The Lexington dispatch. [volume] (Lexington, South Carolina) 1870-1917, 1896-03-18
AS 70 WHISKY SELLING.

Judge Earle is making a commend
able effort to enforce the Dispensary
law according to the provisions laid,
down in the:statute books, and seems
determined to force Dispensary au-
thorities to obey the law in reference
to the sale of intoxicating liquors.
In this he is right and will be up,
held in his good work by every law
loving citizen, irrespective Of party
or factional affiliations.
We are glad that public attention
has been directed to the violations Of
the law by dispensers, or rather the
erroneous Interpretation of the law
put upon it by those who are at the
head of the State liquor business
and the consequent wrong. instruc-
tions to the county dispensers. When
the law was first enacted we, IN COM
mon with many other good people,
regarded it as great improvement
over the open saloon system, in that
it removed to large extent many
Of the inducements to use intozicat-
ing liquors as beverage, hence we
were anxious that the new system
for the regulation Of the whisky bus
mess should be given fair and I'M
partial trial so that it could be practi-
cally demonstrated whether it would
work the reform in whisky drinking
as promised by throwing stringent
restrictions around its sales to make
it impossible, exceedingly hard and
troublesome at least for minors,
habitual drunkards and persons ad-
dicted tothe immoderate use of it, to
purchase whether intoxicated or not,
and in the event of it's failure to
work the reform intended by its en-
aetment, after it should have been
given a reasonable trial, then do
away with it and adopt prohibition
pure and simple.
Unlike many of our eontempora-
ries we did not nor do we believe yet
that it was the intention of the origi-
nal friends of the system to adopt it
solely as ameans Of raising revenue
for the State. This was in our opin-
ion only a secondary consideration,
else the provisions governing its sale
would not have been near so severe
aad more favorable to its unrestricted
purchase. If the law was intended
7 solely as a source of revenue the
cumbersome safeguards thrown
around it's sale, woul have not been
put there and to say that they
were put there only as blind to
screen the real object of the law, and
to deceive people as to the real OBJ
iect and intention of the law are
assertions not suscepitable of a logi
cal conclusion. We must consider
conditions not develop theories to
prove wrong intentions, and the con-
dions existing prior to the fall Of
1884, points to but one conclusion,
that of faithful observance of the
law by Commissioner Traxler and
his Board of Control: for had the
law been violated in regard to the
sale of liquor, an opposition press,
Bench and Bar would have most as
suredly discovered it and public at
tention directed to it at time when
the conviction OF the guilty parties
could have been easily secured.
There have been open violations of
the law since that time, however,
in more particulars than one. In the
first place, it has been alleged that |
there are dispensers acting under in
structions from those high in author |
ity, who donot carry out the law in ref !
erence to signing applications for the
purchase Of whisky; in selling it to
minors, intoxicated persons and per
sons addicted TO its use. To such an
extent, has this evil been practiced that |
Governor Evans has been forced to |
issue other instructions to the seve-
raj county dispensers insisting upon
IA strict obeyance of the law. It is |
a known fact that half pint and pint |
TASKS now in use do not contain full |
measure, and some say that the |
whisky sold is either of an inferior
quality or is adulterated.
Judge Earle is doing good work !
in this respect ard should and doubt |
less will receive the thanks of the |
people of the ntire State.
The manner in which the Kentucky |
LEGISLATURE is now behaving in re-