The herald and news. (Newberry S.C.) 1903-1937, July 04, 1905, Image 1
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KI IEB Y S. . T U 4 1I A W
YOL. XLII. NO. 83 NEWBERRY. S. C.. TUESDAY JULY 4,1905. TWICE A.EK 1.0YA
After A Long
Tillman
THE SENIOR SENATOR
DISCUSSES DISPENSAY
HE STILL BELIEVES IN THE
SYSTEM.
He Discusses At Length The Sub
ject In All Its Various
Phases.
Newberry, S. C., June 27th, 1905.
Hon. B. R. Tillman. Trenton, S. C.
Dear Sir:
You have probably seen from the
columns of the papers that we are in
the midst of an anti-dispensary move
ment in Newberry. I believe that the
majority of the agitators of said
movement are actuated by pure mo
tives, and have only what they con
ceive to be the best interests of the
county at heart. During the discus
sion relative to such movement, you
have been frequently referred to in
su:h a way as to cause your friends
to desire an expression of opinion
from you in regard to the following
points:
ist. Have you lost faith in the dis
pensary system? and do you consid
er it so inherently defective that it
can not be purged of corruption and
made to serve its original purpose?
2nd. What would you advise those
whc have been friends of the dispen
sary, but who in the present emerg
ency might entertain some doubt as
to their duty?
3rd. Is the statement which is go
ing the rounds of t'he papers that you
are likely to enter a campaign in fa
vor oi prohibition correct. or merely
-a baseless fabric?
4th. In the event that the dispen
sary is voted out in a majority of the
counties. what in your opinion would
be the result?
You will greatly oblige your friends
in Newberry by replying at your
-earliest convenience with permission
for oublication.
Very respectfully,
Frances W. Higgins.
Trenton, S. C., July, ist. Io.
Mr. Francis WV. Higgins. Newberry.
S. C.
Dear Sir-I have your letter of
June a7th. propounding certain in
gquiries in regard to the anti-dispen
sary movement in Newberry, and to,
the dispensary and liquor question in
general. and to my own attitude to
wards it. .
The questions you ask relate to the
most important subject now agitat
ing the minds of the people of the
state. and in order to cover the
groundl( at all satisfactorily it will re
quire me to answer at some length and
to cliscuss the subject in i:a various
ohases. and this becomes the more
necessary as you notify me in ad
vance that you desire my answer for
publEcation.
I shall premise wthat I write by lay
ing down certain general principles
which will be disputed only by those
who are fanatical and unwilling to
con-dder any subject from any other
standpoint than that of bigotry and
prejudice. Mlost men will agree t-o
the fnllowing:
:az. All men love stimulants and
are dsually slaves to some one kind,
as witness the strong appetite which
prsvails for coffee, tea. tobacco, beer.
wine, brandy. wvhiskey, morp-hine.
unipline. cocaine. etc. With the excep
::on of sonme of the drugs mentioned
there are no injurious effects imme
vitl perceptible and none of them
imo(xicate except thos.e containing
alcohol. Alcoholic beverages in mod
-r::on are no more harmful than tea
Silence
Speaks Again
or coffee probably less so.
2nd. The abuse of liquor by men
drinking to excess has caused as muc];
or more crime and misery than any
other one thing.
3rd. The proprer policing and control
of the liquor traffic so as to minimise
its abuses is one of the most perplex
ing and troublesome questions with
which any government has to deal.
Men have never agreed as to any one
method being best and never will, and
there is a constant agitation of the
subject in some form going on all
the while in almost every state in the
Union.
4th. Experience shows that some
men will have liquor as a beverage
and that no law has ever yet been de
vised which will prevent them obtain
ing it. Wise men are therefore con
tent to reduce the evils of liquor
selling and liquor drinking to the
minimum and the question at issue in
South Carolina now as it has been
tihese fifteen or twenty years past, is
how to do this.
There is no need for any heat or
passion in discussing the subject and
we should divest ourselves of all preju
dice in its consideration. Three poli
cies have at one time or another been
adopted in dealing with the question.
License, high or low. prohibition and
the dispensary system. Since 1893 the
last named has been the method fol
lowed in this state but all along there
have been staunch advocates of the
other two systems embracing within
their ranks many of the most intelli
gent and best people we have. - It is
therefore eminently proper tihat we
recognize these earnest, honest advo
cates as having just what we claim for
ourselves, no other purpose than that
of the public welfare. And those of'
us who have been the supporters of
the dispensary system must meet
them in argument and s+how from the
experiences through which the peo
ple of the state have passed as well
as with force and logic that the ad
vocates of both prohibition and high
license are in error.
You ask "Have you lost faith in the
dispensary system and do you con
sider it so inherently defective that
it can not be purged of corruption
and made to serve its original pur
pose?" I answer most emphatically
No. I believe the principle of state
control and the sale of liquor through
bonded officers to be the best that was
ever devised, that it comes nearer to
the ideal idea of teaching men to use
liquor instead of abusing it. and
throwing around its sale safe-guards
which will be t'he best for the cause of
temperance. There is no inherent
defect in the scheme and if there be
corruption and mal-administration in
the enforcin-g of the dispensary law
it is directly tracable to the legisla
ture and to those who have been
placed in charge of its execution. In
the absence of any positive proof of
corruption we must await with deep
interest the investigation which is
now under way and urge those in
charge of that important work to
earnest. thorough and speedy action.
