The Newberry herald and news. (Newberry, S.C.) 1884-1903, 1893-07-19
THIS LOOKS BAD.

The States spies have broke loose in
Charleston and on Saturday the first
arrest was made by them of a man for
selling whiskey after the Dispensary
law had gone into effect. The party
hauled in is man named Chicco. No
doubt the accounts of the affair in the
newspapers are overdrawn, but the fol-
lowing is taken from the Sunday News
and seems to be statement of Chicco
himself:
Chicco called at the News and Cou-
rier Office last night and requested that
the following statement should be pup
lished 80 that the Christian community
of Charleston may see how outrage
ously be has been treated by the officers
of the law:
sAbout 1880 in the morning, said
he, some seventeen men came into my
store, ransacked the bar, but found
nothing but rice beer. I took them up
stairs and showed them all the rooms
except my bed room, in which my
wife was lying in bed at the time IN a
delicate condition, when any disturb
ance would be dangerous to her. The
door was locked. The constables de-
manded that the door be opened, and
threatened that if it were not opened
they would break it down and drag
her and all other women on the prem
ises to the guard house. They ran
sacked the bed room and found no.
thing.
I'm the next room were some liquors
and wine and beer that had been sold
before the first of July to n. Fontana
and to A. Gardla. The constables took
it all away and then took all the cigars
and maccaroni, breaking open the
cigar boxes and filling their pockets.
I missed q gold watch and chain that
was behind the bar also.
"My wife is very sick and DR.: Simons
and midwife will give certificates to
that effect. The fright occasioned by
the rough entrance of seventeen men
in her bed room and the threat to drag
her to the Guard House made her
worse"
Now this looks bad. This man
should not have violated the law but
because he did and did sell little beer,
we see no reason why his family should
be outraged and treated in this way by
those whose duty it is to see that the
law is enforced.
These same spies who arrested him
had gone to his place and induced him
to sell them the beer for the purpose OF
entrspping him. He should not have
been taken in, but when once caught,
such treatment as here described does
not sound nice to free and liberty
loving people, to people who have
been taught that mans house is his
castle, and ali that sort.
We do not believe the people ought
to violate this or any other law, but
we have an inexpressible contempt for
any such system of spies as has been
inaugurated to capture violators OF the
law, andany law which makes. it ne
eessary to have such system of espion-
onage is unworthy to have place on
the Statute books of a free and liberty
loving people. We do not believe the
people o: South Carolina will long toll
crate such system. If the law can
not be enforced without such a system,
it should be blotted from the books
and the page turned down forever. 1t
will not be 8 proud heritage to leave
our children.
We do not know what to think OF
any man who will hire himself for q
few paltry dollars to act as q spy. He
must feel himself scarcely freeman.
We are not advising the violation OF
the law. We believe in respecting all
law, but when a law has to be enforced
by such a system, it is poor recon-
mendation for the law to say the least.