Historical Newspapers of South Carolina

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Stye uktdjmnn owD 3 o ntl) con, - -.---? -_ ,_ THi SUMTER WATCHMAN, Established April, 1850. "Be Just and Fear not-Let all the Ends thou Aims't at, be thy Country's, thy God's and Truth's." THE TRUE SOUTHRON. Established jone, 1366 Consolidated Ans. 2,1881. SUMTER, S. C., WEDNESDAY, MAY 5, 1897. Sew Series-Vol. XVI. So. 39 fiji Sflattjnnaii arti jSWfara. Fnblisiisd Every 'Wednesday, -BY 1ST. G-. Osteen, ~StJMTER, S. C. TSRifS : . $1 50 per annum-io advsoce. .ADVERTISEMENT: OIK Square first insertion..$1 00 Every subsequent inser:ion........ . 50 Contracts for three months, or logger will be made at reduced rates. AU communications which subserve private interests will be charge! for as advertisements. Obituaries and tribe: es of respect will be eharged for. 0 THE LIQUOR, SCANDAL. ome Light on the State's Great Moral Institution. THE ATTORNEY GENEBAIi AT WOHK. Fro n The State, May 5. The State has for exactly one month been aware of the existence of a letter purporting to have been written by Editor Gantt of the Pied mont Headlight to Clark Hovell of the Atlanta Constitution, which smacked strongly of more rebate matters and farther scandals abont the management of the big gin mill, and a copy of it has been available, bat for several reasons this letter was being held pending developments. It was brought here by a liquor maa at the last session of th? State board of control Ile showed it to several other liquor men and others at that time. Since then copies of it have been beard of here and here. There was some doubt expressed as to its genuineness, bat that doubt now seems to have entirely disap peared. Time went on and now, in the midst of the Beckroge trank scan dal the letter has found print in the Charleston correspondence of another newspaper. The copy of the letter reads as fol lows, this particular copy not having .Mr Gantt's Signature : Spartanba^, S C , Feb 14, 1897. Dear Clark : This will be handed you by my friend, Mr. I. 0. J Wood, and who will explain to you just what I want. I am anxious to control the State board of dispensary commissioners, so that I can help out my friends, and also your friends, Blutbeothal and Bickart of Atlanta, Ga Now, Clark, to be plain with you, ia order to accomplish this, we must down is man named Outzs, and keep our mutual friend, Seth Scragg, i ti control We can down Outzs if I can get Mr. Bickart to give me a state ment of the transactions between himself and Octzs and can show, as I believe is the case, that Outzs agreed to push his liquors if he (Bickart) would pay bim 25 cents per case. I want yon to see Mr Bickart and get a statement from him of his prop os i ti on to Oat zs, aod how it was first received. I do not wish it for publi cation, but simply to bulldoze him out of the race against Scruggs Hon D M. Miles, elected member of the board for five years, is my personal friend and from Spartanburg coanty. Col. Wilie Jones, chairman of the board, is one of my warmest friends, and I will visit him next Friday and talk over matters. I want to get Outzs' condemnation by that time Jones is a strong Scruggs man I want you to say to Bickart to embody in his statement that after hin first conference with the board he tried lo get a second audience, so as td tell the whole truth, but was gagged and not allowed to do so, at the instigation of Outzs. If I can keep Scruggs in, it means that oar friends will be taken care of, bat if Oatzs succeeds he will not order a pint from B. & B., and he is opposed to Mr. Bickart, because of that interview with the board I also want you and your father, if Mr. Bickart gives this statement, to certify to his high character. I have other things behind, but want this certificate as an opening shot As stated, it is not for publi cation, but simply to use to kill any support that Outzs might get Mr. Wood will give you the full story of that matter. Truly, your friend, P. S -Why have you cut me off from your exchange list ? have not seen a copy of the Constitution since Christmas Also send me a sample copy of your evening daily Of course this letter is strictly con fidential. - And uow comes the tale of the "Dear Clark" letter * The publication of the above letter put Clerk Scruggs of the State board of control on the alert and yesterday he gave two more letters to the press bearing on the subject, each being signed by Mr Gantt, the latter ad j mitting his authorship of the "Dear Clark" letter in one of them. The first of these letters reads as follows : THE PIEDMONT HEADLIGHT Official Organ of Spartanburg, the Largest, Most Popular and Wealthiest County in the State I Spartanburg, S. O j Feb. 10. 