The Anderson intelligencer. [volume] (Anderson Court House, S.C.) 1860-1914, 1894-01-24
Mhy Try a Dead Issue.

COLUMBIA, S. c., Jan. 2l.-By far the
most important question that is to come
up at the present session of the Supreme
Court is tho dispensary law. OF course
no ono knows what tho decision Of the
Court will be, and rs the question is one
OF such general interest, the course of tho
case is all the moro closely watched. 1t
has from time to time boen suggested
that the Supreme Court wonld, as in the
Chester case, avoid final decision on
The merits OF the law. Why these sug
gestiOns arc made no one seems to know,
especially as everyone seems to bo anXi-
Gus to got an absolute decision one way
or another.
From time to time reasons havo been
given why the Court would not decide
upon the direct issue. One lawyer has
one view and another has another way of
looking at the san:e question. IF you
make canvass of Law Range and ask
dozen lawyers what they think will be
the result of the cases now pending,
variety Of opinions will be expressed.
Some of them-will say that the cases to
be brought before the Court are upon the
old law, and that since the new law has
been passed there is no occasion for the
Court to decide the question in issue, rs
they have in the main been completely
changed by the new statute. For in
stance, the Darlington case, it is held, ia
chiefly on the question of the appoint
ment of dispenser. Now that the whole
modus operandi of getting dispenser
has been changed, some take the utili
tartan view that 1t would bo no use for
the Court to waste time in the considera-
ton Of that point. So in the Columbia
cases, where Judge Hudson quashed the
indictments, one out-of-town lawyer
suggested the idea that the offence and
whole mode of prosecution had been
changed, and that there was no use To
kill time on this question. And so it
goes, and there is much talk about inter
locutory motions about which helayman
understands very little. In a word the
situation is summed up in this way.
The Court can, lift wants to, decide the
constitutionality of the law, or it can
| decide the pending cases without touoh-
The nearer the time comes to the hearing
the more interesting the situation grows.
I haye asked Attorney General Bu-
| chanan about the matter, and he would
say absolutely nothing about 1t, only
that he had every confidence that the
Supreme Court would do all that was
proper, and that he was not worrying
| himself in any way about what the Court
| would or would not consider. He is
hard at work on the cases, and is doing
himself credit in his work and his inten-
| ton to do all of the business of the Office
with the force of the department.
There will be quite an array of lawyers
in the case. and they will no doubt try
and get all they can out of it.
It has been suggested that until the
passage Of the new dispensary law the
| friends of the bill were very much afraid
that the clause which prohibited liquor
: from being brought into the State would
not hold in the Courts. The authorities
are, however, very much better pleased
now and say that the new section on that
question will stand in any Court. It is
said that in all Of the cases decided by
the United States Court the Wilson law
when applied by any State has besn sus-
tanned, and that the South Carolina Legis-
lature has not only adopted the wording
OF the Wilson Act, but it has improved
upon it by using the word introduction"
in connection with the word "arrival."
| On the other hand the lawyers who are
| testing the law say that this is one of the
| first sections that will be overthrown by
| the Court.
This is one of Lhe times when it pays
to so away from homo to hear the news
especially the political news. It is
pretty safe to say that some good news
about State politics could be picked up in
| Washington, within the next week. The
conditions could not be imagined to be
more favorable. Representatives of the
two recognized elements in the Reform
party are now in Washington, and the
presumption is that something will come
out of the concentration Of SO many of
| the prominent Reformers in Washington
| at this particular time. Whether Cover
nor Tillman will take hold of the reins
and get the Reform cart in the middle of
| the road again remains 20 be seen. It
may be difficult to do. and he does not
succeed there is no ore who can accom-
plish this task.-NcWS and Courier.