The herald and news. (Newberry S.C.) 1903-1937, March 22, 1907, Page THREE, Image 3
W=( V.
T R. ST VBWISON DOS NOT
1X003VMD IT.
ems t. Tbnk the Commision
Should Not Hes,tae. to Make In
vestigation of'Question- -
able Deals.
tate, 19th.
The attorney general, Mr. J. Fraser
Lyon, and. Senator Francis. H. Wes-'
ton, who represents Clarke Bros. &
Co., of Peoria, Ill., the 'liquor concern
which sold the famous $100,000 order
to the state dispensary, went over to
Cheraw last week to consult Hon. W.
F. Stevenson, attorney for the dispen
sary e.ommission, as to the right of
the commisison to accept all of the
Clarke gopds.
These 'goods" were receiv6d at
the state dispensary before the local
option law went into effect but the
legislative invetstigating comlumittee,
of which Senaor Niels' Christensei
wIs chairman, reported tlthat these
purehases were illegally mande and
ordered, that no more money be paid
h-.-er Clarke Bros. & Co, or to
hn & Co.-,whichl, it might beJ
are practically one and the
e 4irm, according to the testi
mony.
When the commission appointed un
der the special act to provide for
winding up the affaim of the state
-dispensary took charge it was decid
i ed to accept and pay for none of the
Clarle and Lehman goods except
-what had actually been accepted and
used. The Clarke conlcern has black
lisetd itself by sending a sample
case of whiskey to a member of a
county board.
Mr. -Win. E. Hull, president of
Clarke Bros. & Co., appeadeir hefore
the comumiss,ion and offered them the
goods at a price considerably less
than the original invoice price. At
torney General Lyon was requested
by the commission to go to Cheraw
and consult with Mr. Stevenson in
regard to tie proposition. He went
over Thursday evening of last week
in company witlh Senator Weston, at
,torney for the liquor concern inter
ested. The matter was placed be
fore Mr. Stevenson and he was re
quested to furnish the commission
with his opinion as early as possible.
Mr. Stevenson takes the view that
the commission has the authority to
accept any or all of the Clarke and
Lehman purchases, blt he does not
advise the commission what to do. Hie
says that it is a matter of diseretion
-with the commission.
The evident purpose ~of the coin
iimission to probe to the bottom all
- irregularities connected with the
ransactions of the officials of the
late dispensary and to assist the at
torney general in securing evidence
against p-ersons wvho have been guilty
- of. violating the law~ is revealed in
'h~ following sentence of Mr. Stev
enimon 's letter:
It shall be necessary and desir
able for, the legal dlepartmenmt of the
state; to prosecute such officers as
have offended agaihst thme lawv in the
purchase of liquors and this -discr'e
S tion to return or not thme goods to the
pensons who have sold illegally to
the state was probably inteind.cd to
give an additional leverage-to the
commission to proede evidence of
t tihe facts relating to such s'ale from
the persons selling.
'The eommission can and should
require a full exposition of the comn
missions paid to thle person securing
the order under investigation, the
method of payment, the person to
whom paid, and whether any of the
same ever came to, the hands of the
* ember of the boai'd making the pur'
ase and whether his expenses on
:rip to Peoria, Ill., were paid di
l~y or indieertly by the seller or
hile Mr. Stevenson holds that
misiSon has'the right to ac
)l of thme Clarke purchase if it
t, the above extracts from his
on indicate pointedly that lie
ot recommend the acceptance
goods until the matter of the
'of thmeir purchase has been
to fully, and not until the
~is convinced that there
(ebates plaid to any omeiial
lispensary in connuectionl
iapurchase. hr
~i on's opinion is hr
Murray, Chairman, and
*H. Weston and J. Fra.
yColumbia; S. C.
The question subinitted
tnight',by Messrs. Lyon
;j as folows:, -
A ~tae diBpensar4 cotmis
~ niler'the, act approv
e~o 1~brif, 19p, to
U01tinka t they deem
igardt of di ectors, such. carrying out
jf the contraot bping. i: 6ousidera
,ion of concessions" Wade, iihieh in. I
judgmen't 'of the conimission,
nhke it advaitageous to' the' state to
arry out the said qoptraet in" liei of
esoinding it. The- act provides in.
moetion .3, as follows:
"It shAll be the duty of said corn
nission to close out the entire busi
iess and property of the state dis
ponsary except real estate, afid in
3luding stock in the several county
iipensaries, by disposing of all goods
iud property connected therewith by
ollecting all debts due and by pay
ing from the proceeds thereof ' all
just liabilities at the .earliest date
practicable. Said commission shall
be at liberty to make Auch disposi
Lion upon such terms, times and'con
itions a6 their judgment may dic
tate, piovided that no- alcoholic li
quors or beers shall be disposed of
within this state except td county
dispensary boards, and all liqudrs
illegally bought by the prsent mai
ngement may be returned to the per
sons, firm oi- corporations from
whom purchased.'' Then follow the
Ilethods by wihieh they mpny deter
mine tie legality of the said pur
ehases. Setion S providos for the
investigation of the pAst 'affairs of
the dispensary in so far as it may
be deemed advic'able by the said com
niission in winding up its affairs.