1S97 Dear Scruggs : I hear that an Atlanta liquor man has offered a bribe to a certain dispensary official, and to pay him 25 cents on each bos of this man's liquor that aid official shipped out. But afterwards the liquor mau stated that he had made a mistake aud could give only 10 cents. And because he fell in his price this official then stated that the firm had tried to bribe him. It has also come to my ears that a certain liquor man bad a member of the board as bis guest at the hotel, that they slept together in the same room, and that this liquor man always got the best of the orders from the board. There are other rumors of a serious nature. I tell you. Scruggs, as your true friend, that this condition of af fairs will disrupt the Reform move ment. The people are already rest less and suspicious, and groaning as they are under increased taxation, they are prepared to believe any scandal they may hear. I am making further investigations into those rumors and shall expose the whole matter. Truly, your friend, T. L. Gantt. The other letter made public by Clerk Scruggs reads reads as fol lows : Spartanburg, S. C., April 9, 1897. Dear Scruggs-Your letter of the 7th, in which you state that you hear that there is a letter in circulation in Columbia, purporting to have been written by myself, and in which your name is connected, etc. You ask me to let yon kuow the substance of this letter You remember that some time in Febraary I wrote you that I had beard a report in circulation that a certain official in the State dispen pensary had been offered a bribe of 25 cents a box for every box of a certain brand of whiskey he shipped out, that this bribe was offered by an Atlanta firm, but afterwards'that the firm stated to Raid official that they could only pay 10 cents a box, and after he fell in his price then the officiai reported the representative of this firm as trying to bribe him I also stated io said letter other re potts connected with the dispensary management, and the purchase of liquors that smacked strongly of cor ruption I stated to you that 1 in tended to publish those reports that the -people might know them, and demand an investigation of the whole business. A few days after the receipt of this ietter you carne to Spartanburg and asked roe to suppress the publication You know at that time I warned you against the suppression of anything crooked in thc dispensary that came to your knowledge, and told you that you could tiot help JO cover ap rottenness of any one connected with thc dispensary because of your friendship for him. You replied that you didn't wish to bide any corruption, and the official in ques tion you believed to be your enemy and wa9 working in coojanetioo with others to secure your defeat. I stared to you that I heard the representative of this firm would tell much more, but that be was coerced or bulldozed, and was also afraid of publicity, fearing that it might destroy his chances for future business with the dispensary. I told you further that I was not satisfied, and that believed if they were assured that by telii^ir the truth and all they knew it would not injure their pros pects for business, that they would make a full statement of all the facts. With this view I wrote a private letter to my frieod Hon. Ciarke Howell, editor of the Atlanta Constitution (not the liquor firm), ao assuring let ter, whjch was personal and private, aod sealed up This letter was written to Mr. How ell, who was a friend to said firm, with iiop e ol stiffening the backbone of this liquor man. and thereby securing al the facts. I don't remember what I did write, but 1 can tell you that i am a free and D'Jeper>:ient American citi I zn. and can stand by anytbing ihjit I ! do or say. I weir no m2n7 collar and j my bandi are not soiled with aoy cor j ruptioc, and what wrote was with a j vitw to discovering corruption that 1 j might esporo ii through The Head ! light, and not to wink at rascality The j mistake made was in not publishing j at tho lime the rumors I htard, bur you j know your strong personal appeal to me j cot to do so H what deterred me [f i necessary I vri i oil! on you to publish the letter wrote you some time in February. . But to shew you that I was not. bush whacking any man, upon learning that the Atlanta firm stated that the offer they made said official had becu re jected, I came to Columbia, saw the accused party, and stated to bim the report I had heard, told him just what I bad done, and that be seemed ex onerated. The Howell letter I sent by Mr. I 0 J. Wood, but that geotlemao, instead of delivering it as addressed, turned tbe letter over to said liquor firm, when one of its members broke the seal and read the confects. He stated to Mr. Wood that it was nos necessary to de liver the letter, ss he could give him DO information about the reported cor ruption. Mr. Wood left the letter io the bands of said inn. How it came to be turoed over to parties in Columbia do cot know If you will see that letter you will Sod that I was simply working to un earth reported corruption in the dis pensary management and to assisting Mr Wood io securing a positioo. I am not mixed up in any rebate -or other busioess ooooected with the dispensary, for my haods are clean and defy, any one to prove otherwise. I remember in that letter telling Mr. Howell that Col. Willie Jooes aod HOD D M. Miles were my personal frieods and would s'aod by me. My reason for writtog this was that I io teoded thft Mr. Howell could use it to get the desired iaformatioo from that Atlanta liquor house, for could I coo vioco them that their business would oot suffer by felliog all they knew, they would more likely give the de sired information. also told two members of the State board the report that had reached my ear?. Come up Saturday and see