The Laurens advertiser. (Laurens, S.C.) 1885-1973, 1896-03-10
The General Assembly.
THE METROPOLITAN POLICE LAW.
Charleston Protests Against It's Enforcement
--Governor Evans Defended in the House
by Large Majority.


The amendment to the metropolital
police law was the special order 70
Wednesday night, and q strong debate
took place, in which the course 0
Governor Evans was defended and tn,
measure was sustained by q large
majority.
MIR. Gadsden, of Charleston, moved
TO strike out the enacting words ant
made speech in favor of it. Ht
said:
MIR. Speaker The amendment
which have just proposed to the bill
has for Its purpose the repeal of the
&C passed by the Legislature at its
the metropolitan police act. can
not hope, Mr.. Speaker and gentlemen
to induce this House to reverse Its
action four years ago, but l do hope
Tor such an expression of the opinion
OF the House on this measure as will
indicate its disapproval of the manrer
in which tho act has been put in opera.
tion, but even If l should fail in this
should still conceive it my duty to
tho citizens of Charleston, to myself
as one OF their representatives, and to
the people of the State at large, to
record this solemn protest against the
Vi u law SO tllSu W OuE
system OF government; so violative
Of our preconceived ideas OF Justice
and so subversive of our common
liberties.
When this measure was under dis
cussion in this House last winter, L,
among others, pointed out what con-
ceived to be it's injustice and the
fearful power for oppression it would
vest in the Governor of the State, and
it was stated, on all sides, that no one
supposed 1t would ever be called into
operation; that as long as bona fide
effort was being made by municipal
authorities to enforce the dispensary
law no danger need be feared of the
police of such municipality being taken
from their control. will venture the
statement that rot one member OF the
House supposed that this bill, so harsh
in its features, would be put into
operation unless made necessary by
some open resistance to the dispensary
law.
at the time OF the passage of this
act and up to the last of December,
1895, the city government Of Charles
ton was under the management of
Mayor Ficken and @ Reform Board of
Aldermen; on the first of January,
1896, Mayor Smyth was installed and
ocloI y hO hSt DSCu lfSh I'LL SppOTGuu-
ity to show his intentions as to the
enforcement OF the law, before even
his police force had been reorganized
to put him in position to carry out his
views, the State Board imposed the
metropolitan police system upon us.
No reason has ever been assigned by
the Governor or alleged by his support
ers for this summary action, except
that the board Of aldermen had re-
fused to pass an ordinance to enforce
the dispensary law. On necember IL,
1894, the city council of Charleston,
at a special meeting, called for that
purpose passed an ordinance entitled
an ordinance to provide for the en-
forcement of the dispensary law and
to punish Offenses against the same.
After consideration, it was deemed
advisable to amend the same so as not
to make the punishment cumulative,
and also to cure certain technical de-
fects which had been overlooked in
the hurry of its passage-on January
%, 1895, this Act was amended by
striking out Section 2, which was con-
sidered to be ultra wires in other
material respects, the ordinance was
unchanged, both the original and
amended ordinances provided for the
appointment OF two additional police
lhCh III UlO NClJ Pul poS0 VI TSpOTblnS
violations of the Dispensary law. OF
all of these facts the Governor was
fully advised prior to the reading of
his Dispensary message in this House
and they appear on the minutes OF
City Council. Now, has the law been
enforced in Charleston !; have the city
authorities made an honest effort to
assist the State? | am informed that
Chief Constable Holly seized with the
assistance of the Charleston police
$4,000 gallons of liquor in his district
within the last eleven months-almost
all of it in Charleston-worth at low
estimate $4,000. Does this look like
a refusal to enforce the law? Remem-
Der these seizures were made by the
police upon reports by State Consta
bles. The law has been enforced as
well as 1t is possible to enforce it. AS
stated by the Senator from Edgefield,
the other day, there are twenty places
in South Carolina where the law is no
better enforced Why is Charleston
singled out as the exception /? Simply
to crafty personal ambition and to
vent personal feelings. For the first
time in the history of the State the
high Office of Governor of this State
has been used for personal aggran-
dizement, for the purpose of Great
ing. a personal following. No law
which has ever been placed upon the
statute books OF any civilized State
has brought as its logical results SO
many evils upon a people as the Dis
pensary law. Its poisonous breath has
permeated every department of our
social life, has degraded our public
sentiment, has vitiated public taste,
and polluted even the fountain OF
liberty. 1t has raised up in our midst
D class of paid spies and has allowed
them to invade the private residences
OF our citizens without warrant. In
Its name, free born citizens of South
Carolina have been tried, convicted
and sentenced to the State Peniten-
tiary, without trial by ju y of their
countrymen, aud lastly, it has brought
upon the proudest people on the face
of the earth an indignity, an insult,
which will rankle and bear fruit long
after these now In sound of my voice
shall have been gathered to their
fathers.
(. In addition to the evils of the dis
pensary law just pointed out, nj
thoughtful citizen can fail to appre
ciate the still greater evil of the enor
nous concentration OF power in the
hands of the Governor. 1t has bull
up an army of employees, responsible
to the Governor alone for their ap
pointmcnt, dependent solely upon hi
favor for the intention of their posi-
tions o nucleus of personal follower
and retainers Is implanted In ever,
county around which the supporters O