Historical Newspapers of South Carolina

Below is the OCR text representation for this newspapers page. It is also available as plain text as well as XML.

couty declared against the dispen sary system and that this prohibi tion which we now have in these fif teen counties is in no sense the will of the democracy. Why didn't the people vote in those elections under the Brice LawI The answer is easy; many of them could not because they were not qualified electors, and morg, of them would not because they wlre disgusted by the mananagement and corruption which have been shown to exist in the State dispensary and in some of the county dispensaries. Special Dispensary Elections Under -....the Brice Act. Union 412 761 1175 2594 Newberry 376 845 1221 2616 Marion 281 1148 1420 3299 York 131 725 856 3158 Horry 322 854 1176 2663 Lancaster 126 956 1082 2557 Florence 743 638 1381 2396 Darlington 291 680 971 2403 Oconee 86 667 753 2918 Spartanburg 416 2114 2530 7080 Greenville 383 858 1241 6767 Atderson 719 1148 1867 5603 Fairfield 374 205 579 1574 Edgefield 198 425 623 1730 Saluda 238 371 609 1965 Willianisburg 447 58S 1093 2156 Laurens 772 818 1590 3194 6315 13800 20115 54730 There are the ofilcial figures ob tained from the office of the secre tary of state in Columbia, and from the 'records of the democratic state coimlitec. . The above table shows that less than one-half of 'the people voted, while only one-fourth of them were in favor of no dispensary. Anderson $32796.63 4620.76 37419.39 Net Profits from Dispensary for the Fiscal Year, Nov. 30, 1905. .-~-3 Darlingion 14754 2029.58 16766.02 Edgefleld 6354.19 2582.09 3936.28 Greenville 34533.46 4371.62 38905.08 Horry 3822.74 4223.13 8045.87 Lancaster 10657.36 3004.56 13661.92 Marion 15669.30 3159.59 18828.89 Newberry 7838.44 2424.33 10262.77 Oconee 7739.68 2796.03 10535.71 Piekeis 2270.18 1971.32 4241.50 Saluda 3678.80 2968.60 6647.40 Spar'burg 31600.22 5330.19 36930.41 Union 12825.26 2181.86 15007.12 York 3594.50 3543.35 7137.85 188137.20 45207.01 233334.21 The above amount of profits only showvs the,money receivedl by the counties. An equal amount wvent in to the town treasuries, so that instead of being $188,000 it is double that or $376,000 and the grand total would be $421,000 for these fourteen coun ties. This sum represents profits alone. A great deal. more than this i.s being sent out of the state to pay for liquor now coming in by express. We have all of the ev'ils of liquor drinking and none of the benefits, but if the people are satisfied, that is their business. Havinig studied these twvo tables, I desire to direct attention to these points: the election under the Brics act and which the people are now liv ing have in no sense settled the ques tion in those counties. Unless our p)eople have lost capac ity for self government and are ne longer able to think and act for them. selves, they will see to it that strong, reliable men are nominated. in eaecl tounty for the legislature and thai ianh candidate that does r.ot pledge himself to carry out the will of the majority of the people in regard te whiskey shall be defeated. The blind tigers, the barro.om element and the prohibitionists will doubtless all com. blie and support anti-dispen8ary caB. didates as they have hitherto 'doite forthiey will hardly put candidate pledged ,to their several policies. Ii is' therefore the dispensary agains -> the field a'n'd the only complicatiot eii ly t cause trouble is h dsier those who want each county to but y iquor for itself and of those wh< think it can be more chieaplyv and lion. estly done through the state dispen sary. There Is therefore great dan, yger of tho dispensary forces beint dvisded Into two factions and of th< woeates of tho county dispensar3 7,system aligning themselves with thu Soher threo elements. e~~Xt usseconsider for a moment th< 4rtive advantages and disadvani V4E of county dispensaries and \.to .dlsensgry. I declare most em changes in the law along' the lines suggested ih the Raysor-Manning is bill that all *possibility .f stealing I and bribing in the pUrchase of whis- I key for the state can be. prevented i aid it stands to reasoivth4t if ithe fl- i quor is purchased a.t *holesalp by one I b9rd, shipped by th 6car 10ad, and j ho' 4b oIie -sa there wilo Areat vistp,e'se. 1 Tit .- ru'dav < no N& r8i i M Whig- 4 key, but leaving al Y4 of I consideration the one rcreai' t4st of 4 the relative merjts of the two sys- I tems, state dispensary or county dis-. pensaries, is simply this: if we can- 4 not by law so hedge about and con- I trol one state board as to prevent i stealing how in the namq of common I sense will we be able to watch "'and I prevent thirty or forty boards from i dohig it? Because the retiring state i board has engaged in questionable i practices and was guilty of such gross 4 mismanagement and malfeasance in I office is no argument to show that the I law cannot be changed so as to de- 1 stroy all opportunity for such prac tiees. No law will execute itself when i those charged with the execution of the Aw' fail utterly and there is neg- t lect from the highest to the lovest, it i follows is a matter of course that it I is the duty 6f th'e people to elect men t who will not flinch or neglect their r sworn duties. - It is therefore obvious that the t people must look more to the integ- a rity, hPnesty, truthfulness of the can- e didates who ask for their votes than t to the mere capacity to speak glibly, n and the plausible address of the oily t politician. The