The Pickens sentinel. [volume] (Pickens, S.C.) 1871-1903, 1894-04-26
UNCONSTITUTIONAL.
THE SUPREME COURT SO DECLARES
THE DiSPENSARY LAW.

tioe Pope on tho othor--What is Said
About tho Deolslon.
COLUMBIA, S. G, April 19.--The long
expected decision Of the State Supreme
Court In reference to the Dispensary
Law was filed today. The judgment
Of the Court was rendered by Chief
Justice McIver, Associate McGowan
concurring. Associate Justice Pope
filed a dissenting opinion. The decis-
lon 1s a long one and contains fully 3d.
GOO words. 1t Is for the most part q
strictly legal view of the case but with
1t all 1t has features that will be of in
terest to everybody.
The case was legally entitled: Chas.
s. Mccullough vs.. George Just Browne
ct al and the State VS.. Hentz Jacobs,
). q. II. TrOeger, Jerome Pagan, j. r,
Byrd and Ben David. In the first in
stance Judge Hutson rendered his IA
nous decision and all the remainder of
the cases come from Columbia the re-
suit OF which is we'll known. In each
instance the Supreme Court sustains
the Judgment of the lower court.
Judge McIver's decision Ia said
TO be an able document and COM
pletely knocks out the Dispensary
Law. He says that the Attor-
ney General during the hearing
had suggested to the court that the act
OF 1893 superseded the act Of 1892 but
that no motion had been made by the
state Attorney along that line and the
court would consider, for the sake of
argument, the two acts Identical. Pro.
ceedlng in the decision Judge McIyer
says that ordinarily the presumption is
IN 1aVor OF any act passed by the Leg
lslature being constitutional and re-
views tsome length the nature, scope
and object Of the law.
He declares that 1t violates two ar
Elcles OF the Constitution namely the
first and the fourteenth. The first ar.
Clcles declares all men free aud equal
with right of enjoying liberty and
property and the second guarantees
every man against being deprived of
hls rlghG TO engage In any lawful busi-
ness, These rights, the court observes,
are derived from the creator rather
IMAM from the government. The traffic
and liquor itself Is not unlawful and
the law in so far as it forbids a citizen
from engaging In 1t when the State Is
allowed to conduct The same business
null and void.
The court next considers the question
OF the alleged police regulation of the
trafic under the dispensary law but
concludes that 1t has no such idea. The
whole scheme the court says is one to
increase the revenue of the State. The
State has no right to engage In bust
ness In competition with her citizens.
such an Idea Is at variance with all
Ideas of civil government. The power
given the State to engage in the liquor
business Gy the last Legislature is out
side and beyond the power conferred
upon the General Assembly by the peo-
pie.
The court answers also the argument
raised that because the State engaged
IN business of supporting colleges that
she could also engage In the business
OF selling liquor. This is answered by
showing from authorities that educa-
tion 10 legitimate function Of govern
ment while selling liquor is not. The
above are some Of the leading Ideas
advanced by the majority Of the court
IN declaring the law unconstituti on.
Associate Justice Pope's dissenting
opinion covers nearly 100 pages Of fools
cap. lie argues chiefly that the whole
law is constitutional from the fact that
the regulation Of the liquor traffic is q
legitimate function of government and
he holds that the dispensary law Is such
regulation. He does not think the
prime object Of it is the raising Of q
revenue.
Chief Justice McIver, who delivered
the opinion, while In no sense q politl-
clan, is understood to sympathize with
the Straightout faction, and the same
may be said Of Justice McGowaD, who
concurred with him. Justice Pope Is a
Illlman1te and was elected ATTORNEY
General when Tillman was first elected
Governor In 1880. Justice McGowan's
term expires In July, and Eugene Is.
Gary. until recently Tillmanite lieuten.
ant governor was elected to succeed
him last December 1t Is surmised
that an effort will be made to have the
law again submitted to the court after
he takes his seat, when the court will
include q majority of Tillmanites,
Lawyers say, however, that an act de-
clared unconstitutional cannot be re-
stored by the mere reversal of an'opin-
Ion; that 1t will be necessary for ii to
be again enacted by the Legislature be-
fore Its constitutionality can have an
other test.
Theopponents of the administration
are 1ubilant over the decision of the
supreme Court declaring the dispensary
law unconstitutional. The Whiskey
ann9a theh are more than jubilant over the
uecislon and Whiskey Is being openly
sold 10 many places In South CnroIina
tonight. The friends of the disneesarS
law are not dishearteDed, despite the
decision Of the court. They befiove The
law constitutional and believe that -
Will yet triumph. Governor Tillman is
known to be man Of many resources
and bis opponents do not believe tha
he Will yield and close the dispensaries
Immediately after the decision was
filed several orders wereicountermanded
by the State dispensarY. The "blind
tigers" which have never been especial.
ly cautious In their operations in this
city, have sold whlskey today with con.
siderable more audaclty than usual and
have not been interfered with. The 10.
cal diSpeEsarles have been doing busi-
ness as usual. 1t Is probable that the
bar keepers will not publicly resume
business until they have been advised
Dy their counsel, whose opinions they
are now awaiting.
THE DECISION DISCUSSED.
Inc journal says the State House Of
ncialsseemed to have caught on to the
1des that the discussion would be- ed-,
verse to them. There was O. lot con.
sultlng among them, John Gary Evans
was an interested visitor at the state
House; When he heard of the d,cision