me.. Truly your friend, T. L GANTT, Mr. Scruggs says thal it was but just to him to state that be felt that he was justified in making the appeal to Mr. Gantt to keep the Oazts matter quiet, because it had been brought to the at tention of the board, and bad been al ready acted upon by that body, and be could Dot see any necessity to stir such matters ap any more. The investigation of the Beckroge trunk anr "dark closet" scaodals which seem to grow with each day is becoming a matter of the greatest io terefjt now. Governor Ellerbe ij de terroioed to prosecute every employe of the iostitutioo who from the evideoce appears to be guilty of wroog doiDg. Attoroey Geoeral Barber got to work yesterday in dead earoest aod be is adding to the 40 odd pages of affidavits that have already been collected. This evideoce he is keeping back and will continue to do so uotii such actioo as may be determioed upon bas been taken. The results of the investigation promise to be "ID the Dature of surprises and revelations aod it looks at the pres ent a? if several employes of the in stitution are going to be carried into court upon criminal charges The de tails of several matters of which the public is as yet in ignorance promise to be brought out and there is oo telling where the thing is going to end. Yesterday things looked pretty live ly about the capitol. Here aod there could be seeo men connected with the dispensary in oDe way or aoother io the halls while Governor Ellerbe aod At toroey Geoeral Barber were consulting io the former's private office. THOp MISSING TWO GALLONS. Governor Ellerbe is now also fully investigating the matter of tbe disap pearance of two gall os of the liquor shipped to Mr. W. M. Wilson of Peak's, who bad oompliedd with the io spectioo clause of the act io all its de tails. The liquor it will be remember was seized by Cooetable Harmoo ; wheo Mr. Wilson got the liquor it was shoat two gallons of the quantity that should have been io it. Constable Harmoo, it is understood, claims that the two gallons leaked out. He was into see the governor yesterday. Gov ernor Ellerbe says he is fully deter mined to find out exactly where those two gallons went to. He doe* not pro pose to allow any liquor seized to evap orate if he can help it. COMPARE GANTT'* LETTERS/ TO SCRUGGS. Last night the following additional chapter of the 'Dear Ciark" letter matter was handed to The State: Mr. I. O Wood makes this State i ment : Oo the Sunday before I went to Atlanta S. W Scruggs and T. Larry Gantt drove up in front of Trimmier's bookstore io Spartanburg and asked for me. I went out, and went up at their invitation to the Piedmont Headlight office, and while io the office they wrote two leeters, one addressed to Clark Howell, Atlanta, which they gave to me sealed I <iid oct kc ow what were ! the eootents. Ov-s other letter written with pencil by Scruggs, which was copied hy Gantt on t.yr.cwritcr. don't know who this one was addrc.-scd to They k:,nw \ wi going to Atlanta on thc following Tuesday. I had also j in my possession an envelope which j wa written on the back with pencil hy \ S W. Scruggs certain Questions for me j to ask Blumenthal & Bickart of Atalo ! ta They desired 15. & B. to ackoowl ! edge that. Ouz's bad made a proposition to them to the effect that he would ship j out their liquors provided they, B &. I B., would pay him so much per case. Ma. Bickart said thal "I am too hoDest a man to do such a thing, and I can't do it. Mr. Ouzts oever made me aoy such a proposition ; I am tbe man who made the proposition." I am in no way responsible for the "t ear Clark" confidential letter reach ing South Carolioa, nor for it beiog in the hands of the press. I make this statement in justice to Mr. Oozts, since I have been used in an attempt to injure him. I. O J. WOOD. Columbia, S. C.. May 4. JOHNSON'S CHILL AND FEVER TONIC Cures Fever In One Day. Catching the Rascals. THE DISPENSARY PER MEATED WITH OPPI CIAL DISHONESTY. COLUMBIA. S. C., May 5 -The dis pensary scandal is the talk of the town. Each day revelations are made that demonstrate more forcibly how great is^ the corruption and free and easy rascal ity that permeates . the entire system. The fumes of scandal rise to heaven and the officials who administer the great moral institution all appear to be i more or lees mixed up io them To-day Gov. Ellerbc and Attorney General Barber decided to^make public the information they have unearthed in reference to the Beckroge trunk They have the evidence in the form of afii davits from C. J. Lynch, bookkeeper; Moses H. Mobley. bookkeeper; S. W. Scruggs, clerk of the hoard, John T. Gaston, ex Superintendent; H E. Watts, G H. Charles, Hobt. E. Blake ly, S. W. Vance, C. A. Kooo, I). A. G. Outz, all employees of the dispen sary, and C W Garris, the member of the Legislature, who bought the trunk, John H. Jacob, the locksmith who made a key to the contraband room for S. W Scruggs, and Col. Wilie Jones. The two most important and compre hensive affidavits are give below. The other affidavits givco additional and confirmatory evidence and th ;t is established beyond question that easton and Scruggs both made free use of whatever they found to their taste in the eontribaod room. It r^'ide no dif ference whether it wan