The Lexington dispatch. [volume] (Lexington, South Carolina) 1870-1917, 1894-06-06
A PROHIBITION APPEAL.
MRS. CHAPLIN WRITES TO COVER
NOR TliLMAN.

| NOR IliLMAN.
Says that the Bar room Ne ement is Again
Taking Charge of Affsirs-The Law
Ought to bs Eoforced-Caro)lns's Men
Also Called On.
COLUMBIA, S. c., May 30.-The
Woman's Christian Temperance Union
has made an appeal to Governor Tllman
to d. what he can to aid in the enforce
meut of the prohibition law and also ap-
peals to the men of the Slate to do like.
wise. The appeal is as follows and
speaks for itself:
CHARLESTON, S. c., May %.
'sGovernor Tillmap:
The members of the Woman's Chris.
tan Temperance Union Of Charleston
do most earnestly entreat you not to re.
lax your efforts for the protection OF our
homes and dear ones from the destruc.
| ton that now seems to threaten them IN
the return to license and the restoration
to power of the rum 6ends. Newspa-
pers which q few months ago preached
Prohibition so elcquently that many
really believed they meant what they
preached are now advocating license,
sHigh license with restrictions" as
though the restrictions they propose
have not been dead letter on our stat.
ute books for years, scehsd at and defed
by the lawless crowd which they propose
to restore to office. "South Carolina,
tho Palmetto State, in the liquor
traffic." has been rallying cry
for the anti-Dlspensary host, and
and now, no sooner have the Dispense.
ries been closed than these very people
advocate forming new p artnershlp with
''The Palmetto State,' which they had
taught US to believe they held 80 sacred,
as chief partner in the firm of Van Pucket
shop & Co.
"When the Evans bill was passed in
1892 We wished 1t had been prohibition
and felt dreadfully over it, but when we
read the bill and found it proposed to
close every open barroom in the State
and allow LIQUOR sold only by responsi :
bic persons, whose characters had to be
endorsed by majority of persons IN
their ward OF town, as the case might
be, and who were pledged under oatn not
to sell to minors, drunkards, or any one
under the influence ofliquor and to keep
a record of all sales made, which would
at all times be open to Inspection; the Ii
quor sold in the Dispensaries was to
be apalyzed by the State Chemist to ln-
sure its purity, and the places in which
it was sold were to be closed at 6 O'Clock
and kept closed on the Sabbath; the New
York Tribune pronounced it "Ironclad
prohibition," and we felt that 1t was
only one step from it. So we gave IL
cur encourae emert and support and des'
pite of threats fcom barkeepers, and only
discouragemeut from those whom we
had right to expect would have stood
by US, We have held the fort, working
and praying for prohibition. Some are
rejoicing that it has come, not IN our
CITY, however, where the dens OF inlquitV
are all open, even on Sundays. We
are still hoping, PRAYING, waiting. When
the Supreme Court decided that the Dis
pensary bill was unconstitutional, many
were Inclined to think as Jacob did, "All
these things are against me-; but We
know better. The Dlspeuary had done
the work God intended it to do. This
fght ls battle between the Devil and
his allies and our great King and His fol-
lowers, aud unless We prove traitors we
must win with the victory, for
Our God is within the shadows
| Keeping watch above His own
The Dspensary proved that with
man of courage at the head of affairs,
Eq1or laws could be enforced, If not ab'
solusely al first, fully as well as laws
against burglary, murder or any other
crime. Public barrooms were most cor
taioly closed and that in despite of the
combined efforts of all classes of peo pie
who gave announcement and actually
brought into prominence the lowest class
of PEOPLE because they dared to defy the
law. You have shown what an Immense
revenue accrues from the sale OF whiskey
but you have told US your "object is not
revenue and we believe you ara too
true man to sell the right of way into
our homes and barter our boys to the
foreign rum seller for revenue.
"When for our cause all hope was lost,
| And every heart was tempest tossed,
| When homes in ashes round Us lay
And DER US beamed no cheering ray,
| When cen our braVeSt were unnamed,
| And waves of woe waved DER the land
Your Southern women checked each tear
And offered nothing but words of cheer
And now We come TO The men Oh
Carolina, particularly to those who make
and enforce our laws, and entrest you to
protect the homes we took care OF dur
ing the war. Home is our kingdom
you say, but we are poWerless to defend
it. You put Into the hands of the Vllest
eff securing Of creation weapon 'Flr.
mer set than bullets or than bayonet," Z"
with which to attack our homes and des'
troy cur dearest ones. Your protection
you say Is all sufficient. God grant it
may be 30 in this case. for we are stand
ing ballotless, utterly unable to defend
our homes aud we appeal to the men OF
cur State for help in this time OF threat
ened destruction. II you do not help Us
now and the destroyers of our homes get
into power again, the wives and moth
ers of our State will have again to 90,
as they have gone in the past, iato the