I will state that the addition,al
question was made that the state dis
pensary had used part of the pur
chase of goods about ivhich these
questions arose, probably 30 per cent.
The statute provides that they shall
pay all just liabilities. The legisla
ture evidently contemplated the pay
ment on an equitable basis of all lia
bilities and instead of sayin, all le
gal liabilities provided that they
shoqld pay all just liabilities. The
uisP of that term evidetly, to my
minld, contemplated their Iaking11 an
equitable adljust Ien t of all a ffairs,
andA whetlher a claiml was leg",i or1 not,
if it were equitable, in otlier words,
just, why it should be settled and
only on an equitable basis. The leg
islature als6 evidently intended that.
purchiases which had been made with
ouil Conforminin- to the law as it stood
shon1d not be considered as absolute
ly and of no equitable force, at least,
heeause thy treat them as being
hou1it but in an illegal manner and
it does not east upop the commission
t lie ironelad duty to return the goods
and refpse to recognize any right of
the seller, but it provides that they
may be returned. My idea is, that the
legislature contemplated a speedy
winding- up iof the dispensary 'affairs
and also Conttemplated Ile Condition
which exists in this instanlce of file
state's being unable to return t lie
goods as a whole, iavin.uscd part of
the same" and, therefore, its heing
necessary to make some equitable ad
justment, relative to the same. Con
tracts are made as a whole, especial
ly relating to sales of personal proper
ty aind 'must b)e car'ried out ,as a whole
or rescinded as a whole, and while
t:he state is in the positions of being
free from legal process aiid therefore,
capable of' making exactly such set
tlement as it sees fit, regardless of
the rules of law, still it is evident
that the legislature, expected them to
(10 justly in making g.ieh settlement.
Cases might arise, and in fact have
arisen, wvhere the goods upon which
no profit p)rob)ably is realized by the
maufacturer have all been used by
the state and, therefore, can not be
returned and the goods upon which a
large profit.is made arc st,ill on hand,
and to return them without return
ing the other goods might be inequi
table anii tile legislature contemplat
ed such conditions in mak'gg thme pro
vision pcfmissive instead of manda
tory. This position is still further
fortified in my mind by the ideun con
tained throughout the whole deal and
all contemporary legislation relating
to this subject, that it shaill ho nee
essary and desirable for the legal de
prtmnft of the state to proseculte
such omeer's as have offended againist
the law in, the purehase of; liquors,
and this diser'etion to return or not
tihe gonods .toi persons who have sold
illegally to thme state, wvas pr'obably
intended'to give an additional lever
age to the commission to procure evi
dence of thme fagts relatinmg to such
sale from the per'sons selling. The
c.ommission can and should' require
a full exposition of the commissions
paid to the persons securing the or
der under investigation, 'the method'
of payment, the person 'to whom
paid, ang whether any of the sarme
ever-ecame to the hatids of the mem..
ber of the' board makings the purchas?
and whether his expenses on his trip
to Peoria, Ill., werE paid directly or
indlireetbly by the seller br' seller's
agent. If the terms should;:be 'held
i nAndatory and it was nee#sary with
out negotiatios 'to rettrm the goods
absolutely, this leverage wottid be lost
beoca na 'n~ erson sn1ellt eom be
he board at all, but would bie held
a strict legl right to receive back
iisgoods. This is- an additioqal rea
on why I thitk the"board has a right
.o make a prdper adjustmnt' and
ay for' the goods on equitable basis.
Mherefore, I tbipk that it is a Matter
)f sound discretion with the bmiis
4on as to whether or not -they will re
koive and pay for such purchases, on
vhat terfis they. will do- so and upon
what conditioiis they will negotiate
lor such settlement. Their legal right
;eems to be clear and it is simply a
natter hf policy for tihe board.'
The rule is clear that the usual
rnepiig of the word 'may" in a
statute is. permissive, that it gives
liseretion to the' parties working un
Ier the'statute, but 'it may be con
;idered to the mandatory undbr cer
1ainl eirieumstaanees but Potter's,Gwar
ris on' statute, page 220, in not lays
rlown the following rule: ''But no
eneral rule can be laid dowin on this
itubject further than such exposition
ught to be tdopted that shall carry in
to effect- the true intent and object of
tho enactment. Thie ordiniary mean
hig of the word whieh is permissive
ouil to be adopted anld miust be
prestlined to be intended 11unless it
would manifestly defeat tihe object of
the provision.'' The same language
practically is used in. Minors against
the Mechanies' banlik, 1st 'Peters, U.
S. Sup.. Court, page 64, where the
text, is as fo'lows: ''But 11o general
rule can be laid down upon this sub
Ject further than that exposi
tion ought to be adopted in this a
ill other cases which carries into ef
feet the true intent and object (if tle
legislature in the enactment. The or
diiary meaning of the language must
be presumed to be pelissive unlesc
it would be maiifestly to defeat the
object of the provision."
