The Anderson intelligencer. [volume] (Anderson Court House, S.C.) 1860-1914, 1886-03-04

Your humble correspondent, With
many readers of your valuable and fear
less paper in this section, want light and
information upon these and other great
issues of public interest, and do not in
tend to he hushed or turned away. Let
nc have IT.. SIMON.
A Reply to Temperance"
Mr. EDITOR: If the author of the COM
munication signed Temperance" In
your last issue, was really sincere in de-
string information concerning matter of
business entrusted to me as an Attorney,
and had called at my Office, he would
have saved time, trouble and some Cheap
notoriety, for 1 would have taken great
pleasure in gratifying his curiosity. rms
course would have revealed himself to
me; he therefore preferred to seek am
bush, and under the cloak OF a non de
,,l,.p,c unsheathes his sword and thrusts it
at me and then, as if to pour oil into the
wound, signs himself Temperance. to
show that 1 was being wounded in the
house of my friends. am constrained
to think "that the voice is Jacobs voice,
but the hands are the hands of Esau."
One SO bold, and so regardless of the
facts in the case, as to charge me with
undertaking to choke another bar.room
on the good citizens of Pendleton" one
so apparently devoted to the cause OF
Temperance; ono that would assume to
act as the defender of the people of Pen.
dleton, and above all, one who so publicly
Aaunts the fact that he is lover of con-
sistency in the face of reading public,
should have h ad the nerve, if not the con-
sistency, to sign his own name to the
article, and been as public and open as
he seeks to have HE be. Having target
easily aimed at, he thinks, he shoots his
poisoned arrow, and having such consum-
mate confidence in his craftsmanship,
saws to his would-be victim, "now come
out publicly aud let tho people see how
have gored you," and then seeks safe
retreat to gloat over his wonderful bravery,
and to prevent fair play.
It can't be consistency that he wants If
so why didn't he first take the beam out
of his own eye? Why'represcnt himself
an interested citizen of Pendleton, when
he will not dare say that he lives IN the
incorporation? Why head bis commu-
nication ''Pendleton," when he knows his
place of business and address is at another
place? Why sign himself Temperance?
If he can show the time and place he has
ever before SO publicly proclaimed his
advocacy of the cause, I'll give him the
finest chrome in the market. Verify,
consistency is jewel" and with the AID
of the most powerful magnifying glass
am unable to find the glitter of single
one about the neck of my friend, though
he is 'set in darkness" He may be re-
cent convert to the cause.
"As long as the lamp holds out to burn
The vilest sinner may return"
Yet if he proposes in the future to offer
himself as a Moses to the cause in this
County, entertaining the views his article
would indicate. if he would inform his
fellow workers, doubtless, as the best for
him and it, they will soon have him in
the hands of committee Of Physicians
to bo made charge upon the State.
My advocacy OF temperance In this
County has not assumed the shape of IA
naticism. 1t has not driven me beyond
the pale of reason, or to the point OF i'll
tolerance, for will ever be bound to re-
spect the opinion of those who differ with
me. The cause does not exact it of me,
and hope the day will never come when
its advocates will resort to prescription.
This advocate of temperance would have
me refuse legal business as an Attorney
from client, who CHANGED to differ with
me on the question of temperance
He intimates that if I do not refuse l
become inconsistent, for the reason that
am personally opposed to the liquor
traffic. To carry his reasoning to its last
analysis, would bo forced to quit prac-
ticing on the criminal side of the Court
altogether. I am opposed to murder,
arson, pambling and all species OF crime /;
{
therefore I can't consistently defend i
party charged with either Of these crimes,
aud if do, Temperance" thinks it turns
me into an advocate of them. There is
such thing as rights due even to devils
Parties charged with crime have their
rights, and in this christian land OF ours,
where the sale of Liquor is permitted by
a license directly from the people, men
who want to sell liquor hnvo their rights.
Now the Office of Lawyer and the
mission Of the Law is to secure the pro-
lection and enforcement of rights, without
regard to race, color, or differences OF
opinion on moral social or political ques-
tions. If it were otherwise the profession
and the law would deserve the contempt
of this enlightened ago.
But now to the point. Ihave trcspassed
longer than the exigencies Of the case ro-
quire. That ! am consistent appeal for
verdict from the large mass of lntelli-
gent people Of this County to whom l
have had tho honor to speak from every
stump, on the point involved in the case
referred to- To them l submit enough,
though not all of the facts, to cnablo them
to see my consistency, which Temper
ance' would have seen, had ho opened
his eyes, for he doubtless kacw the facts.
A Local Option election was held i'll
Pcndleton not long since, when majority
of the people voted license. When
they do so, The Law says the municipal
authorities shall grant license from year to
year, until majority of the people vote
''No License" Then steps in Prohibition
Pendlcton has had saloons overy year
since the election, and for this year her
authorities have issued two licenses, ono
of them being to the Intendant, and has
refused license to others, my client being
among them. Under the LocG Option
1 Law it is my opinion that when ma
jority of the people vote "License," that
no discretion remains with the municipal
authorities, the choice Of The people as a.
: pressed il the election gorcfns, and to all per
) sons who comply with the law must be
;..,ofl a. Iioonco or nlSo .hp election be