The people believe there is corrup
tion and a great deal of it. Very
many things go to show that this be
lief has good foundation in fact. We
ought to know as soon as possible
iust what and how far men have been
guilhy of unlawful behavior. The
suspicion which now hangs over the
dispnsary like a pall wvill cause many
to hastily vote for its destruction who
Iare still or have been strong believ
er5 in the dispensary system as a
means of controlling the sale of whis
key. So I would say to rhe gentle
men wvho are in charge of the inves
tigation that they can do the people
in the light and probing to the bot
tom. We want to know what is
wrong and we can then determine
how to provide a remedy, while the
criminal courts will or oug'ht to pro
vide punishment for the wrong doers.
The dispensary law has been under
lire in the courts and on the hustings
ever since the system was inaugurat
ed. There has been only one general
election in the state, the last in which
it was not an issue. It won victory
after victory for it was the main is
sue in the election of 1894, in the elec
tion for the constitutional conven
tion in 1895, and in the state elections
)f 1896, 1898, igoo and 1902. Those
:andidates for public office who car
ried its banners were always victor
ous. What then has caused the pres
ent unheavel? Why are petitions cir
:ulating in a dozen or more counties
asking for an election to vote it out
inder the Brice law and that too in
ounties in which, in the past its
known advocates have always had
large majorities? Have the people
any greatcr faith in prohibition than
:hey have had all these past years? I
dc not think so. Are the advo
:ates of high license any stronger
:han they have been? J do not think
o. I am bound to b!heve that the
xisting dissatisfaction and desire to
estroy the tispensary comes from
he well nigh un %isai belief of the
)eople that there is <.o-ruption in its
tdmiinistration and herause the last
Ic-Ilat re failed to take any action
ther than to appoint a comnittee to
nvestiga e. There v tre c+harges,
vith h^w m.i .octh they were made
l do not know. that the dispensary
nf9:ence in the leg1slat'"e was par
imount. Any how the friends of the
ispensary anri it: enemies joined
orces at the last mssicon to prevent
any action and nothing was done, and
inless public opin'io1 shall drive t1he
egislature at its next session to some
reform action which will purify the
atmosphere there is no possible doubt
hat all elements of opposition to the
ispensary aided by many of its old
riends will combine in the next elee
:ion and kill the system. I do not
iesitate to tell you frankly that if it
ias become and is to remain a cor
rupt political machine as is charged
I can not defend it and will not do
;o. but will join tihe ranks of those
who seek to kill it. I believe it can
be reorganized and purged of corrup
ion with safeguards thrown around
it to prevent the recurrence of the
present unfortunate and disgraceful
rondition of affairs.. I can not now
go) at 'ength into the details and give
reasons but I will state briefly the
causes as I see them which have pro
duced the present situation.
The purchase of liquor by any
board ex-officio or otiherwise should
be stopped. The original scheme
which was hastily gotten up made the
Gvernor. Attorney General, Comp
troller general. ex-officio the state
board of control. This was changed
very soon i fter I left the governor's
ofice and the legislature assumed
control by the election of the board;
andl in no instance since has my ad
vice and opinion had any weight in
shaping its management though I
have .ried to pre, ent se.me: thiigs bt
ing done and have urged others with
ou success. It stands to reason that
men who have to depend upon the
suffrage of the whole people to get
high office are or ought to be of a
hgher type with better characters and
in every way better fitted for respon
sible positions involving t'he handling
f public mn ney than those who with
petty salaries are elected hy the legis
lature. Politics always enters into a
leilative election. People who vote
fr a governor vote for him because
f i ther qfualifications than that he
would make a good dispensary direc
tor. and fo,r this very reason the gov
ernor is the best possible man to
place in such a responsible posi:imn.
nut es law j: fatally defectiv ein re- I
gard to the purchase of whiskey ir
not specifically defining in the most
minute and binding manner just what
kinds of liquor shall be bought and
how it shall be bought without leav
ng it to the discretion of any board
Every detail should be worked oul
ud then the law would execute it
;elf as far as that feature is concern
-d. The board would then only need
to supervise the conduct of state and
:ounty dispensers, the same as the
Asylum and Penitentiary are run.
Now as regards the proposed elec
.ion to vote out the dispensary. If
:he dispensary is to be voted out it
hould and must be voted out of the
tate, not out by individual counties.
Df course I recognize the deep seated
ove of our people for local self gov
!rnment and I would not compel any
:ounty to retain the dispensary or
zave one established therein if a ma
>rity of the citizens want prohibi
on with its acknowledged failure to
)rohibit. But judging simply by the
facts in the numerous elections that
iave been held on the subject I be
hat a large majority of the peo
the state are as strong believ
!rs in the dispensary system as I am
tnd that they are only casting about
iow for a method of relieving them
,elves of the corrupt machine which
s said to be in charge in Columbia.