people should bid( s fence straddlers to get to the rear; t they should demand outspoken decla- a rations of policy and no man who c failed of his diuty in the past should s be again entrusted with office. Look r at the present disgraceful and out- p rageous condition in Columbia. The i old board of directors of the state t dispensary has loaded down the state s with about $700,000 worth of liquor c bought on credit in open and direct I violation of the law. Why are not i these men arrested for'malfeasance in i office? -Why were they not removed I last summer when the evidences of gross incompetency and mismanage ment were first made public Why did the legislature ever elect such men? Why in the face of absolute t proof in the letting of glass contracts i and in the purchase of lables to sa-f nothing of the purchase of whiskey 1 that they were guilty of misconduct, why I say did the legislature refuse to change th' law when the house found that the senate would not con sent to the abolition of the state dis pensary? It was because of the in fluence of the State newspaper. There is every reason to believe I that the house stood out to the last I and refused absolutely to amend or i alter the law in any particular in the < hope and intention to have thme state dispensary so far disgraced before the people that in the coming electioni it would be destroye-i. Did thecse leg islators discuss the question of ahol ishing the state dispenisary wvhen they were running for officee in 19047 Did they have any authority from the peoplhe to abolish the state dispen sary because of mismanagement of the men the legislature itself elect ed? WVas not the failure of the house to accept any measure of reform in ordler to prevent fraud and speen ha tion in the future due entirely to the. influences of the new Colu.mbia ring. Was it not clearly showvn that1 the primary object wvas to destroyI the state dispensary and thus pave tho way for licensing the sale of li 'quor in those counties~ which wanted it, 'vnproviding for, wholesale li cense in Charleston wvith thme purpose of having Charleston sell,.to the coun ty dispensaries instead of having the state dispensary supply the necessary stock? Was there not a bargain be tween the prohibitionists and' the 01ld barroom or high license element and is there any man in the state so bra zen as to stand up and call this lhon est politics? Can the men who with their eyes opened to. corruption re fused point blank to reform 'the state dispensary have the impudence to ask the people to trust them again. Fellow citizens, we need some hon est politics in South Carolina; we need some straightforwar'd plain speaking; we need aggressive and honest' actiori by the masses to pro teot thiemselves. The people have 'boen asleep. They have been lulled into inaction by the honeyed words of adroit politicians and it is time for them to awake. Eternal vigilance is the price of liberty. Look at the present situation also. A new board is elected to manage the state dispensary under the old law. IThat old law was fatally defective in some particulars, but it has not been obeyed. in the last. twvo years at least with regard to competition in bidding for. the right to supply the stite dig pensary with whiskey and in" 'other omes into office' finding an i e tock of liquor bought on credif,4d ractically all of it bought contrary :o law. The legislature gave t.o) the j nvestigating committee full 6o rol ind authority in regard to auditl ind passing upon -these accounts. e low board then is Kubject to tho' restigating com*ittee and the sitVa ;ion WNeji to. bo this: the autho >f ma4& p and directoitk thtoft >f the da pensary is fioWv divided, fhb iew board of directors having some )f it and t,e investigating commi tee he balance. There is something like WOO,00 worth. of debts- hanging ov or the state dispensary. Unless this iquor bought on credit wis bought tecording to law, is tlere any. obli ,atigns to keep it and pay for it?, Is here not plenty of opportunity for nore graft and secret transactions in f *egard to the settlement of these. ac ounts? Will not the legislative .ommittee be suspected of corrup- C ion ifit does not get in the middle of he road and stay there, that is stand C Py the law, obey it itself and re juire all others to do so? Why so nuch delay? I mention this thus early in order d o direct the attention of those most nterested to this condition in the rope, that the state's rights and in erests may be protected by all those LOw in charge, and to serve notice so ar as I am concerned that I expect o spare no man in criticism whose etion in this crisis shall not bear the losest serutiiiy and if there is cotN inued negligence and no attempt ( inde to punish those responsible for his anomalous and extraordinary tate of .affairs, it will certainly show hat the people need to be aroused nd another revolution is in order. I annot lcad it as a candidate for tate office, for it is not immodest in .ie to say that I believe I can be of "ret use to the people of the state a the senate, but if I misunderstand he temper of the people and they hall resent my efforts to open their yes and point. out these glaring evils am perfectly willing to abide their r vishes and will gladly retire to pri- a rate life rather than to remain si- s ent against promptings of my sense >f duty. t There is one more ' matter upon vhiichi I beg to warn the people. There t Lre evidences in plenty to show that he same'elique or ring which is fight- I ng the