The Lexington dispatch. [volume] (Lexington, South Carolina) 1870-1917, 1894-05-02
IT'S FREE LIQUOR NOW.
GOVERNOR TIlLMAN GIVES lSVIEWS
ON TEEDEclsION.


he says he is Paralyzed; His Hands are
TIed-Bsr-rooms Can Be Put Up at
Every Street Corner and Cross Roads in
the State.
COLUMBIA, S. c., April 24.-No
move was made in any direction yester-
day IN the whiskey- -Dispensary law mud
die. It was hoped that something would
be done to relieve the uncertainty. The
longer the problem goes without solu.
ton the worse jumbled becomes the
ideas CT The public. Men now change
opinoion as often as the wind. Each
change brings no relief. The puzzle
grows more perplexing. Lawyers are
mot in it" at this juneture. They are
as badly ratified as the man who never
saw law book. The Supreme Court
has made worse than ''Gfteen puzzle''
for this Slate and the disagreeable part
is that nobody can work the puzzle.
The Supreme Court decision amounts
to one of two things-prohibition pure
and simpls or free whiskey. The latter
means that there is no law against the
sale Of Whlskey, that any man can start
in the business at any place and any
time, and tnat there is no restraint on
debauchery and the full sway Of the IL
quor king.
Many pepole DoW.believe..that the ma
jority of the court saw what would be
the result of this fearful state of affairs
and inserted 10 the decision the few lines
which have put everybody to guessing,
and which has checked the Whiskey ele.
ment this far. The court was far-slght.
ed enough to see the effect of these lines.
The employees still in the service OF
the State Dispensary were engaged yes
terday in taking stock at that institu-
ton. The quarterly report must be made
the last Of this month and the amount of
goods on hand must be given. A car
load of whiskeys billed just before the
decision to County Dispensaries and
taken to depots were returned to the
state Dispensary yesterday. The ship
ments were stopped when the decision
was rendered.
Governor Tillman yesterday publicly
expressed an opinion on the decision for
the first time since it was rendered. He
was in particularly good humor when
the small regiment Of reporters struck
him and began to ply him with aVarietY
of questions.
The Governor was asked how long be.
fore the uncertainty about the decision
would be removed and the mystery az
to it's meaning solved. He said: II
have already solved my part of it. 1t Is
now for the judges to let the people
know what they have decided. I doa't
know whether the decision mems prohi-
bitiop or free liquor or what it means.
Who can tell what they mean? I don't
see what object they could have had in
leaving the matter in doubt at ALL"
"Well, Governor, what about that ex.
ira session."
"Who has heard anything of an ex-
ira session? All I've heard oft is some
talk N the newspapers and ofcourse the
papers are always in the wrong"
''It is claimed by some that the deci
sion leaves the law prohibition law and
that the police regulation feature of the
law stands. How about that?"
Governor Tillman replied: Cali I
have to say is that the Legislature gave
me authority to enforce the Dispensary
law. When the court declares the Dis.
pensary law dead why of course my au.
thority to enfore it dies with it. I don't
see what right I have to attempt to
maintain the constabularY to enforce
prohibition law If it is SUCH"
"Governor, whose business is it to
find out what the court means?"
81 don't know. It's not mine." Then
laughingly the Governor said. "Whai
ls that Byron said about Wordsworth!
On, yes, I wish he'd explain his explara
tion.'"
The Governor was asked what he in.
tended to do about having the stocks O.
the various County Dlspensaries ship
ped back here and stored; 4 the rents
and insurance would not amount tt
more than the expense of doing this. III
said he had no authority whatever to g
into the expense Of moving the stock ant
things would 60 on just as they are
Continuing, be said: You see 1 an
paralyzed. can't dos thing. 1t seems
to me that the court in 80 many words
expressly declares that the Dlspensary
law IS not a prohlbitlory law The Cour
denies emphaticallY that the municipali
ties have the right to issue lceDeses. Now
fit is not a prohibitory law and the rlgh
to issue licenses does not stand and there
is 10 other law applying 10 the liquor
traffic 1t looks to me like free liquor. Il
looks like anybody and everybody car
60 out anywhere in the country, at every
Crossroads and everywhere else, aRc
start up barroons and sell liquor. AL
Acts applying to the liquor traffic incon
sistent with the Dispensary Act have
been repealed and there are none on the
statute books"
Governor Tl!lman then made the tol-
lowing important statement: "The
whole situation as | see 1t now Is that