertisements for bulk ods should be placed strictly and ab lutely upon- a competitive basis, by .ting it be distinctly understood that I e lowest responsible bidder shall be irarded the contract. It should furth be the duty of the commissioner to ake, each year, quarterly reports to e State, board of directors, showing'I e amounts contracted for the pre :us quarter, including the brand and ices, which report the State board directors shall have published in- at ist two daily, newspapers of the ate. State Board of .Directors. . The board should be required to meet ch week at their office in the State spensary, to remain in session as ag as may be necessary for the trans tion' of their business. 'the general pervision and management of all unty dispensaries should, be in their arge and they ishould be' specifically arged with the duty of'seeing that restritions gox 2rning the various ris should be stpictly enforced. iese e esu. At", and arduous ities, for which the members of this ard should recei.:a salary of not ss than $1,500 per annum each, and Lould be required to file a bond of )t. less than $10,000. I further recommend that the law ; to the location of county dispen 1ries be amended to restrict them to tch incorporated town-s and cities ;, in the opinion of the county board control, furnish adequate police. rotection to the public against dis irbances- of the peace. Should these recommendations be lopted I am constrained to believe Lat they will accomplish two pur ases, namely: They,. will place the spensary upon a more business-like isis and will also provide the ma linery by which the legal restrictions the system will be properly enforc The reports of the State board of di ictors will be submitted for your con deration,. showing the business trans :teql during the past fiscal year, and respectfully refer you, for all details, these reports. Removal of Dispensares. At your last session there was en ated a law giving to counties which asire prohibition the right by a ma Irity vote to close their dispensaries. rid upon the taxable property of all muntles so voting it was required that iere be levied an annual tax of 1-2 of mill, this tax to be expended by the vernor in enforcing the law, should ie local authorities fail to do so. Ob ction has been made to this law on acount of the tax imposed, it being, mntended that it is in the nature of penalty, its effect being to deter the sople from voting for the removal of ispensaries. I do not agree with this view. If rohibition be substituted for the dis mnsary law, then prohibition should' enforced, and when this cannot be ane through the sentiment of the sople, expense must certainly be in 2rred. The counties now pay for the iforcement of each and every law, aid it is not fair to expect counties hich maintain the dispensary to take* ie pr1Mits accruing to the general~ ~hool fun I. to defray the expenses of 1e enforcement of the law in a co-mty hich pays nothing. Besides this, the LX is by no means excessive; it can a expended only when necessity re uires. and then solely in an effort to ecomplish the purpose for which the. eople voted. That it will not deter. .am fr om voting for what they de-, w certainly demonstrated re-: -'y in the only election which has ee Mai under the provisions of the: . though it is required that the 1e: h--aid annually, it need practi .! ri. nid onliv once, for if the local erh ''s do their duty in enforcing~ . mition-whix they- will do when or th$e people demand it-the money ill be refuh.Qd to the -:ounty, and the ~dinarn comu: tax can be thus reduc I by 1-2 of 1 juil. This tax feature the law the n, e pers to me, in ead of being r- 'd as a penalty, 'eventing. the ce. om obtaining1 hat t-ey des rather be wve, as far as possible, just what ey dodesire. nreetof the Dispensary Law. Teenforcement of this law includes fficulties which should be apparent all, but which really are not fully iderstood. It certainly presents a se rus p)roblem to your chief executive, problem of eeaseless and never-end g responsibilities and aniecties. It is mnecessary to attemput an enumnera m of the various obstacles which are ways encountered, and which, owing their peculiar nature. are not found the carrying out of other laws. Where popular sentiment favors the spensary law, there is, of course. ~ry little work for the constabulary do. but in other localities exactly Le reverse of this is true. I feel sure. >wever, that the efforts. which have cn made have gradually brought >ut f do nut hesitate to add that much ,et renmins to be done. In some lo aliti(s. as is well known, juries refuse o convict, thus necessarily plating the ntire burden of enforcement upon the onstabulary. This complicates and ncreases the difficulties which are at eady sufficient in -themselves, and in uch localities it seems impossible to tave the law strictly enforced. Without seeking any explanation of hese reasons, prejudices and objec ions, the fact remains that they do x*st, and, furthermore, they present he most serious obstacles towar# egitimately carrying out the spirit of he law. In considering this problem believe that the time has come when ve sho-uld be perfectly frank in dealing vith it. Nothing can be lost by this. .nd such a course will in the end lead o a better understanding. In the first )lace, I wish to be fully understood. t is the duty of the governor to en orce the laws as they appear upon the tatute books, making them apply alike o every section. This I have endeavor d to do, and this I shall continue to to, so long as the responsibilities of -our chief executive devolve upon ne. With