The Scranton tribune. [volume] (Scranton, Pa.) 1891-1910, 1897-06-02

so that the blind tiger or the sniug-
Cling in of LIQUOR was made profitable.
and VI was also low enough so that the
state made no great profit, and what
there was went TO the reduction OF the
general tax. The profits OF the liquor
dealer were saved to the consumer.
who could give the money to his fam
iy. The profit now goes to the free
school fund In the old days at my
home in Edgefield Court House there
would be gathered on the sale days In
January and February perhaps eight
hundred or a thousand men from the
country, and regret to say that any
where from fifty to two hundred OF the
men would go home drunk. On my re-
turn to Edgefield after the Dispensary
law was in operation l attended one
of these sales. 1t was a cause Of re-
mark that not a drunkard had been
seen anywhere"
There must have been great opposi-
tion to the enforcement of the law"
There was, indeed. Some citizens In
the towns opposed II because their tax
es had been increased by the failure or
license money. OF course, the liquor
dealers and their friends all hoped to
see 1t fail. Hard az this opposition
was, the antagonlsm of the old state
officers and their friends, who had been
turned out of power by the new regime,
was twice as hard; but that was pure
| ly political, and in the face of the bene-
ficial results of the law all these have
been obliged to give away"
AS TO DRUNKENNESS.
| Eyes, sir; and could quote you from
the message of Gov Evans submitted
to the general assembly in February,
| 1896, to prove this. He addressed a let
ter to the various mayors of the state,
asking them If drunkenness and crime
and the consumption of whiskey had
increased or decreased under the dis
! pensary plan, what the number of
| plain cases of drunkenness had been
compared with the previous condition
| and also what the general effect of the
| dispensary law had been upon the
peace and good order of their towns.
1t appeared from these reports that
drunkenness had decreased for the en-
tire state 81 per cent, that the num-
ber OF cases tried in mayors courts
for drunkenness and disorderly conduct
had decreased over &C per cent, and
that the consumption of whiskey had
decreased nearly 4s per cent. Gov.
Evans also pointed out in his message
that the dispensary law had caused
a great moral reform. The tempta-
tions for the youth of the state had
been swept away, and the influences
of the saloon keeper in elections
also. During the last holiday season
there had been but one homicide in the
state, a record hitherto unheard of, and
that was the result of an old feud. II
had been the custom OF the colored
people, he said, to drink to excess on
circus days, but the dispensary is al
ways closed on such occasions and the
crowds are now sober. Moreover, the
sale of liquor by the state was con-
stantly on the increase, which proved
not that more liquor was drunk in the
state, but that the Illicit sale was fast
decreasing. The net profits of the sys-
tenn operated under the medium price
list that / spoke of was over a quarter
of a million dollars. Gov. Evans
praises the law unqualifiedly. 1t re-
moves the temptation from the young
and will eliminate drunkenness more
and more, and, as 1 have said, it is
even causing the old topper to contro
his appetite so that he can indulge
himself now and then. Gov. Ellerbe II
his message of last January is hardly
less enthusiastic in support of the dis
pensary plan"
OTHER STATES CURIOUS.
"Oh yes; North Carolina is beginn'
ing to adopt it locally, and in Nortf
Dakota and other Western States the!
are discussing it's advisabiltty. 1 be
lieve that it will be adopted by man!
states"
Senator Tillman makes no apology
for his connection with the dispensar!
law. 1t is easy to see that he is YER!
proud that he had to do with 1T
passage and execution. He is not les
proud, however, of three other depar
lures which signalzed his term as gov
ernor of South Carolina, which hi
friends consider very important if no
historic. One is the adoption of tht
new constitution, by which, with it
educational qualification, the negro i
disfranchised and 1t is not necessaT!
any longer to cheat him out of his bal
lot. Another is the establishment o
two industrial schools, each success
full, with it's complement of about 40
students. The third is the emancipa
tion OF "the people" from the "aris
tocracy" as expressed in the Tillmanit