The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1894-10-30
Gov. Tillman Answered


On Oct. - Gov. Tillman addressed 2
letter TO Mr.. Miller. commissioner of in
ternal revenue relative to the difference.
between South Carolina and the United
( States respecting the seizure of a distl
/ lery in South Carolina under the dispen.
/ sary law, and requested the commits.
sioner to submit the letter 10 the Attorney
/ General The commissioner did so, and
! yesterday the Attorney General an
nounced that in his opinion the dispen-
I sary law was in conflict with the laws
/ Of the United States. thus sustaining the
( commissioner of Internal revenue.
The case which gave rise to the CORE
/ spondence, and to the opinion of the At
torney General. was as follows: Gov.
Tillman had information that manu-
facturer of whisky, having a license from
the federal government to sell liquor at
retail, was selling whisky at his bonded
warehouse. The dIspensary law of South
Carolina prohibits the sale of liquors ex-
cept at the state dispensaries. The man
ufacturer who was selling liquor from his
warehouse was arrested by the state au-
thorities under the dispensary law. The
government tax on his whisky in the
government warehouse was rendered to
the government.
Commissioner Miller objected TO the ac-
ton the South Carolina authorities had
taken under the dispensary law for the
reason that if the United States should
acquiesce in such action the result would
be the complete destruction of the bonded
warehouse system and the loss of all
revenue in South Carolina from manufac-
tured spirits.
Gov. Tillman combatted that idea in his
letter, saying that the state recognized
the paramount right of the United States
to the revenue from liquor, and asserting
that in every instance in which distillery
was seized by the state, the state authorl-
ties would provide for the payment of the
tax on the whisky in bond,
The position taken by the Attorney Cen
eral is a serious menace to the dispensary
law. 1t is evident that if a manufacturer
of whisky can sell whisky al retail from
his bonded warehouse the number of dis
tilleries will be greatly increased through
out the state. They would be small distil-
leries, manufacturing only enough to sup
ply the local retail demand In that way
the dispensary law could, and probably
would be evaded the distilleries taking the
place of the saloons.
1t seemed TO us that in his letter to Com
missioner Miller Gov. Tnlman made "a
pretty strong argument in support of the
no ho a5n A bo inn
we can see how a strict construction of the
United States internal revenue laws would
require the Attorney General to give the
opinion he has. Any looseness in the con-
struction of those laws in the South Car
DINA case would be taken advantage of
in other states, and the law relating to the
collection of the tax on whisky might be
practically nullifed,
1t is quite certain that in reaching the
opinion he has announced the Attorney
General was not Influenced by hostility to
the dispensary law of South Carolina.
He aimed simply to construe the law fairly
and protect the interests of the govern
ment.
In his letter Gov Tillman said that if the
government insisted upon the interpreta-
ton of the internal revenue laws that
Commissioner Miller has given the South
Carolina Legislature would enact laws that
would prohibit the manufacture of whis-
ky in the state, except under certain re-
strictions. 1t looks now as if that course
would have to be adopted. But in making
such restrictions is not the state likely to
come into conflict with the general gov
eminent? There appear to be many diff
culties in the way of the dispensary law
1t is not yet certain that all of them will
be overcome.