.Iany states in the union have had
:orruption in their state governments
md their state treasurers have de
aulted-have sometimes stolen hun
Ireds of thousands of dollars-but no
an has ever thought of abolishing
:he machinery of taxation because of
his. We have got to deal with liquor
n some form and provide for its legi
imate sale or we know it will find il
egitimate sale. Shall we have high
icense? I say no. That gives the
nonopoly to the wealthy man as
igainst the poor man, and we know
from experience with bar rooms that
t will be impossible to give any mar
:he right to fill his store with liquor
:o sell and then have him comply with
he constitutional requirements and
iot sell it at night and not have it
Irunk on the premises. If the dis
;ensary is abolished I will stump the
;tate for prohibition rather than see
high license. 1 have said this and il
s the reason probably that the story
s going the rounds about my stump
ng for prohibition. But before we
have prohibition or high license eith
er I expect if my health continues
good to give a very earnest discussior
to the subject of. how to reform th<
dispensary instead of destroying i'
and to showing the true inwardnes1
:f the present movement.
Let us suppose that the presen
campaign against the dispensary bI
county elections shall progress vic
toriously as it has thus far and tha
the majority of the counties.in the
state vote it out. 'Will the questior
be settled? By no means. The allianc<
of prohibitionists, high license peopl<
and blind tigers which is now waging
successful war will have to continu4
the war between themselves after th<
dispensary is defunct. ,Sensible mex
will notl end their aid to any crusad<
which only gives us "confusion wors<
confounded" and produces a chaoti'
condition with no comrpensaaion.
Under the decisions of the Unitei
States Supreme Court prohibition ani
no other state regulation can preven
liquor being shipped in by express fo
personal use of individuals, and th
jug traffic from Wilmington. Char
lotte, Asheville. Atlanta. Augusta ani
Savannah will be immense under pro
hibition, and the money which nos
goes into the dlispensary for the us
of the towns and counties of the stat
andl the school fund will he sent ou
of the state to enrich the dealers an
distillers or other states. Stills wi
be run in every swamp and wagon
will peddle liquor all over the stat<
The only fight worth enlisting ini
South Carolina is between prohibW
tio a rigidly enforced as it can b
and the dispensary as honestly en
forced as it ought to be. High li
cense is not to be thought of for a
moment. Yet the prohibitionists say
they prefer the dispensary to license
and the license people say they prefer
prohibition to the dispensary while
the blind tigers want prohibition be
cause they know it means free li
quor.
The elections now being held in the
counties to vote the dispensary out
are very different to the democratic
primary election which will settle the
question finally. In the first place the
vote in those counties where elec
tions have been held against the dis
pensary has been very small as com
pared with the regular vote. It re
quires a certificate of registration to A
vote at such election while in the pri
mary the club rolls of the democratic
clubs govern. Then men are indif
ferent as they were in the prohibition
election in 1892 when only sixty
thousand out of ninety-two thousand
voted in that box. There are prob
ably thirty thousand or more good
democrats in the state who from one
cause or another are not able to vote
in the elections held under the Brice
act. That law was shrewdly drawn
and for the express purpose of kill
ing the dispensary I have been told.
These thirty thousand will determine
the question in the future as they have
in the past because they will elect
the legislature and the state officers
in the state democratic primary in
spite of any combination such as is
now giving us prohibition by a nega
tive process. Voting out the dispen
sary not because the people want pro
hibition but giving us prohibition be
cause some people want free liquor,
some people prefer to buy illicit liquor
some people want high license and a -
return io the old bar room system,
while many people will do anything
to kill the dispensary with the hope
of profiting by its destruction.
I would advise every advocate of
tihe dispensary who is in doubt to
vote against .putting the dispensary
out et his county until we see what
the report of the investigating com
mittc :s and then whether or not the
legislature at its next session will
purge the corruption out of the dis
pensary system and put safe-guards
around it for the future. I say un
hesitatingly it can be done success
fully. The dispensary system has
shown it-s strength in past elections
because people thought it was honest
i1 administered. All that is neces
sary is to have them understand as
they wvill understand by 19o6 that they
must kill the law in order to' get rid
of the corruption and tihey will make
short work of it. It must be made
clean or it must go. At present the
campaign to vote it out county by
county only brings about confusion,
encourages blind tigers and causes
the counties and state to lose money,
and settles nothing, and it is impos
sible to settle th'e question in this
way. I repeat it can only be settled
at the general democratic prirnary
when all the people have heard all
sides and have made up their minds
intelligently.
I desire to add in conclusion that
practically I am a prohibitionist be
cause I very rarely drink any liquor
of any kind. If I believed that prohi
bition could be enforced, understand
~ing as I do most thoroughtly the
great evil attending the abuse of li
-quor I would be a prohibitionist but
Sknowing from the most searching in
-vestigation and from the official rec
ordls of the U. S. government that in
eMaine and Kansas where prohibition
p.evails that there has been a most
tdismal failure to enforce the law I
.prefer the dispensary as the lesser
Ievil: and as I have often said in the
Spast I believe that state control comes
nearer to the ideal management of
this troublesome question than any
-other.
e I have no personal interest in view