Richmond dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1884-1903, 1894-02-18
L,auor.ss,linx and Drinking.


II seems that the South Carolina mono
poly iiquor-law has not been the money
making instrument for the Palmetto state
that It was expected by its promoters to
be.
Asa revenue-raiser II has been failure
90 far; but as q producer OF trouble ana
creator OF antagonisms between ncighbors
who had hitherto been friendly with one
another Il has been conspicuous sue
cess.
1t has turned out Just "a we expected
Virginia was the victim OF an analogous
craze some years ago. Our State was
sorely pressed by reason OF those cut
worms OF the treasury'-the coupons
and being beguiled by tho hope that we
could get all tho money We needed by
passing the Moffett bill. that bill was
enacted into law. Every bar-keeper was
compelled to submit to the States putting
"bell-punch" on his counter. and this
bell he was required to ring once for each
drink sold. According to the satisti-
clans OF the sort who have recently
fourlshed in South Carolina our revenue
was going TO be enormous But so many
drinks we're sold on credit and so many
bar-keepers forgot to ring we soon
found that the law would not realize Tor
the State as much clear money as the
old law. And, what also was very bad,
We found that while strictly honest ana
painstaking dealers were paying every
cent due by them. less scrupulous
persons lightened their taxes by falling
10 register whenever they saw that II
WAS safe TO do so. Thus the honest man
paid the full tax and his dishonest COM
petltor a partial tax. OF prosecutions there
were many, but generally speaking the
prosecuting officers got little help or sym
pathy from that portion OF the pubic
whose help would have been most
efectual--viz., men who were In the habit
| OF freduenting bars and who were sup
posed 10 know all the "meanderingS' OF
| the trade.
Another thing was developed in the
course Of Virginlas wild-goose chase after
revenue through tho medium OF bell
punches, and that was that the bar busi'
ness was not uniformly the money-makme
| enterprise that 1t was imagined to be by
| persons who had never mastered Its de-
| tails The fact is that 1t isn't every man
| who sells liquor who makes money IL is
| by no means q sure business; 1t Is much
| like other businesses-some persons sue
| coed at It, but more fail The costs oil
carrying II on are heavy. and the bad
debts" are many.
| All these things and many more Vir'
| GINA learned while experimenting under
| the Moffett law. Many like things South
| Carolina is now learning. In the end she
will have 10 abandon the monopoly sys
| TEN and grant licenses TO individuals
| Her present law IS a restraint upon in
dividual liberty which. IL we mistake not
| the people of South Carolina will moi
| long submit to.
| 1t will be hard for the promoters OF the
| scheme to give it up-"give 1t up with
| out a fair trial" as used to be said here
as TO the Moffett law; but ii will come
| 10 that at last 1t was expected by Gov
| ernor Tillman, 50 we see IL stated, tina
| the profits would be half a million year
! and they are little or nothing. Our expert
| ence over again. Worse than that, in th'
| enforcement Of the law-which is very
| obnoxious in most parts of the State
| several men have been killed. And we no
| where find proof that the law has ad
vanccd the cause OF temperance.
After all we should not be surprised
TO hear that at the next legislative elec
ton in South Carolina a majority Of mem
| bers are sent TO Columbia pledged to re
| peal the Dispensary-act and restore thu
| old license-law.