The Anderson intelligencer. [volume] (Anderson Court House, S.C.) 1860-1914, 1893-01-25

our boys, for the SAX" : "'lf h"n';' r
the sake of our country, To make law
that would blot this curse from the face
of our otherwise fair soil. But alas! when
We ask for bread they give US stone,
when We ask for ish they give US a ser.
pent. They have, be il said to their
shame, betrayed their trust, proved them
selves unworthy Of the confidence so i'm
plicitlY placed in them. a Dispensary !!
Who ever thought of such thing! Or
who hath required this at your and /?
Moses was debarred the privilege of lead
irg the children Of Isreal into the prom
ised land for slight deviation from the
command of God-striking the rock when
God said speak to it. Aud King Saul lost
his crown for capturing Agag alive in
stead of killing him, as God had COM
manded. Solomon says, "There is way
that seemeth right unto man, but the
end thereof are the ways of death" So
look out ye arrogant, self-important Legis-
lators, for this will doubtless prove true
in your case. Ny advice would be for
you to bid Governor Tlllman and the rest
of your political friends down there adieu
and take q good look at the State House
aud all offs surroundings, when you go
back next fall, for never more will you
behold them through your Senatorial
glasses. You have reached the zenith Of
your glory. The days of your political
career are numbered. Your little world
is nearing its end, aud soon you will be
calling upon the rocks and mountains to
fall upon you to hide you from your trea-
sonable act. Those eyes with which you
30 recently beheld the whited walls of the
State House will soon bs glazed in ever
lasting political death. {.
It Ia true there are some features Of the
new law which, if strictly enforced, would
make the dispensary system far better
than the old bar room system. Such as
the prohibiting of the sale of intoxicants
OF any kind to minors or persons addicted
to drinking to excess. This, if carried out,
will entirely prohibit drunkenness. But
does any one believe that such law is
going TO be enforced to the letter? Is
there not law now that prohibits the sale
of intoxicants to minor? And is there
not law whereby the wife of a drunken
husband may have redress upon bar.
keeper for selling her husband liquor thus
taking away the source Of her daily sup.
port? Are these laws enforced? 1? No, they
are mere dead letters. And we fear the
boasted advantage of having no open
bsr.rooms will prove mere delusion.
Will not every nook and corner, every
stable, Office and shop furnish sufficient
hiding place in which to drink? If there
is anything gained morally. or anything
at all that favors prohibition, in the
Evans bill, confess I have never been
able to to see it, It sounds more like the
scheming trickery Of the blarneying poll
tician, than the honest deliberation of true
patriotism. It is whipping the devil
around the stump" The only advantage
that can SEQ in the now liquor law is
that in killing the whiskey dealers and de-
stroying their traffic, it destroys their
dangerous power and influence over the
Government.
The dispensary system would furnish a
great source Of revenue ~ to the State,
which would perhaps lessen our State tex.
But what would We do with the money ?
Would we not, like Judas, take it and
cast it down at the feet of the officer, con-
fessing that we have sinned, in that we
have sold innocent blood? If it is moral
ly wrong for me, as an individual, to sell
whiskey, then it is equally wrong for the
combined citizens Of State, in the capac-
ity of Government, to sell it. And if God
pronounced q woe upon tho individual
that putteth the bottle to his neighbor's
lips, will not that same woe confront the
State that is guilty of 'ientically the same
sin? Moreover, fellow citizens, do you
want your children educated on blood
money! Do you want your poor fed and
your insane cared for with money bathed
in the tears of the drunkard's starving,
freezing childreni No, thousand times
no! My God ! My God the pale, sad
face of the drunkard's wife, and the gaunt,
lean look of his children, would be ever
before me. The deep groans and hoarse,
strangulated breathing of the murderer'a
victim would be continually grating
upon my ears, while fancy 1 could taste
the blood in everything ate. May the
good Lsrd deliver US from such an evil.
T. 81. GARRETT.