sh-'es, oranges, cigars, peaches or liquor, they simply .took what they wanted. It is further establised that Scruggs had a key made to fit the lock on the door to the room and kept bis Y E S to the room as much in the dark as possible. Additional affidavits are promised within a few days, and more rascality will be exposed. Attorney General Barber has decided to issue warrants for the arrest- of at least two' cf tbe guilty persoos, aod it is hinted that other arrests may follow. Dispensary circles are oo tho tip toe of expectancy and "the .public is pre pared for almost any revelation of cor ruption: State of South Carolina, Richland county : Personally appears before me S. W Scruggs, who after being duly sworn, says : That to the best of bis recollection Mr. C. W. Garrie told bim there was a trunk in the contraband room he wanted to buy. Deponent told him be did not think the truok could be used as the lock was broken and there waa no key to the truok that he knew of. Mr. Garris then suggested that he could have another lock put on and depon cot told him if he would go up town and see Mr Husemann, perhaps he could put a new lock oo it, which he did : that during the March meeting of the board of control Mr. Garris came for the truck, and Commissioner Gaston and deponent went in the con traband room and let him have it. Mr., Garris insisted upon paying for tbe trunk at that time, but deponent told him that he did not know what price to place OD the trunk and be would hav; to obtain the price of trunks fron some truok dealer in Co ! lumbia before a price could bc fixed, j Mr. Garris still insisted upon an agrce . ment as to price so that h* could piy i for it. Deponent rr plied that he nad j no intelligent idea of the worth of the j j trunk and had no time then to ascertain : ! the worth of the trunk, as* tbs board ! j was at thar moment in session and he j j had to get back to the meeting to at.- ; tend to business; that he told Mr. j ; Garris that he would send him the hill j \ for thc trunk as soon as thc price was j : fixed, or that he could pay tor it on his ; yes visit to Columbia; Re replied : ! ' I will call in trie next time come io j Columbia arni pay for if ; that he rc I ported th;' sale of the trunk to the State board of control. That thc day ; upon which Commissioner Gaston, Mr Garris and deponent went to the con- j '? traband room to deliver trunk w?.s the ! \ first time he bad any knowledge of thc ! contents cf thc trunk to the best of his : recollection ; but one thing be is I positive about-that up to that ! time he had never Laken any part of the contents of the trank, and at- that ttme ali be saw in I the trank were a few partially filled I boxes of cigars and two or tbree cans of peaches, bat scattered on the flo< r were six or eight empty cigar boxes; that on that day in the presence of Gaston and Garris deponent took a handful of these cigars. Garris took a handful and Gaston took a handful and be jokingly twitted Judge Gaston with the remark that he could now account for the cigars whtc " he, Gaston aod Harry, had been smok g for several weeks that cigars which depooeot took he carried ioto tbe State board room aod gave Mr. Williams and Mr. Doutbit some of them, aod told them he bad gotteo them out of the contra band room aod would get them some more which he intended to do before the adjournment of the board and be fore they left the city, bat io the multi plicity of bis duties it escaped his at tention. That a few days after this he went iato the board room, and got tbe key of the contraband room which belonged to the State board of cootrol aod which was io the custody of depooeot as clerk of the board, aod with Charles Lyoch. a clerk in hie office, and got four boxes of cigars partially filled, ag he remem bers, and four caos of peaches, aod in structed Lyoch to take them ioto the office aod the boys io the office could eat the peaches, aDd he would divide the cigars with them ; that these four boxes of cigars and caos of peaches were utterly valueless to the State, as the cigars were very cheap cigars, and he does oot believe they could have bceo dis posed of for any coosideratioD ; that deponent also discovered several bottles of domestic wioe the day he took Lynch io for cigars and peaches and humorously remarked : ,lWe will get that wine too before some one takes it," but as a matter of fact did cot irjeao to take it at ihe time of makiog the re mark, as it was not seriously made, and he did not take the wine and com missioner told him he had taken charge of the wioe; that he soldom entered the contraband room and never unless upon argent business. As Colonel Jones and the attorney general's office will bear him out. there was great deal of trouble with contraband seiz ures made by the constables, as maoy threatening letters were received from parties about liquors ship ped to them for personal use ; that Col. Gaston did not attend to these matters as promptly as Chair man Jones thought he should aod Col Jooes told him he a-d deponent would nave to take this matter in hand, and with the attorney general would have lo look after the return of contraband liaaors, and the onl? occasions sn which he went into the contraband room was to refer to the record.