Yorkville enquirer. [volume] (Yorkville, S.C.) 1855-2006, 1883-09-13
ALL ALONG THE LINE.


few weeks ago, of short communication
directing public attention to the violation
of the law by parties in the habit of ship
ping from prohibition towns packages of
whisky by express to Yorkville, also u pro-
hibition town, said packages to be paid for
on delivery, there has been Il general wax
ing up on the subject, and as result, express
agents in all prohibition towns along the
G., G. & A., and the G. & l.. Railroads have
received orders to neither receive or deliver
any more packages of whisky to be deliver
ed c. O. ID. in prohibition towns. This new
order of things will evidently cut Oft the
supply of whisky that has heretofore been
shipped along these roads in the manner
named. The diminution of shipments by
the Chester and Lenoir road is already per-
ceptible, and as to the G., G. 4 a. road, the
Charlotte Journal Observer of Friday has the
following:
There has been remarkable falling off in
the receipts Of the Southern Express Compa-
ny since the whisky car from Charlotte to
dry points on the Charlotte, Columbia Il Au-
gusta Railroad has been cut off. 1t used to
be a regular thing to see the express wagon
move off from the office in this city with
top load Of jugs, and demijohns and kegs,
carefully packed in straw and the shoppers
secured with big hunks of red sealing wax
to keep the express messengers from letting
the air get to the contents, all marked to
towns along the G. G.. 4 A. thatha raised the
black flag against the ardent. On arriving
at these towns, this whisky put up in pack
ages was sold out Of the express offices as {:
O. d. matter. This dodge had a long and
successful run, and 1T gave to people VINO
witnessed the daily shipments Of the stuff
the impression that our neighbors down
south of us either had a lot of snake bites to
contend with, or else were a mighty dry
set The prohibitionists, however, got to
working on the business, and soon put an
end to it. 1t was a sharp dodge to ship IL
quor to a customer in prohibition town,
where the sale of it is prohibited, for the
express agent to deliver the package c. O.
d., and the matter being brought to the at
tention of the courts, decision was render
ed that this was not evading or circumvent-
ing the law, but violating it, and notice was
given that if the business was ''cOntinued at
the old stand" Indictments would follow.
The traffic was in full force, when the law
shut down on it, and in some of the express
offices there's piles of jugs and demijohns
slowed away in corners waiting for the
blockade to raise.
A case somewhat analogous to the scheme
by which the traffic has been carried on
through the agency of the express, was deci-
ded by Judge Brian, last week, in the Uni
ted States Court at Greenville, which we
copy as follows from the correspondence of
the Ne,cs diad Courier:
A. J. Fisher, proprietor of licensed whis-
ky distillery operated at the Block House
in this county, and his agents, Benjamin
Morse and VIM. Byers, who were employed
by Fisher to deliver whisky to purchasers,
were to-day found guilty in the United
States District Court of retailing without
license.
The particulars Of this case will probably
prove to be valuable information to the pub
lie and to licensed retailers of whisky, es-
pecially those about the lines of the State.
Mr.. Fishers distillery is only hundred
yards or so from the line between this State
and North Carolina. On the North Carroll
ma side he has license to retail whisky, but
of course under the law he could not sell at
any place other than that named in his IL
cense. Under the operations of the law OF
the State no barrOOm or retail liquor eStab-
lishment of any kind is within many miles
of the place on this side of the line. Fish
er's wagon made frequent trips into the
counties of this State, delivering whisky, as
claimed in the defence, upon orders. His
agents in charge of the wagon would fill Or
ders of under five gallons and take orders
to be filled on the next trip. 1t was shown
that the orders were sometimes filled, not in
original packages, but from barrel, and
the defendants were even charged with re-
failing from the wagon in quantities as
small as a half pint, and to promiscuous
crowds of whites and blacks who would con-
gregate at points along the road to get Whls-
ky when the wagon was looked for on one
of its regular trips through the country.
The witnesses were principally from Lau-
rens county, and some of them very reputa-
BILE citizens of Cross Anchor and the neigh
| bOrhOOd.
The defendants deniedthe alleged smaller
| transactions and claimed that they were do
| ing Il legitimate business in legal way,
viz. that having received orders for Whis-
ky they had the right to deliver it by their
wagon the same as by express or by freight.
Judge Brian ruled against this point, how
ever. In his charge to the jury his Hon
or instructed that such transactions were
| illegal, and ruled that whisky sold upon
orders must be delivered to the purchaser or
the purchasers agent at the place where the
seller is licensed to sell. He also ruled that
a party could not be the agent of both buyer
and seller. In this case Morse and Byers,
who were employed by Fisher to deliver
whisky by wagon, could not be the agent of
Fisher and the agent Of the purchaser at the
same time, and that they had therefore vio-
lated the law in taking and filling orders as
they had done. The Express Company
could be the agent of both parties, but
Morse and Byers, who were in Fishers en-
ployment, could not. The sale must actual
/ ly take place at the place licensed. The
purchaser acquired no property in the whis-
ky until it was delivered to him or his agent,
and, therefore, these transactions were in
violation of the law.
FRANCE AND CHINA.