dispensary and which has al- f vays fought me intends or hopes to t )ring about a change in our primary v -egulations so as to prevent any dem, )crat from voting in the primaries t vho it not at the same time a quali- a led voter. They hope to use the club vhich has proved so effective under I he Brice law, that of confining the .lection to qualified electors, to ob ai control of the democratic party ;o resume their sway, undisputed un il 1890. I warn the farmers and all >ther democrats, especially operatives wvhoare busily engaged and have it tle time to devote to politics to at tend the next meeting of the demo mratic clubs on he fourth Saturday in April (28th) and get their names on he rolls and send delegates to the exte ounty conventions wvho will rep r~esent them truly. The allies and :lirectors of the newv Columbia ring svill be on the alert and carry all of their forces to these club meetings. ind unless the people take' more in :crest than they did in thme' Brice law slections the next state convention wvill be controlled by this element and the possibilities are that the regula Lions of the democratic primary wvill be changed to suit their purposes of. disfranchisement. The Alliance men f 1890 need not be reminded of the old anecdote of the politician who told all the farmers to ''plow on'' lie would attend to their public affair's. Lect all of the people take an inter est in polities this year. wmhichm is their duty, in order to protect themselves against the schemes of these trick sters and all wvill be well. I have felt it my duty to give this wvarning and whatever thme result I will, bow to popular will wvithout mur mur. ,If. the people want prohibition. either the actual article or the hum bug -which we now have I do not ob ject; if th~ey want cotnty dispensaries instead of the State dispensary, I do not object; what I do object to is that they shall neglect to inforthi them selves and.be lead. by the nose.-by de signing' men. When the democratic party has spoken authoritatively, ,I will bow to the will -of the majority, but let it be all of the democratic party and not as mall faction which claims to represent our best people. B. R. TILLMAN. "What is your defense to the charge of stealing this watch?"' stern ly asked the judge of the prisoner. 'I merely wanted to 'gain more time,"' pleaded the prisoner. ''Ini that case,'' remarked the judge, 'I 'will give you more time than you could gain yourself, and provide yon ab ll the watches you need. Five k. P. MOse, Pres't and Mgr. Ar. P. A. Getz, Gen'l A t Pacific Mutual Life Isur 32 -8 Mar Dear Sir: On Nov. Ist, p linary Life, 20 Year Dividend li Irst day of Nov., 1905. At 'tha nent, each ofwhich options gre :epted the offer of withdrawing iriginal premium rate. The dil >remium paid. This settlemer atisfactory experience in . life' it ealing to my friends. You are a ,all to See Us. )ffice over Post Office. 3rickl Brick!! For Sale by .C. H. CANNON. leal Estate and Insurance. Do you have Real Estate to sell or ent which you do not care to have dvertised to the general public? If o, place it in our hands and we will ive it our personal study and atten ion. We have standing buyers for cer ain kinds of land. Do you want to buy Real Estate? f you mean business come to see us or we .have some property for sale hat might greatly surprise you as iell as interest you.' If -you don 't mean business come o see us anyway and we will tell you 11 we know about the weather. We undertake to sell no p'roperty efore we have inspected it and ap roved the price. Loans negotiated on approved ecurity. Rents and accounts collected. We are agents for the Aetna Life nasirance Company. It will pay you o see wyhat this old~reliable and con. ervative company has to offer before >lacing your Insurance. More and more men are beginning ;o understand what this statement abans. Office over the Commercial Bank. I. K. SLIGH, & COMPHNY RAVE YOUR WATCH Repaired Right yorwr pwropyan ude W- BIIADOi I~ io in TePaiddgte an M. E OFFICE OF "i.4 &MORSE T$A0 JR C ~tJp Ore ance Co., quan Bldg, City. 8 applijd f9r and received from ivestment policy, which dividend Inv t time the O0npany offered me five atly exceeded my expectations. Al my dividend in cash and continuinE Aidend received amounts to more it is,very satisfactory, and I heartily isurance, and cordially commend t liberty to make such use of this let Yours very truly, ROBERT NOR Newbi Prescriptioq I 0 Which we use are without exce We believe in PURITY. We constantly preach PURIT . We always practice PURITY 1 cines. ' PURITY counts, and counts f< Ask your doctor. MAY9S' DRUC THE' NHWBERRYv SI Newberry, Capital stock paid in Surplus De.,po6S,i.ts.. We do business on busin We extend every consis with safe and sound banki Four per cent. paid on D4partment. Fire Burglar Proo' JAS. McINTOSH, PresIde(nt. Spec For the lext WE OFF Straight AT $4.00 PEI * . S. ~irj .-WAKEMAN, Sec. & Tres gon, Nov. 23d, 1905. the Pacific Mutual an Or estment period matured on different options of settle tet due deliberation I. ac my policy in force at its than 45 per cent of the :ongraulate myself for this the PaciqfNg'uiual for fair ter as you may see fit. M. B. WAKEMAN. RIS, Gn. Agt., rry, S. C. laterials: ptlon the purest grade Yf. when preparing medi )r much, in medicines. STORE. * iVINGS BANK, S;q C. . $. 50,000.00. . . -25,000.06 . 28%,000.06 ess principles. :ieration consistent ng, leposits in. Savings. Proof Vault. F Safe. J. E. NORWOOD, Cashier, Ten Does; al Flour B IA14REL. ~eCO.