no desire to evade this respon ibility, I deem it my duty to mention ne aspect of the dispensary situation Ls expeiience has revealed it to me. ;ince I have been In office I have done ny utmost to strictly enforce this law n Charleston, with the result that I tave been able to improve conditions nly by the suppression of flagrant and pen violations. Mayor Rhett has ,iven official aid, but our combined ef orts have not apparently accomplished nore than is above indicated. There are few in Charleston who fa ror the dispensary, which, although t has been in operation for more than L decade. is strongly opposed, and has nade but few converts. There are hose in Charleston *ho favor its en orcement because it is the law, and n my efforts to enforce it I have been Lcorded by them a strong moral sup >ort, for which I am deeply grateful. L'he location of the city, with its ex ensive water front; the inability of he constables to make seizures before ;hipments are delivered to the con ignee; the. large number of places vhere liquor is illegally sold: these and nany others, make a combination of lifficulties which it seems impossible to vercome. Trials by juries have proven neffectual, and the resources of the aw. have been appealed to, time and tgain, but the illegal sale of liquor ontinues. In giving you Information ,oncerning the condition of the State, s I am required to do, I have thought it best to state these facts to you plain ly. It is my conviction that this is also a part of my duty, and, though lor many reasons I would prefer not to lo so, the situation has been brought to your attention. The chief constable calls my atten tion to the fact that he is much lIin Jered in the general enforcement of this law by the existence of. so-called 'social clubs," etc. These clubs pretend to operate under charters granted by the secretary of state, but in reality they are only places for the promis muous illegal sile of liquor. In grant ing charters, the secretbry of state icts in a ministerial capacity, and ust, therefore, grant a charter for any expressed purpose. I recommend hat the laws governing the granting )f s charters be amended, so that they sitil not be granted until.. 60 lays' published notice has been given, nd that the secretary of state be Oiven authority to refuse such char ter upon an affidavit by the chief State :onstable that he has reason to be ieve that the applicants intend to vio ate the dispensary law.. Should the >ficers or employes of any such club ar organization be convicted of violat ing this law, I would further recoin mend that the secretary of state be re tuired to revoke any such charter beretofore granted. Lawiessnessa.. At the last session -of your body I sent a special message upon the sub jects of lynchings and lawlessness. This I conceived to be my duty at the time, and I regret to addl that subse muent developments have not changed my opinion. So important should be the consideration given to this sub ject, that I must again bring the mat Le'r to your attention. Befcre making any further statement, I shall here luote from the special message re 'erred to, and renew my former recoin mendation. "The governor Is popularly credited with power to prevent and punish out rages against the State. In reality he is practically powerless. When noti ied, he may sometimes frustrate the mob by the employment of troops, but when the crime has been committed, iis hands are really tied. In the mean time, the spirit of lawlessness is un hecked' A band of lawless men may feel secure in taking the life of a fel low being on almost any pretext. This deplorable condition should be remedied. To compel greater respect the proper respect-for the majesty of the law. I recommend the -enactment of special legislation in reference tolynch ings, in order that the great responsi bility of officials directly charged with the enforcement of the law may be brought home to them, and that more effectual measures be takE~n for the apprehension of persons who take the law into their own hands." I am - convinced tha this matter -hould receive more coi. tion than was given to it at your lab, .session. here is nothing so importanti to any tate as to have its laws properly re pected, nothing which strikes deeper at the roots of its civilizatio.1 than to have these laws disregarded. It is absolutely necessary that all crimes, of whatever nature, should be punished through the legal channels-through this source alone. The power and ma jesty of the law should be brought to bear, as far as possiblE, upon lynching for any and for all crimes. There is no alternative. Lynching for one crime leads to lynching for other crimes, and thus lawlessness is substituted for law. Surely experience leads to this inev itable.conclusion. :roops for the protection of prisoners. While I have been almost forced to do his, owing to the nature and urgency >f the requests, I consider this by no means desirable. The services of the militia should r -ver be called upon antil the civil at thorities shall have exhausted er':ry r.eans in their power to uphold the law . I am firmly con inced that. were this5 stand taken. :alls upon the gos :rnor for the ser vices of the militia to protect prisoners would cease entirely. As I said in my special message which is here quoted-the governor s practically powerless where the de. ais of the enforcement of law are con~ yerned, for the reason that he has no power to compel an officer to do his luty. This applies not only in the case f lynchings, but to other offenses also. When a lynching occurs, when an >ff1eer charged with thle sacred duty