* sup nosed to be contained in the receiving r - contraband book ; than oo several occa sions with the consent of Chairman Jone-, he pvebased demijohns of coro whiskey which had been seized and for feited to the State, and paid therefor at the rate of 1 50 per galloD, which the records in his office will show, whilst the price the State board paid for some goods was from $1 30 to 1 35 per gal oo ; that further than herein stated, he has oever taken a single article from the contraband room ; that io taking these four boxes of cigars and cans of peaches he was ooly following out a custom which had beeo ia vogue ever since his connection with the State disDeusary ; that on divers .occasioos such articles as braody peaches, bran dy cherries, cigars aod other articles other than wines and whiskies, have been placed io the custody ot the com missioner and he bas often given hun some of such articles and also given them to others ; and to show that v.epo ncot did oot suppose he was commit ting an act which would make bira lia ble to censure, he gave to two members of the board some of these very cigars aod told them where be had gotteo them that be did say to Mr. Lyoch to i-ay nothing to Mr. Blakeley, because Blakeley was his mortal enemy for some reasoo he knows not why. and he did not wish aoy distortion of tte facts, aod this was the reasoo he told him to say nothing to Blakeley about cigars o; peaches : that he cad no ob jection to Mr. Blakeley knowing he had taken the cigars and peaches to the clerks io his office, provided a frieodly and legitimate construction upon what he did was placed thereon ; that when F M. Mixson was commissioner in iS(,)5, Mr. Blakeley checked up all contraband and he as well as deponent cn divers occasions has beeo the recipient of these litt!;-' courtesies through the good offices of Commis sioner Misson. S. W. SCRUGGS. Sworn to arid subscribed before ms this May 1st, A. D., 1897 C. P. TOWNSEND, N nary Public. Personally appeared before me, C. J. Lynch, who being sworn says : That he has been in the State dis pensary since it was first opened, but was appointed bookkeeper or assist ant to Mr Scruggs in April, 1896, and is still in the same position. That some time in February. 1897, Mr. Scruggs came into the office in the presence of Mr. Mobley and Mr. Charles and himself and said : "Charlie, do you know that Gaston has a trunk full of cigars, peaches and wine back in the contraband room ?*' I replied that I did not. Scruggs said, "Well, he has been walking up and down the street smok ing them and I have been wondering where in the hell he got them." I said, "No, I did not kuow he had them back there." Scruggs said he had, and said, "Come back with me and I will show them to you." Scruggs and I went out of the office and stooped down to unlock the door, and while fitting the key into the door he turned to me and said. "Don't tell anybody I have got this key." He then unlocked the door and went in Scruggs walked over to some empty cigar boxes scattered about the room, picked them up and then threw them down and said, "I will be damand if he bas not smoked the last one " I was near the door and asked him if he had not told me that they were in a trunk, and be said, "Yes " I then said, "There is the trunk under the table." He then went to the trunk, lifted the lid and moved aside some wine and pulled out three boxea containing cigars and handed them to deponent. He than reached on top of the pigeon holes over the trunk and took down another box containing cigars and said : "Here is one I had up here when I was here this morning." and handed them to deponent and said. "Take the boxes lo the office '. Deponent then asked him, "How about the peaches.'' He replied, "They are not here in the trunk." Deponent then pointed to cans of peaches on the desk and said, "There they are over there " Scruggs then went over and got them and gave them to him and said : "Go on to the office w>th the things," ,but again said, "Wait until I see if there is anyone in the hall.. He opened the door and looked and said, "There is no one there ; go ahead." Deponent then went to the telephone room, and as he started into the office Scruggs said, "Let me see if there is any one in there." He said: "Go ahead, there is no one in the office; take them in and hide them " Scruggs then started back out of the door and as he was leaving deponent, facing: Mr. Mobley, remarked: "Mind I" j did not take these things '' De j ponent then placed them on his desk.' j and Scruggs carne back in he office j and said, "Charlie, hide those things I before Mr. Blakeley comes in. I dont want him to see them." De ponent then took them off the desk and put them in a b-jx at his feet. Scruggs come over and said : "Give j Mose one of the boxes (meaning Mr. j Mobley) Deponent reached down ! a:)d got one one of the bores and de pont handed it over and he took it and put it inthe drawer of t>his desk. He then went into the next room and deponent opened one of the cans of peaches and called him and asked bim if he did not want some He replied he did not believe so just then as he was going up street De ponent, Mr. Charles and Mr. Mobley ate the peaches Deponent then opened a second Concluded on. 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