As T have endeavored to shoiv
above, I tiink tle diserelionary con
sI i.1rn<.1ion is borne 41u1t by tihe terims of
the Statulte and11 all conterill)wary leg.
islation. I think at least t1hat therc
is iotling.". to rebuit. the presmlliptiol
that it is di"cretiolary in the termE
of the siaute and under these auth
orities those who cla.im that the t6rim
are mandatoryN. must show that they
are and rebut tile presumlliption tha
(hIey are permissive.
W. F. Stevensonl,
Attorney.
March 15, 1907.
A Sorry Prospect for, the Future.
Womain's Home Companion.:
Dupre had been rather a naught,
boy. onl street. ear, and after thei
reacbed home his mother correcto(
him in the good old-fashioned way
though not anything like so severel.
as5 he imnagined.
''Now, Dupre,'' lie said, ''I hop<
you will remeibr what happeni
when boys do not obey their mothers
and next. time we are on the cars thal
you will sit quietly, ag mother tel
you.',
''Yes, m-m?mother,'' he sobbed. ']
w-will if I am c-c-ever able to s-s-sil
down anywhere a-a-again.''
ALL KIND
Of Plumbing
Done on
Short Notice
J. W. W HITE.
CHARLESTON & WESTERN OAR
,OLINA RY.
Schedule in effect January 27, 1907
Lv. Newgerry(C. N. & L.) .12:36 p. m
Ar. Laurens 1:42 l1. m
Lv. Laurens (C. & WV. C.) 2:10 p. m
Ar. Greenvifle 3:35 p. m
Lv, Laurens 2:07 p. m
At'. Spartan burg 3 ;40 p.m
Lv. Spartanbur-g (So. Ry) 3:50 p. mi
Ar. Henderso.nville 6 :25 p. mn
Ar. Asheville 7:30' p. mi
Lv. Laurens (C. & W. C.) 1:50 p. m
Ar., Greenwood 2:46 p. ma
Ar. McCormick 3:40 p. m
Ar. Augusta 5:30 p. m
Pullman 'Chair ears between Au
gusta, Laurens fand Asheville, tri
weekly. Leave Augusta Tuesdays
Thursday and Saturdays ;leave Ashe
ville Mondays, Wednesdays and Fri,
days..,
Note:, The above arrivals and do
partures, as well as connectio*s with
other coinpanies, are given as infor
mation, and are not gualanteed,
Hrnest Williams,
Con. ss. Agt.,
Augusta, Ga.
Geo. 9.' Bryan.
The New
Victor Records
or the
Month of March
Are on Sale at
SALTER'S
Art & Varietj Stor<
TRADE MARK
REGISTERED
L
FARI
our compe
to be "just
original Fh
buyers shoi
This is the
Fa
Norfolk, Va.
, Columbla,S.C.
P.'
plo
Harness
Barb
Field and Pc
line of I
New ber
A Poor Organ. Wo
Dam(s) the bile., That's wvila; your on
liver does ff it's torpid. Then the pro'
bile overflows into the blood-poisons noti
your system, causing sick-headache, tiot
biliousness,. sallow skin, coated ten- day
gVe, sick stomach, dizziness, fainting pla,
spells, dark rings- about 'the eyes, the
worn-out look, etc. Ramon's treat- 'ai
ment of Liver Pills and Tonic Pellets
strengthens the liver-makes it & its a.
own work. Prevents and .cures these All
troubles. Aids-doesn't force.. Entire Nei
treatment 25c. sai<
as
NOTICE OF ELEOTION.
Pursuant to an Act of the General
Assembly of. the state of South Car
olina, enjitled "An Act to devolve Eul
the duties of the Board of Public
71E
9A
"Imita
is th
incerest Flal
The unprecedented popularit3
OERS' BONE fertilizer has in
titors to advertise Fish Guano,
: as good." FARMERS' I
)h Guano, and, to prevent being
ld be sure that our trade-mark I
only guarantee that you are gett
rmers' I
Made with Fish
F. S. ROYSTER GUANO C
w Get
Made andI
Wire, Cu
Wire Nails
>ultry Fencing 2
-Iardware in th
ry Hardv
rks of the Town of New4ierry up
Town Council of said Town'' ap
ved the 13th day of Feby,, 1007,.
LOe is hereby given that an elee
will be held on Thesday the 2n1
'of April, 107, at the usual voting
,e in the Couneil Chamber upon
question of "approval" or
,ainst approval'' of said Act.
olls to be opened at 8.00 o'clock
u., and closed at 6.00 o'clock p. m.
qualified voters of the Town of
vberry will be eligible to vote in,
I election. The following will act
managers:
'hos. F. Tarrait; F. M. Lindsay;:
. A. Summer.
A. T., Brown,
. S. Werts, Mayor.
C. & T. T. C. N.
tion
e
Itery"
r of Royster's
duced some of
claiming theirs
30NE is the
imposed upon,
s on every bag.
ing the genuine
lone
Tarboro, N. 0.
D Macon, Ca.
irs,
t and
mnd the best
e State.
are Co.